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Whistle Stopper - The Art of Simple Food: Notes, Lessons, and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution
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List Price: $35.00
Our Price: $19.99
Your Save: $ 15.01 ( 43% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Clarkson Potter
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 641.5
EAN: 9780307336798
ISBN: 0307336794
Label: Clarkson Potter
Manufacturer: Clarkson Potter
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 416
Publication Date: 2007-10-02
Publisher: Clarkson Potter
Release Date: 2007-10-02
Studio: Clarkson Potter
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: deceptively simple, the recipes are gems
Comment: I flipped through the pages of this cookbook 3 or 4 times at the bookstore before I was even interested in cooking from it. When you browse the book, it looks so boring--all these recipes that you've cooked already, though not Alice Waters' version. But once I tried a few recipes, I was hooked. These are simple little gems, many of them easy, but they are so well thought-out and perfectly balanced in their flavors. It's really a foundational book for the Chez Panisse style of cooking.
This is not a chatty, entertaining book. You have to sit with it and read slowly to imagine how the recipes will turn out. But if you do, you'll probably notice how Alice Waters has given most of these standard recipes a new twist--her take on a classic recipe, or an old favorite recipe. When I did this, that's when I remembered that before Waters became famous for her politics of sustainable, organic food, she caught the world's attention with her great food.
And I mean great food. When I made the Linguine with Clams, that old warhorse, it was the best version of this dish I had ever tasted. And how many cornbread recipes have I made in my life? Waters' version may be the best I've ever tried. A dull sounding recipe, like Baked Sliced Onions, was a revelation. The onions cooked up chewy and sweet, so delicious. And when I made her ridiculously simple recipe for Marinated Beet Salad, I wondered why anyone would want to eat beets any other way. So far I've cooked over 20 recipes from this book, and I've been pleased with all of them.
As with all Chez Panisse recipes, the quality of the ingredients is key. You'll have to invest in excellent meat and produce, plus the accoutrements of high-quality olive oil, fresh herbs and spices, and the like. Because many recipes are so pared down and simple, every ingredient matters--you taste it all.
Before I bought my book on Amazon, I borrowed the book from my public library, xeroxed a couple recipes, and cooked them. I recommend doing this if you can, because this book will not appeal to everyone. Some people will think it's too easy (the recipes are DECEPTIVELY simple.) But I think the book is remarkable. For a home cook, this cookbook is probably Alice Waters' best ever.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Basics for Everyone
Comment: Alice Waters combines her famed cooking skills with the ability to write clearly for both beginning and more advanced cooks. The organization of each chapter and the sample dishes to prepare will enable you to gain skill and confidence in your cooking ability. Her book gave me the confidence to try something new on guests - without fear of failure.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Whatever...
Comment: I really enjoyed Chez Panisse Fruit. So much so that I have asked my husband for it for my birthday. When I came across this book at the library, I got it out in high anticipation. Having read the reviews and having been so happy with the Fruit book, I can barely describe how disappointing this book is. First of all, Alice really needs to stop being so damn self congratulatory. I should have taken the title "Recipes from a Delicious Revolution" more seriously and realized that mostly the chatty comments are her saying how great she and her restaurant is.
Am I wrong here or is local food pretty much what everyone ate before refrigerated trucks. So Basically she went back to cooking the way people cooked prior to WWII. Congratulations, how innovative.
The book lacks the charm of her Fruit book. There are only small paragraphs at the beginning of each section and not enough comments. I really liked how she would talk about the different fruit or the different recipe. I wish she had done that with this book.
Also, the lack of pictures is also a major pet peeve for me. I didn't try any of the recipes. They just didn't inspire me. You want a good book on how to cook food simply, get something by the folks at Cook's Illustrated.
Customer Rating:
Summary: TOO Simple
Comment: I think the average cookbook reader/cook has really moved beyond these very basic techniques and recipes. It might be a better purchase for someone just starting out. None of the recipes moved me to try them--indeed, it felt as if I'd already done some variation on most of them.
Customer Rating:
Summary: New and different ideas for cooking
Comment: I heard about this book in our local newspaper. I don't usually read cook books, but this one is really interesting and readable like a good novel. She describes many ways to use natural ingredients. I haven't cooked with this book yet, but it is good reading.
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Editorial Reviews:
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Do we really need more recipes for beef stew, polenta, and ratatouille? If they're the work of famed restaurateur and "food activist" Alice Waters, undoubtedly. In The Art of Simple Food, Waters offers 200-plus recipes for these and other simple but savory dishes, like Spicy Cauliflower Soup, Fava Bean Purée, and Braised Chicken Legs, as well as dessert formulas for the likes of Nectarine and Blueberry Crisp and Tangerine Ice. In addition, readers learn (or become reacquainted with) the Waters mantra: eat locally and sustainably; eat seasonally; shop at farmers markets. These are the rules by which she approaches food and cooking, and hopes we will too. Organized largely by techniques, the book is a kind of primer, designed to free readers from recipe reliance. Some readers may look askance at advice that they search out sources for locally produced food, for example, given the everyday exigencies of shopping and getting meals on the table. Yet it is precisely the need to "remake" our relationship to food that, Waters contends, determines the ultimate success of all our cooking and dining, not to mention our health and that of the planet. This relatively small book has a large message, and good everyday recipes to back it up. --Arthur Boehm
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