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Bluestem: The Cookbook

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Garrelts, Colby

312 pages, Hardcover

First published November 8, 2011

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About the author

Colby and Megan Garrelts met in the kitchen of Chicago's TRU, where they worked for chefs Rick Tramonto and Gale Gand. After working in kitchens in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, the couple returned to Colby's hometown of Kansas City to open Bluestem, a fine dining restaurant. Bluestem has garnered both local and national acclaim with multiple James Beard nominations. The Garreltses live in Leawood, Kansas, with their children and furry dependents.

Bonjwing Lee is a freelance food writer and photographer. He holds a degree in radio, television, and film from Northwestern University and a juris doctorate from the University of Michigan Law School. He lives in Kansas City."

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5 stars
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4 (22%)
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
198 reviews5 followers
July 18, 2011
Bluestem is a cookbook from a restaurant by the same name that is in Kansas City. I have never had the pleasure of visiting Kansas City, but if I ever find myself there I think that I would go out of my way to try them out.

The photos are of course lovely and make the food pop. I love that they lay the book out seasonally, since that is what truly makes the most sense when approaching cooking.

They even include a little wine section at the beginning of each season. Unfortunately, I really think that it would have worked better to have a little wine blurb at the bottom of each recipe instead of using it as the introduction to each section. I don't want to have to flip back for a reminder of what wine was suggested.

The recipes themselves are amazing, and some of them I would maybe attempt at home. The biggest problem with this cookbook is that the recipes weren't ones that I would whip up after a long day at work or even on a lazy Sunday. They are recipes that are meant for restaurant cooking or for caterers or maybe if you really wanted to impress a new boy/girl friend.

I think it's a very pretty book and I'm glad that I read it cover to cover, but in the end it wouldn't find a home on my cookbook shelf.

***1/2 = glad I read it, I enjoyed it

ARC provided by NetGalley
Profile Image for Claire.
1,364 reviews43 followers
August 23, 2011
Seasonal, fresh and original. Beautiful and unique dishes using the best ingredients possible. Simply presented. The conversational, personal style is engaging and helps diffuse any confusion that might accompany the unfamiliar ingredients or combination.
Besides wanting to get going in my own kitchen I now want to make a side trip to Kansas City next time I am in the midwest!
Inspiring fresh fare that sends me to the kitchen.
Profile Image for Elizabeth.
446 reviews4 followers
June 5, 2014
Beautiful book with beautiful pictures. They make me drool.

However - this is not a book for the home cook. The recipes are written in an understandable way, but the ingredients are atypical of what you would have in your home pantry: orange powder, blis elixir, speck, and lots of creme fraiche.

I wish I could eat the food, but I can't go buy ingredients like that just to try this cookbook!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews