College Cookbook: Dorm Eating and Apartment Feasting

I needed to review a book for an assignment, so given that my topic is cooking, I chose College Cookbook: Dorm Eating and Apartment Feasting by David Poran. While we haven't yet gotten a chance to make any of the recipes in the book, my boyfriend and I have already marked a bunch that we'll be trying out soon. I've decided to do my book review as a comparison between the cookbook and my blog. Here we go!

College Cookbook:
• It has a spectacular introduction! The first four chapters are dedicated to kitchen and cooking basics from the appliances you'll need, and how to store food, to tips on staying healthy. 
I'd like to take this time to point out that my biggest regret since starting this blog is not including an introductory post that explained the blog's purpose and covered some basic items. Mine would not have been nearly as comprehensive as the introduction to Poran's cookbook, but I think it would have been really helpful to my readers.
• It distinguishes between dorm food and apartment food, basically by level of difficulty and what is needed to prepare each dish. 
This is something I never would have even considered, but will definitely come in handy next year since my boyfriend is graduating, and I'm staying in O'Hare with my best friend who is in RA.
• It covers everything. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, desserts, salads, soups, sides, dips, and more. There is even a chapter at the end about how to make homemade takeout! (Okay so that's an oxymoron, but I meant making the food you'd normally get as takeout in your own apartment.)


Flavors of Fordham:
• It's created by a college student for college students. So the majority of the recipes are easy and not terribly time consuming. 
• You don't need more than the basic kitchen supplies to execute the recipes. While I love the introduction for College Cookbook, some of the recommended appliances in "Chapter 2: Great Gadgets" are a bit unnecessary for most college students. George Forman Grills and blenders are great, but things like mixers, food processors, rice cookers probably won't be used very often by college students. 
• My blog caters to the Fordham area. There have been some (and there will be a few more) posts on places to get take out in the area surrounding the Rose Hill campus we know and love. 
• It's personal. Poran's cookbook is definitely more informative and professional than my blog, but I never wanted my blog to be like that. I wanted to keep it lighter, funny at times, and keep a personal story going. 


I feel that both my blog and Poran's cookbook have strengths and weaknesses. Obviously Poran's book is more extensive and boasts expertise in the culinary area, but my blog has a bit more of the college feel because I'm still living in the world of college cooking, where Poran's college days were spent learning to cook like a pro. My blog is nowhere near perfect, but hopefully with some help from Poran's cookbook, I can improve both in the kitchen and in the blogosphere.