Book Description

Vegetarian Times is known for its "great recipes" (Chicago Tribune), and this new edition of the Vegetarian Times Complete Cookbook offers more than 600 fabulous recipes, along with comprehensive information on vegetarian diet and nutrition. It's the definitive guide for vegetarians as well as an inspiration to all cooks who want fresh new ideas and great taste. Forget about labels—this is the vegetarian cookbook that everyone will love!

"The new edition of the Vegetarian Times Complete Cookbook beautifully updates this classic. The recipes are practical and sensitive to the seasons."
—Deborah Madison, author of Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

"Vegetarian Times has long been a respected presence in the world of vegetarian cooking. This impressive collection of innovative recipes ranging from homestyle to elegant will be a valuable guide to new cooks and a repertoire-refresher for the experienced cook."
—David Hirsch, Moosewood Restaurant

"From ethnic twists galore to healthy, vegetarian versions of standard dishes, and with many more recipes than it had the first time around, this new edition of the Vegetarian Times Cookbook earns the designation 'complete.' Classic subjects (main courses, baking) are joined by new chapters addressing real-world vegetarian challenges: meals that are kid-friendly, what to fix at the holidays, and more. Soy in all its forms (tofu, tempeh, 'soysage,' etc.) is given new prominence, too. With both vegan and lacto-ovo offerings, the book will please eaters, vegetarian or not, ready for fresh, interesting food. It's a cookbook likely to make many happy trips from your bookshelf to your prep counter."
—Crescent Dragonwagon, author of Passionate Vegetarian

"This book has a wealth of contemporary vegetable-based recipes, from quick and flavorful meal ideas to recipes you'll want to pull out for an elegant dinner party. Drawing influences from around the globe, the Vegetarian Times Complete Cookbook features the exotic as well as vegetarian variations on comforting favorites. Lots of inspired cooking will come from this book. The Vegetarian Times Complete Cookbook will be a great resource for both the novice and the experienced cook alike."
—Eric Tucker, Millennium Restaurant ... Read more

Amazon.com

For John Ash, author of the award-winning From the Earth to the Table: John Ash's Wine Country Cuisine, the lines that separate chef from teacher from cookbook writer from consultant blur and fade into insignificance. In the end, it's about ingredients and flavor and the meal at hand. "After twenty-five years of teaching," Ash writes in the forward to John Ash: Cooking One on One, "I know that you don't have to perfect all the basic kitchen skills in order to make great food." What John Ash likes to see coming his way is a good eater, because there's a person who as likely as not will want to taste and eat at home what he or she has tried out on the town.

The trouble, of course, is time. Or you are single and aren't cooking for more than yourself. It's all so daunting: eating light, eating well, eating responsibly. And ordering take-out is so easy. Cooking One on One, in chapters constructed like lessons, dispels all that. Part One is devoted to flavor-makers--salsas, vinaigrettes, pestos, world marinades, and simple, savory sauces. Learn to make the cucumber and mint salsa, Ash instructs, then use it to maximum advantage with grilled lamb chops. No muss, no fuss.

That which begins at a simple level grows more complex as you master technique and ingredient and apply layers of flavor. Ash leads the way with flair and confidence. Part Two covers basic cooking techniques--learning about soups, learning about oven-drying ingredients like tomatoes or cauliflower for maximum effect, learning about braising, grilling, creating soufflés (they can be assembled and frozen ahead of time!), learning about pasta in the West and the East. Part Three covers lessons in main ingredients: chicken, dried beans, mushrooms, salmon, shrimp, soy foods, desserts. The straightforward recipes reflect the nature of the lessons, the ingredients, the flavor profiles. This is a California chef with deep respect for culinary roots, whether they reach back to the Colorado barnyard or the French farm.

John Ash teaches cooking here, not recipe recreation. He creates good cooks out of good eaters. --Schuyler Ingle ... Read more

Reviews (5)

A great book
My husband and I have attended two of John Ash's cooking classes in the last several years. If you ever have a chance to go to his class, don't miss it. He teaches with a wonderful sense of humor while passing on all kinds of good information. He usually makes the circuit at the Central Market in Austin, Dallas, Houston and Ft. Worth, TX. We attended in Austin but unfortunately don't live there anymore. His cookbooks are wonderful and are filled with very interesting, different, and excellent recipes. This one is good.

Culinary Building Blocks
This is marvelous new approach to teaching culinary techniques. It is very similar to Ming Tsai's new book: "Simply Ming" in that they both provide a new technique, e.g. how to make a marinade, a vinagerette, a sauce, souffle, braising, etc., then provide recipes which use and build and modify this basic.

While Ming is into East-West fusion, here Ash is into inspiring even the one who feels they are not very good in the kitchen to delve into the fun world of great cuisine. Ash is a proficient educator who truly believes in dialogue as a prominent learning tool. Here he aptly anticipates questions and answers them.

His selection of topics is contemporary and popular, as evidenced by his starting point: salsas. This is topped off by a wonderful "Fresh Cranberry and Tangerine Salsa." I really appreciate that each topic provides "VARIATIONS", which stimulate each of us to consider taking off in varying directions depending on our taste likes and ingredient leanings.

Try some of these, which are not difficult once you've began mastering the technique: "Roasted Eggplant Salad with Charred Tomato Vinaigrette;" "Cold Cream of Red Bell Pepper Soup from the juicer"; "Couscous Risotto with Oven-Dried Mushrooms and Tomatoes and Pecorino Cheese"; "Herb and Pistachio-Stuffed Veal Pot Roast"; "Twice-Baked Goat Cheese Souffles with Watercress and Oven-Dried Tomatoes"; "Poached Chicken Breast Salad with Curry Buttermilk, Apples, and Pecans";

There is also a section on Tofu (not one of my favorites) and Simple, Sophisticated Desserts. A wonderful, informative brief section on wine, both for cooking and for matching up with food is well done, as well as a Glossary and Pantry. Only thing missing here is Sources.

The writing is superb as is the color photography. A cookbook to start with, improve with and cook with for a long time.

Master Classes on Culinary Techniques. Highly Recommended
Author John Ash's rare combination of a professional chef's experience combined with a teacher's ability to communicate has produced this remarkable and welcome tutorial on how to execute various cooking tasks. The book lives up to the many blurbs from culinary luminaries headlined by a quotable from Emeril Lagasse on the front cover. The book is so good, it enhances my opinion of the commending writers for having the foresight to endorse the book.

On a very glib level, the book is a cross between Alton Brown's knack for explaining with Tom Colicchio's depth of culinary insight. The first stroke of genius is the organization of the chapters into a section on 'flavor makers', a second section on techniques, and a third section on important ingredients. Learning about cooking has often struck me to be very similar to learning about chess. For the millions of combinations of ingredients (moves) there are really just a few simple rules one can learn with hundreds of variations posed by the moves of your opponent. One simply cannot learn chess by studying. You can only learn by playing (cooking) and by slowly gaining first hand experience with ingredients and the results of applying techniques. The author has accommodated this analogy by dividing cooking into three areas of discourse, loosely comparable to the opening (ingredients), middle game (techniques) and ending (flavor makers). I am sure this analogy will not bear too much analytical weight. It succeeds if it highlights the fact that you must learn cooking by actually working with foods and experiencing its behavior, smell, and taste.

I have occasionally been disappointed by such promising titles such as Tom Colicchio's 'How to Think Like a Chef', but my disappointment has been part of the lesson and not a failure of Colicchio's book. He gives lots of recipes and very few general principles. Ash's book is no different in that there are only a few general principles and plenty of recipes, although the genius of Ash's presentation makes the book satisfying all the way through. While Colicchio and Charlie Trotter and Eric Rippert, great chefs all, have written inspired books about cooking in general, Ash is a professional educator as well as being a talented chef.

One way of viewing Ash's book is to see it as a visit from the Snap-On tool supply truck. Reading the book furnishes your mental toolchest with eighteen (18) tools that can be used in a broad range of applications. My favorite example is the lesson called 'Vinaigrettes: Not Just for Salads'. As the title indicates, vinaigrette is one of those 'Swiss Army Knife' preparations like a marinara sauce. It can easily be used in a lot of different situations with great results. Ash doesn't limit himself to the olive oil / vinegar / mustard / shallot / salt and pepper classic and it's applications. He brings in citrus as the acid, stocks as part of the liquid, honey, miso, soy sauce, ginger, cilantro, and dried fruits. He extends the lesson to advice on how to pair vinaigrette to the composition of other elements in a dish or a meal. I also welcome his mentioning of a brand of corn oil prepared in a way which calls up the picture of artisinal olive oil production. The oil, he claims, actually tastes like corn. What a concept!

The lessons on the other four 'flavor makers', Salsas, Pestos, Marinades, and Sauces all follow the same pattern of broadening our understanding of these preparations. The greatest contribution of all these chapters is not that they show you how to make these specific eight or ten or twelve recipes. The contribution is that they show you how to improvise with these ingredients. I can still remember the revelation I experienced when I realized that pesto / pistu is not just for pasta. I was amazed when for the first time I saw it being used as a garnish to soup. There is a lot of this kind of horizon expanding exposition going on in these pages.

The selection of topics for techniques and for ingredients is equally inspired. In a sense, there is even more illumination in these sections than in 'flavor makers' since both sections contain at least one surprising topic. Techniques gives us a lesson on oven drying, a method which I have seen used here and there, now and then, and highlighted as a general tool only in books covering Raw Foods techniques. Ash brings the technique into the main stream as a routine tool for the home cook. The ingredients section includes a chapter on soy foods which has a distinction between Chinese and Japanese tofu, the first time I've seen this distinction made. This section also discusses miso, relatively new to American culinary vocabularies, and Tempeh, which may be quite new to most Americans.

