White House Chef: Eleven Years, Two Presidents, One Kitchen Reviews
May 22, 2011 by admin
Filed under french food cookbooks
White House Chef: Eleven Years, Two Presidents, One Kitchen
- ISBN13: 9780471798422
- Condition: Nеw
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided οn mοѕt orders. Bυу wіth Confidence! Millions οf books sold!
“An engaging book аbουt life аt thе Executive Mansion. . . . Hillary Clinton hаd charged thіѕ fiercely competitive, meticulously organized chef wіth bringing ‘whаt’s best аbουt American food, wine, аnd entertaining tο thе White House.’ Hіѕ sophisticated contemporary food wаѕ generally considered ѕοmе οf thе best еνеr served thеrе.”
–Marian Burros, Nеw York TimesWhite House ChefJoin Walter Scheib аѕ hе serves up a taste–іn ѕtοrіеѕ аnd recipes–οf hіѕ eleven years аѕ White House chef under Pr
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Thе Art οf Simple Food: Notes, Lessons, аnd Recipes frοm a Dеlісіουѕ Revolution
- ISBN13: 9780307336798
- Condition: Nеw
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided οn mοѕt orders. Bυу wіth Confidence! Millions οf books sold!
Perhaps more responsible thаn anyone fοr thе revolution іn thе way wе eat, cook, аnd thіnk аbουt food, Alice Waters hаѕ “single-handedly chang[ed] thе American palate” according tο thе Nеw York Times. Hеr simple bυt inventive dishes focus οn a passion fοr flavor аnd a reverence fοr locally produced, seasonal foods.
Wіth аn essential repertoire οf timeless, approachable recipes chosen tο enhance аnd showcase grеаt ingredients, Thе Art οf Simple Food іѕ аn indispensable resource fοr hom
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Great food…..Great Read.,
Walter Scheib’s White House Chef is a fascinating and compelling memoir of the inner workings of the White House kitchen and what it takes to be the Executive Chef of the House. After reading the book, I was greatly encouraged that this was not yet another tabloid infused penning of the lives of high profile people. It reads as a forthright account about Chef Scheib’s personal interactions with the First Families and his kitchen family in both daily events and even the life-harrowing event of 911. The Chef’s retelling of what it was like to be in the White House during September 11 is not to be missed.
In addition to reading the book, I thought it was important to experience the Chef’s cuisine. As a professional cook, I sought out to test the recipes in my kitchen and see if they actually work. Both the Cream of Celery Root Soup and the Thai-Spiced Sweet Potato Soup with Gingered Bok Choy were absolutely fabulous. The Cream of Celery Root Soup could easily be adapted for Vegans (by the omission of cream) and still taste great. The last dish I cooked was the Curried Chicken with Basmati. It is an incredibly aromatic dish that is both satisfying and flavorful. I did have to tweak the seasonings and the directions because I increased the proportion size quite a bit. In fact, I used the recipe for a catering. I simply replaced the whole chicken with chicken breasts. The dish was gone in no time and received some very positive reviews.
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|My mentor – I’m so proud of him!,
As the Camp David Executive Chef for three years (standard military tour) I am thrilled to see my boss with such a wonderful book. He has done a beautiful job with it! The recipes are WOW and the story is REAL.
I wish there had been dozens of pages of color food photographs but the photos enclosed of people and story is more than enough to get FIVE STARS! Walter is a wonderful and loving person always interested in doing right and well. A great leader and realistic manager of peace and productivity.
The book as was written by Mr. Friedman is interesting and electryfing to read. It seems like everyone involved did a super good job of teamwork. Typical for normal people doing extra-ordinary results! As a cookbook with awesome recipes – enjoy! As a storybook with fascinating anecdotes – enjoy!
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|Deserves three “Michelin” stars for story and writing style!,
A cookbook and a fascinating read all in one! I haven’t taken the time to try any of the recipes yet because I simply couldn’t put the book down. The anecdotes are lively, informative, touching, and never pompous in spite of the formal setting in which the events took place. The recipes are mouth-watering and several of the dishes seem easy to prepare. Highly recommended.
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|“Cooking 101″ from the mother of modern cooking,
It’s hard to write a review of a cookbook that you’ve only had for two days– you have to actually try the recipes to know if they will work. (I have several beautiful cookbooks by famous chefs that omit important directions, or give wrong quantities of food.) However, I felt strongly enough about this book that I wanted to write an early review.
For those of you who don’t know, Alice Waters’s restaurant, Chez Panisse, is probably the most important American restaurant in the past forty years. Waters pioneered the use of high quality, local ingredients. The restaurant itself is delightful; they’ve served some of the best food I’ve ever eaten. In the Bay area, where I live, farmers and artisans at local markets often proudly claim that their food is served at her restaurant.
