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Has anyone cooked from Under Pressure, Alinea or Modernist Cuisine books?

nick.pmallon

What have you made? Success stories? Horror stories?

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grant

I made almost everything in Modernist Cuisine, I had mixed feelings during the process:)

seijoed

Hahaha!

I've made a few things from Under Pressure, mostly I look at the plating and the combinations.

Some of the desserts are "elaborate"

grant

Alinea is my favorite. So many great foundations to develop recipes and it is so cheap. One of the best books that ever for cooks that have some experience already in my opinion. It can really help you bring your food to the next level. MC is great, but most cooks cannot afford it. Under Pressure is really a great guide to get started as well. I do feel that there is a lot of misinformation in that book though.

seijoed

Regarding temperatures and times?

It has had me scratching my head quite a few times.

grant

Yes, regarding temp/time.

susan_fox_33805

Had the best meal of my life at Alinea, not long after it first opened. It was a four-hour firework display. The cookbook is indeed every bit as great. And for those who may not be aware, Carol Blymire has a fantastic blog, Alinea at Home, although she's been on a prolonged hiatus.

nick.pmallon

@Grant_Lee_Crilly how does MC at Home compare? I have yet to take a look at it.

BlvCook_25591

I call Alinea my food porn book. Love it! Under Pressure: I thought that the temps for the recipes were to too high. I had read somewhere that Keller was going to update Under Pressure, and I'm hoping temp/times are adjusted. Keller was one of the first to publish on this subject and I wonder if he was being too conservative. MC @ Home has far fewer recipes than MC and tends to be more common fare: pizza, burgers, chicken wings, risottos. I just made their blue cheese-velveeta-type sauce - it was dynamite. If you already have MC, you might as well get @ Home (it's now less than $100). I also have the Voltaggio Inc book.IMO, these recipes are not very appealing and too many of the recipes call for salsify (which I never see nor would I know if I saw it)-have't cooked from it yet.

seijoed

@BlvCook - I have friends of my dad - older chefs that use the same temperature scales, it never made sense to me, they use the bath as an oven.