I do not know much about wine, but I welcome it in all sorts of cooking applications. Therefore, I was delighted to find that the final essay was a concise, excellent discussion of wines as they are used in cooking. True to the end, the book's food facts are accurate in it's addressing the question of whether cooking drives off the alcohol. The book's discussion of the issue is deeper than any other I have seen, in that it gives estimates of how much alcohol remains after various cooking techniques heat the added alcoholic ingredient. The discussion is crowned by a clear explanation of what alcohol adds to dishes in language that makes sense to educated lay cooks. There is none of the meaningless statements that alcohol is 'a conductor of flavor'.

This book is not a complete text on cooking methods. For that, see, for example, Madeleine Kamman's 'The New Education of a Cook' But, this is an exceptional cookbook which really should be read from cover to cover.

Very highly recommended. Intermediate to advanced recipes, but good advice for novices.

John Ash Cooking one on one
Close your eyes and buy this book, Mr Ash cooking is not only an insparation, but the ABC's of future food to come, his simple techniques comes from years of experience and knowledge. This book is for keeps.

Cooking lessons one on one well learned
I recently attended a cooking class that John Ash taught, and bought this cookbook. Both he and the book are wonderful. This is a cookbook that both the novice and expert will be able to enjoy. Read the introduction, it will help you get the most from the rest of the cookbook. The lessons, recipes and pictures are beautiful. The food flavors are amazing. ... Read more

Book Description

Why is one cookie never enough? Why does a bad day at the office seem to scream for a quart of rocky road? If you think the answer is a lack of self-control, you might be misunderstanding the reasons behind overeating.

Trust Weight Watchers, the leading name in safe and sensible weight control, to address food issues that go beyond what to eat. If cutting calories or regular exercise hasn't been enough, the next step is understanding why you overeat. Stop Stuffing Yourself contains the latest information on the hottest topic in weight control, emotional overeating. Full of hands-on advice and reassuring coping techniques for winning the battle with food, Stop Stuffing Yourself covers issues ranging from stress and anger to boredom and loneliness, explaining how anyone can identify the causes of overeating and succeed at losing weight.

Real-life stories of trial and triumph color each chapter, providing motivation, support and encouragement to anyone who ever thought she was alone in her struggle with food. Stop Stuffing Yourself is the must-have book for chronic dieters, the food-obsessed, and anybody who's ready to gain control over food and lose weight. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Overeating is a behavior not a disease!!
If you want to achieve permanent weight loss you must change your behavior...your lifestyle. This book clearly points you to the feelings that drive you to overeat and shows you the best way to alter your behavior so that you are no longer driven by pure emotion when it comes to eating. Another similar book that I loved is "The Power of Positive Habits" it shows you how to change your lifestyle so that you will lose weight...automatically.

A bit disappointing
Well the book was good, but it was basicly the same things wrote again in different words. I would still recommend it.

Perhaps The Only Book Like This You Need
I'm sorry about the first, very negative review of this book because it just isn't so. This book is not annoying psychobabble or anything of that kind, or I wouldn't have read it. There's no attribution for authorship, but with the number of bad books on weight loss, whoever wrote this should be proud of it. It's thoughtful but straightforward and describes eating problems and their possible emotional causes in very simple, practical, unsentimental terms. Because it's a Weight Watchers book, it also offers solutions -- sensible, flexible, positive ones that so importantly suggest that control is possible if certain reasonable steps are taken. In fact, I'm persuaded that this oldest of weight loss programs really does have the best answers, both the practical and, based on this book, also the more profound insight needed to grasp this complex problem, but with a real working understanding, not New Age gobbledygook. The best insights are often the most simply put, and that's what we have here. Filling your shelves with books on this subject, instead of taking the necessary action, is often just another form of avoidance behavior. Taking the necessary action, combined with good, supportive information, is the best answer for a lot of people. This book is full of real information and may turn out to be the only one you'll ever need.

Stop Stuffing Yourself
Totally useless drivel...No new insights, and certainly not worth reading if you have an eating problem that's not caused by some remote childhood emotional disorder...Don't bother...

The proven techniques to Weight loss
Weight Watchers, bless their point-counting souls, recognizes that losing weight is more than a matter of willpower or deprivation (and no one should feel starved when dieting). Truly health weight loss is part of a total lifestyle change. For each dieter, the reasons for overeating will be a little bit different but Stop Stuffing Yourself is an excellent tool to help udnerstand and get in control of overeating. If the Weight Watchers point system is used along with this book and if a little exercise is added to daily activities, then weight loss success is likely. I've tried every diet out there and nothing works like the Weight Watchers program. It isn't a rigid diet but allows for real life situations, including eating at Fast Food restaurants and saving up food choices for special occasions. Stop stuffing Yourself proves that it is possible to eat well and feel comfortable without feeling too full OR feeling starved. Moderation does rule, when it comes to the weight loss game, at least for long-term, lasting results. ... Read more

Book Description

Teaches busy cooks how to spend one day assembling and freezing a month's worth of tasty and nutritious entrees, side dishes, snacks and desserts in an easy-to-follow format. ... Read more

Reviews (50)

The BEST for freezer cooking!
I have been using my 30 Day Gourmet manual for 3 1/2 years now and it is by far the best of it's type!!! I started out with Once A Month Cooking, and knew there had to be a better system without all those casseroles!! A friend introduced me to 30DG and I knew from my past experience that this was THE book! And it is!

The included worksheets alone are worth more than the price of the book! The recipes are great... my family of 5 likes most everything I've tried. The recipe variety is wonderful... breakfast, sandwiches, appetizers, desserts, snacks, main dishes, salads... it's all included! When I take a 30DG recipe to a pot-luck, or serve it to company, I always get requests to share the recipe! I have been able to easily adapt my personal recipes to the 30DG system too. The website at 30daygourmet.com is great too! There are additional recipes you can get there, as well as support and info from the message boards. And more successful recipes from cooks like me who use the system.

The greatest thing about the 30DG system is the flexability! There isn't a set menu that you have to make each time you cook. You choose the recipes you want to make, based on your family's likes and dislikes. You can cook as few or as many meals as you choose. If your grocery is having a sale on chicken, stock up and have a chicken cooking day. Do the same with pork or ground beef. You can cook with a partner or by yourself. You can use the system if you only have the freezer above your fridge.

We moved 400+ miles last summer, and spent 40 days in an apartment while our house was being completed. My 30DG manual was the only 'cook book' that went in my car with me... it didn't get sent in the moving van with the rest of my kitchen! I wasn't taking a chance of something happening to it!

If you only buy 1 freezer cooking book, this is the one to spend your money on!

I will never go back to cooking daily after this!!
The 30 Day Gourmet provides a structured and well thought out process for cooking once (or less!) a month to feed your family. I cook once every 2 to 2 1/2 months for my family of three, and not only do we save money buying bulk, our meals are healthier and my picky family is happy.

I found the system alone worth the purchase price, without the recipes! The recipes are good old church cooking, and most are easy to adapt to dietary needs. While I haven't tried them all, it doesn't matter, because the authors provide a web site where you can download more recipes for free, and a forum for sharing hints, tips and recipes with other 30 Day Gourmet cooks. Not only do you get a great cooking system, good recipes and a shot of humor, you get an on-line community and continuing help and support. This help has assisted me with new recipes, and adapting family favorites to the freezer. Meal time is stress free at my house.

What more could you ask for??

Clear and easy to follow!
I work long hours and have a long commute. I usually don't get home until 8 or 9PM, and that's just too late to go to the grocery and cook a meal from scratch! For years I've been making double recipes for weekend meals and then having the leftovers throughout the week, but in a kind of hit or miss fashion. Several nights a week, my husband and I would look at each other and say "What's for dinner?" When I discovered this book, I slapped myself on the forehead and said "Doh!"

It makes perfect sense to devote a little extra time on the weekend to building up a store of meals in the freezer. Why didn't I think of this before?

I liked the authors' approach to laying out the planning and preparation for the big cooking day. There is a lot of great information here on freezing and batch cooking. Great worksheets and checklists to help you get organized.

However, I must say that the recipes are not to my family's taste. Maybe it's a regional thing (we live in Southern California), but these recipes seem kind of 1960s and bland to us. (Cream of chicken soup is featured in several of them. Well, my Mom used that in her casseroles, but I don't!) Maybe it's because the recipes are aimed at kids. (We have none.)

We prefer recipes with more spices and variety (I cook a lot of Thai, Indian, Chinese, and Japanese dishes). However, I do not regret buying this book. All the info other than the recipes is very helpful and make this book worthwhile. I've simply adapted my own recipes to this plan.

One last note--most people won't care about this, I know, but I've been in the documentation business for 30 years, so I do. The format of the book is slightly amateurish. Although easy to read, the charts look hand-drawn, and the fonts and page layout look like someone put it together in Microsoft Word. I would expect something a little more polished for my money.

The BEST of the Freezer Cookbooks
The 30 Day Gourmet Cooking Manual is the BEST of all of the Freezer Cooking manuals!!! These ladies have REAL food for families and individuals...not what I like to call "California Food." Tasty, hearty, filling and oh so EASY!! The forms make once a month style cooking a breeze. This food is NOT leftovers, it is either not precooked before being frozen, or is not cooked all the way. Out of the 21 recipes I made for this month, only 3 were entrees I did not care for, and one of those was because I didn't use good enough wine in the sauce. Although their personal focus is on team cooking, I cook by myself for just myself and my husband and it works just fine. The recipes are scaled from four servings so all I do is package them in two-serving containers. If you want to learn more about 30 Day Gourmet be sure to check out their website at www.30daygourmet.com for more tips, recipes and stories from other REAL home cooks!!!

