Anderson, Pam 1957-

PERSONAL:

Born 1957; married; children: two daughters.

ADDRESSES:

Home—New Hope, PA. Office—USA Weekend, 7950 Jones Branch Dr., McLean, VA 22107.

CAREER:

Writer. Former executive editor, Cook's Illustrated; USA Weekend, McLean, VA, currently food columnist. Has appeared as a food expert on television programs.

WRITINGS:

The Perfect Recipe: Getting It Right Every Time: Making Our Favorite Dishes the Absolute Best They Can Be, illustrated by Judy Love, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1998.

How to Cook without a Book: Recipes and Techniques Every Cook Should Know by Heart, Broadway Books (New York, NY), 2000.

CookSmart: Perfect Recipes for Every Day, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 2002.

Perfect Recipes for Having People Over, photographs by Rita Maas, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 2005.

Also author of weekly newsletter "Cooknik," for All Recipes.com. Contributing editor, Fine Cooking.

SIDELIGHTS:

A food columnist for USA Weekend and former executive editor of Cook's Illustrated, Pam Anderson has written a number of books for readers with average cooking skills that offer valuable tips and practical recipes for families and party guests. More skilled chefs will also find interesting information, too, according to critics. Her CookSmart: Perfect Recipes for Every Day, for example, provides everyday cooks with basic recipes that are easy to prepare and will please guests, while for the more advanced Anderson includes facts about preparing foods that can be applied to more difficult recipes. "By combining both audiences so successfully, Anderson has once again produced a winner," remarked a Publishers Weekly critic. Perfect Recipes for Having People Over has recipes for everything from sausage and soups to lobster and baked pasta dishes. Reviewers noted that the work is an appropriate cooking aid to average cooks, while a Publishers Weekly critic added that "Anderson's easygoing tone and reassuring attitude will relax any nerve-jangled host or hostess." A reviewer for the Epicurious Web site similarly felt that "the book's real strength is its attitude. Anderson believes … that good food doesn't have to be fancy."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Library Journal, September 1, 2005, Christine Bulson, review of Perfect Recipes for Having People Over, p. 169.

Publishers Weekly, April 15, 2002, review of Cook-Smart: Perfect Recipes for Every Day, p. 57; August 8, 2005, review of Perfect Recipes for Having People Over, p. 231.

ONLINE

A Matter of Taste,http://www.amatteroftaste.com/ (November 25, 2006), Rachel Cane, "Cookbook Reviews," review of Perfect Recipes for Having People Over.

Epicurious,http://www.epicurious.com/ (October 12, 1998), Irene Sax, review of Perfect Recipes for Having People Over.

In Good Taste Store,http://www.ingoodtastestore.com/ (November 25, 2006), Judith Bishop, review of Perfect Recipes for Having People Over. *