Secrets of the Best Chefs: Professional Recipes, Cooking Techniques & Expert Tips from Top American Cooks | Perfect for Home Chefs & Culinary Enthusiasts

I love this cookbook, not just for its recipes, but also for its stories. The first thing you should know is that this is not a traditional cookbook. The author interviewed and cooked beside several dozen chefs and then devoted a chapter to each in this book. Each chapter has the same format: the author tells you about his experience cooking with the chef, then lists a few of the chef's tips and tricks, and then provides three to five of the chef's recipes. As a result, the level of difficulty for each recipe varies greatly and the recipes are not organized by course or ingredient. This is something you should keep in mind if you are looking for (or would prefer) a more traditional cookbook. That being said, I loved the format, and this is one of the few cookbooks I have read cover to cover.I really enjoyed each chef's perspective on cooking, and found a number of the tips and tricks were extremely helpful (although as one reviewer commented, some are better than others). One fascinating chef tip: "If you don't have time to make dumpling dough, you can take white sandwich bread, cut off the crusts, flatten it with a rolling pin, stuff it, pinch it, and cook it the same way." I have no idea how successful this would be, but I find the idea kind of fascinating.The one recipe I've tried so far from the book was awesome: Seared Duck Breasts with Garam Masala and Grapes. This was such a fantastic recipe that it may itself have justified the cost of the book-- simple enough for a weeknight dinner, but elegant enough for a dinner party. Other promising recipes include Peter Dale's Shrimp and Polenta with Chorizo, Nancy Silverton's Mozzarella in Panna with Pesto and Slow-Roasted Tomatoes, and Gina DePalma's Lentil Soup with Sausage, Chard, and Garlic.If you love reading about cooking and don't mind reading a few recipes that may be beyond the average home cook's grasp (as well as a bunch that are very accessible), then this could be a great addition to your cookbook collection.