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Anna & Kristina's Grocery Bag Season 2 Cookbook Reviews

• Posted By: Anna & Kristina

In season 2 of our show Anna & Kristina’s Grocery Bag, currently broadcasting on W Network (check your local listings), we continue testing cookbooks, kitchen tools and food stuffs. Find out which cookbooks and gadgets get the A&K Stamp of Approval.

Cookbook List: Season 2

The Best Light Recipe By Cook’s Illustrated In this cookbook, the editors claim they have done the impossible: made tasty low-fat versions of high-fat recipes like cheesecake, Caesar salad, and Fettuccine Alfredo. Does it sound too good to be true? We find out! Read our review Test items: Celebrity Non-stick Skillets Cooking Spray

 

Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan Marcella Hazan is an award winning cookbook author and widely considered a leading influence of Italian cuisine in North America. This cookbook has almost 500 recipes and is allegedly able to turn any literate being into an Italian cook. We’re up for that, so we tested it on our show to find out if it’s true. Read our review Test items: Pasta Makers  Olive Oil

 

The French Laundry Cookbook By Thomas Keller and Deborah Jones The French Laundry Restaurant in Napa Valley is considered by many as one of the best restaurants in North America. Owner and chef, Thomas Keller, has put some of his favourite recipes into The French Laundry Cookbook. We find out if typical home chefs like us can pull off these meticulous and involved 4-star recipes. Read our review Test items: Wooden Cutting Boards Apples

 

Campground Cookery By Brenda K. Kulibert First published 19 years ago, this fourth edition of Campground Cookery is not just about roasting hotdogs and marshmallows. With over 270 recipes, this book promises to take fine cuisine into the outdoors. We find out if this cookbook can make a couple of city girls like us into gourmet campfire chefs. Read our review Test items: Knife Handles  Pie Filling

 

Rick Bayless Mexican Kitchen By Rick Bayless Rick Bayless has two of the highest-rated Mexican restaurants in all of North America, and is also the host of a long-running TV series. Filled with translations of authentic Mexican dishes, Mexican Kitchen starts with 15 different sauces Bayless calls the cornerstones of Mexican dishes. We find out how easy, or hard, it is to Mexican-ize our cooking skills. Read our review Test items: Electric Griddles Chili Peppers

 

Nigella Express: Good Food Fast By Nigella Lawson Called the Queen of Food Porn because of her flirtatious way of presenting things, Nigella Lawson has written four cookbooks that have sold over three million copies around the world. In Nigella Express, she promises fast, comforting and tasty food that is good enough to serve at a dinner party. We find out if this cookbook delivers on that promise. Read our review Test items: Kitchen Scales Granola Bars

 

Deceptively Delicious By Jessica Seinfeld Mother of three, Jessica Seinfeld has packed this cookbook with kid-friendly recipes meant to help parents who struggle to feed their kids nutritious and balanced meals. We test this cookbook to find out whether her recipes, filled with hidden veggies, can pass a taste test of a group of picky young eaters. Read our review Test items: Blenders  Butter Substitutes

 

Oprah Magazine Cookbook By Editors of Oprah Magazine From the editors of O Magazine comes this 175-recipe collection that promises something to satisfy everyone. From simple treats to luxurious yet economical meals to comfort food, this cookbook has some lofty goals, and we couldn't resist putting it to the A&K test. Read our review Test items: Pepper Mills Chicken Stock

 

Joy of Cooking (75th Anniversary Edition) By Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, and Ethan Becker Selected by The New York Public Library as one of the 150 most important and influential books of the twentieth century, Joy of Cooking has taught tens of millions of people to cook, fed and delighted millions beyond that, answered countless kitchen and food questions, and averted many a cooking crisis. So it should be a breeze for us to accomplish our cook day menu in our test kitchen, right? Read our review Test items: Vegetable Peelers Salt

 

Thai Food By David Thompson Australian restaurateur David Thompson`s comprehensive cookbook discusses robustly-flavoured Thai ingredients and the sophisticated, subtle elegance into which they transform during cooking. With hundreds of recipes that celebrate Thailand`s history and culture, this cookbook promises meals that are straightforward and workable, with a little practice and preparation. Read our review Test items: Pineapple Corers Canned Coconut Milk

 

Garlic, Garlic, Garlic By Linda and Fred Griffith From the authors of another stinky favourite Onions, Onions, Onions, this cookbook promises over 200 exceptional garlic-infused recipes, as well as lore and health information about this pungent relative of the lily. Read our review Test items: Garlic Gadgets Garlic

 

Jewish Home Cooking By Arthur Schwartz A radio and TV show host, Arthur Schwartz has collected hundreds of traditional Jewish recipes, from appetizers like gefilte fish to classics like cholent and blintzes. His recipe instructions are brief, however. Possibly a little too brief for the inexperienced chef? We find out. Read our review Test items: Backyard Smokers Pickles

 

Vegetarian Meals By the Editors of Good Housekeeping This cookbook promises a diverse collection of meatless dishes, from soups, stews, dinners, lunches, salads, and more, all balanced, nourishing, and tasty enough to please the whole family. Read our review Test items: Fruit & Veggie Washes Goat Cheese

 

Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, with Recipes By Jennifer McLagan Duck fat. Caul fat. Leaf lard. Bacon. Ghee. Suet. Schmaltz. Cracklings. These days, fat is a bad word, but author Jennifer McLagan is on a mission to convince people that it's actually good. We don't think it will take much convincing for us! Read our review Test items: Deep Fry Thermometers Butter

 

The Best of the Best and More By The Ladies of the Best of Bridge A consistent highlight of their decade-old bridge group, "The Ladies" decided to write a cookbook about the food they prepared and shared together. "The Best of Bridge" went on to become one of the most successful brands in Canadian publishing. This "Best of" volume promises, well, the best of the series. We find out if it deals up the goods. Read our review Test items: Can Openers Cabbage

 

The Cake Bible By Rose L. Beranbaum From the woman who wrote her master's thesis on the effects of sifting on the quality of yellow cake, The Cake Bible is a scientific exploration behind the melting chocolate, preheating ovens, the merits of sifting (or not), and more. With very precisely detailed instructions, we test our skills and the book on cake-baking, flowers, and fondant -- for a wedding cake no less! Read our review Test items: Rolling Pins Food Colouring

 

Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics By Ina Garten Back to basics sounds easy, doesn't it? This book promises fabulous flavour from simple recipes. Even the Contessa admits that basic can be boring. Ina talks about drawing out the maximum flavour and creating elegant and delicious meals without too much fuss. But can these simple recipes really be fabulous as promised? Read our review Test items: Cocktail Shakers Bacon

 

Entertaining with Booze By Ryan Jennings and David Steele This cookbook is all about theme parties based on holidays, special events, and of course, booze. And every recipe contains alcohol! Is this really the essential party handbook it promises to be? Read our review Test items: Wine Preservation Techniques

 

The Flexitarian Table By Peter Berley With most modern families comprised of vegetarians, meat eaters, and picky eaters too, cooking a meal can be a tricky ordeal. Throw some company into the mix and you'll drive the chef crazy! This cookbook promises simple meals to satisfy vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike. Well, we know how the last vegetarian cookbook went over with us two definite non-vegetarians. So how will this one fare? Read our review Test items: Dutch Ovens  Tofu

 

Small Bites By Jennifer Joyce Forget chips and dip! This book full of hors d’oeuvres could be the ticket for impressive bite-sized appetizers...or it could be a lot of fiddly work for a bunch of glamorously-named mini meals. Jennifer Joyce promises the perfect recipes for unfussy and exceptional dishes, whether you're hosting a casual cocktail party or a sophisticated soiree. We'll just see about that! Read our review Test items: Juicers Cured Ham (Prosciutto vs. Serrano)

 

The Chinese Kitchen By Eileen Yin-Fei Lo Weighing in at over 400 pages, this cookbook is jam-packed full of traditional Chinese recipes and it also has lots of information on the historical importance of food to the Chinese. We find out if this cookbook can teach a couple of westerners to cook like an authentic Chinese chef. Read our review Test items: Chopsticks Green Tea

 

Alinea By Grant Achatz When we say "molecular gastronomy" and "hypermodern", do you say "what?" With over 600 recipes (and 600 luxurious photos to accompany them), will this cookbook win us over, or push us over the edge? Read our review Test items: Vacuum Sealers Bison

 

Gourmet Magazine By The Editors of Gourmet Magazine Cooking magazines can be an enticing alternative to a book, especially when you’re standing at the checkout counter looking at those appetizing cover shots. We test a few monthly issues of Gourmet Magazine to see if it can deliver on its promise: to continually offer something new to readers and produce gourmet results. All those slick glossy beautiful photographs can make many drool over the magazine. But are its recipes beyond armchair chefs like us? (Featuring recipes from the April 2008-March 2009 issues.) Read our review  Test items: Baking Sheets

 

A Cowboy in the Kitchen By John Westerdahl, Robb Walsh, and Dick Patrick An haute take on one of America's most traditional cuisines, this cookbook full of Texas Ranch recipes isn't just about ribs and beans. A Cowboy in the Kitchen promises American cooking at its kick-off-your-boots-and-get-down-to-business greatest. Can it live up to those claims in the A&K Cookbook Test? Read our review Test items: Knife Sharpeners Rib Eye Steak

 

A Good Catch By Jill Lambert A collection of more than 70 recipes from Canada’s top chefs, A Good Catch has recipes for everything from wild salmon to octopus. Author Jill Lambert created the cookbook after finding out many of her favourite fish species to cook with were on the Ocean Wise “avoid” list. The cookbook’s main message is about choosing local, fresh, and, most importantly, sustainable seafood. But will the recipes featuring geoduck and raw oysters get the best of us? Read our review Test items: Oysters

 

Chef Daniel Boulud: Cooking in New York City By Daniel Boulud Both a cookbook and a celebration of a chef and his restaurant, Daniel Boulud's Cooking in New York City promises easy but impressive recipes. But are they easy enough that we can impress the author himself? In the end, we have to tell the truth about what we think when it comes to using this cookbook, even if we have to tell the author, one of the most renowned chefs of our time, right to his face! Read our review Test items: Hobby Greenhouses Dijon Mustard

 

 

Related Links

• Anna & Kristina's Grocery Bag Season 1 Cookbook Reviews 
• About Anna & Kristina's Grocery Bag
  

Flowers for season 2 provided by:
Balconi Floral Design Studio

 

 

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