A fantastic idea
I stumbled upon this book by accident, and I am so glad I did! I used to hate cooking, and only within the past four years since getting married have I become more interested in it. That doesn't mean I want to cook every night though. My husband and I both work full time with long commutes, and have relied on convenience foods (which are getting old) and cold cereal for dinner.

I was skeptical that I could really benefit from this book since I don't have a separate freezer (just a tiny one above my fridge). But you'd be surprised how much you can get in a small freezer if you pack items flat in ziploc bags. I made 7 recipes (doubled two of them) two weekends ago and now I feel like I'm on vacation! It's been absolutely wonderful to come home and simply heat up something from the freezer.

The recipes are easy to make, taste delicious (we've devoured two pans of granola bars already), and there's much more at the website. I also purchased the software (another review in and of itself), which was an amazing amount of help in simplifying the process.

The great thing about this whole concept is that it can work for anyone--not just large families--and you do not have to prepare 30 days worth of meals at once. A few smaller, shorter cooking sessions are very doable. And I'll soon be trying some of my own recipies in bulk, with the knowledge Nanci shares on what foods freeze well, and how to package them.

My husband has been so impressed with the great food and the prospect of saving money and eating healthier, that he's going to take me shopping for a stand-alone freezer this weekend. Hoooray!! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Irma Rombauer collected recipes from friends for the first Joy of Cooking, and published it herself. For this sixth edition, the All New, All Purpose Joy of Cooking, Ethan Becker, grandson of Irma and son of Marion Rombauer Becker, worked with Maria Guarnaschelli, senior editor and vice president at Scribner's. Together, they called on top food professionals to produce a Joy that reflects the way we eat today.

Five new chapters satisfy today's love of pasta, pizza, noodles, burritos, grains, and beans, including soy. The roughly 3,000 recipes, most revised from earlier editions, give the food processor and microwave their due. Interest in ethnic flavors, grazing, leaner meats, more fish, and less fat are reflected, and old standbys such as Tuna Noodle Casserole and Fried Chicken are updated. Information on canning, jams, pickles, and preserves is replaced by expanded material on grilling, barbecuing, flavored oils, and vinegars. Also gone is the personal voice of the old Joy. The new Joy of Cooking is comprehensive for today's cooks. Time will tell if it remains the long-loved, dog-eared kitchen companion and teacher Joy has been since 1931. ... Read more

Reviews (173)

Excellent Cook Book for a Bridal Registry
The New Joy of Cooking is a must for new or soon-to-be brides, or anyone that wants a comprehensive cook book. Personally I use this all the time, and when I am looking for a recipe this is the first place that I look. Actually I give this 4.5 stars, but still this is an excellent book to start off anyone's cookbook collection.

The NJofC not only has tons of recipes, but also diagrams many cooking techniques like how to transfer pie dough to the pan and diagrams of where different cuts of meat come from beef cattle. This cook book gives plently of detail, however this book does try to cover everything, and I think that in so doing it has lost some attention certain recipe sections not giving enough variety. For instance I was disappointed in the section on turkey, it is okay if you want to roast a whole bird but if you want a ground turkey recipe (besides just substituting ground turkey for ground beef) there are only two, and the one for turkey meat balls is not much different from the loaf recipe.

The New Joy of Cooking covers everything and anything you can imagine; for abalone to zucchini (except camel; although I don't think it is available in the US). So whatever the recipe, whatever the occassion more than likely you'll be able to find it in this book. I definitely recommend this book to any cook book collection.

Every person's cookbook...
This revised Joy of Cooking (hardcover) book is a great investment for anyone who cooks -- whether a frequent, occasional, experienced or novice cook.

I'm no longer a frequent cook. But as always, when I'm in the kitchen, neatness is not one of my strong points. My paperback version of this book -- purchased in the 70's, when I did cook a lot -- started falling apart due to rough treatment, page splatters and just because it was a paperback book. I couldn't live without it, but was worried that I was overspending on a hardcover.

It is well worth the money -- this book has been revised, and offers more than it did before, about things that weren't so 'mainstream' back in the 70's.

These days I'm more interested in grains and beans, with more vegetarian meals. My sons are meat eaters, and when I am cooking, it is usually for a group. I love this book because it makes me feel like a serious chef, without being intimidating. This is a lovely cookbook for the ordinary cooker, urging you to try something new because it explains everything so well, without talking down to you.

I might use a recipe not in this cookbook, but I go to these pages first to learn about whatever it is I'm cooking -- soup, for example. In here I've learned more than I'll never need to know about soups -- vegetarian stocks, meat stocks, how to store soups, what to put in soup, how to serve soup, and some really handy information on different kinds of soup "equipment" (who knew -- I always thought a crock pot, a ladle and some bowls would do it all.)

I love a book that comfortably comes to bed with me at night, like a juicy novel. This book will intrigue the reader, like a fascinating history story. One can learn about tropical exotic fruits; cooking methods; ingredients from baking powder to spices to yogurts; and more. Get permission to make baklava using store bought phyllo rather than handmade, and find out it is originally a Turkish dish, not Greek.

The book bypasses slick photographs in favor of drawings of up-to-date equipment. In addition to making yourself, or your main cook very happy, this is also a fantastic and classy gift for anyone, from a bachelor son who enjoys cooking to a new bride and groom. The hardcover edition is the best investment, offering a book that will last a long time, some 3 PLUS inches thick, with a wonderful red ribbon bookmark to mark your place.

Wonderful cookbook!
Great for the beginner to the more experienced. Wonderful as an all-around reference, from guacamole to hummus, with a great deal of detailed explanation. :) Happy cooking!

My standard reference
I received The New Joy of Cooking as a birthday present about half a year ago, and I've been using it consistently since then. It contains reliable and well-tested recipes, and employs a recipe format that would, in a perfect world, be adopted by all cookbook writers to come.

Of course, this is not the original Joy of Cooking, and it differs considerably from that volume. Opinions vary on the matter, but I feel that many of the complaints about this revised edition have more to do with sentimentality than with the quality of the book itself. The sections that have been sacrificed - though I'm sure they contained perfectly good recipes - are the ones for which the vast majority of Americans would find little use. The chapter on canning was not eliminated out of spite for the old ways; it was eliminated because the ubiquity of the refrigerator in America has made home canning all but obsolete.

The Joy of Cooking has not sold out, but merely continued to do what it has always done: provide Americans with high quality recipes that reflect the way America eats. That means dishes with east Asian, Indian, African, Caribbean, European, Latin American and Middle Eastern influences, holding their own beside standard "American" fare - quite an arbitrary designation, really - without replacing it.

I wholeheartedly recommend The New Joy of Cooking both for beginning cooks and for experienced ones who would like a single-volume reference for every night of the week. Or for that matter, every night of the year.

The Best First Cookbook
I never learned to cook growing up, and I still would not know how to cook had I never read this book. After trying a few easy recipes, I tackled the bouillabaise. This was such a hit that I'm now obligated to prepare it every Christmas.
The point is, the book is so well-written that you could just as easily prepare tuna salad as you could roast suckling pig. The recipes are easy to read, very well explained, and very precise. The book also details the basics of great food preparation, storage, and buying. You will learn how to store soup as well as how to pick the best fresh pineapple.
I'm also very impressed by the inclusion of so many multi-cultural dishes. Indian dishes, Morroccan dishes, Mexican, Chinese, Italian--it's all in here.
Now, if they'd just make a separate edition for each of the cultures mentioned above, I would die happy (or at the very least, well fed). ... Read more

Book Description

The United States is one of the sickest nations on the planet. Despite our wealth, access to educational media, natural resources, and opportunity, most Americans accept atherosclerosis, cancer, hypertension, osteoporosis, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and other degenerative chronic diseases as part of the normal aging process. Unfortunately, even our traditional "modern medicine" practitioners believe this misguided and bleak picture out of ignorance. This is because in a traditional curriculum, many physicians-in-training only receive one course in nutrition—the safest, most effective, and least expensive form of chronic disease prevention available. This one course is guided by the faulty 1992 "Food Pyramid" of the American Dietetic Association (ADA), which derived from the even more dangerous "Basic Four Food Groups" of 1956. In both cases, the approval of these dietary guidelines was a political rather than a medical decision, and recent scientific evidence has shown how these guidelines keep Americans sick rather than healthy.

The Vegan Diet as Chronic Disease Prevention explores the mountain of evidence that suggests that a diet free of animal products can have radically beneficial effects on many conditions that affect vast numbers of Americans. Dr. Saunders provides an exhaustive list of references and sources in arguably the most comprehensive argument in print for the human health benefits of the vegan diet. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Why isn't this on store shelves?
This book is the finest disease prevention book that's come out in a very long time. My question is: Why isn't this on the shelves of every bookstore and why isn't it being promoted by the "natural/health" food stores? Is the publisher not promoting this as it should be? It is a great resource for everyone, as disease prevention and as a diet, as well as historical information. It is a shame, in my opinion, that more people will not have the opportunity to read and learn from it merely because it is not being promoted as it deserves to be. Whoever has dropped the ball on this one, get with it!!!!

Could be used as a research reference
This book is a very easy read, even though it is packed with more references to research than I have ever seen in a book of this type before. Now more than ever I believe we are what we eat.

