I received a set of enamel-coated cast iron pots for my anniversary two years ago and purchased this book to learn some great recipes to use with them. I spent the first afternoon browsing through the book, skimming the different sections, and reading some of the recipes. The next time I sat down and read the whole first section and was instantly enchanted. Her way of instructing readers on the history, equipment, and techniques of braising was fantastically easy to follow - like having a conversation instead of getting a lecture or lesson.
I quickly made several items out of the book and they turned out to be very delicious and quite easy to make with the proper planning and preparation. Then, because she teaches you a method and gives you guidelines about pairings, liquids, and herbs/seasonings to use I have often bought whatever lovely cut of meat was on sale that was suitable for braising and used a recipe for a similar cut as a guideline to making the dish. Those have also turned out amazing. I've served her recipes to just my husband and myself as dinner, but also turned them into entertainment dishes where I can prepare everything in advance then let it cook in the oven for hours while I finish cooking other dishes or getting everything else set up for guests.
Although we have made many of the recipes and experiment with various cuts of meat and vegetables, there are two dishes that we make quite often and keep fairly true to her recipe. The first is Yankee Pot Roast Redux on pg. 252. We make it with JK Scrumpy's Hard Apple Cider, which is very sweet and has a strong apple flavor so it condenses down to a sort of lightly alcoholic apple syrup and is really good with pork cuts of any kind. If you like apple cider that tastes more like beer, I've heard that Crispin Cider's The Saint is really good. The second recipe we make quite often is Red Wine-Braised Short Ribs with Rosemary and Porcini on pg. 241. This is the hands-down favorite of my family and most of my guests. We always add various vegetables between the roast and the tomato-porcini ragu in the bottom of the pan to make it a one-pot meal. It has a very amazing depth of flavor and for once the veggies steeped in all that flavor are just as fought-over as the meat part of the dish! We've made this recipe with various full-bodied red wines (no sweet wine here, pick a dry or semi dry with a nice rich taste) and had it turn out well. Most recently we used a Bordeaux and it was delicious. There are a lot of steps to this recipe, but if you do most of your prep up front on the same day as you start marinading the ribs it cuts a lot of the active cooking time down. Also, as with so many braised dishes, this tastes even better a day or two after you cook it, so you can make it ahead and just heat it back through in the oven the day you wish to serve it. We have also made many of the braised vegetable side dishes and added quite a few to the regular list of meals as well.
This book is one that deserves a spot near the kitchen because many of the recipes will be ones you make over and over. It is a wonderful instructional guide to the method of braising and is overflowing with great recipes that will become favorites. I have purchased it over and over again as gifts for family, friends, and most recently a coworker who loves cooking but is looking to learn methods and add versatile recipes to her repertoire. I've heard nothing but rave reviews back, whether people have tried many of these or just a few. It seems that this book is full of instant classics and family favorites.
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Molly has my vote and admiration
I read the Amazon reviews before buying this book. They were very helpful. I also saw positive comments about it on the eGullet forums. Now that I own the book, I'm in agreement with the others. This is an excellent addition to my library. I disagree with Publishers Weekly about the superfluousness of her prose. Molly Stevens' book is thorough and a joy to read. So far I've made one of her recipes, Yankee Pot Roast Redux. The result was moist and tender. It was such a success that the four pounds of meat + vegetables disappeared in 1.5 days between 3 people. We all agreed that this was the best pot roast we've ever had. Aside from the detailed recipe, Molly provided excellent instructions on how to shop for pot roast. I used these instructions to buy the right cut of meat from my butcher.Update (3-21-2010): I've made other recipes from this cookbook by now: Braised Potatoes with Garlic & Bay Leaves, World's Best Braised Green Cabbage, Chicken Fricassee with Artichokes & Mushrooms, etc. All very solid recipes, which are not difficult to make. We enjoyed them immensely. However, the crown jewel is still the Yankee Post Roast Redux. I've made this recipe so many times by now that my Whole Foods butcher already knows exactly what I want when I call the order in for the meat. I brown the meat on the stove top using my 6+ quart Le Creuset enameled cast iron pot and continue braising in the same pot.
Top reviews from other countries
Amazon Customer
Best cookbook I've ever bought
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 22, 2013