Michael Symon's Live to Cook: Recipes and Techniques to Rock Your Kitchen by Michael Symon

Michael Symon's Live to Cook: Recipes and Techniques to Rock Your Kitchen Reviews

• 
  Beth

  It's not often anymore that I read a cookbook and actually learn something. But that's just what happened in Live to Cook.
  
  For example, I learned quite a bit about balancing flavors and that "when a dish fails, it's usually not because the flavors are bad, but rather because the flavors and textures are not balanced." You need to have a variety of flavors and textures in order to make a dish work. Ever since I learned this, I've been working on trying to make this happen more often in my own cooking.
  
  Another tidbit of info I learned from this book that I've been using ever since I read it is that if you soak a sliced onion in water for a few minutes, "it takes away the raw bite out of the onion and keeps it light and crunchy." Sure enough, Symon is absolutely correct.
  
  Oh, and Symon and I are in total agreement about vinaigrettes. The typical ratio of a vinaigrette is 3 parts oil to one part vinegar. I have always found that to be WAY too much oil, but every cooking show seems to proselytize about the 3 to 1 ratio. Symon says (ha! ha!) that 3 to 1 is way too much oil - just like me. Sweet! I do know what I'm talking about sometimes.
  
  I have already made a few recipes from this book and each one has come out delicious. So not only is this a great book to learn something new, but it also has recipes worth making. I highly recommend the Lola Burger. I made it for dinner recently and it was so good I literally woke up the next morning thinking about that burger. My mouth is watering just thinking about it right now.
• 
  Beth Jusino

  I'm not a celebrity chef follower, but I came to this book via an online recipe for macaroni and cheese with chicken, rosemary, and goat cheese. And it doesn't disappoint. Symon's full of ways to "fancy up" the hearty food that dieters fear and the rest of us love. Making my own sausages is beyond me, and I found most of his meat to be too complicated for what I'm willing to take on. But from the recipes I did pick up, nothing has failed me yet. Try the zucchini fritters, the spicy tomato soup with blue cheese (probably the best tomato soup I've ever had), and of course, the mac 'n cheese.
• 
  Robert Beveridge

  Michael Symon and Michael Ruhlman, Michael Symon's Live to Cook: Recipes and Techniques to Rock Your Kitchen (Clarkson Potter, 2009)
  
  If you follow Michael Symon online at any of the various social networking sites, you know he can be kind of abrasive. I can rationalize it all I want, but in the end, “it's all about the passion for the food” and “well, he DID grow up in Cleveland” are just excuses. Hell, I grew up in Pittsburgh, and if you want somewhere less tactful than Cleveland...
  
  Michael Ruhlman, on the other hand, in many of his books embodies both passion and tact. Where I'm a big fan of Symon's cooking (if you've been to Cleveland and not noshed at Lolita, you need to come back for the sole purpose of doing so), I'm an even bigger fan of Ruhlman's writing, both in his exquisite cookbooks (Charcuterie barely missed my best-I-read list last year) and when he's off on some entirely different obsession (Wooden Boats: In Pursuit of the Perfect Craft at an American Boatyard). Which makes it doubly depressing that Ruhlman, despite having a co-writing credit, seems to have done nothing but penned an introduction.
  
  The good part about the book should be obvious, and it's where most cookbooks begin and end: the recipes. My god, the recipes. Symon's reputation was built on taking blue-collar food and making it haute cuisine, and there are more examples in here than you could probably make in a year. Confited pigs' ears with shaved fennel salad. I mean, man, that's genius, and I am not being sarcastic in the least. (This is the guy who got my wife, a picky eater extraordinaire, to try—and love—gnocchi with pork belly ragout.) More than that, while I'm sure many chefs understand that salt is less a seasoning than it is some sort of magic, Symon is the first chef I've read who explicitly spells it out. Devotes a whole page to the process of salting one's food while cooking, in fact. (Unfortunately, he also continues the trend in chefs for prejudice against one of life's finest spices, plain old yellow mustard. What's up with that, guys?)
  