More a way of life than a diet, really
This book is really good. It goes into depth, really, about all matters concerning a healthy lifestyle, really. I really recommend it.

The absolutely BEST disease prevention book yet
This book is one of the most informative and best written works I have read on either the vegan diet or chronic disease prevention. It is also interesting from a historical perspective, as well as religious. There is more valuable information packed into this little volume than you can ever imagine. It would be a steal at 10 times the price. A must read for everyone!

A must for anyone concerned about health!
This book is absolutely amazing! Packed with facts about food and how the body reacts to the overly processed, chemical laden junk that the food industry passes off on the unsuspecting consumer. If you are interested in how to live a healthy lifestyle, but aren't interested in fads or kidney damaging diets (Atkins, anyone?) then you owe it to yourself to read this book! ... Read more

Book Description

"What would you give to have a great body without constantly dieting? Is it worth thirty minutes of your time three days a week? Are you willing to watch what you eat for two days a month if you could eat without deprivation the other twenty-eight days? Would you like to liberate yourself from the drudgery and monotony of constant dieting? I'm going to make you a promise that cannot be made by any other weight-loss program. I will show you an easy way to achieve permanent weight loss without permanent dieting. It won't take a lot of your time. And it will lead you out of diet hell." ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Missing the point
The trainer who didn't approve of Curves workout (3x a week on their hydraulic machines) may be missing the point. My friends and I who joined Curves were women who were very out of shape and did not do any form of exercise. Many women who use Curves were in this same boat before joining. We felt intimidated by traditional workout clubs, but at Curves we feel like we belong ... we're comfortable. We joined Curves and we do their program at least 3 days per week. I have never been told that I am supposed to do MORE than that, by the way. Not only does it work ... but whether this trainer feels it's adequate or not, it's WAY better than what we were doing before ... which is nothing. Also, the trainer mentioned something about needing 30-60 minutes of exercise a day even if you are NOT trying to lose weight. Simply by changing my diet to Low GI foods, I began losing weight immediately ... about 5-6 pounds per month, and that is without any exercise at all. However, when I started working out as well, it went up to 7-9 pounds per month. So it sure helps, but I still lose weight even without exercise. I've lost 60 pounds so far, and it just keeps going. I love Curves and I love eating Low GI foods!

GREAT diet
I have to say, as a personal trainer (in training), and as someone who knows that intense exercise is key, the fitness theory behind Curves bothers me. 30 minutes 3 times a week will not cut it - to maintain regular health alone, even if you don't want to lose weight, requires 30-60 minutes A DAY. ***Until of course, I realized that Curves encourages 30 minutes 3 times a week of strength, and 3 extra aerobic sessions a week, equalling 6 days of exercise. That's perfectly fine.*** But people, hydraulics? No.

Anyway, to the good stuff - I BOUGHT THIS BOOK FOR THE DIET PLANS. They are excellent! This book is written in a very friendly manner, and does not give the impression that you are going to feel deprived. What I love are the two diet choices - carbohydrate/calorie sensitive. Plus, there's a metabolic recharger. It's a wonderful way to achieve "permanent weight loss without permanent dieting". I look forward to trying this diet out, and expect nothing but excellent results.

Good job Curves! AS LONG AS PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT CARDIO IS TO BE DONE IN ADDITION TO THEIR 3X STRENGTH TRAINING PROGRAM, this plan is perfect. I don't intend to buy the original book; as mentioned, I am a PT in training and I know what to do as far as fitness. So if you do as well, buy this for the diet!

follow up to the first book
Great follow up to the original CURVES book that distills the Curves approach to getting and staying fit and healthy. Easy to reference and ready to fill in and use daily. I do wish they had printed this in a binder style format so it lays flat-easier to write in or copy a page. People really need to read this and understand what is being presented here-it is profound. Imagine raising your metabolism and caloric intake!! Way cool! No more yo-yo-ing! ... Read more

Amazon.com

"I had always known of the existence of the kitchen," begins Kevin Mills. "It was the room with the fridge in it. As for cooking, it was somebody else's problem. It was Mom's." When Mills went to college, however, it became his problem as well. After extensive phone coaching from Mom, he learned enough rudimentary recipes to keep from starving. And now you can learn them as well, along with a handful of not-so-rudimentary ones. ... Read more

Reviews (27)

GREAT cookbook for beginners and experts alike
I consider myself somewhat handy in the kitchen, but when I got my own apartment, I found that there were still some basic things I didn't know how to do. That's where this book came in. It taught me not only how to do those basic things, but also to make great meals that I had always thought were difficult (like pesto sauce). Between "Mom Tips" and ratings from "Very Easy" to "Difficult," it's hard to screw up these recipes as long as you know your level of ability in the kitchen. It's also nice because once you get the easy stuff down, you can work up to the harder stuff. There is also a good list in here of the basics for those of us who come into an empty apartment with an empty kitchen and no idea what to buy as far as staples (like ketchup, mustard, pasta, etc).

The recipes in this book are pretty much fool-proof, and they taste great. After venturing on to bigger and better things in "regular" cookbooks, I still come back to this one from time to time for great recipes. It is a must-have for any newbie in the kitchen and an awesome cookbook for anyone who wants to know the easy way to make just about anything.

Perfect for College Students!
I bought this book for myself, and I've been pleased with almost all the recipes. Not only are they simple, logical, and yummy, many are a great basis from which to experiment! It's the perfect cookbook for students who are short on cash and cooking experience, but it makes a great reference too. Good variety of basic vs. creative recipes! This book, coupled with either Joy of Cooking or the Good Housekeeping Cookbook, is a great way to start off any beginner cook!

Goofy Title and Cover, Yummy Center
I received this book as a gift as I moved into my own apartment. I was skeptical because it seemed goofy to be reliable. But the book's layout is simple and the recipes are rather varied and easy to follow. I have a made quite a few recipes out of it now and have enjoyed every one. I made a point to come to amazon and give this book a good rating. Try the spicy bean dip!

A great addition to all cookbook collections
I recently discovered this cookbook in my brother's cupboard. A friend had bought it for him but he thought it was a joke. I thought I would give these receipes a try and to my amazement all of the receipes I tried turned out fabulous. It doesn't matter what your level of expertise is in the kitchen, this is a great cookbook to have in any cook's cookbook collection. Most of the receipes are fast and easy. The warnings are a great touch for beginners and a good reminder for everyone else. The receipes are easy to follow and although all the receipes do lack pictures. I think this is an added bonus to give beginners confidence because then they set the standard and can improve on the receipes as they learn more about cooking/baking. The lists in the back are a nice added feature that any cook can appreciate. This way you know exactly what to buy and all of the items listed will make about 90% of everything in the cookbook. Most of the cookbooks I own don't even have a feature similar to it, let alone 2 receipes having remotely the same list.Watch out Betty Crocker, you definately have competition in Kevin and Nancy Mills.

A must for every beginner cook
I bought this book when I first left for college, and it is still on my bookshelf. Besides having an eclectic collection of easy-to-make recipes, it offers advice that most cookbooks would gloss over, such as how to substitute ingredients, where to find some ingredients in the supermarket, and how to salvage meals that didn't go according to plan.

I'm a better cook now than I was in college and less prone to disaster, but I still use several of the recipes from this book. The veggie chili is very good and forgiving of experimentation, and the recipe for chocolate chip cookies is still one of my favorites. The writing style made me feel as if I were talking one-on-one with a friend, and the authors explain everything down to the most minute detail. You have to be going out of your way to not pay attention to screw something up from this book. Its only weakness is that it doesn't have photos, but it's not really a coffee table kind of book, anyway. It's the kind of book that'll end up with stained pages that stick together, but that's the sign of a good cookbook. ... Read more

Book Description

Today, many people find they dont know kitchen basics, much less know how to cook a meal. Betty Crocker comes to the rescue in Cooking Basics, covering all the information anyone needs to cook, whether they are just leaving home, or discovering a need to cook at any age. Using the 100 appealing recipes here, anyone can learn to cook a complete meal. Nothing is intimidating, and every technique, term and ingredient is clearly explained. Each recipe has its own two-page spread, complete with a photo of the finished food and how-to photos of techniques used in the recipe. Its never been simpler to create a great dish!

Betty Crocker interviewed inexperienced cooks, to get just the the right recipes for this book, the ones novice cooks really want: hamburgers three way broiled, grilled or fried; Quick Lasagna; Teriyaki Chicken Stir-fry; Quick Chicken Soup; Shrimp Scampi; Quesadillas; Mashed Potatoes; Strawberry Shortcakes, and other tempting treats. Anyone can cook a dinner -- even entertain -- with these sure-fire recipes.

Did you think only gourmets tackled Thanksgiving dinner? Not with Betty Crocker. Included is a complete Thanksgiving feast, with a timetable so everything comes out just right. Whether you want to host the show, or bring a dish to help out your host, this Thanksgiving meal is perfect for everyone.

Also covered is how to set up a kitchen, how to read a recipe, a glossary of ingredients and a complete explanation of food preparation terms. Learn about fresh herbs--what they look like and how to use them -- plus complete easy-to-read listings of pasta shapes and salad greens. Sections on grilling, entertaining, table setting, and refrigerator and freezer storage guides complete the book, and make new cooks feel confident on all fronts. No longer does anyone have to be afraid of the kitchen. With Betty Crocker know-how and experience, you can cook up a great dinner! ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Wonderful!
I have this cookbook and I love it. I recently moved in on my own and this tells me how to do everthing. I didn't even know how to cook a baked potato and this book told me how. It is the perfect gift for a college student or someone on their own for the first time. The recipes are simply and very easy to follow. I highly recommend it to anyone.

