Rating: 
Summary: Fruitcake Lovers Unite!
Review: I love fruitcake and I have sampled so many recipes that my friends call me Dr. Fruitcake! Martha Stewart's recipe is the greatest! It's more than just fruit and nuts loaded with rum. It has body, and character. No holiday table should be without this recipe and several others featured in this fine book. James H. McGavran
Rating: 
Summary: This Is Not Very Good Cookbook - Too Hard
Review: I prefer the How to Be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking, Betty Crocker's Picture Cookbook, The Low-Carb Comfort Food Cookbook.
Rating:
Summary: Impress your dinner guests and family
Review: I purchased this book being a fan of Martha's TV show, but afraid that the recipes may be too complex and time-consuming for me (a 20-year old beginning homemaker). I was also expecting that many dishes would call for extra trips to the grocery store for exotic ingredients I would rarely have on hand. As it turns out, most of the recipes can be prepared with a few staple pantry items and really don't take much time at all. However, for those of you who want a few unique, impressive dishes to add to your dinner party menu, you'll find those in this book as well. The book is also appealing to the eye and looks great on any bookshelf or in the kitchen. For the beginner or the family's favorite cook, this book will be used over and over and it's recipes will become favorites not only of yours but of the others who taste them. By using this cookbook alone, I have improved my cooking and baking skills more than I thought possible in a month. I highly reccomend this cookbook for anyone.
Rating:
Summary: This is my everything-BASIC cookbook!
Review: I recieved this book for Christmas and now it is what I would call my basic cookbook. My 19 year old daughter who flew out of the nest into this great big world shall be getting a gift from me-her mama...it shall be a copy of this book for her kitchen. Add this to the front of your shelf for frequent use.
Rating: 
Summary: There are something missing
Review: I was excited for this book but I had a great frustration! I don't know exactly what, but there's something missing in this book. It's a big volume, it's a compilation of years of recipes, but there is a problem with it. Of course there are very few pictures! Why so few? And the recipes pictured are not really seductive. The color of the pages is pale, the cover is poor. It's too heavy etc... Well, it's a Martha Stewart but her editor was not inspired this time. If you compare this to hers Hors D'ouvre Book this one is absolutely not worth the price.
Rating:
Summary: An Eclectic Collection of Martha's Favorites
Review: I was quite excited to see this new cookbook. As I paged through all 592 pages, I was pleased to see a recipe for "Moroccan Preserved Lemons," "Tzatziki," (a cucumber sauce), "Pistachio-Honey Torrone," and "French Almond Nougat." Those are not recipes you will find just anywhere. Many collectors will enjoy this cookbook for the tantalizing tidbits of information in the headnotes alone. The beauty of this cookbook is that it takes basic foods like "Macaroni and Cheese" and gives them a more gourmet taste. This can be a great inspiration to cooks who need some new ideas. The recipe titles of "Tarragon Limeade" and "Orange Pekoe Lemonade" had my full attention. I want to know how these recipes taste, the titles are so tantalizing. This cookbook begins with page after page of food photographs to show you what some of the recipes will look like. The "Fresh Apricot Almond Tart" picture looks like the perfect summer dessert, the "Coconut Layer Cake" has me running to the kitchen to see if I still had a bag of coconut in the freezer. When you see the picture of the Caramel Bourbon Vanilla Sauce, you will long for a warm apple crumble to drizzle it over. Martha has divided her book into logical chapters. You start with a few pages on Basic Kitchen Helps and then dive right into Hor D'Oeuvres, Breakfast, Breads, Soups, Salads, Vegetables, Potatoes, Pasta, Rice and Grains, Meat, Poultry, Fish and Shellfish, Vegetarian Main Courses, Desserts, Pies and Tarts, Cookies and Candy, Drinks and finally, Salsas, Sauces, Dips and More. In some of the recipes, Martha uses ingredients, which may not be familiar, however...just like in her magazine, she does not leave you stranded. The last section of the book includes a Sources Section. If you ever think a negative review won't sell a book, let me tell you, I bought this book because of a negative review. Yes, it is true. Sometimes that will sell a book even faster. Well, one of my fellow reviewers complained about the Macaroni and Cheese recipe being bland. So, being a investigator at heart, I had to know if it was true. After trying the recipe, I have a few theories about Martha's Recipes and the philosophy, which she perhaps might use in creating them. After receiving this book I did see that the type was a bit smaller, but it is not smaller than most cookbooks out there. I prefer a 15-point size myself, but hardly any cookbooks cater to my desire for a larger print, so I am going to publish one myself! What I did love was the nice bold headings on the recipes, the little hints and tips and "did you know" blocks of information sprinkled throughout the pages. When I read that someone did not like the Macaroni and Cheese 101 recipe, I had to try it. Then I read: "This is quite possibly the most popular recipe we have ever created." page 