Rating: 
Summary: Most Useful Cookbook I've Ever Owned
Review: I can't heap enough praise on this wonderful cookbook. It singlehandedly solved my personal cooking problems, and you can't ask for more than that.I think I was already a decent cook in the sense that I could get good results from good recipes. But as Anderson describes, I was not able to assemble something from ingredients on hand on short notice -- except for standbys such as spaghetti, tacos, chili and so forth. Another trait of mine got in the way of falling back on these: I want lots of variety. In fact, I would love to cook and eat something new almost every night of the year. I'm a freelance writer at the moment, but when I worked away from home I almost never cooked; I was too tired to grapple with these challenges. This book may be changing my life. Although I have plenty of time now, I don't want to spend every day combing through cookbooks AND going to the store for that one ingredient I don't have. I enjoy cooking outside of Anderson's formulas on weekends and some weeknights, but her book has provided me and my husband with easy ways to quickly make delicious meals with a relatively short list of staples that we now routinely shop for (most we already had on hand anyway). And variety is no longer an issue, as it's built in to this way of cooking. I can't recommend this book highly enough. It's perfect for beginning and experienced cooks, and for people who do and don't love cooking -- in short, for almost everyone.
Rating:
Summary: For beginners and those who don't want to spend the time
Review: Even though I have been cooking for many years at home, I still purchased this book because I tend to rely too much on recipes. I liked this book so well that I bought copies for both of my daughters, one is a new mother and the other HATES to cook. One just loves it. The other hasn't seen it yet as it is a Christmas gift. Yes, it is true that there are many recipes in the book but they are meant as examples. If one bothers to read the text one can learn the basic master recipe and get creative from there. It does take time to memorize them though, but don't give up. Practice makes perfect and they are worth it. The recipes are very tasty,quick to fix, and teach some very basic skills on which a beginner can build.
Rating:
Summary: An Inspiration for Beginning and Experienced Cooks Alike!
Review: I read an article by Pam in Cooking Light magazine that highlighted a few recipes from this book. After trying the saute and pan sauce methods with the ingredients I had on hand, I was sold on her approach and had to buy the book! I consider myself to be a fairly adventurous cook, but I'm also partial to quick recipes that don't require numerous or exotic ingredients. Pam provides a wonderful "theme and variations" style, and most of her recipe suggestions require only a handful of ingredients. She lays out the chapters based on techniques (saute, sear) rather than main ingredients (meat, fish, chicken), which will help me master the techniques more quickly and stop relying on recipes as much. I'd like to saute, but don't have pork or chicken on hand? Use fish! And I can vary the same meat with dozens of pan sauces and relishes - the combinations are endless. Last night we had a delectable Sauteed Tilapia with Mustard-Cream Sauce, along with a Crisp Potato Cake. Tonight perhaps we'll have Seared Marlin Steaks with Horseradish Pan Sauce and Orzo with Lemon and Parsley. I can't wait to try the Lo Mein, Stir Fry, Quick Ravioli, and Supper Soup techniques, as well as the Tossed Salads and Steam/Sauteed Vegetables. So many possibilities! I'm done paging through cookbooks to find the one recipe for which I have all the ingredients. With this book on my shelf, I can buy any available fresh and seasonal ingredients and know that I'll be able to put together a fast, healthy, and nutritious meal without a problem. This cookbook is a must-have - perfect for you, your best friend, your mother, and any bride-to-be. Thanks for this newfound freedom and creativity, Pam!
Rating:
Summary: This book makes weeknight cooking a breeze!
Review: "How to Cook without a Book" is the cookbook that I have been hoping to find. It teaches you the mindset and skills neccesary to quickly prepare a healthy meal with what you've got in your fridge and pantry. The weekends are great for trying new recipes and new ingredients, but what do you do on Wednesday night at 6pm when you're tired and hungry and haven't yet given a thought to what you'll cook and whether you have all the ingredients? "How to Cook without a Recipe" teaches you a few simple techniques which can be used with a variety of ingredient combinations. For example, Ms. Anderson's saute techinique works for chicken, pork, fish, tofu, and more. So, if you have any of these on hand and a few seasonings, you've got your main dish. So far I've read a few sections of the book, and it has already improved my cooking. What the book boils down to is this: learn a few techniques, stock your pantry, make a weekly trip to the grocery store to buy whatever's in season or on sale, and you'll be able to put a "real meal" on the table anytime. Excellent for someone setting up a new house or apartment and for those who are tired of take-out and packaged instant meals. Would make a great gift for a college graduate or for a bride and/or groom-to-be.
