Caprial's Bistro is one of my favorite restaurants in Portland. I also love her on her tv show and have learned a lot by watching her. For instance, I am indebted to her for fixing my pie crust -- I needed to use more water, as I learned from one show.
Too bad, then, that Cooking With Caprial: American Bistro Fair doesn't really do much for me. The recipes, like the items on Caprial's bistro menu, are deceptively simple. But the things I make never taste as good as they do at her restaurant. Of course, I'm not a world-class chef; she is. She must have secret ways (yes, called "talent") that makes things taste super yummy.
I am glad to have this one in my cookbook library, but I really do not use it very often.
The Best Cookbook I ever read was Pat Conroys' cookbook. The stories between recipes were great and the recipes were drool worthy.
ReplyDeleteWell, some things just taste better when other people make them. Salad, for one.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, you are making pie crust from scratch??? I bow to you, with my Pillsbury box in hand.
Rod -- I didn't know Conroy has a cookbook. I'm going to go investigate. Thanks for the tip.
ReplyDeleteJG -- I do make pie crust from scratch, which is why we don't eat pie very often at my house. :) But after years of trial and error, I have reached the point where the crust comes out right. Part of it was finding a Mexican butcher that sells lard (the lard to butter ratio is key), and the other part was learning from Caprial's cooking show to use enough water.
Darn! My friend just told me that Caprial's Bistro closed just a couple of months ago. Too bad. It was a gem.
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