Cooking Research - What We're Reading

Revving up the cooking in our test kitchen. Don't know about you, but we like to test-out new recipes without the fate of hungry guests - even family! - hanging over us.

We're lucky to have a great kitchen to cook in - as well as access to some of the world's finest MUST-have cooking tools from Epicurean, Joseph Joseph, and Kyocera through our SavvyHostMarket.  Doing a little homework before entertaining showtime isn't such a chore ;-)

So where are we turning for recipe inspiration?



We're big fans of online resources, magazines, media programs and cookbooks. Our test kitchen offers full media access, so we enjoy cooking shows, live video feeds, blog posts, and e-publications on a large screen. Don't think that we would ever limit our channels to creative cooking info!

When we're offsite, and often in space-constrained workspaces, we've gotten into using a Kindle in the kitchen...it's an interesting format for recipe reading in tight-spaces. Have you tried one? We'd love to hear what you think. 

Back to the mission at hand - our start-of-the-year cooking reference list. Here's a short list of what we're reading for GoodFood Gathering research:

The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl (Ree Drummond)
Harper Collins describes this book: 
Paula Deen meets Erma Bombeck in The Pioneer Woman Cooks, Ree Drummond’s spirited, homespun cookbook. Drummond colorfully traces her transition from city life to ranch wife through recipes, photos, and pithy commentary based on her popular, award-winning blog, Confessions of a Pioneer Woman, and whips up delicious, satisfying meals for cowboys and cowgirls alike made from simple, widely available ingredients. The Pioneer Woman Cooks—and with these “Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl,” she pleases the palate and tickles the funny bone at the same time.

How to Cook Everything, Completely Revised 10th Anniversary Edition: 2,000 Simple Recipes for Great Food  (Mark Bittman) 
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., describes the content:
Mark Bittman's award-winning How to Cook Everything has helped countless home cooks discover the rewards of simple cooking. Now the ultimate cookbook has been revised and expanded (almost half the material is new), making it absolutely indispensable for anyone who cooks—or wants to. With Bittman's straightforward instructions and advice, you'll make crowd-pleasing food using fresh, natural ingredients; simple techniques; and basic equipment. Even better, you'll discover how to relax and enjoy yourself in the kitchen as you prepare delicious meals for every occasion.

The Cook's Illustrated How-to-Cook Library: An illustrated step-by-step guide to Foolproof Cooking (Kindle Edition) (Editors of Cook's Illustrated)
GoodReads reviewed this reference: 
This very special Kindle collection covers all the culinary ground, from barbecue, grilling, garden vegetables, holiday roasts, potatoes, soups, stews, stir-fries, pasta sauces, pizza, appetizers, salads, shrimp and shellfish, to pies, layer cakes, cookies and brownies, holiday desserts, ice cream, simple fruit desserts, and lots more. It's all you really need in the kitchen...

Cooking for Geeks (Jeff Potter)
Reviewed by The Perfect Pantry (who we so enjoy!)
Cooking for Geeks is more about how you approach cooking, and the suggested approach is with a bit of science in one hand, and a sense of adventure in the other. Along with the recipes, the book is packed with nuggets of information you'll be so glad to know. Perfect for beginning cooks to restaurant chefs, teachers, parents, and, of course, your slightly geeky friends.
NOTE from The Savvy Host - don't miss the companion website - www.cookingforgeeks.com!


Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work (H. Alexander Talbot and Aki Kamozawa)
Reviewed by Amazon - and listed as one of their BEST Books of the Month, December 2010
The husband-and-wife culinary team...use chemistry, biology, and a host of creative cooking techniques to produce the uniquely delicious recipes found in Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work. Building their book around the science of food preparation, Kamozawa and Talbot cleverly explain why quickly freezing fruits and vegetables best preserves their texture, which woods produce the most flavorful smoke, and why folding dough, rather than kneading it, is the key to making easy artisan bread. The recipes encompass the traditional and the exotic--from Roast Chicken and Macaroni and Cheese, to Grilled Potato Ice Cream and Red Cabbage Kimchi Cracklings. Prefacing every section with a fascinating look at the science behind the scenes, Kamozawa and Talbot's thoughtful and tantalizing book allows foodies, chefs, and home cooks of all skill levels to cook with intelligence and confidence.

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To stay savvy, we're always on the lookout for interesting new cooking references and recipe sources that make entertaining exceptional for others - 
please share your favorites!