Rating: 
Summary: This book is full of ideas
Review: I have gotten a lot of ideas from this book. The recipes are simple and easy to make. I have so many cook books that I rarely use because the recipes are too long and complicated for normal use. This book, however, is just the opposite. It is intended for making everyday meals, and the results have been very tasty. This book and Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything" are my most used cookbooks. Although these two books are not intended as low-fat or healthy cookbooks, I find it easy to reduce the fat in their recipes with good results.
Rating: 
Summary: don't buy it
Review: you get what you pay for it
Rating: 
Summary: More recipe, not enough food science
Review: I gave two stars because I was looking for a book filled with food science and basics that can be embellished. I found less than half of what I wanted. The recipes are good, but very simple and much of the book is just variations on these recipes. An example might be a salad with walnuts and gorgonzola...on the next page it might say, "rather than using walnuts, try pecans and bleu cheese" (I don't have the book in front of me so I can't give an example straight from the text; I've already given the book away). I was hoping for explanations of food science (e.g. it is difficult for meat to brown in an acidic environment) and techniques such as reducing and deglazing. I would have liked to see an explanation of the four different classifications of french sauces as well. In any event, the book is clearly written, but I would not recommend it to anyone who had any previous cooking knowledge/skill.
Rating:
Summary: The no flaw best !
Review: I am a cajun and thus was raised within a strong cooking tradition that emphasizes cooking skills as much among men as women (my father and two brothers are professional chefs, another is a pastry chef and still another is a seafood merchant). Although I too began in professional kitchens I am now a college instructor but remain an avid home cook (a little catering on the side) and own over 1500 cookbooks Though this book does not have the homestyle long cooking black pot dishes cajuns are famous for; the details of seasoning and other ingredient proportions offered in this book are so accurately delicious that this information would be of value to any cuisine!
Even though I have an extensive cookbook library, I have never written a cookbook review. Why now? Because this is simply the best cookbook I've ever used! Within the stated limitations of the book (ie. quick , midweek night cooking for family; the kind all of us are forced to do.) this cookbook is without flaw. This is the only cookbook my wife and I keep on our kitchen prep table.
Because Ms. Anderson(a former "Cook's Illustrated" magazine editor} has taken the trouble to have each recipe taste tested by a panel before finalizing the selection of the best recipe version (The "Best Recipe" is the title of a previous volume by Ms. Anderson and is also fabulous} success is guranteed. This research is her secret to success and something that you or I or even professional chefs simply will never have access to.
I would call Ms. Anderson a professional cook rather than chef but this is to her advantage since she doesn't have to waste time on food presentation and plating technique. Really good professional chefs can be fine at feeding one (a single order) or an army (buffets and banquets) and so are often lousy cookbook authors for families (2, 4. or 6). But this is precisely where the professional cook comes in and Pam Anderson is simply the best.
So what's in the book? Absolutely delicious quickly prepared dishes that take advantage of the best ingedients available today. I have tried most of the recipes in this book and every one was superb which has led me to revise many of my own tried and true recipes. There are delicious soups, frittatas, stir frys; pan grilled chicken supremes, beef steaks, pork tenderloin, fish and shellfish, and a huge variety of superb accompaning sauces, butters, and salsas, vegatables, salads, appetizers and more. While each dish is complete in itself, once a recipe is learned you can put the book aside; especially when cooking your own improvisations (eg. I use her basic frittata formula, since there's none better, to make cajun style crawfish, eggplant, or chicken liver flat omeletes in addition to using her great selection of frittata recipes).
Another nice thing about the book is that it is just as useful for the accomplished cook (because of the extensive compilation of tasty fare) as the beginner (very clear instructions).
