Evaluation of Cookbooks

Title: The Easy Way to Chinese Cooking
Author: Beverly Lee
This book that I chose from GT Library was pretty well organized. Its approach offered people, particularly people who didn’t have Chinese background, a way to know Chinese food and Chinese cooking. It began with introduction of basic utensils for Chinese cooking, which is probably very hard to find here. At least I didn’t see them when I went to Wal-mart and target. Then, it introduced some kinds of ingredients for Chinese food. It’s pretty wired for me to read them in English and I thought the author probably learned these in Cantonese because he was using Cantonese pronunciations instead of mandarin. The third part of the book showed one of the most famous methods of Chinese cooking, Chow and there were many recipes for practice. At last, it ended with some other methods of Chinese cooking and recipes. Generally, this book was very good for learning, but it was not attractive. There were some pictures but they were all by hand and black and white. Although it served different people and purpose, compared to cooking book I found in China, it’s not that good.

Title: Classic Desserts
Author: the editors of time-life books
I also got this book from library. At first, I liked this book a lot. It’s full of bright color pictures which showed how every step should look like. Also words used o describe each step were pretty clear at the bottom of pictures. However, the organization of the book was not as nice as its looking. The recipes for each dessert were not shown with steps to make it. They were in the last part of the book. So, you can’t really see the preparation list when you were looking at those pictures. You had to look them up at the end of the book.

Cookbook Review

After reading several cookbooks, there are two cookbooks that leave me with strong impressions but in a different way, one is An Encyclopedia of Chinese Food And Cooking and the other one is Classic Desserts.
Though I knew we should not judge a book by its cover, however when I first saw the cover of An Encyclopedia of Chinese Food And Cooking, it did give me the feeling of antique and classy since it was simply composed of two colors: back and red. But as I read on, I was rather disappointed. The content is printed in black and white which is a big disadvantage for a cookbook because of the importance of the visual attraction for food. Also, the book just explains some basic cooking methods in the beginning of the book and briefly lays out the steps for each recipe instead of clearly indicating what should be done in details. Generally, it takes an encyclopedia format so the intended audience should be someone who has cooking experience in Chinese food who can know exactly how to cook each dish just by looking at a few words. What is effective about the organization of this cookbook is that every single recipe is organized in alphabetical order so it is very convenient for the readers to find what they need.

Then there is another cookbook called Classic Desserts which is my favorite among all the cookbooks I look through. Just looking at this color is a kind of enjoyable thing. On the cover there is a very inviting cake which drives the reader to continue reading. For each step, it not only gives some background information of that desert and tips about making, but also provides clearly instructions about how to make the desert with illustration which is very easy for the amateurs to follow up. Then at the beginning of the book, it gives an introduction about the author who is a very experienced cook as well as consultant. This way makes the reader believe in the recipe in the book, thereby establishing the authority of the cookbook. What is more, through the beginning till the end, all the contents center around one single topic, dessert. But it does follow the order from simplicity to difficulty.

As a whole, browsing all of the cookbooks is a pleasant thing. It even makes me want to cook some dishes by myself.

Review Of Cookbooks

Title: Turkish Cooking

Author: Ayla Esen Algar

One of the books I browsed through was "Turkish Cooking" by Ayla Esen Algar. When I first saw the book ,I thought it was intended only for people with experience (or at least interest) in the art of turkish cooking.But, as I read it, I saw that the the authour took the effort to make the book appealing to the general reader by trying to explain to them why turkish cooking is so unique. In the introduction of the book, the author gives us an elaborate history of turkish cooking, citing in several places, how turkish food is an important part of turkish life. "The integration of food with social, religious and cultural life was certainly marked with the Ottoman turks."

The author clearly has a lot of experience with Turkish cooking. The entire book is well organised and coherent with the theme of Turkish cooking. It is divided into different sections, each concerning one type of food (soup, seafood, meat). It was not difficult to find the recipies i was intrested in.

(from "Turkish Cooking" by Ayla Esen Algar)

The cover of the book was the reason I chose to read it. It features an almost cartoonish drawing of Istanbul as seen from a balcony dining table. It made the book seem less intimidating and more fun to read.

