[.uk] The Kitchen Sessions With Charlie Trotter (ISBN 0898159970)

Amazon.com Review:
In The Kitchen Sessions, chef and restaurateur Charlie Trotter makes his unique way with food available to home cooks in dishes somewhat less esoteric than those in his other cookbooks. Trotter compares his cooking with jazz improvisation. His Portobello Mushroom Vinaigrette, for example, bursts from the Salsify and Pickled Mushroom Salad like a high, clear note that lingers, then falls back into other flavors in this riff on salad. Like good jazz, his dishes offer original contrasts and harmonies. As with music, they speak to the intellect and the spirit as well as the senses. This book offers more recipes than the TV version of The Kitchen Sessions. Here, you get six dishes under each topic of the 13-show series, while Trotter demonstrated only two on camera, in episodes dedicated to soups, salads, salmon, pasta, pork, poultry, and more. A simple choice would be Indian Curry-Braised Catfish. It involves a caramelized sauté of onions, ginger, apple, pepper, and Indian spices, all combined with an Apricot Curry sauce. The fish is simmered in this mixture and served over basmati rice. Cooks with a reasonable degree of skill can follow even the most involved recipes, because the individual steps and ingredients required are familiar. With some patience, it's easy enough to re-create Trotter's Bing Cherry Brown Sundae with Bittersweet Chocolate-Kona Coffee Sauce, baking the cherry-studded brownies and the ultrarich ice cream, simmering the three sauces, and whipping fresh cream with cinnamon, then poaching fresh cherries in one of the sauces. Timewise, it's a project, but oh, the results! Color photos and pencil sketches help you understand and construct many dishes. A glossary helps you understand culinary terms like chiffonade--herbs or greens cut into fine ribbons. All that's missing is the fun of seeing Trotter come out and perform a handstand, as he sometimes does at his Chicago restaurant. Cook from this book, and your lucky guests will feel that's what you have done for them. --Dana Jacobi

Revising my review:
On January 7, 2000, I reviewed this book and wrote that I had trouble with two of the recipes that I tried. I decided to give this book another try, and had great success with the following recipes, since they were more straightforward and didn't require flipping to the back of the book for sub recipes. The grilled swordfish and somen noodle salad was delicious, mussels and linguini in garlic-mussel broth was excellent, roasted pork tenderloin with red cabbage-- yummy, and poached salmon with noodles, fennel and apple outstanding! I'm giving this book a revised rating of four stars and am trotting off to my bookstore to check out some of Charlie Trotter's other cookbooks.

Great book for the intuitive cook:
This is the first book that I have read about Charlie Trotter and his style, but I will say this, I will definetly go to his resturant in Chicago for what I understand is a remarkable experience. The book is valuable, both for his analogies to jazz sessions and the need for improvisation in cooking just as in music, to emphasizing assembly and presentation of various receipes. I bought this book in Napa Valley, and while on a flight home to the East Coast, I was busily writing notes in the book(it is good for that, both the cover that gives it the feel of a workbook in a sense), no pork would also go with that, perhaps beef there instead of duck- the book inspires ideas, and for someone like myself who is getting into gourmet cooking, Trotter's book makes cooking fun and enjoyable. His analogy with jazz music, has inspired me to have a set of music that will be played at my various "dinner sessions". Highly recommend!

Excellent introduction to Trotter-style cooking:
There is no question that this book, and any of chef Trotter's books, are for the medium to advanced cook. I found these recipes to be fairly easy to follow, but require preparation. My advice is to read the recipe fully first. I have prepared at least a dozen of these recipes and never once has the dish turned out wrong. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to create advanced dishes.

Cook like a master:
After purchasing his other books I was relieved to finally have an opportunity to actually cook something of his without improvising on some key ingredient. The book is short onepictures which makes it tough to visualize the end result but that is only a minor flaw. Every cook should have this book in their library.

Gave as a Gift - They Loved It!!!! Highly Recommend:
I gave this as a gift from a relative's wish list, so I can't say specifically much about the product - sorry. But, my sister was so thrilled with the cookbook, and she is a Cordon Bleu graduate, so she knows her cooking and her foods. She said it was very well-written, easy to follow and had very interesting recipes in it. Also, she said that Charlie Trotter is one of her favorite chefs. I highly recommend this book!