[.ca] Joanne Weir's Cooking Class

An informative and entertaining cooking collection.:
A wonderful culinary series! This is a set of four DVDs that contain various recipes of just about every conceivable type of food offering; there is beef, seafood, chicken, lamb, pasta, bread, soups, sauces, pizza, desserts and salads. I initially saw some of these episodes on PBS TV where each show would encompass a hour cooking program. Because I love to cook I became very interested in this series; there were so many positive ideas here...let me elaborate a little. The Pros: 1.) Each disc has 6 or 7 main themes; within each "theme" there are several "complimentary" dishes that go with the main recipe. e.g. If the main topic was seafood, the lesson might include a salad, sauce or dessert to go with the main course. 2.) Most shows have a brief discussion on wine; usually in context of what vintage might be most appropriate for the meal being prepared. 3.) Each show features Joanne Weir with a guest student who helps her prepare the food choice of the day. What quickly becomes evident is that both Joanne and the student (with one exception) really love to cook and prepare food. If there is one thing that comes shining through in these lessons, it is the atmosphere created by people doing what they love and loving what they do; this positive attitude towards cooking really make the shows fun to watch. 4.) These cooking classes are really a hands on learning experience for the students and this is a real asset to the viewer of the DVD. In the course of the food preparation, the student and Joanne often discuss a host of culinary topics that result in lots of cooking tips and technique suggestions; these are just little nuggets of cooking information that are just not obtainable from reading a recipe from paper. 5.) Each recipe is printable on a home computer; there are about 70 recipes available is this series. 6.) Technically, the discs were professionally filmed and edited, resulting in a superior DVD product that to me, was very reasonably priced. The Cons: 1.) There is no printed list or index of all the different recipes that are used in this cooking series. Finding a specific recipe will take some searching in the electronic folders of the DVD itself. \osee 2.) below\c 2.) The recipes are not viewable on your TV set. There are, however, two ways to view and print the recipes that are on the disc; both require a computer with a DVD player. a.) while at your computer, go to the drive icon in which you have inserted the DVD, right click, press "explore", and you will find an "index" icon that will take you to a website that contains all the recipes and you can print them from there. b.) similarly, there is also a "pdf" folder that contains the recipes and they are printable from there. However, once you are into this folder, the name beneath each recipe icon is poorly illustrated, so it makes finding the exact recipe you want a little more difficult than what it needs to be. 3.) Some of the ingredients used, may not be available in all areas.( but in fairness to Joanne, she was aware of this and often suggests substitutions) The minor concerns I've mentioned above are really just that, minor, when compared to the overall quality of instruction and the highly professional way the series was produced. All in all, a useful, well presented cooking series. If you love cooking and if the kitchen is a place of comfort and good vibrations for you, then these DVDs will be a welcome addition in your home. 5+ Stars!