Great for beginners and the more experienced as well!
Finally a true beginner's cookbook which deserves a permanent place in your kitchen. Betty Crocker's answer to customer requests for a beginner's cookbook is "Cooking Basics, Learning to Cook With Confidence".

This book features a nice variety of recipes including Italian Pasta Salad, Creamy Chicken and Dumplings, and Orange-Glazed Pork Chops. For entertaining there's Quick Guacamole, Tiramisu, and Strawberry Smoothies. It even shows you how to prepare an American Thanksgiving dinner from start to finish including appetizers and dessert.

Each recipe includes a full color photograph, nutritional information, and helpful tips pertaining to the dish's ingredients. Substitutions are discussed and there are suggestions to help keep the dish low fat.

What I found most impressive were the informational chapters on everything from kitchen utensils to classy centerpieces. So in addition to the fabulous recipes, the book contains handy information covering all areas of cooking and the kitchen.

This cookbook can take a college coed living on their own for the first time up and through the marriage years for it demonstrates cooking basics such as the proper way to cut an onion or how to cook an omelet, yet teaches the art of preparing Shrimp Scampi or Pesto Sauce. For all these reasons, I highly recommend this cookbook.

a timeless cookbook for amateur cooks and proud chefs alike
While internet (esp google) has greatly influenced the way we obtain any kind of information, recipes and cookbooks are most useful in an old-fashioned, paper format. This cookbook is one that you will return to over and over again. Modern recipes and helpful how-to photographs (no hand-drawn, monochrome pictures here), as well as photos of finished product make this book a keeper.

Here are a few recipes from the book: twice-baked potatoes, stuffed pasta shells, pot roast, pork chops and apples, fudgy brownie cake with raspberry sauce, and pumpkin pie.

On top of easy, tried-and-tested recipes, the book features a glossary of cooking techniques, types of herbs (along with to which dishes to use each kind of herb), greens, basic and advanced cooking equipments (including oudoor grills and grilling fuel), formal and informal buffet table setting, food safety, proper storage of meats and produce... all very thorough and valuable. The careful explanations in this book assume that the reader is completely new to cooking; seldom are the definitions too exhaustive -- I chuckled when I read the last bit of definition for 'stir' to be, "Combine ingredients with circular or figure-eight motion until uniform consistency. Stir once in a while for 'stirring occasionally,' stir often for 'stirring frequently' and stir continuously for 'stir constantly.'"

I also love the spiral binding and hard cover that make the book easy to keep open and durable. They are handy physical traits because this book WILL get a lot of use in your kitchen.

If I can give you an advice
this should be your first cookbook, or if you already have others, well, don't let the title fool you. It has great recipes, with pictures for each of them and detailed instructions. I have over 50 cookbooks and if I had to choose just one, well it would be this one.
Simple recipes, "the basics" including a a chapter where it teaches you how to make a traditional thanksgiving dinner. Let me tell you that I did it this november 28th and guess what? It turned out to be great! My family couldn't belive I've done everything by myself. And it wasn't such a big effort 'cause it teaches you how to organize every single thing.
I love this book!!

Great Cookbook!
As a college student I was tired of microwave meals- then I got this cookbook and it has been great! For someone who has never cooked before, cooks for one and refuses to make recipes that require too many ingredients, this book has been great! For those just wanting some good, basic recipes, I highly recommend it. ... Read more

Book Description

A comprehensive, illustrated bread-making reference from an award-winning master baker

Interest in fresh-baked breads is on the rise both in restaurants and at home, where more and more people are turning to the age-old comforts of baking and breaking bread with family and friends–the perfect antidote to modern stress. This book puts perfect loaves within reach of serious home bakers and professionals, detailing how to create everything from Baguettes and Whole Wheat Bread with Hazelnuts and Currants to Semolina Bread and Focaccia con Formaggio. It contains more than 118 recipes, including a whole chapter on decorative breads, as well as detailed coverage of bread baking techniques, from scaling and mixing through shaping, scoring, and baking. Nearly 250 beautiful black-and-white illustrations demonstrate methods step by step, while full-color inserts throughout the book show a broad selection of both simple and decorative finished breads.

Jeffrey Hamelman (Hartland,VT) has been baking professionally for more than 25 years. He is the Director of the Bakery and the Baking Education Center at King Arthur Flour in Norwich, Vermont. He was the captain of the United States team that won the prestigious Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie (the World Cup of Baking) in Paris. He became the 76th Certified Master Baker in the United States in 1998 ... Read more

Book Description

Self proclaimed diet junkie, Kristy Walker, discovered ZonePerfect and became such a believer of this dieting method she’s made it a lifelong way to eat. Balancing proteins, carbs and fats, she feels it’s improved her energy, mental focus and complexion.

The 130 recipes developed with two natural food chefs — Janet Hampel and Alana Sugar — feature fresh foods as vibrant as they are good for you. You’ll find:

• Nourishing breakfasts like blackberry and cherry smoothie and scrambled Mexican tofu.
• Colorful lunch salads such as ham, melon, goat cheese on arugula or tangerine shrimp salad with avocado dressing.
• Distinctive dinner recipes such as swiss chard with ginger butternut squash and arame; orange almond tofu stir fry; to seared sea bass with capers and olives.

Recognizing you don’t always have time to cook, the recipes have been coded into 3 cooking times so you can select the recipe that fits your lifestyle. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Cookbooks suck lemons
I'm not into cooking and less into cookbooks.
I had heard about the Zone program, but was a bit intimidated on how to use the information pratically.

The "Zone perfect cookbook" is differant than anything I've come across before. It is beautiful to look at, and you don't have to be Martha Stewart to figure out how to make the recipies. I could relate to Kristy Walkers personal process of finally finding a healthy way of loosing weight easily.

I've now started to actually enjoing cooking.

I highly reccomend this book for cooks and non-cooks alike.

Wow, Zone cooking made easy
As a follower of a Zone, but completely defunct in the kitchen this cookbook simplifies the entire process. The recipes are delicious and easy to follow with great general cooking tips thrown in the mix. I recommend this book wholeheartedly.

Disappointing format, content
I have to admit, I didn't actually cook anything out of this book, so I can't comment on how anything tastes. I was so dissapointed in that the recipes didn't include any nutritional information other than the 'balanced portion' block information. Also, most of these recipes are for 1 serving! Some of the dinners were calculated for 4 servings, but they were in the minority! I'm just not interested in multiplying the recipes out every time I need to make a grocery list or prepare a meal to figure out what I need. I was looking for a way to prepare zone meals using food readily available in grocery stores (had to look up what steel-cut oats were), and not by adding zone perfect protein powder to everything. I normally use cookbooks by Oxmoor House (Southern Living, Cooking Light), and for now I'll continue to do so. This one's getting returned.

Food is our best medicine
"As a health practitioner and advocate of Zone dieting for over 15 years, one of the most difficult tasks I face is getting my clients to comply to a low glycemic diet. Food is truly our best medicine, and Ms. Walker's book offers a delicious yet simple approach to accomplish a healthy diet routine. The book's cuisine facilitates a vital diet for all body types and shapes. I whole heartedly recommend her book and approach to all of my clients and to all who wish to receive the gift of health through fine dining made elegantly at home." Chris Morris ND

Nourishing, Healthful, Delicious
I was always so frustrated with the recipes in the Zone books because they were four block or balanced portions rather than three. Many of us need three rather than four blocks. These recipes have three balanced portions. Some of those recipes also included ingredients that I didn't think were very healthy. As a busy working mom, this cookbook has allowed me to create truly healthy, nourishing and oh so delicious meals in no time. My son loves the smoothie recipes too and frequently asks for one. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Perhaps more than any other person, Marcella Hazan isresponsible for bringing Italian cuisine into the homes of Americancooks. We're not talking spaghetti and meatballs here--Hazan's cuisineconsists of polenta, risotto, squid braised with tomatoes and whitewine, sautéed swiss chard with olive oil and garlic.... Twentyyears ago, when Hazan first exploded into the American consciousness withThe Classic Italian Cook Book and More Classic ItalianCooking, such recipes were revolutionary. With time, however, theseclassic dishes have become much-beloved family favorites.

Now a new generation is ready to be introduced to Marcella Hazan's waywith food, and in Essentials of Italian Cooking Hazan combinesher two earlier works into one update and expanded volume. In additionto the delicious collection of recipes, this book serves as a basicmanual for cooks of every skill level. Recipes have been revised toreduce fat content, and a whole new chapter full of fundamentalinformation about herbs, spices, and cheeses used in Italian kitchens--as well as details on how to select specific ingredients--has beenadded. New chapters, new recipes--who could ask for more thanEssentials of Italian Cooking? ... Read more

Reviews (70)

Delicious, Delicious, Delicious
This is it: The single indispensable cookbook -- not just for Italian food, but for good food. Marcella's (sometimes acerbic) commentary on ingredients and recipes is wonderful, but the reason to buy this book is for the dishes. Almost everything I've made from this book has been an absolute treat, from the succulent mushroom and ham pasta sauce to the delectable stuffed tomatoes. And with the size of this compendium, you'll never run out of new tastes to try.

My one quibble? The desserts don't seem to measure up to the rest of the dishes. The two I've tried -- lemon almond cookies and the farm wive's pear tart -- were disappointing. The cookies tasted great, but had the texture of cardboard, while the "tart" was more like a clafouti; although I baked it far longer than the recipe called for, it remained doughy and wet. With all that ripe pear in the batter, though, it certainly tasted acceptable!

