[.ca] CookSmart: Perfect Recipes for Every Day (ISBN 0618091513)

From Amazon.com:
Pam Anderson's CookSmart: Perfect Recipes for Every Day is a collection of comfort-food favorites that she's perfected through a long process of trial and error. From her own experience as a chef, cookbook author (The Perfect Recipe), and food columnist for USA Weekend, Anderson has created a rigorous approach for selecting the best possible recipe for any given dish, winnowing out weaker, less satisfactory recipes in several stages. She starts by reviewing several recipes for the same dish. For example, Anderson noted that the conventional method of making fajitas included marinating the meat before it is cooked, which, in her opinion, masks the rich flavor of steak. In her version, the fajita meat gets a spice rub before cooking and then a brief, post-cooking sauna-like repose in a simple mixture of lime juice and garlic. The resulting fajitas have the relaxed subtle flavor of garlic, lime, and cumin that complement rather than overpower the tender steak. This book provides good instruction for the beginning chef, demonstrating how to use the basic techniques to perfect one's own recipe. But there is a lot to read, so be warned. This book is a time commitment if attempting to read cover to cover, and it doesn't necessarily work in the real-time experience of looking and cooking. However, if you're searching for a collection of great, gourmet-style recipes for home-cooked favorites, CookSmart is a pretty wise choice. --Teresa Simanton

chili:
i recently wrote a review about chicken chili and am sorry i wrote it. i gave an opinion of a recipe i found in the newspaper and not from her book.i recently spoke to pam and she set me straight about the recipe and evidently i did not puree a certain portion of it properly which caused my problem cooking it. my mistake and i appologize. i reccomend her recipes and will continue to try more of them. sincerely diane

Haven't Missed Yet:
Every recipe in this book that I've tried so far has been a hit right away. The cinnamon rolls, the chocolate cake, the pumpkin pie, the ribs... everything has turned out perfectly. The cinnamon rolls and chocolate cake have even turned into regular additions at my cafe. Pam Anderson writes with a distinctive voice that makes reading her trail and error accounts entertaining as well as informative. As a cook who always wants to know why a recipe works, not just that it does, it was interesting to see on paper the same recipe permutations I tend to go through myself.

chili:
i made the recipe rotisserie chicken chilli with hominy & chiles.it was the worst recipe i have ever made.we gave it to two of our neighbors and they also did not like it and threw it out. it was not that cheap to make. we tried it for our super bowl festivities and thank goodness we did. i would have been very embarrassed to have served it.we are known in the area for being better than average cooks.people are always asking us for our recipes.sincerely disapointed

So many favorites!:
This book reads like a novel. I love the essay that prefaces each recipe. Very entertaining reading. As for the recipes, I love the pot roast. That has become a favorite. The cinnamon rolls are fabulous. And the waffles recipe is the best I've ever tried. They really do stay crispy like she promises. The only flaw is the pumpkin pie recipe. The filling was way too much for the 9" pan size recommended. If overflowed in my oven causing a HUGE mess. I live at a pretty high altitude, so maybe that was the problem too.

A Chemist in the Kitchen:
I loved CookSmart. As a chemist, I enjoy doing experiments at home in the kitchen as well as at work. The way that Pam described the process that she went through to find the ideal conditions for each recipe mirrors the careful manipulation and recordkeeping that accompanies a scientific experiment. I like knowing why each ingredient was chosen and what happened with other ingredients to make them less than perfect. Even if you don't appreciate the detailed dialogue that precedes each recipe, you will appreciate the results of using each perfected recipe. I tried the Chicken Parmesan, Oven-Fried Chicken, Turkey Burgers and some of the hints for perfect pie crust. All of the food turned out wonderfully and satisfied my need to occasionally prepare gourmet type food for my family. I am looking forward to trying more of the recipes!