Alex Guarnaschelli

I love this cookbook! Guarnaschelli really knows how to put a dish together, and this cookbook has a great selection of soups (my favorite), main dishes, desserts, and sides- every one that I tried I thoroughly enjoyed. There was also a solid selection of flavors ranging from spicier chicken dishes to hearty root vegetable soups. Plus, most of them were fairly easy and there were not a lot of difficult to find ingredients. I know I'm gonna be making quite a few of these recipes again this autumn!… (meer)

More entertaining than useful, though I'm not the best judge of the utility of recipes (given that I spend more time watching shows about chefs than actually cooking). I do agree that many of the suggestions rely upon a good deal of butter and other less than healthy ingredients -- to be expected, maybe, because Guarnaschelli is all about taste and flavor. I also occasionally didn't understand some of the instructions, such as the one to start your water boiling and then add salt until it tastes like mild seawater. I do like that her personality (funny and passionate, especially when it comes to food) shines through in the anecdotes about her culinary background and her experiences working for the likes of Guy Savoy and Daniel Boulud.… (meer)

Are there words more likely to awaken nostalgia than 'comfort food'? Alex Guarnaschelli of Food Network fame tackles both nostalgia and comfort food recipes in her semi-memoir 'Old-School Comfort Food: The Way I Learned to Cook.'

And in this instance the emphasis is on 'old-school.' The recipes that Guarnaschelli provides, although easy to follow and often simple to prepare, aren't dishes that usually come to mind when I think 'comfort' food. Her rich culinary heritage comes to the fore as she recounts life with two foodie parents and a culinary career that began at the lower rungs of the kitchen ladder and continues to expand.

Most of those browsing 'Old-School Comfort Food' have no doubt that Guarnaschelli can cook and that she has an engaging on-air personality. So it's interesting to learn how a top chef works her way through the highly competitive world of food. The personal essays are a pleasant introduction to each recipe - they're just long enough to be intriguing and short enough to be charming.

But the question at issue for many potential purchasers is will this book be useful in my kitchen? And unfortunately for me, the answer is not as much as I'd hoped. Like it or not, calories do count, and many of these recipes are highly caloric. But that's one of the appeals of comfort foods, isn't it? Nevertheless, don't plan to cook many of these most intriguing recipes unless there's someone in your life that can add mayo, sour cream, blue cheese, and bacon to 'Chilled Iceberg Wedge with Blue Cheese and Leeks.'
Or who can scoff up the delectable 'Evil Cheese Biscuits' made with provolone and cheddar cheeses and heavy cream. Both recipes are excellent and easy to replicate in the home kitchen. And it's up to the each cook to decide for herself how many laps equal one serving since no calorie counts are given. To those who can cook and eat without the dreaded calorie count; enjoy!

The chef plays fair - she promised 'old school comfort' food and shared memories of a life with food and that's what she provides. But potential buyers may want to browse through the contents to see if these are recipes they can use. Others who want to learn a bit more about the pleasant Iron Chef will surely enjoy her offering.

(A review copy was provided by the publisher.)… (meer)