Chez Panisse cookbooks

[Jesse A]

For those of you who own any of the Chez Panisse cookbooks, how do they compare? I'm especially interested in the CP Cafe and CP Vegetables books -- is either (or both) worth the $30+ price tag? Do the recipes rely so heavily on the ingredients that I'd need to shop like Alice Waters? I know that a great restaurant does not necessarily a great cookbook make, so I'd appreciate any comments or reviews on these books.

Jesse

[jgm]

You may be able to check these out from your local public library. If it doesn't have them, they can acquire them through Interlibrary Loan. Quite a few people bring the library's copy of a desired cookbook home for a couple of weeks so they can have time to go through it and see what they think.

[Jesse A]

You may be able to check these out from your local public library.  If it doesn't have them, they can acquire them through Interlibrary Loan.  Quite a few people bring the library's copy of a desired cookbook home for a couple of weeks so they can have time to go through it and see what they think.

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That's a great idea. I just checked and my library has the full collection (maybe because I'm in Oakland). Now, if I could just find that library card...

[ludja]

jgm's suggestion is a good one; if at all possible I do this before buying a new cookbook b/c I am pretty picky about adding new cookbooks to my collection.

I have all the CP books and like them alot. Taken together they are almost a tutorial in fresh, simpler California-Mediterranean Cooking. If you consider these you may also want to look at Judy Rodger's "Zuni Cafe Cookbook".

How they compare will likely be up to your personal taste and cooking experience, but the CP Vegetable book is very good IMO. Lots of good background information on each vegetable covered and many good ideas for using them. I like the CP Cafe Cookbook as well and have cooked a bunch of things out of it. Depending on what you like to cook, you *might* find some of the dishes esoteric in terms of ingredients and it does not have a huge number of recipes. The cookbook has a nice listing of all the recipes up front so even if you just peruse the book in a bookstore you should quickly get an idea if it's your cup of tea.

If I had to rate which of the books I actually use the most often it would be the CP Vegetables, CP Desserts (Lindsey Shere) and CP Cooking (Paul Bertoli). The CP Desserts book is particulaly unique I think among dessert books--it has a heavy emphasis on rather simple desserts--mousses, ice creams, tarts using all kinds of wonderful fruits, nuts and chocolate. CP cooking has more of an Italian bent and is just filled with wonderful recipes. (Again, all the recipes are listed up front in this book).

Living in Oakland you surely won't have much trouble in sourcing most of the ingredients, especially the fruits and vegetables, used in all the cookbooks.

edited to add: Welcome to egullet Jesse A.

Edited March 30, 2005 by ludja (log)

[russ parsons]

i agree with ludja, though it really seems to me the paul bertolli book (Chez Panisse Cooking) is very much a one-off in the series--much more essay-driven. my two favorite books in the series are lindsey shere's desserts book (actually, one of my favorite books in any series) and the cafe book.

[carswell]

I like them all. The first volume is not nearly as cutting-edge as it once was, but that just proves how influential Waters and company have been. The volume I use the least is Chez Panisse Pasta, Pizza and Calzone. These days, the two I consult the most often are Vegetables and Fruits. I think that's because they lend themselves to exploiting the explosion in produce that has occurred in recent years — "OK, now that I've got some cardoons, what do I do with 'em?" — and because so many of the recipes are for simple, weekday dinner kinds of dishes. The Café book strikes me as the least innovative of the lot, by which I mean the one I've learned the least from, the one more filled with ideas you can find elsewhere. But that's not to knock it: like the others, it contains many delicious, mostly straightforward recipes and lots of useful related information. And like the others, it's a pleasure to read and behold.

[edsel]

When I saw the title of this thread, I took a mental inventory. Which C.P. books do I have?

Chez Panisse Cooking

Chez Panisse Desserts

I can't speak to the other books in the series, but both of these are "keepers".

The Bertolli book has one of my all-time go-to recipes: Steamed and Roasted Duck (p. 268 in the 1988 edition - hopefully it's in the later edition linked above).

About a year ago I bought some blood oranges at my local organic/whole foods (lower case) market. I had to leave town on business on short notice (typical scenario ) and wanted to find a way to use the oranges to best advantage. I searched the net and scoured my cook books. Lindsey Shere came through for me. A simple and easy recipe for blood orange curd. Absolutely heavenly.

[chardgirl]

I very much like Chez Panisse Vegetables, and the others in the Chez Panisse family. I just looked on ABE books (www.abebooks.com) and they have copies for 10ish dollars plus S/H

cg

ps the library idea is a very good one: I try this often. I've avoided several purchases I didn't need or want, and found a few gems by browsing the cookbooks too.

Edited March 31, 2005 by chardgirl (log)

[Osnav]

I found all of these cookbooks at deep discounted prices. I am pretty sure I paid less than half the cover price.

[chuck]

All of the Chez Panisse books are of high quality and I've found that the recipes really work the way they are supposed to. I especially like the 'Cafe Cookbook' and the 'Desserts' book. They have been very useful over the years.

The main difference between these and the majority of newer books out there is the lack of pictures. Sometimes the best thing about cookbooks is the inspiration drawn from a glossy picture of a delicious looking dish. The Chez Panisse books are for people who can think ahead and know that using great ingredients in a simple recipe cooked perfectly is the best place to start.

One thing that has been great about these books over the years is trying to find some of the ingredients outside of California. I'm sure many grocery stores in the Bay Area have Meyer lemons, for instance, but the idea of someone in the midwest wanting to try a recipe so badly that they order some to try is something that isn't inspired by a lot of cookbooks. And imagine getting a case of 'em in Omaha in January!

I think that at least some of these are available in paperback, which may be a bit cheaper than hardback. Of course, then you need one for the kitchen and one for the bookshelf.