The Martha Stewart Cooking Collection - Martha's Guests - Master Chefs

by Martha Stewart

Fifteen master chefs from New York and around the United States share their culinary expertise and recipes from around the world with Martha Stewart and her viewers in this Martha Stewart Living Television compilation.

Three recipes are featured in each of American, Italian, French, Mexican, and Asian cuisines and include everything from Italian Calamari with José Hurtado to the French classic Coq au Vin with Riad Nasr and American Oven-Roasted Ribs with Bobby Flay.

Each featured chef prepares his or her own special recipe with Martha Stewart's help while the two chat about everything from favorite restaurants to the chefs' latest cook books and most helpful kitchen tips.

In addition to specific recipes, the master chefs impart "secrets" of their specific cuisines: for instance, chefs Diana Kennedy and Roberto Santibanez declare the use of white onion (versus yellow onion) essential in Mexican cooking, Nobu touts the bacteria-killing benefits of Wasabi in hand rolls, and Lidia Bastianich expresses a distinct preference for whole milk mozzarella over Buffalo mozzarella in Spiedini alla Romano (the Italian version of grilled cheese). Martha Stewart also offers the occasional novel tip like how to keep the food processor blade securely in place when pouring from the processor bowl and that adding a hint of lemon to barbecue sauce yields maximum flavor.

While the majority of the featured recipes require multiple steps and a fairly substantial investment of time, Mario Batali's Spaghetti alla Carbonara and Su-Mei Yu's Pad Thai are of a simpler nature and take only minutes to prepare.

Closed captioning is available in addition to Spanish and French subtitles, a nice feature for those who struggle with deciphering strong accents, and a link to printable recipes is provided on the DVD. This Master Chefs compilation is perfect for Martha Stewart fans who love to cook and want to master a smattering of recipes from around the world under the tutelage of some of the United States' most accomplished chefs. --Tami Horiuchi

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