The book also includes pictures in just the right places. Without them it would be just a collection of ingredients,recipies and instructions not too different from my chemistry lab manual.But fortunately, it includes a large number of pictures and anecdotes to make it breezy and fun to read. Each recipie is discribed, from beginning to end, in great detail no matter how long it is. Its easy to see that the author cares about turkish food and that care is very evident in her book.

Title: The Cooking of Provincial France.

Author: M.F.K Fisher

Of all the books I read at the library, this one is probably my favourite. One thing I've learned in my short stint as a foodie is that of all the cuisines in the world, french food is the most popular to write about( there were something like twenty french cookbooks in the library alone). But what set "The cooking of provincial france" apart from the rest of them was that it was more than just a cookbook. It was as much about the country and people of france as much as it was about its food. This is a book for both food lovers and people interested in French culture and tradition.

But the books greatest strengh is also its greatest weakness.An actual recipie isn't mentioned until half the book is over. So what starts out as a series of intresting anecdotes about french life ends up feeling like an overly long, hundred page introduction. To my mind, thats the books only flaw. But once the recipes are mentioned, the book picks up again.

(from "The Cooking Of Provincial France")

Another thing that makes "The Cooking of Provincial France" so enjoyable is that its full of beautifully shot pictures of food, people and the French countryside. There were pictures showing the author and her friends cooking or eating at the table which gave the book a personal touch. Everything about the book was like its subject matter: elegent, intimate and rich. In the end, brilliant stortelling, amazing visuals and, of course, great food made this book both enlightening and enjoyable.

Cookbook Reviews

1. The Everything Chinese Cookbook

This cookbook is as utilitarian as it gets. After only a couple paragraphs of talking about the origins of Chinese food, it gets right into cooking techniques, then into specific recipes. The recipes themselves offer almost no description of what the finished product will be like, no more than one sentence describing the origin of the dish, and no pictures at all. The descriptions of the process of cooking the dish is very detailed. This is a cookbook for someone who simply wants to cook a meal, not learn anything about the dish or be offered any sort of entertainment from the cookbook.

2. Provence: The Beautiful Cookbook

In sharp contrast to "The Everything Chinese Cookbook," this book is meant as much for its entertainment value as it is for its recipes. The idea of the book is to take the reader on a tour of a region of France, offering recipes along the way. For each stop on the tour, the book offers beautiful pictures of the landscape, a description of the inhabitants' way of life, and a recipe that ties in with the culture of the area. As a result, the reader has a true understanding of the culture that produced the dish in the recipe. The recipes themselves are descriptive, and often come with full page photographs of the finished product. While it is still a cookbook, I could imagine someone sitting down with it, with no intention of cooking any of its recipes, and still enjoy flipping through it.

Image sources: Book 1: http://books.google.com/books?id=dMns9ohsMXsC&dq=everything+chinese+cookbook&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=b5N_BVSRko&sig=qVM_kVACOpfOGbTrbH_XWVO1bj0&hl=en&ei=jP6mSuKdHpuetwe2pdHfAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4#v=onepage&q=&f=false,
Book 2 http://www.amazon.com/dp/0067575986?tag=foodtouristco-20&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=0067575986&adid=0C17YMMGKYHPK1FMEG76&

Cookbook Reviews

1.

Title:Rachael Ray 365: No Repeats--A Year of Deliciously Different Dinners (A 30-Minute Meal Cookbook)

Author: Rachael Ray

I picked this book up from the bookstore as the idea of cooking 365 meals that only take 30 minutes seemed appealing. As a college student, we do not have much time in our hand to cook meal on our own and that is why we often find ourselves walking into the dining hall. However, as i looked through the book, it seemed as though many of the recipies take more than 30 minutes if I included the preperation time to gather the ingredients and the recipies, as i'm a novice cook, seemed much too complicated to be cooked in 30 minutes. Also, many of the recipies, after cooking, produces fairly large amount, so I figured that the intended audience for this book is for families. I found that the book did not have a coherent index where i could find certain recipies that includ specific ingredients that i would like to eat like chicken. The author establish her authority even just with her reputation as i have seen her numerous times on cooking channel and her introduction in the beginning of the book showed how experienced shw was as a cook.

