****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
So far I've made three recipes from the book and all have been outstanding. Cal Peternell brings out so much flavor in simple recipes and I'll be making more from this book in the near future. The braised chicken legs are the kind of comfort food my familiy and I love. The sauce has such depth of flavor without being fussy and it's good enough for company. I also made the Ragu and Butter Sage sauces for pasta and both were very satisfying.My criticism is regarding the format. The cookbook reads much like a novel with embedded recipes throughout which is interesting and somewhat entertaining, but when you're trying to follow a recipe, especially one that has many steps or one of the many variations (such as the original ragu, Bolognese), it is difficult to follow and some of the directions are unclear. There are no bulleted or numbered steps, which is fine if you're just reading the material, but when you're in the middle of cooking, it's hard to find your place and to follow. I found myself losing my place and re-reading the instructions multiple times during cooking. As I make these dishes more (and I plan to!), I'll have memorized more of the steps, but novice cooks might find the usability of the book to be an obstacle to the actual cooking.There are also only 4 meat recipes, which makes this book less of an everyday go-to. I'd love to try the braised duck legs, but my local grocery stores do not sell only duck legs. This, alog with some of the confusing instructions and difficult layout make me wonder if the recipes were reviewed and tested. However, if you are diligent and want to eat well at home, this book is worth the extra effort.
