I just got a nice new "best of" book from Fine Cooking
This collection in particular includes lots of approachable dishes. I think most home cooks would feel comfortable cooking them as is or improvising to suit what they find in the fridge or at the market. It is by no means a vegetarian collection, but there are tons of great salads and easily adaptable entrees and side dishes. A quick scan certainly whets my appetite. How about Spanish Braised Spinach with Chickpeas? Savory Tomato, Corn and Cheese Tart? Apricots with Moscato and Thyme Syrup?
If I had one suggestion for the authors, I'd love to see the chapters arranged by season or even month rather than by course (the standard soup, salad and so on out to dessert approach). When so many of us are focused on eating what is fresh and local, that style would make it a lot easier to hone in on recipes that are immediately useful.
Altogether I think this is a very good collection, full of recipes you will enjoy, especially with the warm weather entertaining season fast approach.
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Great review. Thanks for the info!
Yeah I agree about the arrangement part of it. I havent read the book but thats what you usually see in a lot of these cookbooks. I guess another way would be to sort them regionally. A lot of people think of a meal as “do I want to have chinese or mexican or Italian tonight?” I guess a ‘regional’ arrangement would make it convenient for the user to get a recipe quickly.
Thanks for the review
I completely agree about the arrangement of recipes in Cooking Fresh… I think I would like to see all cookbooks go for the seasonal approach as that’s how I want to cook (althoguh a few cookbooks that I have that are more cooking- from-the-garden-based have chapters based on ingredient which is great too).
Fine Cooking is my favorite food magazine lately because everything I have made from there is reliably great (and like you mentioned, not too fussy). They focus on fresh ingredients, which I love, and delivery good flavor!
I just received the most recent issue of Fine Cooking, and although I loved the cover recipe (which was a side note right in the beginning instead of a whole story on cooking with the bounty of spring), I wish they would not center so much on meat though. I guess I used to not mind when I started my subscription about 9-10 years ago but my eating has changed over those years and I wish there was a version that focused on vegetables, whole grains, and the like. I’ve purchased Vegetarian Times a few times and it was okay but I love the reliability and flavor I’ve come to expect from Fine Cooking (plus I don’t really need the politics of it all – sometimes I just want pure, unadulterated good food! ;-D). Is there a magazine that you could recommend that delivers the tried-and-true of Fine Cooking with vegetarian meals? You’ve likely been at this longer than I have so I’m interested in hearing if there’s anything I’m missing. I’ve recently canceled all of my food magazine subscription except for Fine Cooking and am trying to cook more from my vegetarian cookbooks since I can’t find what I’m looking for in the magazines that are the shelves in my grocery store and book store around here. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
@lisa – Thanks for the thoughtful comment! I pretty much agree with your
analysis of the various food magazines. I haven’t looked at Vegetarian Times
in awhile but the few times I have, the recipes didn’t really grab me. I
find that Fine Cooking, Food & Wine, Cooks Illustrated & Art Culinaire all
offer pieces of a perspective I’m looking for, and some recipes and
techniques that are either vegetarian or adaptable, but I have to do a lot
of the figuring out for myself. I guess that is part of why I write this
blog, to share the food that I really love to eat.