2.

Title: Flat Belly Diet! Cookbook

Author: Liz Vaccariello & Synthia Sass

This book's cover attracted more than anything. The picture of the cupcakes drew me to the book and i started to browse through the book. As the title of the book says, the intended audience for this book is for people who want to lose weight while eating healthy.Most of the recipies seemed appetizing contrary to my belief. I always thought in order to lose weight, i would have to eat food that taste horrible. I also found that the recipies are easy to follow and does not require you to spend too much time cooking the food. It does not ask too much for finding the ingredients and most recipies require simple ingredients. The pictures in the book i found were effective to the overall theme of the book which was losing weight and enjoying the food. The finished product of each ricipies all seemed appetizing. The text sizes, the font and the overall appearance of the book was warm and had an appeasing effect on me.

Pictures: "Rachael Ray 365: No Repeats--A Year Of Deliciously Different Dinners". Photograph .(n.d.) from www.tradeport.com.

http://www.tradeport.com.ph/uploads/Image/full/RachelRay365NoRepeats.jpg (accesed September 06 ,2009)

"Flat Belly Diet! Cookbook". Photograph. (n.d.) from www.towers.com

http://i43.tower.com/images/mm113093126/flat-belly-diet-cookbook-cynthia-sass-hardcover-cover-art.jpg (accesed September 06, 2009)

Cookbook Blogs

Cookbook #1 The Night Before Cookbook, by: Rubinstein MacMillan

The cookbook starts with a few pages of a story that a wife writes about her husband. The introduction story pulls the reader into continuing through the cookbook. The introduction gave an overview of where the writer comes from, and what the writer feels about food. The introduction gives great facts about what to expect for the reader. For example, the writer states that the book is not a cookbook for weight watchers, more of a book for people who love to make well prepared meals. The writer is writing to someone who is interested in all aspects of a meal, from the utensils used to the appitizers that are prepared before the main meal. The cookbook allows for a wide range of audiences, rather than writing about one specific meal.

Cookbook #2 Italian Casserole Cooking

In contrast to the first cookbook, the main topic of Italian Casserole Cooking was specific to a certain type of dish. The organization of the cookbook was well thought out and easy to follow. Starting with a brief one page introduction on Italian cooking, the cookbook stays on the main topic of different Italian casseroles. I felt it more helpfull that the book was specific on what the writer wanted to give to the reader. Not only was the organization of the cookbook easy to follow, but each individual recipe was right to the point and easy to follow. First the writer gave the untensils and ingredients needed to create the casserole, then gave a very detailed step by step direction paragraph on how to create the casserole. Unlike the other cookbook, this cookbook stayed specific on a main idea, which made it easier for the reader to follow.

Michael Miller

Two Cookbooks

By Logan Betzen

As I perused my sister's collection of cookbooks, I was fascinated by many of them but two stuck out to me. The first cookbook that made my mouth water Martha Stewart's Cupcakes. On the cover is a mouth-watering picture of a giant chocolate cupcake -- I was hooked. Inside, I found a multitude of traditional, seasonal, and unusual cupcakes that had me so fascinated I spent at least thirty minutes browsing through it. I would really like to try the peanut butter & jelly cupcake -- two of my favorite things together!

Then, the second cookbook that interested me was Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. My sister was telling me about how she watches his TV show all the time and I might start doing so too. The pictures of all the food featured in Fieri's cookbook looked deliciously tasty. The page featuring Rubbed and Almost Fried Turkey Sandwich from Panini Pete's in Fairhope, Alabama makes me want to drive down there just to try it for myself.

Image 1: Martha Stewart's Cupcakes. From Barnes and Noble. http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Martha-Stewarts-Cupcakes/Martha-Stewart-Living-Magazine/e/9780307460448/?cds2Pid=16983 (accessed September 08, 2009)

Image 2: Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives by Guy Fieri. From Barnes and Noble. http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Diners-Drive-ins-and-Dives/Guy-Fieri/e/9780061724886/