With two disappointments out of the 30-or-so fabulous recipes I've tried, this is still single finest book I've ever cooked from. (and much better than her recent huge success Marcella Cucina). Oh, the soups! Oh, the pastas! Oh, the vegetables! Oh, Marcella!

One of my top five cookbooks
Essentials gets the most use of any cookbook in my kitchen, second only to Joy of Cooking. I absolutely love it. I started cooking from it as a fairly new cook - every recipe is easy with very good instructions. Essentials is a real Italian cookbook so you wil not find Italian-American recipes loaded with cheese and tons of sauce (not that those aren't good). The book is over 600 pages and crammed full of recipes from all of Italy's regions (no food pictures). Virtually every recipe has notes for ahead-of-time prep and all the pasta sauce recipes list a recommended pasta. My husband loves Marcella Hazan b/c she doesn't try to be fancy. If a dried pasta is best with a sauce she will recommend it. If canned broth can be used, she will make a note of it. There is a great chapter in the back of the book called "At Table". She discusses how Italians eat (how the courses work) and has a large variety of suggested menus.

My favorite cookbook reviews list the recipes people have made from it. It gives me ideas of dishes to try and a better idea of what the cookbook will be like. Since I have made over 30 recipes from this book I can't list them all, but here are some of our favorites: Minestrone alla Romagnola - the best, thickest vegetable soup I have ever had and unlike any minestrone I have had at a restaurant. Tomato Sauce with Porcini Mushrooms; Smothered Onion Sauce; Scallop Sauce with Olive Oil, Garlic and Hot Pepper; and Gorgonzola Sauce are all incredible on pasta. Don't forget the Pesto! Her recipe is the best. On to risotto's.... the Parmesan Cheese; Porcini Mushroom; and Sausage risotto's are great. The Baked Crespelle with Spinach, Prosciutto and Parmesan is a yummy Sunday night dinner. The Stuffed Spaghetti Frittata with Tomato, Mozzarella and Ham is my husband's new favorite Saturday breakfast. We have made the Grilled Shrimp Skewers at least 20 times - it goes great with pasta and pesto sauce. Chicken Fricassee with Porcini Mushrooms, White Wine and Tomatoes; Tuscan Meat Roll with White Wine and Porcini Mushrooms; Braised Pork Chops with Two Wines are all good winter cooking. If you want to wow your friends with a minimal amount of work try the Braised Pork Chops with Tomatoes, Cream and Porcini Mushrooms (I had a pound of dried porcini so I tried every recipe that called for it). I could keep going, but at this point just typing the recipes has made me hungry. I promise - you can't go wrong with this book. Hmmm, maybe I'll make the minestrone tonight!

One of the best cookbooks ever
I have been using this cookbook for more than 10 years. Marcella Hazan writes about food and cooking with absolute authority, and the results are always delicious. I don't just refer to this book when I want to cook "Italian food." I'll often use it for ideas when it's close to dinner time and I'm not sure what to do with a bunch of broccoli, or a fish filet.

The book is also beautifully made and printed. You can't go wrong with this one.

Best Italian, Bar None
This is the best Italian cookbook out there, bar none, and one of the very best cookbooks written. The instructions are straightforward and detailed - sometimes maddeningly detailed. The results are superior from the ver first recipe - a person with no experience in the kitchen at all will know exactly what to do.

Good Food and Essential Help in the Kitchen!
This is the best darn cookbook that money can buy. It has STUPENDOUS recipes and it has hints and tips that have made me a better chef. From Spaghetti Bolognese to Fritattas, to Lentil Soups, etc. this is the book to be reading. AND the recipes are not difficult, they are explained very well (although there's practically no pictures of the dishes you will be making). It's just a question about whether or not you have the time to cook. If you do have the time, you'll be delighted. Highly recommended! ... Read more

Book Description

Creole Made Easy. A simple introduction to Haitian Creole for English speaking people. Sixteen easy lessons cover the basic elements of Creole grammar and how to pronounce Creole words. The lessons include simple exercises and translation keys. A thorough up to date dictionary of over 4600 words Creole to English and English to Creole word translations is included. A 2 CD set pronunciation guide is available separately. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Great Book!
It is the only Haitian Creole translation book that I have found which makes sense of this difficult language. I would recomend to anyone who wants to learn casual Creole in preparation for travel to Haiti or while there.

Well Worth the Money
I am a student of Haitian Creole, and I found this book to be an excellent supplement to a course or other methods of study. It has an extensive glossary and easy to follow lessons. The only thing is book is missing is a phonetic pronounciation key. Other than that, this book will definitely help beginning speakers of this language.

Small, compact and convenient.
Great book. A lot is covered in the 16 lessons, nice exercises to practice. The dictionary at the back is quite extensive and covers most of the words that I've wanted to look up, including some basic medical terms that I found lacking in other small dictionaries.
If you get the pronounciation guide as well, you won't have spent much and you will be much further along in your quest to learn creole. I rarely have to call for a translator now when dealing with my patients.

Well worth the price
I found this a very useful book to get an idea what Creole is all about. It is short and simple and each chapter makes you more eager to go on to the next. I had the advantage to have learned French in school. Without that I imagine it can be difficult to get an idea how the Creole words should be pronounced. A simple audio tape in addition to the textbook would be most welcome indeed.

A fine little book
This is not appropriate for learning Haitian Kreyol on your own - it's some way between a phrase book and a useful reference on the more important grammar. What's really good about it is the glossary, more like a small dictionary, which is more than enough for most everyday purposes, including a little on computers etc.
I'd say this book is best for someone visiting Haiti for more than a holiday and ready to put in more work - useful for phrases/terms and explanation when faced with a grammatical construct not obvious from listening. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (26)

Excellent guide to low sodium eating
I bought this book because my husband is currently battling very high blood pressure. Within 4 days his blood pressure dropped 10-15 points, and that was only following the diet moderately. He's now 30-35 points down, eating 700 mg of sodium a day, and this book shows you how to cut the sodium even a little more.

I like this book for several reasons:

1. The recipes are ones that are palatable and that people want to eat. You cook things that you used to cook on a normal diet, just with low sodium. The recipes are for dishes that everybody would want to eat, not some weird vegan dish that only people with heart problems would eat because they have no other choice.

2. You get building block recipes as well as full dishes. Don shows you how to make different sauces that you can combine with raw ingredients such as meat and vegetables. There's also full entrees.

3. Recipes are not hard to make. You don't spent the entire day in the kitchen.

4. You get hard to find recipes. Salt free bread. Relish. Soy sauce substitute.

5. You know exactly what the nutritional value is. Don has it broken down to every last mg of sodium. Other values such as calories and cholesterol are also listed. Don also warns you about some traps like watching out for some maple syrups which have sodium.

6. Informative front sections tell you about spices, sodium value of some raw ingredients, and other basic information.

7. Active website. You can e-mail the author (...). I wrote him once and received a reply within 10 minutes. Other e-mail was answered within a day.

Things I didn't like:

1. Book contains typos/errors. Author has published an errata page on his website.

2. Author uses some substitute items which have potassium salts. Some people watching sodium intake also can't have large amounts of potassium, so I felt it would have been better to call this out more prominently, perhaps somewhere in the front sections. The recipes which use potassium salts, however, are a small minority. I wouldn't let this prevent me from buying the book; just be aware of what ingredients you're using.

-----

The author has doubtless spent many hours experimenting in his kitchen and testing the results. He's already blazed a trail for you. Why not benefit from what he's already discovered?

Oh, My! A low-sodium cookbook with recipes that taste good!
I'm astounded! Quite frankly, I never thought I'd be able to really enjoy the meals I made from my numerous low-sodium or otherwise "healthy" cookbooks. They were either tasteless or had plenty of (awful) flavor. No More!

Don Gazzaniga, a heart patient himself, has saved me the frustration I've experienced trying to remake good recipes into healthful ones for my husband with congestive heart failure. I have spent countless hours in the kitchen only to find that my attempt to prepare good food that's good for my husband has failed miserably. Chef Don to the rescue!

While my favorite is the Paella, there are a multitude of good-for-you recipes, gourmet and standard fare, from bread (even with bread machine recipes!) to dessert. Well-categorized and indexed, this has beome my favorite cookbook (and I have quite a few) in a very short time. I only wish there were photos, but that's the only thing I'd change. Each recipe includes the sodium counts for both the whole recipe and also Don's suggested serving sizes. He's also included, of course, other nutritional information per serving as well.

If you are looking for recipes to help protect your heart health, buy this book. If you already have a form of heart disease, buy this book RIGHT NOW. As for author Don Gazzaniga, I can't thank you enough, and I hope you're writing the next cookbook. You're a Godsend!

Doctor Recommended It
I wasn't doing well with my low salt diet so my doctor sent me to megaheart.com where I found this book. The website was full of info and I clicked through to here. I bought the book six months ago and it's been a wonderful experience. It's great reading but critically helpful. Following the dietary plan in this book has caused me to improve impressively. Great book. Great Website.

Life Saver
Best ever. I've bought them all. This is the one. The one that saved my life. Great plan in book and I stuck to it. Doctor can't believe, wife can't believe it, I can't believe. This is the only book in the no salt world that truly seems designed to help. More than a cookbook, it's my lifesaver. And the author has a great website where he actually responds to questions. Thank you for this book.

Good stuff -- well worth the $$$ for any heart healthy folks
I have congestive heart failure and must limit my daily sodium intake drastically -- it's a part of life. This book has excellent recipes to help me do just that.

