CookSmart or Chinese Cuisine

CookSmart: Perfect Recipes for Every Day

Author: Pamela Anderson

Perfection has never been so convenient.
Pam Anderson's infallible renditions of favorite dishes have made her America's most trusted cook. In COOKSMART, she returns with can't-fail recipes for everyday meals we all love, from spaghetti and meatballs, oven-fried chicken, and fajitas to foods for special occasions like crab cakes and vegetable lasagna. Pam knows today's cooks are too busy to tolerate less than superb results. She has tested and retested every recipe dozens of times so each one works flawlessly in real cooking and entertaining situations.
Cooking smart is about cooking sensibly. It means reducing the time and effort that go into a dish while delivering every bit of the flavor. You'll find oven-cooked ribs as succulent as those barbecued all day over a fire, a voluptuous chocolate cake as easy as a boxed mix, and cinnamon buns as fragrant and pillowy as they are convenient.
Cooking smart also means creating dishes the whole family can enjoy, such as turkey burgers as juicy as the best all-beef burgers but much lower in fat and cholesterol, and a crisp and creamy Caesar salad that isn't made with raw eggs.
COOKSMART recipes eliminate the unnecessary steps and troublesome quirks that keep you from making your favorite dishes. You'll learn how to prepare a pot roast as juicy and tender as the old-fashioned kind in just ninety minutes. You won't need special equipment for the meals in this book. Every ingredient used can be found in your local supermarket.
In COOKSMART, you'll be able to choose from dozens of holiday standbys: fresh shrimp cocktail, stuffed mushrooms, beef tenderloin for a crowd, silky pumpkin pie, and perfect pecanpie. And you'll find just as many effortless family-pleasing meals to rely on during the week, such as chicken Parmesan and Pork Tenderloin with Curried Apple Crust, which comes with many flavor variations.
In every case, cooking smart means making a dish the very best it can be: a gazpacho chock full of summer-vegetable flavor, a pasta salad that -- for once! -- tastes as good as it looks, and a peach pie with a crisp crust and a fruity flavor that slices to perfection.
In COOKSMART, you'll not only get more than a hundred impeccable dishes that will become part of your cherished repertoire, but you'll acquire a wealth of culinary knowledge that you can apply to other recipes.

Publishers Weekly

Anderson (The Perfect Recipe; How to Cook Without a Book) brings her wide experience and easy style to this latest offering. She takes the recipes one step further, explaining the testing method of each, much in the style of Cook's Illustrated where she was the former executive editor. Highlighting such dishes as Oven-Fried Chicken That's as Good as Fried, 90-Minute Pot Roast with Rich Red Wine and Onion Gravy, and Pasta Salad, Anderson caters to cravings for comfort food. Once the principles of pasta salad have been explained, for example, a number of versions are put forward, from Greek-Style Pasta Salad with its creamy vinaigrette, through Pasta Salad with Smoked Salmon and Asparagus, to Asian-Style Pasta Salad with Chicken, Baby Corn and Snow Peas. The home cook will feel at ease with the recipes, which have been designed for simplicity; the more advanced cook, interested in the whys and hows, will be able to apply the principles learned to other areas of food preparation. By combining both audiences so successfully, Anderson has once again produced a winner. (May) Forecast: With copromotion in USA Weekend and the success of her previous books, there is every reason to think that this one will do as well. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

(cooksmart) is a book that you'll find yourself reaching for over and over.

Library Journal

Anderson's The Perfect Recipe presented foolproof recipes for classics from roasted turkey to strawberry shortcake. This time, she focuses especially on favorite family-style dishes, from cream of mushroom soup to spaghetti and meatballs to chicken and dumplings. Each master recipe (many include variations) is prefaced by an essay detailing the testing process that led to the final recipe ( la Cook's magazine, where Anderson was executive editor for many years); she notes that for Perfect Peach Pie, for example, she conducted 31 different tests of thickeners alone. There are also informative sidebars, as well as step-by-step illustrations of various techniques. Anderson's previous books have been popular, and she now writes a weekly column for USA Weekend, which has no doubt gained her new fans; for most collections. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

New interesting book: The Prince or The Secret Destiny of America

Chinese Cuisine: Szechwan Style

Author: Lee Hwa Lin

Characterized by more than one thousand flavors, the cooking of Szechwan Province is famous around the world. Favorites such as Kung Pao Chicken, and Crispy Smoked Duckling often accompany family warmth and friendly conversation. This cookbook features regional specialty recipes, basic ingredients, spices, sauces, and preparation methods.