BethNH's Profile

From: , NH USA

Joined: December 16th, 2010

About me: I've been cooking and baking since I was a child and collecting cookbooks almost that long. Years ago, I lost my entire collection in a flood and I've been slowly building it back up. I cook for my husband and three sons who are not very adventurous eaters. We're on the go a lot with sports and school schedules. I love to bake and my boys and their friends appreciate all manner of baked goods.

Favorite cookbook: King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion


Latest review:

April 1st, 2017

Ginger Pork Meatballs with Cilantro and Fish Sauce from Dinner: Changing the Game

These meatballs and the dipping sauce were to die for delicious. Although there was a lot of chopping the recipe was easy to follow. Everyone loved it and we will definitely make this again. read more >


recipe reviews (265)
book reviews (8)
useful review votes (161)

BethNH's Reviews


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Cookbook Reviews

8 books reviewed. Showing 1 to 8Sort by: Rating | Title

The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion: The Essential Cookie Cookbook

By King Arthur Flour
Countryman Press - 2004

June 30th, 2011

When I lived in Vermont there was a country store whose motto was, "If we ain't got it, you don't need it." That could be the motto of The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion.

This book has recipes for every cookie and bar type cookie imaginable. The folks at King Arthur know a lot about baking as they run a baking center at their flagship store in Vermont.

The recipes in the beginning of the book for things like chocolate chip, sugar, oatmeal and peanut butter come with many variations. Every recipe comes with an introductory paragraph as well as nutritional information.

There are only a few pages of photographs in the middle of the book but there are numerous drawings sprinkled throughout.

I have tried numerous recipes in this book and they all produce spectacular results. Simply put, if you're looking for a cookie recipe and this book doesn't have it, you don't need it.

The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, Heavy-Duty Revised Edition

By America's Test Kitchen, Daniel J. Van Ackere, Carl Tremblay
America's Test Kitchen - 2006

July 25th, 2011

Simply put, I think this is an excellent all-round general cookbook. There's nothing terribly fancy or gourmet here but the recipes from America's Test Kitchen are always tested thoroughly and rarely disappoint.

This has become my go to cookbook when I'm looking for every day family type fare. I can always find something that my entire family will eat and the ingredients are not difficult to find.

The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook: 2,000 Recipes from 20 Years of America's Most Trusted Cooking Magazine

By Editors at Cook's Illustrated Magazine
Cook's Illustrated - 2011

April 8th, 2012

Truly the best of Cook's Illustrated all in one hardbound volume.

Like the earlier reviewer, I love the fact that there is minimal explanation before each recipe - just the basics without all the long windedness that CI is known for.

Great directions with all necessary steps illustrated. Simply written recipes with clear step by step directions. A recipe for almost anything you could possibly need.

Our entire Easter dinner was made from this book this year - scalloped potatoes, spiral ham, roasted asparagus, spice cake with cream cheese frosting - and everything was delicious and the recipes had no surprises.

The Chinese Takeout Cookbook: Quick and Easy Dishes to Prepare at Home

By Diana Kuan
Ballantine Books - 2012

February 11th, 2013

You get exactly what the title says - recipes for Chinese takeout. The book doesn't claim to give recipes for authentic Chinese food; it's aim is for those of us who enjoy the food we can get from our local Chinese restaurant.

After a quick trip to a local Asian market to stock up on some basic Chinese condiments like oyster sauce, black vinegar, soy sauce, chiles, etc. the recipes are easy to make. The directions are very clear and easy to follow.

My entire family has enjoyed these recipes and we look forward to trying many more.

Icebox Pies

By Lauren Chattman
Harvard Common Press - 2002

July 26th, 2011

This great little book has recipes for crusts, pies and sauces. Each pie recipe comes with suggestions for which crusts to use. The crusts themselves are generally made from crushed cookies or crackers. The pies require either refrigeration or freezing.

The recipe for sugar cone crust is exceptionally good and a great match for ice cream pies.

King Arthur Flour

By
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May 8th, 2012

The King Arthur Flour website has everything any baker could possibly need. There are recipes for just about anything a baker could dream of - all for free with no subscription required.

All of the recipes have been exhaustively tested and there are user reviews posted also. Many recipes include "Tips from Bakers" with ideas on how to make the recipe successfully or how to make substitutions.

Wonderful photography! Great search engine!

My only quibble with the website, and indeed many of the recipes that King Arthur is currently coming out with, is that they often call for specialty ingredients such as pizza dough enhancer that only they carry through their catalog. It doesn't happen all the time but it's often enough to be annoying.

Fat Witch Brownies: Brownies, Blondies, and Bars from New York's Legendary Fat Witch Bakery

By Patricia Helding
Rodale Books - 2010

July 27th, 2011

I really wanted to love this book. Baking brownies and bars is so much faster than baking cookies. I love being able to mix everything up, put it into a pan, baking the pan, and having dessert.

Unfortunately, none of the recipes I've tried from this book have been better than average. The baking times are definitely off. The results are never spectacular. I'm not tempted to try more recipes from this book when I believe I could probably get better recipes from various other sources.

Mastering the Grill: The Owner's Manual for Outdoor Cooking

By Andrew Schloss, David Joachim, Alison Miksch
Chronicle Books - 2007

July 16th, 2011 (edited 16th July 2011)

This is a terrible cookbook. I bought it from Amazon without checking it out first. The layout of the book is terrible. The print is very small and difficult to read. Recipes flow into one another. There is too much information crammed into small spaces.