Here's a 1st Edition/1st Printing (soft cover) of the VERY popular cookbook titled...
Kitchen Life : Real Food for Real Families--Even Yours!
By Art Smith. This cookbook is in lightly read condition with minimal wear to the covers from use and re-shelving. INSIDE, the pages are at least 99% free of any marks, stains or writing. (I couldn't find anything.)
Who better than Oprah's personal chef, Art Smith, to deliver an empowering cookbook? His Kitchen Life aims to "hand readers the keys to the cooking kingdom so that preparing a meal is never a chore, but is instead a pleasure."
To do so, he offers self-help and 130-plus recipes meant to fit the lives of the busy cooks with hungry families. The book's formula involves, for example, offering letters from "real people" whose kitchen distress Smith feels and then "relieves" via suggestions like "cooking at home takes a little planning but doesn't have to take much effort." But he also provides solid strategies and insights, notably in sections called "My Best Supermarket Tips" (know how produce is priced to avoid ever-creeping expense, he advises); "Eating Right" (for healthy eating, home portion control is basic); and "Different Ways of Cooking" (identify cooking methods like sautéing or roasting with which you're most comfortable). Smith also offers thoroughly useful recipes, such as Barbecued Ribs and Slaw Sandwiches; Tuna Casserole with Bow Ties, Mushrooms, and Parmesan; and Apple Cranberry Pudding, all scaled to what the average busy cook can deliver. His formulas will also help cooks to establish an everyday repertoire while encouraging more confident cooking to come. With color photos and sample menus to further assist everyday meal planning.
Smith's very best and most unusual suggestion is to keep a journal for menus, recipes, running shopping lists, and references to interesting cooking tidbits. While most of the audience for this book may be hard pressed to just bring their family together for a meal, let alone have the time to write things down, I really think this is a good idea, especially if it can be done on a laptop. Tying this into access to recipes from Internet sources creates a great synergy. The local newspaper simply cannot compete with the 50,000 recipes available from web sites such as foodnetwork.com and epicurious.com. Another good but uncommon suggestion is to simply label one's pantry shelves, so it is easier to see what you need and where your bottles and cans go when you get home from the grocery.
Until I saw the blurb in the `New York Times', I avoided Smith's books for the same reason I avoid books by Patty LaBelle, Al Roker, and Pat Conroy. I am sure these folks are all devoted foodies, but I prefer getting my expert advice from people who are culinary experts, not literary or TV celebrities. The fact is that Art Smith is a culinary expert who is actually paid to cook well and he has been doing it for quite a long time. So, there should be no surprise that he has a lot of very good ideas for a successful life in the kitchen.
This book does not cover everything, but it is the very best kitchen orientation I have seen for those who would like a basic road map for what to do in the kitchen.
REMEMBER----cookbooks are mailed via media rate mail to give you the best deal on shipping. The down side is that media rate mail can take up to three weeks for delivery!
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Thanks for reading all of this!
