The Best International Recipe
by Cook's Illustrated Magazine
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Book Summary Information
Author: Cook's Illustrated MagazineEditor: Cook's Illustrated Magazine
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-10-01
ISBN: 1933615176
Number of pages: 579
Publisher: America's Test Kitchen
Book Reviews of The Best International Recipe
Book Review: an excellent book for the super rich with a family size of 6 or more...
Summary: 2 Stars
I was looking forward to purchasing The Best International Recipe published by Cook's Illustrated until I previewed it in a local bookstore. I am familiar with many of Cook's Illustrated products and the two books I would recommend are The Best New Recipe (in which the quality control is very high in their choice of recipes) and The Best 30-Minute Recipe (in which they developed good recipes that can be cooked on weeknights). However, this book is naggingly similar to their other cookbooks which I would not recommend.
A recurring problem is their insistence on creating recipes for a large number of people. There are many recipes that serve 6 to 8 or 8 to 10 people in this book. This means you will spend hours cooking food in your oven because the cuts of meats will be large (quick-cooking cuts like pork chops, beef steaks, and chicken breasts are deemphasized) and you will be forced to eat the same meal between 3-5 days in a row (if you're making a given recipe for two people). And I am sure the people at Cook's Illustrated would frown upon their cherished recipes being used as leftovers (they often warn us about how they are best served immediately), yet they put families in a position where this is the only option. Another annoying problem is the sheer complexity inherent in these recipes. The most glaring example is their recipe for Spicy Pork Tacos, in which they suggest you roast a 3 pound cut of pork shoulder for hours before cutting it and stuffing the meat into tortillas. C'mon, why couldn't they just cut a pork tenderloin into small pieces and stir-fry it? Or take a look at the number of ingredients for the Indian curries and their recipe for Beef Empanadas, which is only a side dish! They put so much effort into a single recipe, whether it is an appetizer, vegetable, salad, or main course that every recipe becomes equal in terms of complexity. How can someone find the time and energy to make a main course when too much of it is spent making one of their salads or vegetable dishes?
If someone from Cook's Illustrated is reading this, please consider the following suggestions based on observations I have made from all of your cookbooks:
1)90% of your recipes should be done in an hour including prep time (and please don't suggest that we cut our veggies and meats while the oil is heating in the pan like you did in The Best 30-Minute Recipe). Remember that more and more people are eating out at fast-food restaurants and your team is not reversing the trend by making cooking an arduous time-consuming task. If possible, every 2 to 5 hour recipe should include a quicker version next to it.
2)Don't include duck, quail, rabbit, bluefish, soft shell crabs, whole pompano, boneless leg of lamb, or squid in recipes. Nobody can find this stuff in supermarkets.
3)Develop recipes with a minimum number of dry ingredients so people won't run out of pantry space. Challenge yourself by picking an ingredient like green curry paste and using it more than 5 times throughout the book. And stop suggesting fresh oregano and thyme! It was proven in The Best 30-Minute Recipe that their dried form is so much more potent.
4)Make it a habit to suggest an easy side dish or vegetable in your book which would go well with the main course. This was done with success in The Best 30-Minute Recipe but seems to have gone out of fashion.
5)Consider how much groceries cost these days. What? You want me to buy 2 pounds of swordfish at $14.99 a pound and grill it? OK, That's $30 and I haven't even considered what vegetable or starch I will make as a side dish. Oh, and stop including small amounts of gourmet cheeses in your recipes. What am I supposed to do with three-quarters of a leftover cheese wedge?
6)Stop repeating the same recipe in more than one of your books. I recall seeing Pad Thai in at least three of your cookbooks. It is insulting to die-hard fans who buy every book.
All in all, I would only recommend this book to a family of 6 or more whose combined income is at least $100,000 and who live in a sophisticated city like New York or San Francisco where they can get the hard-to-find ingredients like tamarind pulp and dried chipotle chiles. Otherwise, buy The Best 30-Minute Recipe, which contains numerous international recipes that can be done after a long day at work...for a family of four.
Summary of The Best International Recipe
Tired of complicated ethnic dishes with hard-to-find ingredients or recipes for classic European dishes that require a year of cooking school to master? We were. Here are more than 300 foolproof recipes that demystify the world's greatest dishes.For the landmark classic The Best Recipe, America's Test Kitchen developed the best versions of homespun favorites like macaroni and cheese, pot roast, blueberry muffins, and more. In The Best International Recipe, the test kitchen travels father afield to bring you the best and most exciting cooking from around the world. The more than 300 recipes have been tested dozens of times to ensure success in the kitchen.
Throughout The Best International Recipe, you'll find features that make this collection especially home cook friendly: Pantry spotlights offer clear explanations of ingredients and what to look for, and in some cases, what you can substitute without compromising flavor. Specialty equipment (and substitutions) are highlighted as well, so you won't waste money on equipment you don't really need (hint: You don't need a paella pan to make paella). Core techniques highlighted throughout the book explain essential methods that you can apply to all of your cooking, such as getting the most from spices and a method for making buttery tart dough that won't leave you feeling frustrated.
Whether you want to make spicy pork tacos to rival those found on the tables of Mexico or learn how to make chicken as juicy as the French, The Best International Recipe is your essential guide to the best cooking from around the world.
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