Cooking by Ingredient : The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to

The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America's Most Imaginative Chefs

Bought this book w/o a whole lot of information about it. Can't believe it -- I now have the resource I've been looking for --

I'm a cook with some years of experience, a huge cookbook collection, a list of classes taught by renowned experts and cookbook writers, and still I yearned for a reference that gave me the info on what goes with what (w/o me researching my whole library or classnotes. I guess I need "permissions" and this book gave it to me.

Tonight I made redfish (snapper in the book) with a crust of almonds, chives, parsley and dill (methodology learned in all those classes). Served w a favorite zuchinni recipe that included the "go-to" ingredients for snapper, and roasted potatoes with light sprinkling of rosemary and salt (again, a "go-to" herb for the main dish).

It wasn't overkill (my worry) -- it just plain worked and I did it w/o a single recipe. Cut my cooking time in half and raised my personal culinary "thermometer" by a ton of degrees.

If you cook, know methodology and are looking for a silent but knowledgeable help in the kitchen, buy this book. It's a gem!!!

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Baking : Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking

I have many bread baking books and was skeptical that this one would be any better or different. I expected either a catch in the "5 minutes", poor quality bread, or both. I made my first batch last week and was very impressed with both the ease and taste. You can really make the dough in just a few minutes and keep it in your fridge for use over the next 2 weeks. It was wonderful to be able to pull a chunk of the dough out of the container and have delicious bread (the last was more like a big roll) in just over an hour. I could make a loaf when I got home from work and serve it for dinner. There are many recipes included, but it also gave me a much more relaxed attitude toward the bread and I found myself making up my own additions by the time I was forming my second batch. I showed the book to a friend and rather than copy a few of the recipes, she decided to order the book herself because she said that everything looked good and it looked like stuff she would really make. Not many cookbooks earn that comment.

The book frequently calls for a pizza peel and baking stone. A set of the peel (or a suitable cutting board), stone (or an unglazed ceramic tile from Home Depot) and this book would make a great gift. In fact, I thought that I could cross several people off of my shopping list by buying the set or just the books for all. Unfortunately, it is already out of stock. Looks like I am not the only one who is impressed by it. I can't even give my book away and wait for a new copy because I spilled olive oil on it while making the sun dried tomato and Parmesan bread. By the way, it was delicious!

This is a great book for all cooking experience levels. The recipes are easy and the results impressive.

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Religious : The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming

The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming

God's love is unconditional is real that is the message. I loved the book. I would also recommend An Encounter With A Prophet for the same message

Henri Nouwen has a way of making us look into the places that we would rather not look. When we are drawn into this study of the Rembrant painting we find a darkness that leads us to an illumination of our own lives. In this book it is with great joy that we discover love and forgiveness as well as hope. This book is a must read for all Christians. In going to the place that I did not want to go I found the place that I needed to go. This is the best spiritual book that I have read in years. I wish we had published this book.

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Reference : The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain

The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain: A Course in Enhancing Creativity and Artistic Confidence

I made abstract art for two decades but it took this book, and a matching course I took at my local Ursuline College, to convince me that I could also learn realism. Today, I continue to improve in drawing recognizable people, a feat which used to be totally beyond me. This book shows you ways of tricking your brain into shifting sides so that you can "see" people and objects in the three dimensional world the way only a few "artistic" people otherwise seemed capable of seeing and then depicting.

I can't emphatize how good this book is. I used to consider myself absolutely useless at drawing. I barely managed to pass exams at art classes at school. Now I am drawing fairly decent portraits from almost everyone I know. The book focueses on seeing the things' real shapes and it is just this non rational, non mathematically based approach that makes it work. I used to have big problems with proportions and perspective, and Betty Edwards made me realise it's all a matter of looking at things with loving attention (and not attaching a name to the bit you are drawing). This book has made me realise I've lost many years of my life blocking myself as an artist. Drawing is a skill that everyone can learn. Do it with this book!

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Photography : The Digital Photography Book, Volume 3

The Digital Photography Book, Volume 3

I'm starting to *think* I know what I'm doing when it comes to photography. I took that as a sign that I should go back to basics and learn from ground zero. I know from previous experience that Scott Kelby writes really impressive books (his Lightroom book, for example, is awesome), and this continues the same tradition.

The problem with learning photography in general is that it's intimidating. Most books will describe esoteric theory, and that drives most people nuts. If I'm any representation of a normal photographer, I'll look at a photo and go "that's awesome - how did they do that?" and want a nice example without having to dive into theory and other things. I just want to take the best pics possible that I can with what I have.

The layout of the book is rather simple - like a cookbook. There's a great photo, and then a description of how that photo was taken. The strength of each example is that it's not only easy to follow, but it explains enough theory for you to understand concepts and apply that in other situations. Most books don't do that - they'll tend to lose you on specifics.

Kelby's books are written with the beginner in mind and would even reach into those with intermediate skills. I don't think that seasoned professionals would learn much from these books, but they're worth their weight in gold. The Digital Photography book series is what I recommend to those who are interested in doing more with their cameras and photos. Not all of us can be professional photographers, but we can make our images look better than they are now.

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