Synopses & Reviews
Where can you turn to find the best recipes of the past year? According to reviewers for the New York Times, People, Food & Wine, House Beautiful, the Wall Street Journal, The Today Show,and many others, the answer is The Best American Recipes. Having this volume at your disposal is like subscribing to every food magazine in the country, owning every newly released cookbook, and having a trusted food authority to test every single recipe.
For this year's volume, the most wide-ranging and exciting yet, series editors Fran McCullough and Molly Stevens tested their way through more than a thousand choices, including * magazines (from Gourmet to Real Simple to Newsweek) * cookbooks (from The Sopranos Cookbook to The Convent Cook) * newsletters (from restaurant publications to winery handouts) * Web sites (from About.com to the California Walnut Commission site) * food packages (from the back of a crcme fraîche package to a tag on a lemon squeezer) * and even insider e-mails from one food professional to another.
What's new in this year's edition? In a word, simplicity. The Best American Recipes 2003-2004 gives you 147 fabulously easy recipes. There's a foolproof pasta from the world-famous French chef Alain Ducasse; a first-rate barbecue sauce from Lady Bird Johnson; a terrific breakfast from the cookbook that won this year's top award; bar cookies that caused a sensation at a New York cocktail party (made from Rice Krispies, no less); and the hands-down favorite cheesecake of The West Wing's Martin Sheen. In addition, you'll find all the answers to your holiday needs, from a foolproof juicy turkey that's the specialty of a New York restaurateur to desserts for the festive table.
Also in The Best American Recipes are the top ten food trends of the year and a list of the ten best-of-the-best recipes published this year.
Review
'\"(McCullough and Stevens) have assembled another enticing collection.\"'
Review
'\"one of my favorites last year and tops my list again for its excellent selection presented clearly...This book promises to become as dog-eared as the last edition because the recipes are relatively easy but yield such memorable dishes.\"-USA TODAY'
Review
"Several things make the latest edition in this series so much fun. First, there's the witty introduction by restaurant critic Richman...then there is the colrful mix of starters, soups, salads, entrees and dessert...the flavors are bold and cooking style is 'seriously simple.' Finally, there are the wonderfully helpful and very enthusiastic 'cook's notes' and 'tips'...McCullough and Stevens have given readers a nice taste of the year's recipes." -Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
"(McCullough and Stevens) have assembled another enticing collection." Atlanta Journal Constitution
"Can the best get better? Yes, indeed! This year's top picks are even more appealing than those that came before. The authors have an uncanny knack for finding doable recipes that really catch your cooking fancy. I'm so glad this annual event has become a perennial." Bookpage
"one of my favorites last year and tops my list again for its excellent selection presented clearly...This book promises to become as dog-eared as the last edition because the recipes are relatively easy but yield such memorable dishes."-USA TODAY USA Today
About the Author
Fran McCullough has been an editor at Harper and Row, Dial Press, and Bantam, where she discovered such major cookbook authors as Deborah Madison, Diana Kennedy, Paula Wolfert, Martha Rose Shulman, and Colman Andrews. She is a coauthor of Great Food Without Fuss, which won a James Beard Award, and the author of the best-selling Low-Carb Cookbook, The Good Fat Cookbook, and Living Low-Carb.
Table of Contents
contents
Foreword vi
Introduction xi
Our Top Ten Recipes xiii
The Year in Food xv
Starters 1
Soups 23
Salads 47
Breakfast and Brunch 71
Main Dishes 88
Side Dishes 154
Breads 195
Desserts 216
Drinks 268
Credits 277
Index 287