The Bon Appétit Cookbook

by Barbara Fairchild, Bon Appétit Magazine

"You can always tell a Bon App?tit It's a sophisticated twist on a beloved classic, and it's easy to make...our goal is to give you the cumulative expertise of Bon App?tit, with more than 1,200 recipes that will be delicious, first time out."?Barbara Fairchild First launched in 1956, Bon App?tit is America?s favorite and most widely read food and entertaining magazine, with a circulation of 1.3 million. Now, for the first time, The Bon App?tit Cookbook brings together more than 1,200 of the magazine?s all-time best-loved recipes for every meal and occasion. The book is accessible and user-friendly -- just like the magazine -- and includes clear explanations and exclusive tips from the Bon App?tit test kitchen, along with 59 detailed illustrations of ingredients and techniques. The recipes have been skillfully selected to represent the very best of the magazine?s sophisticated, foolproof easy-to-make dishes that incorporate a variety of regional and international influences -- recipes that are delicious the first time out. From Cajun-Grilled Shrimp to Artichoke and Mushroom Lasagna to Hot and Sticky Apricot-Glazed Chicken to Molasses Chewies with Brown Sugar Glaze, there are dishes that will tempt every palate. Complete with a gorgeous 32-page color insert and a simple yet elegant design throughout, The Bon App?tit Cookbook is a must for those who truly love to make and enjoy great food.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Reference, Nonfiction, Canon

792 pages, Hardcover

First published August 28, 2006

About the author

Barbara Fairchild is a food journalist who was the editor-in-chief of Bon Appétit from 2000 until 2011.

Reviews

[Leigh]

This is one of the those cookbooks that you buy if you can only buy one cookbook. It's comprehensive, with clear illustrations, mouth watering photographs and lots and lots of recipes. It'll tell you what equipment you'll want to have in your kitchen, and how to do all sorts of interesting things, like prepare an artichoke and blanch vegetables. The one downside is this cookbook is 792 pages and that's a big, heavy cookbook. Some of the recipes call for more effort and slightly more sophisticated ingredients but there are the usual classics in here as well. If you already own a comprehensive cookbook like The Joy of Cooking, then you don't need this one. But if you like a good cookbook with lots of good ideas just because you like cookbooks, go ahead and make room for this one.

[Tess]

T'was a gift from my mom and one of my most referred to cookbooks, I have made several recipes from here that were fantastic, particularly the chicken with roasted lemons. Sometimes the ingredients can be a bit fancy, such as pomegranate molasses. These are not hard to find in my diverse neighborhood but do I really want to have all these ingredients I may only use once taking up precious space in my tiny kitchen? Nonetheless, I love this book, and it's not intimidating as far as difficulty of the recipes.

[Amy]

This is one of the best cookbooks I own. Every single thing I've made has turned out perfect and the recipes are great for entertaining. Try the Scalloped Potatoes with Goat Cheese and Herbs de Provence (p. 424) with the Roast Tenderloin of Beef with Mushroom Port Sauce (p. 281) Yum! If I had to take only one cookbook with me, this would be it.

[Caroline]

I loves this cookbook, I does. It's sometimes snotty, frequently involves prohibitively expensive ingredients, and still manages to remain true to the food...and not to the fads. That isn't to say that the new Bon Appetit gastronomic bible doesn't rely heavily on Asian fusion, pomegranates, and all things ginger, but the recipes are broad enough - and flexible enough - that almost any foodie could find dozens and dozens of fun new dishes to tickle their fancy.

That said, I don't recommend the cranberry, chocolate, and ginger trifle. It doesn't taste good. But that's the only recipe that's flunked for me, so far.

[Rachel Goodman]

I've never been disappointed in a recipe from this book. When I have company, I always pull this out and try something new, even though the rules say to use a tried recipe, its just too fun to experiment! Each time the food has received rave reviews. It relies on whole foods, real garlic, butter, cream and I just make sure my ingredients are quality, organic and fresh.

[Makenzie]

Best cookbook. Never had a bad recipe. I miss the Fairchild days of Bon Appetit!

[Jay]

A must for your cookbook collection.

[Liquidlasagna]

actually the best thing you could do is get
the orange book and the green book
by Fairchild

The Bon Appetit Cookbook [orange]
The Bon Appetit Cookbook: Fast Easy Fresh [green]

the pair are one of those books that the more you study it over time, the more you appreciate it

think of it as a mid-way point between Craig Clairborne's 1962 New York Times Cookbook
with the Green Martha Stewart one - The Martha Stewart Cookbook: Collected Recipes for Every Day from 1995.

half-way between traditional and weird, but not too traditional, and not too weird

I think of the shiny orange and green set as probably the best collection of recipes by the ton for the 2000s decade

[Bruce Brackett]

Everything I've cooked or baked from this--excellent.

[Gina]

Love this cookbook. So many great and easy recipes.

[Stephanie Lamers]

I love this cookbook. It comes off my shelf regularly and the recipes are easy to follow and delicious.

[Beka]

Like most cookbooks of this time, I wish this one had way more pictures and that they were near their respective recipes. There are a few good ones, but of course, most of them are rather chef-y.

[Rachelm85283]

I'm looking forward to trying out more of these recipes!

The layout of the book is very nice. The recipe titles are orange, nice and bold. The ingredient list is in bold as well. I wish that there weren't recipes that required a page turn. Nice photos.

[Debra]

A GREAT cookbook

[S]

A pretty basic deal that's proven super tasty so far. And it comes with a free year-long subscription!
I like more pictures and narrative in cookbooks, though.

[Dayna]

This is the ultimate cookbook! It's so thick that I've been able to get to only a handful of recipes, but they've all been delicious, and simple to make too!

[Cheryl Schibley]

Very gourmet - very good food.

[Sandra Clark]

One of my favorites.

[Kris Underwood]

Great recipes! Very thorough. A cookbook I'll have to buy

[Elissa]

If I had to pick one cookbook to own, this would be it. Never lets me down.

[Atbasu]

one of my go to recipe bookss.

[Carol]

I have used this book a lot over the years and the best thing at the time was that it included a year's free subscription to the magazine.

[Kristen Moreland]

A great all around cookbook!

[Andrea]

Just as good as the Gourmet cookbook. If I ever need inspiration, I just open up one of these two.

[Yaaresse]

If it's not in here, you probably don't need to cook it.