Beat This! Cookbook

Love all the other 5-star-rating-reviews out there, for me, same same! This and Beat That are two cookbooks that you will want to read right through (and try every recipe) Hodgman is not only super funny, but she also seems to pipe up at exactly the right time during a recipe. You know, when you are asking yourself, "Hmmm, is it supposed to look like *that*??!!" Ann typically has a comment such as, "it's supposed to look like this..." Many of the techniques that she suggests in her recipes are ones that I have used again and again in my cooking without a book experiences. She just know how to tell it so right. Some of the recipes are pretty involved, and she always says so up front, so at least you will know what you're getting yourself into. Run, to buy this book and get cookin' I tell ya! Then you will just have to have Beat That! as well.

Every book that I have by this author is hilarious. These cookbooks you can sit around and read and enjoy. I have laughed out loud at the three cookbooks I have by this author. This cookbook is not full of low fat recipes. It doesn't claim to be the easiest recipes. It has the best of the best recipes. IF they are high in fat or take some time to prepare, this cookbook promises they are worth the effort. So far, I agree. Everything I have made out of these two (Beat This and Beat That) has been great. And I'd say most of the recipes are not time consuming, nor do they require exotic ingredients. Excellent. Enjoy.

Ann Hodgman, former humor writer extraordinaire for the sadly missed SPY MAGAZINE, has come back to an overjoyed audience with her "Beat This!" and "Beat That!" cookbooks. The titles refer to the gauntlet flung down by Hodgman, challenging any and all to come up with a better recipe for, say, corn chowder (she calls hers "milkish, but not milkoid"), pasta salad, oatmeal cookies, and so on.Some fun selections from Hodgman's kookily ruminative head notes on the recipes:[On Bacony Split Pea Soup] "I know we all need to eat lower on the food chain, and at my house we're trying. Still, there's no denying that any split pea soup tastes a thousand times better with a hefty dose of smoked meats. This recipe gives you double value--bacon AND a ham hock."[On Mrs. Westerman's Almond Pastry] "Where is Mrs. Westerman these days? When I was growing up, she was a friend of my mother's who made wonderful Christmas ornaments and also this wonderful almond pastry. In one cookbook I've seen, this recipe is called 'Spanish Breakfast Pastry.' I beg to differ! Mrs. Westerman is not Spanish!"The book's recipes are frankly and proudly eclectic, as is Hodgman's sense of humor. She has the gift of sounding as though she's sitting right next to you as you read--her conversational writing style is absolutely a hoot, and the recipes work. Every single one that I've tried has been a keeper, which is more than I can say for a lot of more uppity-crust cookbooks out there.

For those of us who like to lie in bed and read cookbooks like other people read novels, Ann Hodgman's superb "Beat This!" is a surefire winner. You will find yourself nudging your bed partner to read aloud the funny parts--which is most of the book (I can't think of any other cookbooks you'd want to read aloud from, with the exception of Hodgman's wonderful sequel, aptly entitled "Beat That!"). Hodgman has been launched from the late lamented SPY magazine to writing cookbooks and although her trajectory might seem a little strange, I think she has landed exactly where she should. I love this woman AND her cookbooks! The title of the book refers to Hodgman's challenge to readers to come up with better recipes than she provides herein. It's a real challenge, believe me--everything I've tried from both this cookbook AND the sequel has been wonderful.I can't finish this review without quoting at least briefly from Hodgman. The woman is a hoot:[On Mom-Style Chocolate Cake] "This cake is straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting, but it tastes even better than . . . uh . . . paint and canvas, I guess. Even for a nice traditional cake, the best mixing method can be found in Rose Levy Beranbaum's 'Cake Bible,' which is such a good book that I think the Gideons should put it in hotel rooms instead of the regular Bible."[on Perfect Fudge, if You're Lucky] "My problem has always been that 50% of the fudge I make turns out creamy and delicious, and 50% turns out like chips of flint."[On The Best Regular (Or I Guess I Should Say Classic) Apple Pie] "Remind me why people like apple pie so much? Well, partly because of the cinnamon, or at least that's why I like it. It took a McDonald's apple pie, of all things, to make me realize how important cinnamon is. (I'm saying 'of all things' to make it sound as though I never eat at McDonald's.)"Buy this book and cook and laugh--what a great combination!

I love this book. My mom got it for me years ago, and lately I've been bringing stuff I've baked into the office. I've now converted three co-workers, who each went out and bought this AND her second cookbook, "Beat That." I bought "One Bite Won't Kill You" (for moms of picky kids) for my sister-in-law for Christmas. She loves that.It's just the perfect cookbook to have when you're in the mood for something specific, and you want it to knock people's socks off: gingerbread, cornbread, chocolate chip cookies, brownies, etc etc. To own it is to love it!