The Essential New York Times Grilling Cookbook

April 15, 2014
According to editor Kaminsky ("Bacon Nation: 125 Irresistible Recipes), The New York Times" has been writing about grilling and barbecue since 1852 and has published thousands of recipes. Here he has selected 200 of those dishes and arranged them with articles and stories from prominent chefs and food writers, such as Mark Bittman, Steven Raichlen, Pierre Franey, and others. This cookbook's strength is its scope; Jacques Pepin's 1992 recipe for grilled Tabasco chicken sits happily alongside Julia Moskin's jerk chicken (2008) and Craig Claiborne's "poulet grille" au gingembre (grilled chicken with ginger) from 1980. VERDICT A fascinating look at how various innovators, personalities, and cultural trends have shaped the evolution of grilling and barbecue.

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from March 15, 2014
Once again, it's proven true that most anything the New York Times puts its name on is not only good but also outstanding in its field. In this compilation edited by former Times' journalist and author (Pig Perfect, 2005, and Culinary Intelligence, 2012, for two) Kaminsky, we truly get the best of the best on grilling. Nearly 200 recipes from the likes of Pierre Franey, Craig Claiborne, Jacques P'pin, Susan Spicerand, and others are included, with choices ranging from a Baltimore pit-beef sandwich to corn pudding. The newspaper's archives, too, contribute to enrich the tome; in fact, it might be hard to select any one dish since the sidebars are very seductive. There's Marian Burros' tribute to the birthday of hamburgers, President Eisenhower's recipe for cooking steaks (just throw them right in the fire), and the Greek tradition of roasting lambnot to mention anecdotes and prefaces that accompany each recipe. Almost any foodstuff anywhere in the world gets its place on the grill: watermelon burgers with cheese, Vietnamese pork kebabs, grilled sardines, grilled ratatouille, and spider bread. The only bit of knowledge that's omitted? Grilling equipment.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)