More importantly, the beginning 20 or 30 pages have informaton useful to every heart patient, especially CHFers, not to mention their family members. Pick up a copy and give it a read -- you'll be glad you did. ... Read more

Book Description

A complete illustrated volume of home-cooking lessons and recipes.

The Culinary Institute of America is the place where many of America's leading chefs have learned and refined their cooking skills, and its methods are widely revered as the gold standard among culinary insiders around the world.

Now everyone can learn from the best, with Cooking at Home with The Culinary Institute of America. This complete-and completely approachable-illustrated guide gives home cooks an outstanding course in the essentials of cooking along with a wealth of irresistible recipes. Drawing on the CIA's extensive expertise, it shares all the basic information on equipment, ingredients, and techniques needed to become a great cook, from proper knife skills to cooking methods such as braising, grilling, sautéing, and stewing. Readers learn the techniques step by step, with detailed instructions and extensive color photographs that clearly explain both what to do and how to do it.

Perfect for practicing skills and building a repertoire, the book's 200 stylish recipes are delicious and easy to make, from Beef Satay with Peanut Sauce to Roast Chicken with Pan Gravy, from Shrimp in Chili Sauce to Pasta Primavera with Basil Cream Sauce, French Style Peas, and more.

Generously illustrated with 250 beautiful full-color photographs of techniques and finished dishes, Cooking at Home with The Culinary Institute of America is a complete package of home-cooking lessons and recipes that home cooks can use to master the art of cooking in their own kitchens. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Textbook from Reliable Authority on Cooking. Some lapses
'Cooking at Home with The Culinary Institute of America' aims to arm the amateur cook with many of the tools of the professional and communicate the things which inspire a professional chef and set them apart from the amateur. The book comes to us with the authority of the foremost culinary school in the country and the aura of being a textbook with which it may seem to be sacrilege to take issue. This book does many very good things, but in popularizing it's subject, it does loose some depth and credibility.

The book does several very good things that almost entirely outweigh its few blemishes.

The first valuable lesson from this book is its characterization of the way students of professional cooking come to think about their vocation and its materials. In this way, the book can make you a more successful cook by adapting professional methods. The heart of the matter is to 'learn to think critically about cooking' and 'learn how to look at, touch, smell, and taste a dish to judge whether it is coming together'. A professional cook knows how to rescue a recipe when a step fails or an ingredient is unavailable. They know what Alton Brown calls the map of culinary facts and techniques, which surround recipes, and explains how they work. That is not to say that this book deals with culinary science a la Shirley Corriher. The terms 'acid' and 'gluten' don't even appear in the index.

The second valuable type of lesson in this book is the descriptions of general techniques and the explanations for how they work. An example is in the technique for preparing stocks where the book explains that flavors are extracted from vegetables within an hour after adding them to the simmering stock water. This means that if you expect to simmer your veal bones for four hours, you can wait for three hours before adding the vegetables. This measure is irrelevant, of course, for fish stocks, where the fish flesh and bones should be simmered for no more than 30 to 45 minutes. Much of this information is given in easily used tabular form as in the table of best cooking methods for cuts of beef, veal, pork, and lamb. My most useful suggestion regarding this information is to recommend you view this information with a critical eye. In one part of the book, it is said that analogous parts of animals are often best cooked by similar methods. However, the book cites braising as a preferred method for cooking beef chuck (shoulder), but does not give braising as a method for cooking lamb shoulder. While I see many recipes for grilling and broiling lamb shoulder, Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby in 'How to Cook Meat' specifically say that lamb shoulder is an excellent cut for braising. Regarding cooking temperature endpoints, the book is typically very conservative, largely following the USDA recommendations for reaching up to 180 degrees in chicken thighs when cooking whole birds. Reliable sources have recommended that reaching 165 degrees is quite enough, with less danger of drying out the white meat in the bird.

The third and possibly most valuable resource in this book is the collection of classic recipes with expert procedures which all but guarantee a satisfactory result. The pasta chapter, for example, begins with a basic tomato marinara sauce followed by such classics as pasta Puttanesca, pasta Primavera, pasta alla Carbonara, spinach and escarole lasagna, and (potato) gnocchi with herbs and butter. The collection does not contain every 'classic'. You will not, for example, find coq au vin in the poultry chapter. But, the selection is very good. Each recipe contains a sidebar giving some insight into either an ingredient, technique, or serving suggestion. Each recipe also contains one or more references to other parts of the book where relevant techniques are explained.

One surprising weakness in the book is the cursory coverage of some basic cooking techniques. The chapter on poultry gives a description of how to cut a chicken into serving pieces, with only four steps and four pictures. A similar description in James Peterson's 'Essentials of Cooking' takes thirteen steps with thirteen color photographs. The coverage of other basic techniques seems similarly skimpy.

One subtle but surprising lapse is in the description of basic cooking techniques. If you read the descriptions of shallow poaching and pan frying, it is quite unclear what the difference may be between the two methods. Neither method cites the most important fact that poaching is done in water and pan frying is done in oil and the difference in effect is based on the difference between 212 degrees of water cooking and 350 degrees or higher of oil cooking. The description of these methods does have some secrets to offer. I never before saw shallow poaching as an efficient method for creating a sauce by reducing the poaching liquid after the food has been cooked.

If you have no other cookbooks or no cookbooks that discuss general techniques, this is an inspiring introduction to cooking. Even if you have a small cookbook library, this book can be a worthy addition if you have no good books covering egg cookery or what this book calls 'Kitchen Desserts'. These are dishes based primarily based of fruits, custards, puddings, cream, and prepared doughs such as puff pastry. The book does not cover breads, pastries, cakes, cookies, or other baked desserts typically done by a pastry chef. If you are interested in thorough discussions of cooking techniques, I recommend Alton Brown's 'I'm Only Here for the Food'.

Recommended for sound, straightforward recipes and a great primer on cookspeak. Other books do a better job of explaining basic techniques.

A good basic cookbook-compared to other similar books
I have bought several cookbooks lately that aim to show one how to cook rather than simply list recipes. I will share with you my experiences.

This book is an excellent basic cookbook that explains many basic techniques and has many recipes of good, sophisticated recipes that won't require shopping in a specialty market. While there are some pictures of techniques, most are beautiful full-page colored pictures of finished recipes. Most, but not all, recipes have a picture of the finished product. It is excellent for the beginning cook that wants to produce food that is a step above the daily grind, but yet doesn't require outrageous demands skill, time, or one's grocer.

A similar book, Le Cordon Bleu's Complete Cooking Techniques, has many more techniques and many fewer recipes, with only very basic recipes. The pictures are primarily series of small size colored pictures that explain how a technique is done. In comparison to the one above, the techniques are more comprehensive and more complicated. I found this one much more useful than the above, since recipes themselves are so common.

Jacques Pepin's Complete Techniques is half the price of the two above books, presumably because of its black and white pictures and because it is a paperback. And, while the pictures are a serious drawback to this book, being a series of small black-and-white pictures for each technique, I absolutely adore the book because of the fabulous, imaginative recipes and the many imaginative techniques. If only the pictures had been larger and in color, this book would have been an excellent buy at three times the price. Although it is frustrating to have to deal with the pictures, in truth, most of the techniques are adequately explained by the pictures. However, some of the techniques, such as how to debone a bird, absolutely require more information than can be gleaned by the photos. Still, though, I would not part with this book and adore it for the many ideas that would impress one's guests.

Required reading for anybody with a kitchen
Well organized, straight forward information about preparing everything from soup to nuts...literally. The instructions and photographs are detailed, yet not overly complex, and the recipes and variations allow you to refine your skills at your own pace.

This book lays a perfect foundation on which to build an impressive repertoire of culinary skills.

Cooking class in a book
Lavishly and instructively illustrated, this teaching book presents, in words and pictures, step-by-step instructions for everything from making spice sachets and pureeing soups to carving a roasted chicken and filleting a fish. It even shows various ways of cutting vegetables, preparing garlic, cleaning leeks and mushrooms.

A thorough primer, it starts with a discussion of tools, techniques and pantry ingredients, advocates an organized mindset, and proceeds in the same patient, simple manner through each course, discussing market choices and preparation, many illustrated. Easy-to-follow recipes build technique and repertoire, from Onion Soup Gratinee and Thai Hot and Sour Soup to Southern Fried Chicken, Roast Goose with Pan Gravy, Grilled Lamb with Mango Chutney and Beef Tenderloin with Mushrooms.

There are stir-fries, curries and classic continental and American dishes, all with painstaking directions. Side notes offer tips and direct the cook to basic cooking instructions elsewhere in the book. A masterful, handsome, endlessly useful and encouraging book for the beginner.

A must for your cookbook collection
This is an incredible resource. And the photography is awesome! ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Easy to follow guide to better barbecue
I found the book easy to read and follow. I have gone from burger, brats and dogs to succulent spare ribs, baby backs, pork butt, tenderloins, and turkeys. The tips and tools are all in the book.

Learn about grilling vs. smoking (barbecue); types of grills/smokers; wood and charcoal; tools you need and ingredients you will want. There are plenty of good recipes to use or borrow from to create your own masterpiece.

Slathers, rubs, marinades, spices, pork, beef, chicken, turkey, sausage and fish. The book has a nice index for quickly finding your desired information. Excellent and informative. Thanks for opening my eyes. My tastebuds are happy now!

