Book Review: Entertaining at Home with America’s Top Chefs

 

This beautiful cookbook came out of the program Bringing it Home with  Laura McIntosh. After reading through it I am really, REALLY sorry I can’t get the show here in Montana. I know I would love it. So here is some info before I get to my review.You can visit Laura McIntosh’s webpage to see where and when the show airs.

Some background information:

Revolutionary in concept, Bringing it Home with Laura McIntosh shows television viewers how to take seasonal ingredients straight from the farm to the kitchen to create fresh and healthy meals for the whole family. Each week, lively host Laura McIntosh travels to different farms, vineyards and orchards to meet the people who are responsible for growing our abundant crops. She then brings them together with chefs who, right there at the farm, turn the bountiful harvest into fresh, healthy, gourmet meals, giving new meaning to “from the field to the table.”  The recipes are simple and easy to prepare and designed to enhance the food’s natural flavors.  Viewers learn the magic of freshness as they experience the food cycle and learn tips on selecting fresh, ripe produce at the market, pairing wine with a meal and incorporating healthy food into family cooking.

About Laura McIntosh:

As host and executive producer of Emmy-nominated cooking and travel program Bringing it Home with Laura McIntosh, the show’s namesake is living her dream.  Having grown up in the small farming town of Linden in Northern California as part of a close-knit, fifth-generation farming family, it was only natural that she developed a love of the soil and a passion for food and the farmers who grow it.  Today, Laura shares fun and easy ways to enjoy food at its peak of freshness and educates consumers about our global food heritage.  Her creative work and the success of the show have been recognized over the years with Emmy and James Beard nominations and Telly and Aurora awards.

My Opinion:

Oooh, boy! This is one B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L. cookbook. There is a stunning photo of almost every finished dish. Oh, and the recipes, the recipes; they go straight to my cook’s heart. They are not simple in some cases. They call for some challenging techniques but this is the kind of cookbook that I can sink my chef’s knife, CuisinArt and AllClad’s into and create meals that will be remembered. A lot of the dishes I want to try the most call for Spring/Summer ingredients; remember this is a farm to table focused show and therefore cookbook.  For example:  Pork Fillet with Sweet and Sour Cherry Sauce and Mashed Potatoes with Green Peas from Chef Laurence Jackson. Doesn’t that sound like a little slice of food heaven? As soon as cherries come into season that baby is going to be on my table.  But this is one I am going to try as soon as I get enough milk saved to make a batch of chevre:  Thompson Seedless Grapes with Cypress Gardens Chevre, Roasted Walnuts and Prosciutto – except I will substitute Happy Goats Chevre, heh heh. This recipe is from Chef Charles Paladin-Wayne. As soon as I make it I will show you the photos; doesn’t it sound yummy?

I know I am going to have lots of fun with this cookbook and you would too.

The book comes with a free DVD showing exclusive Chef videos. How cool is that?!

Disclosure:  I received a gratis copy of Entertaining At Home for review. Any opinions expressed are my honest opinions and were not impacted by the receipt of the free book. I received no monetary compensation for this post.