Stuff every cook should know

'Wanting to cook is one of the best impulses that can wash over a person, but the path from desire to dinner is rarely a straight line'. As a novice cook - as I also used to be not that far away in time - I appreciated every single tip and idea, starting from how to cut an avocado or how to choose the best knife for meat. This book would not help you with the avocado part, but you will find plenty of advice about kitchen ware - knives included - cooking oils or how to conquer your fear of baking - seriously, is this issue properly addressed by serious therapists...if not, it should. You can use it as a 'crash course in fundamental home cooking' and even right now I consider myself on a higher cooking level - and no more under the spell of panic attacks when it comes to baking, I still discovered some inspiration. The naked truth is: 'every accomplished cook has many tales of recipes gone awry. Making mistakes is an integral part of the process of learning how to cook'.

There are many ideas that I liked and agreed with in this book. For instance, that you should not worry if your kitchen is small. How to keep in mind to check when looking for a cookbook if the recipes were tested before. Or when to use regular oil or virgin oil. How to choose the right meat or to properly master a weekly meal planning. Besides the cooking part, the aspects of cooking/kitchen management are brilliant too. One will learn about how to set up the home bar or to organise a party or how to plan your food budget without giving up quality.

Overall, a very useful book that you need to read it if you care about your kitchen knowledge. Strongly recommended!

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Adventures of Breakfast in America

I've read this food memoir as an adventure book. To be more precise, as a thriller of living and building the American dream in the beautiful Paris. Craig Carlson is not Henry Miller or Hemingway, but an American in love with French culture, as much as to call his pet Balzac, working hard throughout the intricated ways of the French bureaucracy for showing to the (French) world that America is more than hamburgers. By the way, finding a decent hamburger in Europe is not an easy search.

'Pancakes in Paris', to be released at the beginning of September, is especially a book about following your passion and making your dream come true, even with the price of a heart attack and a prison experience. It is also Craig's personal journey of finding himself and the love of his life.

Written with the same passion followed in pursuing his dream, this memoir also does a great work of cultural diplomacy of showing to Europe a different America, with sometimes a different but more efficient work culture and habits, with rich food choices and its culture of resilience. 'Breakfast in America' did a pioneering work in Paris, nowadays sharing delicious slices of American dreams for over 10 years, becoming a 'cultural crossroad between countries'.

With a background in screenwriting and experience in working with Disney studios, Craig Carlson was able to learn on the way and work hard to win the trust and checks of potential investors, set up business plans and, most importantly, not give up in the front of the intricacies of the French legislation. 

The book has also a collection of recipes, but unfortunately for me, no pancake recipe. It means I am left with the one and only option to check 'Breakfast in America' as soon as I will land in Paris.

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher via NetGalley.com in exchange of an honest review