I have often heard ethnic chefs refer to young American chefs as unrooted food "bastardizers".That is they often take a classic recipe (perhaps 500 years old) from a well rooted ethnic cuisine and arrogantly attempt to "improve" it by whim; often destroying the recipes' very essence. Cajun cuisine has been almost completely bastardized outside of Cajun Louisiana ( eg. Emeril may or may not be a good cook but he's not cajun and not qualified to represent cajun cooking but is a god exampl of; but the food channel knows best. I know many genuine cajun chefs, who perfected their art long before cajun was even recognized, and yet are competely passed over by the celebrity chef gestapo). Even when a perfectly good dish is created using an ethnic recipe it is often "bastardized" in name. Bouillabase with black beans and sweet corn may or may not be tasty, but it's no longer honest bouillabase. So why call it that? Is it because the young chef has used some of the classic techniques employed in good seafood soup making in order to create his dish? A smart but dishonest chef.
Ms. Anderson's recipes are very modern indeed but without any attempt to take simple yet tasty classic flavors and map them on to some contrived, forced and unnatural concoction. Any fusion in her recipes is simply an honest reflection of America's melting pot cuisine and are not vain attempts to "bastardize" by forcing conflicting flavors together. She doesn't call her delicious Pork Soup with Hominy and Peppers Pozole (her's has no hogs' head or feet). She doesn't need to. Ditto. her fabulous Gumbo Style Shrimp Soup (which doesn't have okra or dark roux) which she doesn't call Shrimp Gumbo. Her fast and tasty "Chinese" stir frys are named by ingredient not by the classic dishes they closely resemble. She doesn't need to, because her recipes are fast and fantastic American melting pot dishes that stand on their own, made with readily available ingredients with out having to find gumbo file powder and spend an hour making a dark roux or visiting the Oriental shop for obscure ingredients. If you do want to do these things (Saturday or Sunday perhaps) her recipes are perfectly adaptable.
Because of the time and effort that go into her cookbooks (and I highly recomend any of the three) they are few and far between. Please Ms. Anderson just one more. If it's only half as good as this one I'd still give it five stars.
I routinely give this remarkable cookbook as a gift and I have a spare.
Get this cookbook and place it very near to where you
cook and just see what a good or better cook you'll become.
When I see flowery praise of this type I often wonder whether its' not written by a best freind or a publisher. I can assure the reader that my adulaton for this cookbook is completely honest and sincere. I have never met Pam Anderson or corresponded with her and I don't need a job.
Rating:
Summary: Very liberating
Review: Reading this book has liberated me. * No more hours of making menus and transcribing ingredients from recipes to shopping lists. * No more realizing with horror that a needed ingredient is out of stock at the grocery today. * No more dashing from stove to cookbook to see what I'm supposed to do next. Instead, I shop for what's fresh and appealing, coming home with yummy supplies for the meals that the season's freshest produce inspire. Just this week I came home with two totally new greens: Nira Grass and some sort of slender-stemmed, tiny-headed brocoli looking thing. Neither is even mentioned in Ms. Anderson's book, but her techniques gave me the confidence to pick them up and use them. My teenage son raved over the results. It's the book I've been looking for.
Rating:
Summary: For a vegetarian who needs cooking explained.
Review: Being a vegetarian, this book is quite heavy on meat preparations, however, I came from a pre-packaged and pre-prepared family. If it wasn't in a can, in paper, or in plastic then it was too much work. I have struggled for many years with cookbook in hand trying to create meals. The basic underlying principles confounded me.
After reading this book I have figured out what I needed to do. I have begun to write down my vegetarian ingredients, their uses, and next I'll work out the techniques that will vary and improve their flavors. That is what made this non-vegetarian book so very useful. I'm not liable to use many of the recipes provided, but the book simplified cooking so that I feel empowered. Cooking isn't mysterious or frightening anymore. There is another point I need to make. Although this book mostly mentions animal flesh as protein sources, the techniques are so easily explained that I have sauteed tofu, correctly, for the first time in too many years. The vegetarian/vegan cookbooks I've found never go into details about these things. I can make tofu from scratch, but I couldn't figure out how to properly saute it. (The tofu would require too much oil and become greasy, or stick to the non-stick pan.) This is a book that explains the basic underlying principles of cooking. For the fifth star, I would have liked to see some simple explanations of how to choose dishes that work together. I can now think about and work it on my own, but I think that would have given this book some extra weight and not just literally.
| 