Waters begins the book by extolling her philosophy: buy local, high quality ingredients, and cook them simply. (Of course, simple for a professional chef is different than simple for a home chef. I consider 6 ingredients to be pretty complicated, especially if they are all fresh ingredients.) She then proceeds to give very explicit directions on how to cook things: roasts, vegetables, baked goods, reminiscent of the explicit directions given by Julia Child in Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume One, or by Maida Heatter in Maida Heatter’S Book Of Great Desserts. Finally, she gives lists of recipes for many dishes.
What makes her recipes unique are the variations that she provides for each recipe. Here’s one simple example: for a chard frittata, she recommends substituting other greens, such as collards, rapini, or stinging nettles (I have alway wondered what to do with stinging nettles). Or, in a recipe for pancakes, she says to add one cup of whole grain flours, telling you to mix multiple grains including spelt, wheat, corn, or whatever else you feel like adding. (She does note that you need to use a minimum amount of whole wheat flour for the gluten to bind it all together.) I’ve seen other books that tried to teach you how to vary recipes (for example, Cookwise: The Secrets of Cooking Revealed), but this one does a very good job of explaining where you should improvise and where you should not. Most importantly, this book gives you a real feeling of why each dish is great, and really captures the soul of each recipe. I’ve never seen another cookbook that had this much discussion of each recipe.
This is a very good book about food. It’s similar to other introductory cookbooks like The New Basics Cookbook, or The New Best Recipe: All-New Edition with 1,000 Recipes, but I think Alice Waters does a much better job explaining how to cook. (For example, I like the two pages she devotes to pan-frying pork chops. That recipe, incidentally, has four ingredients: chops, oil, salt, pepper.) She is not as good a writer as, say, Jeffrey Steingarden (author of The Man Who Ate Everything), but I don’t expect her to be. (This is more of a cookbook than a book of essays.) Honestly, I have dozens of books that cover the same set of recipes as this book, but I have no other book that makes me want to cook every recipe. I would recommend this book to anyone who cares seriously about food.
[Update on 8/1/2008. I've now tried a number of recipes from this book, including the short ribs, apricot jam, many of the salads, pork chops, and sauerkraut. Every recipe I've tied has worked, and most of them have been very straightforward. This has become my "desert island" cookbook; it's the first place I turn when I don't know how to make something. I strongly recommend this book to anyone, experienced or not.]
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|This Is It!,
I looked forward to this book with eager anticipation. I was not disappointed. I have followed Alice Waters’ life and career for more than 20 years and have always looked to her for inspiration. I have all of her other books, and while “Pat’s Biscotti” from her first book, The Chez Panisse Menu Cookbook, has been a staple from my kitchen, this new collection far outshines the rest.
I have been cooking exclusively from this book for the past two weeks. Everything, absolutely everything I have made has been stellar! First, there was the minestrone, which included homemade chicken stock and beans cooked from scratch. I have made both for years, but was never really satisfied, and more recently have relied on boxed broths and canned beans. No longer. The chicken stock was not over-powered by too many vegetables as recommended in other recipes, the beans were tender and held together, and they were seasoned to perfection with Alice’s direction to taste and salt along the way. This resulted in a minstrone that was as near to perfection as I have ever tasted. I added kale to mine, which added great color.
As I write this review, I am eating my lunch, which is the Polenta Torta, which I made two days ago. It is still as fabulous as it was then. First, Alice directs us to cook the polenta for one hour – yes, one hour. I thought to myself, oh, I don’t need to do that; 30 minutes will suffice. I had the time, so I let the polenta cook quietly on the back burner for the entire hour. What a difference! Unbelievable taste and consistency! I layered this goodness with the Simple Tomato Sauce and added a layer of sauteed mushrooms and a separate layer of sauteed zucchini. This is comfort food at its best!
In addition, I’ve made the scones – light, sweet, but not cloying; the Bean Gratin, which I served alongside plain ploenta – great taste and texture combination; and the peach crisp – a juxtaposition of texture, with the soft peaches and raspberries contrasted with the crunchy topping (I used slivered almonds, which I chopped and toasted in a dry skillet. I also added the zest of an orange – an Ina Garten trick.)
Tonight, I can’t wait to get home to cook the Braised Chicken Legs with Tomato and Garlic. I’ve been cooking avidly and passionately for a long time, and I haven’t been this inspired by a single cookbook for a while. It’s great to get the spark back. Thank you, Alice.
I’ve eaten in the Chez Panisse Cafe and Cafe Fanny (the breakfast bar) every time I get to Berkely. Someday, I will get to eat Downstairs. Until then, I’ll just have to be content with this most treasured tome.
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|Our generation’s finest cookbook,
Nothing more to say: in every generation there exists one memorable cookbook behind which all others pale in comparison. In the early 60s, it was Mastering the Art of French Cooking; in the late 70s, it was Silver Palate. It’s always been The Joy of Cooking, and Jean Anderson’s Doubleday Cookbook. But for this generation, tired of overwrought recipes created by celeb TV chefs and meant for the restaurant kitchen, The Art of Simple Food is a brilliant instant classic packed with recipes that are as close to perfection as I’ve seen. This is a keeper that will endure for years and years.
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