Bookworm

[#1]

First, let me disclose that this is my sister…so I readily admit to being biased and loving the book. When People magazine featured it in their Oct. 3rd issue, they gave it 4 stars. I decided that it was probably okay for me to give it the rave review it deserves as well.

I had the added benefit of knowing the history and research that went into this interesting book and concept. Flinn’s first book, The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry detailed her journey through the famed Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. This was a fascinating behind the apron strings’ view of what really goes on at this renowned school—complete with anxiety-ridden exams, demanding chef instructors and more organ meat dishes than you care to count (or eat). I loved her first book since I’ve always had an obsessive fascination with Julia Child (who also attended Le Cordon Bleu).

But back to her most recent book which includes easy to follow recipes... 

Kitchen Counter was conceived from an experience at her local supermarket. I know from past conversations that she has always been troubled by packaged food that replicates real dishes which are actually easier (and healthier) to make from scratch. Almost all contain less than half the ingredients as their pre-packaged counterparts and all are created from reconizable pantry items—with no partially hydrogenized soybean oil, dough conditioners or monocalcium phosphate. She says there are too many people making Tuna Helper while watching Gordon Ramsay.

In this book, Flinn recruits 9 novice home cooks and teaches them the basics. Her subtitle sums it up, “How a Few Simple Lessons Transformed Nine Culinary Novices into Fearless Home Cooks”.

She teaches them basic knife skills, cooking techniques, and lots of how-to’s in the kitchen. She illustrates how home cooking not only saves you money, but has endless benefits—from taste to health to, most importantly, self-confidence—the main ingredient that keeps most people from taking their first culinary leap.

Whether you’re a novice, a good home cook, or consider yourself a true foodie—this book is delightfully entertaining and informative.

To learn more, check out The Kitchen Counter Cooking School book trailer.

[#2]

Sounds really good - I'll take a look at it. It would be so much fun if there were classes like that for people to take. I make many of our meals from scratch but I must admit sometimes I do use shortcuts and then afterward am apalled by the ingredients as I read the packaging. Does she include a list of basic ingredients that every kitchen should stock? I'm in the midst of getting my pantry restocked for the autumna and winter and such a list would be useful.

[#3]

PS. The link was really fun with the videos. Great quote by Jacques Pepin: "I notice a lot of people are afraid of actually cooking in their kitchens because they are afraid of getting it dirty. I wonder what they do in their bedrooms?!" Hahahaha

[#4]

I was wondering the same thing re: basic ingredients; I feel like I'm restocking my kitchen every time I try a new recipe

In any case, this sounds great! Does Kathleen cook according to a particular type of diet, or a certain kind of cuisine? I ask because I've occasionally picked up books like this before and gotten halfway through before realizing that all the recipes are vegetarian or Asian fusion or something. (Which is great as long as that's what you're looking for, but sometimes it's not explicitly pointed out.)

[#5]

This sounds like a great stocking stuffer for budding cooks! 

[#6]

I think this is a great idea.  I should probably read it. 

I like to be do a little cooking, but usually it's just unruly experimentation that results in, shall we say, questionably palatable presentations?

Er, I haven't actually killed anyone.  Maybe a gas pain or two.......

[#7]

Rafferty's comment made me think of my sister who regularly makes questionable concoctions and almost  DID kill her husband with a fried egglplant dish that put him into gastric distress. She cooked the eggplant at the wrong temperature so that she felt she had to keep adding oil to keep it from burning. As a result, she added about 6 times as much oil as the recipe called for. Her husband dutifully ate the meal and ended up in the ER. He did recover, thankfully. And he does most of the cooking now.

[#8]

I loved this book and although I have been cooking for years, I really learned a lot from it.

I always kept my fridge loaded with salad stuff, fresh veggies of all kiinds, etc.  The thing is you actually have to prepare these foods for them to be good for you.  When my husband suggests going out to eat, I'm all for it - even though I have plenty of fresh foods to cook waiting for me.   We end up going out to eat often.

So when I cleaned out the fridge, I would see my broccoli had grown yellow flowers and my celery was a bag of slime - ugh.

Now, I buy for my actual life, not my imagined life and rarely throw anything away.  My fridge is not packed full - I even have a picture at the back of the fridge on each shelf so I don't get carried away again and start overbuying.  I picked up that suggestion from the book.

I find it has saved me a lot of money in my food budget.  I make a big pot of soup often to clean out my vegetable crisper.  There are lots of good recipes and tips in the book!  I need all the help I can get.