[.ca] Tom Valenti's Soups, Stews, and One-Pot Meals: 125 Home ... (ISBN 0743243757)

Very Good Versions of Standards All Very Accessible:
If I only bought cookbooks to cook from, this would be my most desirable type of book. First, because one can go to this book when you know you want an easy one pot meal instead of wading through lots of restaurant chef and Italian cuisine and French cuisine books. Second, because the recipes in this book are good. There is little need to summarize the content of the book, as the title pretty much tells the story. You also should believe the statement on the cover that these are 'home recipes' and not the kind of recipe Tom Valenti typically makes at his restaurants, or, at the very least, he does not make them in the same way at his restaurants. The cover says there are 125 recipes which, on the face of it is a tad thin for the $30 tariff. These are broken down by: Hearty soups and chowders: 18 including classics such as 'pasta fazool', clam chowder, and lobster bisque Casseroles, stews, and chilis: 28 including risottos, fish stews, sausage and cabbage stew, and venison chili Large Cuts and catches: 29 including leg of lamb, beef brisket, pork shank, and hunter style chicken Accompaniments and additions: 10 including pastas, rice, potatoes and polenta Condiments and Garnishes: 9 including pesto, aioli, roasted tomatoes, and croutons Oops, that is only 94. The remaining recipes are variations on main recipes plus recipes for chicken and beef stocks. Since almost recipe in the first three chapters has one or more variations, the effective total may be closer to 200. The bottom line is that these 94 basic recipes are worth the higher toll than you may find in some other books. One way I recognize a superior book is when they illuminate properties in ingredients (as in Paul Bertoli's Cooking by Hand book) or make fine distinctions in technique to achieve superior results. Valenti does a double service in this book by endorsing the use of supermarket stocks for most recipes and the use of an immersion blender for most recipes, yet he makes a point of indicating which recipes would come out a lot better by using homemade stocks or a bar blender or food processor. An additional feature of several recipes is where the authors present alternatives for dishing out the meal on the day after on 'Tomorrow's Table'. It is important to not assume this is a book on quick cooking or that you will not have more than one pot to clean at the end of the day. As the authors freely admit, there is a lot of moving stuff back and forth from the central pot used in the preparation and there may be some supplementary heating up, but most of the action takes place in the center ring. The main thrust of this statement is that there are no auxillary preparations such as making a fish stock for bouillabaisse or making a lobster shell broth to make lobster bisque. The authors do not guarantee that the techniques in this book will produce results which rival the recipes with separate steps. What they do promise is that the results will be very good with somewhat less active time and one or more fewer pots to scrub. Be warned that some of the recipes will take very long indeed. Witness the name of the recipe 'Seven Hour Lamb'. It is no surprise that Tom Valenti is very fond of bacon, as this is a very common ingredient in the classical preparations of soups, stews, and braises. He uses it in many of the recipes and freely admits he is very fond of all things pork. One curious statement he makes in this regard are when he lumps Canadian bacon together with American / English style bacon and pancetta. The latter two are from pork belly while the former is sliced pork loin, and is very lean. Another curiosity is when he states that prociutto rather than pancetta can be substituted for bacon in a recipe. I am not sure if these are misstatements or represent a deeper understanding of these products than I have. The foreword by Mario Batali originally attracted me to the book, as Molto Mario is my culinary hero, although the dust jacket blurbs from Mario, Bobby Flay, and Lidia Bastianich probably relate a lot more to Tom Valenti's founding the 'Windows of Hope' program than they do with the innate quality of the book. And, I rarely trust blurbs anyway, since these people are paid to offer these statements. My reward for following Mario's lead is that I find that one of his nicknames is 'beefy cheeks', due to his love of beef jowls. And here I thought he only cared about pig jowls. If you like one pot meals with no rare or expensive ingredients (aside from a little saffron here and there) and relatively easy techniques, then this is the book for you. It may not be the very best book on the subject, but it is very good.

a real-life "go to" cookbook:
Several cookbooks I own are great for use maybe 3 or 4 times a year--when I have the spare time and energy. This one I seem to be pulling off the top of my refrigerator about once a week, for dinner without the extensive forethought or special trips to the market. And so far (I've tried about 6 of the recipes now), it's batting a thousand.

For the non-cook cook:
I'm not an expert in the kitchen by any means, but I can follow a recipe like a pro. This book made cooking a pleasure - the recipes were simple and delicious and not too intimidating for a cooking neophyte. I look forward to cooking up these meals, from front to back. I highly recommend this book - perfect for the chilly fall nights to come!

Deliciously do-able:
It's odd that I'm taking the time to write a review of a cook book, because I've never been much of a cook. But having now bought and used this wonderful book, I feel compelled to share the magic. This dishes are mouth-watering to read about, and absolutely cook-able. The writing is spry and entertaining. The entire package is very well done. I recommend this book highly.

A great resource:
In this great book, Chef Tom Valenti (named one of the country's "Ten Best Chefs" by Food & Wine magazine!) gives us 125 recipes for meals that are slow-cooked and cooked in one pot. The recipes themselves are broken down into 1) Hearty Soups and Chowders, 2) Casseroles, Stews and Chili, and 3) Large Cuts and Catches. Each recipe has a list of ingredients, a very good set of step-by-step instructions, and (often) some suggested variations on the recipe. Also, this is definitely a book that you want to read all of. The section on accompaniments and additions has some great additions as does the section on condiments and garnishes. Overall, my wife and I found this to be a great resource. The recipes range from the exotic (Baked Sea Bass, Papillote Style with Lemon and Olives) to the familiar (Beer and Beef Stew), but all of them have the spices and ingredients necessary to make them a taste treat. So far we have made the Slow-Cooked Chicken in a Pot, the Chicken Braised with Mushrooms and the Beef Stroganoff, and we loved them all. My wife and I highly recommend this book to you.