The Kitchen Sessions with Charlie Trotter: [A Cookbook]

I gave this as a gift from a relative's wish list, so I can't say specifically much about the product - sorry. But, my sister was so thrilled with the cookbook, and she is a Cordon Bleu graduate, so she knows her cooking and her foods. She said it was very well-written, easy to follow and had very interesting recipes in it. Also, she said that Charlie Trotter is one of her favorite chefs. I highly recommend this book!

There is no question that this book, and any of chef Trotter's books, are for the medium to advanced cook. I found these recipes to be fairly easy to follow, but require preparation. My advice is to read the recipe fully first. I have prepared at least a dozen of these recipes and never once has the dish turned out wrong. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to create advanced dishes.

On January 7, 2000, I reviewed this book and wrote that I had trouble with two of the recipes that I tried. I decided to give this book another try, and had great success with the following recipes, since they were more straightforward and didn't require flipping to the back of the book for sub recipes. The grilled swordfish and somen noodle salad was delicious, mussels and linguini in garlic-mussel broth was excellent, roasted pork tenderloin with red cabbage-- yummy, and poached salmon with noodles, fennel and apple outstanding! I'm giving this book a revised rating of four stars and am trotting off to my bookstore to check out some of Charlie Trotter's other cookbooks.

The Kitchen Sessions With Charlie Trotter was given to me as a gift. The initial thumb through brought chills down my spine-I can never do this! Instead of reading the recipes(first-as I usually do), I actually read the forward and statements by Trotter. There, I found the lessons! Trotter's perspective on food challenge you to use the book as a blueprint, not a tablet from on high. This was the first cookbook I've read that has a wide angle focus on the joy and fun of food.

The Kitchen Series with Charlie Trotter is an inspirational book. The photos are glossy, beautiful, textural, and alluring. The recipes are innovative and they work. I made one of the more elaborate recipes (Chicken Dumplings with a Stir-Fry of Shiitake Mushrooms, Water Chestnuts, and Mung Bean Sprouts in a Ginger-Soy-Hijiki Sauce) for a group of eight. It took a lot of time to prepare, but the reward came when my guests practically fainted from the gorgeous flavors.Another recipe met with stunning reviews from my guests (Pumpkin Soup with Pheasant Breast and Fried Ginger), although I did serve it as a main course, and not as a soup.Recipes are broken out into groups: Soup; Salad; Lobster; Scallop; Catfish; Salmon; Tuna; Pasta; Poultry; Pork; Duck; Beef; Dessert; including a Pantry section explaining how to make herb oils and other sauces used throughout the book.I also purchased the Kitchen Sessions video set and became glued to the TV when I watched them. The videos are exciting and Chef Trotter's enthusiasm will send you off into your own kitchen to try it for yourself.