  The bad part about the book is that if you find Symon's demeanor abrasive in tweets, you get two hundred-odd pages of it concentrated here. You'll probably find the book a little tough to take. And thus, I can't give it a straight-out recommendation for everyone; check it out in the bookstore, sample a few non-recipe pages, and see what you think. You may end up passing on it, but I warn you that if you do, you'll be missing out on some fabulous recipes. Pick this up and you might even manage to get your family to eat shaved fennel salad. (Everyone should. Shaved fennel salad is one of life's true pleasures.) ***
  
• 
  Vleigh

  Not a cookbook that I would find useful - a lot of meat that I don't care for (veal, lamb, duck).
• 
  Rona Proudfoot

  I basically read this for the story of Michael Symon and Cleveland. The cooking parts only served to convince me that it is best left to the professionals!
• 
  Nikki

  This is a terrific and interesting cookbook from one of my favorite chefs. What's best in here are the recipes certainly but the stories and tips that Symon offers as well. I don't know how many things out of this cookbook I will actually make, some of the food is a little fussy for my tastes. I get that his food is more accessible say than his hero Thomas Keller but I don't actually see it as food that you can create easily at home. That's what kept it from five stars to me. I love this guys personality and his passion as a chef, the fact that he is full of love and kindness to the people who work for him goes a long way with me. I loved reading this cookbook but unfortunately cooking with it seems like it's not going to happen for me.
  
  I will buy his next cookbook though - hell I may buy all his cookbooks because they are great reads on their own (credit must be given to his ghostwriter whom he acknowledges immediately).
  
  I didn't like the black & white photos intermingled with color. Black & white photos have no business in food or cooking photography - ever. Even though they were mostly black & whites of Chef Symon, I still didn't like them.
  
  I enjoy his shows on the Cooking Channel and Food Network and look forward to many more years of his passionate advice and thoughts on cooking. Yay for a Cleveland boy made good (one of my old hometowns)!
• 
  Paige

  I was given this book as a gift by a male friend. This is important because it's not the kind of book 1) that I would ever buy for myself or 2)that a woman would buy for another woman. It has lots of meat. It is not interested in healthy food in the least. It has recipes for things like pig's ears and deep-fried brussels sprouts. It is by a Food Network personality of dubious likability (that laugh -- uuuuuurrrrggghh). It has not one dessert recipe!
  
  BUT, I have to say, it has actually improved my skills. I'm not sure if my kitchen is rocking yet, but I can now make a pretty great red sauce. My ability to infuse soups and sauces with big vegetable flavors has probably doubled. And he has a very nice technique for saucing meat things with warm vinaigrettes that is very well suited for the home cook.
  
  My advice is: if you want a book to wake up your dinner routine a bit, check this one out from the library. Look at the pictures. And then read the green and red "technique pages." To me, it's not really worth buying, but is worth extracting a little juice from.
• 
  Cathy

  A great cookbook that's also fun to read. Symon shares a lot of his personal story, professional tips and cooking advice along with the recipes. Some recipes would be easy enough for beginners. Others only vets would probably tackle, but tips or ideas could be derived from even the most exotic. My only criticism is some design elements. The font used for the recipe list at the beginning of each chapter is cool-looking, kind of tattoo-like, but nearly impossible to read. Some of the stories are also white text on darker backgrounds, which a lot of people enjoy for blogs but I have a hard time seeing. But the pictures are terrific, and the rest of the book is bright and lovely.
• 
  Lbaker

  Great book, lots of pork recipes.
  Another cook book of complex recipes - what do you expect from an iron chef?
  He's a great character on the series, and it comes through int he book, you can almost hear his giggle as you read this.
  There are many recipes in here that I will never try, but there are some that I will.
  If you read cookbooks for entertainment and inspiration as well as to figure out what to make for dinner, this is a very good book.
• 
  Linda

  I wrote just after starting it that I loved it was more than a cookbook of recipes, it was a slice of Michael Symon's life in the most real sense. There are family pictures and family recipes along with tales of his life along the way of reaching national fame. Some amazing and interesting recipes that reflect his ethnic heritage and the proud tradition of the Midwest. Read it and rock on....
• 
  Christy

  I didn't think the tips were all that useful, but maybe they would be if I ate meat. Only a few of the recipes intrigued me but I'll have to try them. And I didn't like the book design - some of the font choices didn't jive to my eye and one of the recipes didn't start at the top of the page, which I think is ridiculous. But that's a designer for you - you can't turn it off.
• 
  Suzanne

  Chef Symon is a hometown guy. I enjoyed his take on growing up & living in this area. While I don't think most of his recipes are my cup of tea exactly, I understand his approach to expanding the palate of such a culturally diverse city, as Cleveland (and the Midwest for that matter). I did enjoy his technique tips & can say I learned a few things.
• 
  Lee

  o.k., sorry, but I don't cook with these ingredients!!!
  crispy pig's ears, beef cheek pierogies, pigs-head ragu, foie gras bratwurst, and more...
  pickled lambs tongue, and pork cheek chili. Not only would I not cook with them, I wouldn't buy them and have them in the house or even order them in a restaurant. Call me boring, but I guess there are more food I won't eat than I realized!
• 
  April

