Thank you to Le Cordon Bleu Publishing and Cengage Learning
for providing me with a cookbook to review, free of charge.
These are my own honest opinions.
In The Kitchen with Le Cordon Bleu is a cookbook filled with a unique selection of recipes chosen by chefs from Le Cordon Bleu. There are recipes for appetizers, soups, side dishes, main courses, deserts and more.
The book is full of gorgeous full page color photographs. I became hungry just by looking at them! Every single recipe looks delicious. I decided to make the following recipes:
- Bruschetta with macadamia pesto, roasted red bell pepper and feta
- Puff pastries with onion relish and creamed leeks
- Quinoa salad with sweet potatoes, strawberries, arugula, and goat’s cheese
- Manjari chocolate lime cream tart with raspberry coulis
As you can see, these recipes sound quite fancy but there were easy to follow. I strongly recommend reading the entire recipe a few times before you start doing anything to make sure you are familiar with the techniques and because there are sometimes steps that can be done in advance (ie. the tart crust). They did take a while to prepare but again we did all 4 recipes in a row so that might explain why. There are no indication of how long each recipe is supposed to take which might have been nice detail to have because sometimes it helps me narrow down which recipe to make depending on the time I have.
They all turned out great, except for the fact that we slightly overcooked the quinoa (totally our fault, we weren’t watching the pot). My friend’s favorite recipe was the puff pastries and mine were the bruschetta and the chocolate lime tart. I actually made the tart again for Mother’s Day. It’s easy to do from scratch (even the crust) and tastes amazing! People complimented me on it and asked for the recipe, it was a hit! The lime is definitely the ‘secret’ ingredient that gives the tart a unique tangy flavor.
Overall, In The Kitchen With Le Cordon Bleu has a great selection of recipes so novice cooks and those with more advanced skills will find something tasty to try. It would make a great present for someone who likes to cook and experiment with new recipes. The cookbook is full of interesting flavor combinations and new twists on familiar recipes. For example, it was my first time making pesto with macadamia nuts and I’d never had sweet potatoes in a quinoa salad before. They are not your everyday recipes and are great for special occasions or when you have family or friends over and want a more formal meal.
The cookbook is filled with ‘chef’s tips’ that are definitely worth the read as well as interesting facts about certain ingredients. There are helpful sections at the back: a ‘Techniques’ section with conversion charts and a glossary.
I definitely plan on trying new recipes soon. How about duck breasts with pears, limes, and ginger with a side of layered vegetable gratin and iced hazelnut soufflé with rum sauce? Sounds delicious, right?
Click here to get your own copy of In The Kitchen With Le Cordon Bleu. Don’t forget to like Le Cordon Bleu Publishing and Cengage Learning on Facebook for all the latest news and promotions.
Related Posts:
This post currently has 9 responses.
-
-
Rachel
And the photos in the book look even more delicious than mine! I was difficult not to drool all over the pages.
-
-
Wow those recipes look delicious. I’ve been wanting to change up my menu a bit since I am kind of getting tired of the samethings. I will have to check this book out. Thanks for sharing.
-
My pleasure, Chelsea! I hate it too when I feel like I’m cooking the same meals over and over again. This cookbook should help.
-
-
I am sort of a cookbook hoarder…. I could find room and use for this one! LOL
Those dishes look great!-
Thank you Ronni! Me too, I like cookbooks with lots of pictures such as this one. Makes me hungry just looking at them and it makes me want to cook more and try new things.
-
-
That pie looks amazing! Everything else does too! I love recipe books, it’s so fun to try new foods.
-
I wish you could smell the tart! As I said in my review, the lime brings it to a whole other level.
-
-
Deb E
I used to have a lot of cookbooks. Nutrition counseling was my first profession and I had many basic (not fancy) food classes and food chemistry class. With the internet, there is no shortage of food porn, lol. These dishes look too good to eat!
Oh wow, do those ever look amazing! I may just have to grab one of those.