Very Good Competition Barbecue Manual.
A few days ago, I interviewed a thin, oversized book entitled 'The Big Grill' published by a minor, undistinguished publishing house. The book had all the look about it of a volume destined to go directly from the publisher to the discount stacks, and I found nothing in the book which changed that opinion. The only puzzling aspect of the book is that the thumbnail biography of the author on the back jacket listed some very serious credentials for the author, Paul Kirk. By chance, I soon ran across this volume by the same Paul Kirk, published by the very serious Harvard Common Press, with very high powered blurbs on the back jacket from the likes of John Thorne and Tony Bourdain, plus several luminary barbecue restaurateurs. Like the case with my poor review of one of Nigella Lawson's lesser efforts, I was anxious to find a genuine source for all this admiration. Therefore, I do this review of a book that is dramatically different and better than 'The Big Grill' potboiler.

A superficial look at the size and the cover of 'Championship Barbecue' may give you the impression that the book is similar to Steve Raichlen's encyclopedic collections of barbecue recipes. While Raichlen's excellent 'BBQ USA' gives a great history of the subject and a thorough collection of recipes from around the country, Kirk's 'Championship Barbecue' is almost entirely the story of how to participate in and win barbecue contests, a skill he seems to have mastered early and excelled in often.

The very first thing which struck me about Kirk's description of what it takes to win at a barbecue contest is how similar it is to lessons learned by traditional chefs doing haute cuisine. Kirk repeats the mantra told by everyone from Daniel Boulud to Paul Robuchon that a lot of the secret comes from practice and attention to details. This is why he can freely teach people his recipes and techniques with little fear that it will give them the means to beat him at the next competition. To have even the smallest chance of matching Kirk's performance requires years of practice and experience, plus the stamina and discipline to check a smoker every 90 minutes overnight, thereby giving up a perfectly good night's sleep in order to insure 16 to 24 hours of smoking at a consistent temperature.

The only thing Kirk does not tell us is the recipe for his latest rubs and sauces, as he changes them for each year's competition. He is more than generous in telling us just about everything else. The book starts with three chapters, about fifty pages, on competition planning, equipment, rules, and preparation before he even gets to the recipes. The next hundred pages cover pantry preparations such as marinades, mops, sops, slathers, seasonings, rubs, sauces, salsas, relishes, and dipping sauces. Some recipes are borrowed (or stolen) from friends, but most are the author's own creations. My favorite recipes were for the most basic staples such as catsup, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce. The chapters where recipes cover completed dishes are:

Hog Heaven begins with a long essay on pork primals, brines, woods, whole hog smoking, and the recipes. While Kirk is based in Kansas, which is beef country, most big competitions have pork contests and some of the biggest contests such as the Memphis in May invitational are all pork. Note that Kirk is crystal clear on the difference between barbecue and grilling and he includes a lot of grill recipes which correctly are fast cooking over high heat, while barbecue is slow cooking with smoke over indirect heat.

Steer Crazy covers beef recipes, both for barbecue and grilling. Some recipes include veal and sweetbreads, but the main attractions are burgers, kabobs, sirloin, strips, filets, ribeye, and brisket. At the beginning of the chapter, Kirk clearly indicates which cuts are best for grilling and which cuts are best for 'cue and which cuts can go both ways.

Lamb and Cabrito covers lamb and goat cookery. Cabrito is a method of roasting a whole goat that originated in Mexico. Lamb recipes cover Greek, Lebanese, Japanese, Indian, Caribbean, Tex-Mex, Hawaiian, French, and plain old barbecue.

Putting on the Dog covers all things you can stuff into a pig's intestines, otherwise known as sausage. It includes kielbasa, chourico, andouille, Italian, Texas Hill sausage, bratwurst, lamb, gyro, apple, and venison, oh my.

Plentiful Poultry covers birds, including burgers, wings, jerk, grilled, smoked, fajitas, quesadillas, Cornish, turkey, duck, dove, and quail.

Smokin' with the Fishes covers fillets, lots of catfish, grouper, mackerel, lots of salmon, lots of swordfish, lots of tuna, crabs, lobster, oysters, octopus, shrimp, and squid. Most recipes for fish are for the grill, but there are some smoker recipes for some of the firmer fish and game fish such as mackerel, salmon, and trout.

On the side is... sides dishes, mostly salads, casseroles, and bakes with potatoes, macaroni, and beans. Southern and Yankee cornbread and hoe cakes round out the list. I am really surprised to discover here that it is the Yankee, not the Southern cornbread that contains the sugar.

The book ends with an excellent section on sources for grills, spices, wood, and charcoal. Early in the book, there are also contacts for the three major barbecue competition certifying organizations. Be very clear that this book is great even if you never take the first step towards entering a barbecue competition. What makes great competition barbecue will make great home barbecue.

With two big caveats, almost all the recipes are pretty simple. The first gotcha is that a grill or smoker setup, even with Kingsford briquettes can be a pretty big chore, especially if outdoor space is tight. The second gotcha is that even reasonable quality barbecue needs a lot of attention to maintain a constant temperature with natural materials.

If you are up to the fire outdoors, this is the book for you!

Give the man his due!
Chef Paul, has been a leader in the world of BBQ, whether you are for him or against, he has made a BIG mark in this area of the food world. As a follow chef and competitor, I respect his achievements and knowledge. This book is loaded with Great information and different recipes. A little overwelming in size. But still a GREAT book. I wish Paul well with the book!

Baron Von BBQ
Ive been compeating and cooking BBQ since I was a kid and I still learn something new every time I read this book. Paul Kirk really is the Baron of BBQ. (This is what he likes to call himself). HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!! ... Read more

Book Description

On the corner of Bleecker and Eleventh Streets in the heart of Greenwich Village sits the Magnolia Bakery. This unassuming shop, where the smells of home-style baking weaken even the strongest will, has attracted a clientele that ranges from kids on their way home from school to celebrity glitterati. Cupcakes swirled with pastel frosting crowd the counter, and cakestands display Lemon Vanilla Bundt Cake, Apple Walnut Cake with Caramel Cream Cheese Icing, and Coconut Layer Cake, swathed in fluffy white frosting and covered in drifts of coconut. As Time Out New York says: "The secret to Magnolia's success is simple: Nobody knows how to bake like this anymore."

Magnolia's owners Jennifer Appel and Allysa Torey know how, and in The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook they share their most mouth-watering recipes, from sweet breakfast treats like Dried-Cherry Crumb Buns to classic Iced Molasses Cookies, from decadently rich Caramel Pecan Brownies and Raspberry Marzipan Cheesecake to refreshing Lemon Icebox Pie. Their easy-to-follow recipes and invaluable baking hints mean that even the inexperienced baker will be able to frost the perfect layer cake, turn out the flakiest pie crust, and whip up the creamiest cheesecake. Illustrated with eight pages of glorious color photographs, The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook will inspire you to turn on the oven and create sweet memories for your family and friends. ... Read more

Reviews (33)

Very Disappointing....
I'm very disappointed with many of the recipes..I dont know if there are misprints or if thats the way they make at the Greenwich village bakery. I made the Apple Crumb Pie which came out very boring...and the Iced Molasses Cookies were disgusting (they tasted like the ones you d find at the Winn-Dixie markets...and the Chocolate Chip Banana Bread ended up with the texture of "grass seeds", probably from the chopped peanuts. This is one very sad cook book...it appeared very delicious but the results were disasterous. And I consider myself a professional baker (working at the Disney World's bakeries for 5 years).

Good book
I had read about this book on another website and was immediately intrigued by one of the recipes listed. It was an orange vanilla chip cookie that was supposed to taste like those old fashioned orange creamsicles. The day I bought the book and brought it home, I baked those cookies and took them to a bake sale at work. They were a big hit. I made about 5 dozen and they were quickly gone.

When I was mixing the dough, I thought the authors had made a mistake. The dough was very dry and difficult to mix. I had thought about adding extra eggs. I decided to go ahead and bake the first batch. They baked up thick, soft, chewy, and delicious. They didn't spread and become thin. They were surprising light-tasting and made everyone want more.

The other recipes look just as wonderful and I look forward to trying them all. They are simple, with no complex ingredients and the instructions are very clear. Even a first-time baker would have no problem with these recipes. The only complaint I had was that there were too few pictures.

Lets you bring home the wonderful smells of Magnolia Bakery!
I never miss a trip to Magnolia Bakery in NYC's Greenwich Village whenever I am in town. It smells amazing and the cupcakes and icebox pies are to die for!!! You do have to crowd into this little shop for quite a while to wait your turn but it's worth it!

This book lets you make all of these wonderful, old-fashioned treats at home with simple ingredients and not a lot of effort. I don't even have a sweet tooth but some of the recipes are downright tempting! If you make nothing else, try the recipes for their famous cupcakes (I like the chocolate ones especially) - makes the book worth getting.

great
I purchased my copy of this book from the bakery on a trip to New York. My family is from the south and I was intrigued by the idea of the book and the bakery. I have not been disappointed. The recipes are clearly written and easy to follow and each one I have tried has turned out beautifully. I have made many of the cheesecakes and cookies, the pies, and cakes/frostings and they seem to be fail proof. I am giving the book out as gifts due to the many requests for the recipes. I think it is a great book.

Classic Recipies
This is by far one of the best baked good cookbooks I've used. The recipies are simple, straightforward and classic...something that is missing in a lot of books out there.

Every recipie that I've tried, blueberry muffins, corn bread, chocolate chip cookies, lemon pie have all turned out well. I look forward to trying a recipie from this book ever time!

I'd like to say it's like mom makes, but now she makes cookies that are sliced up from the fridge. So it's like mom is SUPPOSED to make in an ideal world! ... Read more

Book Description