  This was a great book with easy, tasty-sounding recipes. It also provided insight into Mr. Symon's life and explained how important he thinks food is to socializing, spending time with family, and bringing together friends. I recommend this book not only if you love to cook, but if you are looking for a heartfelt read, as well.
• 
  Barrie Spang

  I loved this cookbook. It is more of a teaching cookbook than just recipes. It is filled with stories, techniques, and reasons why he cooks the way he does. I read it cover to cover in one sitting and I closed the book starved. A must read for anyone who enjoys food.
• 
  Beth

  I know it's a cookbook BUT his bio is contained between the chapters and it's pretty amazing. I've already selected 4-5 recipes to make. My goal this year is to eat at one of his restaurants since he's our local celeb!
• 
  MaryCarol

  quite disappointing. I enjoy watching The Chew on tv and Symon is a favorite on the show. this was his first published cookbook. meat, fat, salt are abundant. a few simple recipes but most are much more involved. I did enjoy his memories of his family and of his rise to being a rekmown chef.
• 
  Liz

  Symon is a man who's passionate about food, and it shows. The ginger-sage breakfast sausage is truly outstanding.
• 
  Bryce D

  Michael Simon is a stud! I can really relate to his cooking style. Anyone that has been raised in the rust belt should check this book out.
• 
  Debbie

  Great cookbook with the personal information I love to read. I learned so much from this book and can't wait to try more recipes. The pierogies were pretty yummy!
• 
  Rosie Hanneke

  Three words: crab tater tots. Also contains my go-to recipe for chicken stock. Wasn't expecting to like this one as much as I did!
• 
  Liz De Coster

  Grabbed this mostly because of the crab tater tot recipe, but a few interesting-looking pickle recipes have caught my eye as well ...
• 
  Amanda Bright

  Interesting book but I wasn't knocked out by it -- may revisit at a later time.
• 
  Ken

  Amazon.com Review

  From Michael Symon’s Live to Cook: Veal Chop Milanese with Arugula Salad

  This is a very simple dish to make and is also one that works with all sorts of different meats, such as chicken, pork, beef, and most game. It makes a great late lunch or early dinner in the summertime when tomatoes and arugula are bountiful. The thing I love about it is you get some great texture from the standard breading, and the arugula salad keeps things light and flavorful. -- Michael Symon

  Ingredients

  4 bone-in veal chops, each 12 ounces 2 cups all-purpose flour 4 large eggs 2 cups panko bread crumbs 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 1/4 cup olive oil 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 garlic clove, minced Juice of 1 lemon 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1 red onion, thinly sliced 3 cups arugula 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved 12 fresh basil leaves

  (Serves four)

  Directions

  Put the veal chops on a cutting board and cover them with a large piece of plastic wrap. With a meat mallet, pound the meat to 1/4 inch thick.

  Set up a breading station: In three separate bowls put the flour, eggs, and bread crumbs. Lightly whisk the eggs. Stir the Parmesan into the bread crumbs.

  Season the veal chops liberally with salt and pepper. Dredge them in flour and shake off the excess, then dip them in egg, and then in bread crumbs to coat.

  Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat and add the olive oil and butter. When the fat is hot add the veal chops and cook until golden brown, 4 to 6 minutes per side. Remove to paper towels to drain until ready to serve.

  In a large mixing bowl combine the garlic, lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon salt. Whisk in the extra-virgin olive oil. Add the onion, toss to coat evenly, and let marinate for 10 minutes.

  Add the arugula, tomatoes, and basil to the dressing and gently toss together.

  To serve, place a veal chop in the center of each plate and top with salad.

  From Publishers Weekly

  Cleveland's most famous restaurateur, Symon is an iron chef on the Food Network, and he's got the personality to hang with Mario Batali and Bobby Flay. His fun, brash appeal often shines through in this collection of bold and surprisingly simple to master recipes. He doesn't hold back with the flavorings: a simple linguine with heirloom tomatoes is spiced with capers, anchovies and chili, and even veggie side dishes—peas and pancetta; Ohio creamed corn with bacon; crispy cauliflower with anchovy aioli—are decadent. Chapters on pickling and charcuterie are evidence that this is a legit chef's cookbook, but he makes such recipes as lamb bresaola, duck confit, and pickled ramps completely approachable. Though the prose feels dashed off (one paragraph says Symon's food is reliant on good technique and a few lines later claims it uses almost no technique whatsoever) and the design is occasionally forced (chapter contents and some headings are displayed in a font apparently meant to evoke Symon's many tattoos, but they're barely legible), the recipes are very strong. This volume is excellent for anyone who wants to cook like a chef without a lot of stress._ (Nov.)_
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