244. Wow, now I really had to try it. So, we headed off to the store to pick up 18 ounces of sharp white cheddar cheese and 5 ounces of Pecorino Romano cheese. Most macaroni and cheese recipes are better with sharp cheeses. As I was making the recipe, I noticed a chef like quality to her cooking, but her directions needed a revamp. Not only should you start boiling the water before you start the cheese sauce, the noodles should be cooking during the other preparation steps. The recipe parts should also be divided. Had there been a heading "Topping" and "Cheese Sauce" that would have been nice. I also didn't like having the butter and cheese divided in the instructions but not in the actual ingredient listing. When making the dish, I could feel that something might be amiss in the cheese sauce, there was way too much milk for the flour and butter. 1 cup milk to 2 tablespoons flour and 2 tablespoons butter is more traditional for a cheese sauce. Martha's recipe calls for 8 tablespoons flour to 6 tablespoons unsalted butter and 5 1/2 cups milk. That leaves the sauce in a rather soupy state as most recipes would only call for 4 cups milk. Then she recommended that the noodles be cooked strangely. It is hard to cook them the way she did, so I just cooked them until they were done. That must be the key...to undercook them so they absorb more of the sauce. The instructions read: "Cook the macaroni until the outside of the pasta is cooked and the inside is underdone, 2 to 3 minutes." page 244. What I DID LOVE about the final result...was the topping. The cheese and bread cubes in butter was SO tasty. It was quite a lot better than just dried breadcrumbs. What did I serve it with? Lemon Pepper chicken that I found at my local store. Very tasty! They fried up fast and then you could add a green veggie if you wanted. Well, I will continue to test more recipes. I found the Mac recipe good when I sprinkled it with freshly ground black Tellicherry peppercorns and then sprinkled it with Fleur de Sel. Now, those two things can make anything a bit better! Yes, it was more bland, but I think Martha expects you to season it to taste. The nutmeg flavor was quite good. The sauce was not as creamy, but I think if you undercooked the noodles, it would solve all problems. I recommend this book to cooks who want some new inspiration in the kitchen. For those who are just starting to cook, you will enjoy many of the recipes, but remember to season them to taste. There is also a good reason Martha might say something, so even if it seems to go against what you are used to, try the new instructions and I bet the recipe will work.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I was very anxious when my book came in the mail. However, after reading through it I was disappointed. There are very few pictures. I am one who likes to see what the finished product is supposed to look like. There were no recipes for quiche (what I was searching for). And, I found some of the recipes hard to follow. I have several Martha Stewart cookbooks and have been impressed with all the others. This one is going to go on a shelf as a decoration. I won't get much use out of it. For a book that was supposed to be a compilation of years of recipes I found that Martha must really love dates and figs. My family is a cheesecake family and the 4 recipes for cheesecake that were offered were just not good enough.
Rating:
Summary: Use with common sense
Review: I was warned when I bought this book that Martha's recipes, which we know are from others on her staff, are tough to get to come out well due to flaws. I tried the Meatloaf 101 recipe and I created one of the worst meatloafs you could imagine. After putting vegetables into the food processor as directed I proceeded to run the processor for the time suggested. What I found was that when I was done the vegetables had been way over processed. I used them anyway thinking I may not understand what will come out, but the meatloaf was a mushy mess that was the consistency of dog food. Be very cautious when using this cookbook, use your kitchen common sense.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful collection!
Review: I've actually had this book for a few weeks, but I wanted to try the Macaroni and Cheese 101 recipe first before I gave it a review. Like all the other recipes I've tried from the book, the Mac and Cheese was delicious, and devoured by my family. Rich, creamy, a little gooey, and I agree with the person who commented on how nice the crumb topping was. Chicken cacciatore (very easy) has also become a family favorite. The photos in the front are lovely, and make me want to try all of those recipes as well. All of the recipes I've tried so far have been much easier than I expected. The definitions in the front and the "Sources" listing in the back are very helpful. My only complaint is that there should be more of those great photos!
Rating: 
Summary: It's all in here!
Review: If you're like me, you peruse Martha's monthly magazine and drool over the recipes. Then a month later, you remember that wonderful recipe for Chippino but can't remember what issue it was published in. Well, with the publication of this cookbook, your guess work is over. All of the recipes are here. The only complaint is that, as in many cookbooks, there is no way you can cook and refer to the recipe at the same time without practically laying a brick on each side of the book to hold the pages open. Almost perfect.
| 
