Customer Reviews

Tyler Florence's Real Kitchen: An indespensible guide for anybody who likes to cook

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Tyler Florence' cookbook belongs to the genus 'celebrity chef cookbook', species 'not associated with cuisine or restaurant'. The primary object of this genre is to provide good recipies in an entertaining manner from a wide variety of cuisines. This book generally succeeds on all these counts, with some reservations.
Please be careful to note that this book is not and does not claim to be a teaching text. One will probably not get the full benefit from this book if they are a complete novice. This being true, the brief sections at the beginning of the book on kitchenware and pantry items are probably misleading. Whole books are devoted to these subjects. Tyler cannot hope to cover these subjects effectively in a few pages.
While there are some recipes in this book which are fairly simple, there are also many which are quite complicated. Take, for example, the Philly Cheese Steak. Pat's Steaks in South Philly can knock out a cheese steak in 10 to 15 minutes. Tyler's recipe will take an amateur chef at least 90 minutes, requiring the preparation of two different sauces. For best results it also requires a specific Italian Ciabatta bread and Italian Fontina cheese. The other side of the coin is that the results are spectacular. Pay special attention to the time from shopping bag to dinner plate given for each recipe. He's not kidding, and almost all recipes need an hour or more. This feature a major plus and fits the primary purpose of the book as a source for amateur cooks to find new and interesting recipes to entertain or have fun with.
Also, I would take the statements about simple ingredients with a grain of salt. I have yet to find a local source for Kaffir lime leaves and fresh or whole dried lemongrass and I am skeptical about availability of some other ingredients if one does not have access to a good oriental market. A corollary to this situation is the fact that these are not budget recipes. They are also not specifically aimed at being low fat, low calorie, or high healthy. This is not to say they are bad for you. I will wager that almost all of these recipes will be healthier for you than any typical fare from a fast food outlet. Just don't bother trying to count calories. Have fun with the recipes and eat small portions if you are watching your weight.
Tyler dutifully subscribes to the 'fresh ingredients' mantra, to which I have no argument, as long as you are aware of the implications and alternatives. There is no question that you really should use fresh herbs in certain cases such as parsley, basil, cilantro, and dill. Dried alternatives are simply a pale shadow of the fresh herb and at least three out of four of these herbs are reletively inexpensive and available the year around. Tyler, however, specifies fresh herbs for practically everything, including thyme, rosemary, and marjoram. These fresh herbs are expensive and not always available. Also, the dried forms of these herbs are as good or sometimes even better than their fresh counterparts, especially when ground and added at the beginning of cooking. Just be sure when using dried herbs and spices, that you buy the whole form and grind or mash the material at the last minute. The most dramatic example of this is nutmeg.
I find the style of recipe writing to be competent, with two concerns. First, Tyler seems to have subscribed to the Jamie Oliver school of measuring, where the amounts of many ingredients, especially things like cooking oils and seasonings are not stated exactly. This is fine for an individual's style of cooking and does reflect the fact that many ingredients are added to taste, but this is not good communication! One person's '1 count of peanut oil' may be three times larger than the next person's. Just as one always gives a test for doneness as well as giving an expected cooking time, I would much prefer the old teaspoons and tablespoons to 'glugs and counts'. Second, I have found lapses in the proper sequencing of steps. There are times when Tyler gets things out of order, even though much of his text makes a great effort to sequence carefully, there are some slip ups. Otherwise, the recipe writing is very chatty, filled with tips on technique to get the best results, however, the background material which makes this type of book fun to read is a little thin.
I would recommend this book to an amateur chef who buys the occasional cookbook to make their meals more interesting and who is not afraid of complicated, time-consuming preparations and who is not adverse to some pricy ingredients. Note that there is some overlap to Tyler's TV shows, but not so much that it makes one feel the book has nothing to offer.

At one point in the book, Tyler says "Weekend brunch makes me smile. Hanging out in sweatpants and a T-shirt, with a cup of strong coffee and a plate of perfect scrambled eggs, is an absolute slice of heaven" -- I couldn't have said it better myself. The book, although some recipes you would have to make a special trip to the grocery store for, has never let me down... EVER. I highly recommend the Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze for Saturday Brunch if you ever buy the book -- the recipe alone makes the book worthwhile.

The subtitle of "An indispensable guide for anybody who likes to cook" explains it perfectly.

I bought this book a couple of months ago, and I've already tried some of the recipes. I don't recommend this book for people who like "plain-no-taste" food, as these recipes are complex in flavors + special spices.
The only problem with the book is that there are not that many vegetarian options, so if you need to please your vegetarian friends... try a different one.

I live for food and after doing about a dozen of the recipies in this book I can see that Tyler Florence does too. I have yet to find a horrible or mediocre recipe. It seems nowadays that any famous chef can throw together a cook book with bad recipies or ones that seem to be missing something and still sell a ridicious amount of books. This book, along with the recipies in it, was very thought out. At this point it is my number one cook book and would recomend it to anyone who enjoys food and takes pride in putting something on the table that will make taste buds water and make anyone who eats the recipes in it to beg for more.

This is a great book. The recipes are very easy but at the same time a few are unique. They are well presented and written. I normally do not use recipes (use books for inspiration and write my own) but have actually followed several from this book and WOW! The flavour is fantastic (especially the Thai chicken with lemongrass, lime leaves, coconut milk, etc.). The Moroccan chicken is absolutely fantastic.

I would recommend this book to beginners as it is easy to follow and to intermediates and advanced cooks for great ideas.

I had the pleaure of meeting Tyler in Miami when he was filming his Ultimate Paella episode with the Three Guys from Miami. (Three guys from Miami Cook Cuban -- ISBN: 158685433X) His recipes are inventive, easy to prepare, and oh so delicious. Unlike so many cookbooks, this one is well written and interesting to read. I highly recommend this book!

tyler is amazing
a master of his craft
a beautiful and wonder full book from a true gentleman
as you can see i love tyler florence.
he can cook in my kitchen everyday

My sister and I absolutely ADORE our hottie, Tyler Florence. But, when I bought this book, I realized it wasn't at all like his great show. Many recipes contained hard-to-find ingredients and were too difficult to make. With kids, I would never make more than half of the recipes in the book. I was really disappointed, but won't stop watching his show. We still love him and will look forward to trying his new book coming out next year.

Having had the pleasure of working with Tyler Florence on an episode of Tyler's Ultimate (It was the Ultimate Paella episode with the Three Guys from Miami.) I can tell you that Tyler is a really nice guy. He's not pretentious like so many of the professional chefs we run into in our own travels!

Tyler is laid back and has a great sense of humor. I personally recommend this, his first cookbook! The book is full of great recipes that are fun and easy to prepare!

In fact, Tyler gave us some very good advice as we worked on our own cookbook, "Three Guys from Miami Cook Cuban" ISBN 158685433X from Gibbs Smith Publisher. The Three Guys from Miami look forward to working with Tyler again on an upcoming episode!

This cookbook is a real find. It offers original, fresh recipes with simple clear directions. I have made about half of the meals so far and everything has been delic. The thing I like the best is the variety he offers, big dinners or small, party food. It is a perfect gift and a worthy addition to any cookery collection.