Rating: 
Summary: Great for the basics!
Review: This is a wonderful cookbook filled with all the basics, lots of tips and more! For someone who doesn't have that perfect "family recipe" for meatloaf, potato salad, risotto and more, look to this book. The Meatloaf 101 and American Potato Salad 101 are the tastiest I have ever tried!
Rating:
Summary: A REALLY Good thing!
Review: This is by far the best -I have them all and this is the icing on the cake. An excellent assortment from the magazine that covers simple, healthy food to elaborate and challenging productions. If you are a cook, someone who loves to cook, or a collector of great recipes get this! It's not for beginners or kitchen/time challenged, however.
Rating: 
Summary: The Only "Martha" Cookbook You Need
Review: Though I've seen complaints that these aren't all Martha's "original" recipes, I think those are from people who are missing the point. This is simply a compilation of the most popular recipes--more than 1,500 of them, this is a BIG book--which have appeared in Martha Stewart Living magazine to date. Stewart makes no secret of the fact that many of these recipes come from chef's, friends and others who have either appeared on her show or contributed to her magazine.I've looked at other Martha Stewart cookbooks, including the classic "Entertaining," and think that, for the money, this is the best Martha cookbook on the market. It offers a wide variety and hits on all the favorites from both her show and magazine. While I wouldn't necessarily recommend this as the only cookbook to have in your kitchen, it does have a great mix of old-fashioned classics--those contributed by Martha's mom are my favorite (I'm addicted to her meatloaf)--and meals which can "wow" company, both with taste and presentation. Alongside the classics--"The Joy of Cooking" and/or "The New Joy of Cooking," the "Betty Crocker Cookbook," the "Fannie Farmer Cookbook" and/or a Cook's Illustrated title (either "The Best Recipe" or the "Cook's Bible")--the voluminous and comprehensive "Martha Stewart Living Cookbook" will round out a perfectly balanced recipe collection for anyone who enjoys cooking, or just wants to be able to put together a smart looking meal now and again.
Rating: 
Summary: Definitely not a worthwhile investment!
Review: What have I expected from Martha Stewart in the past? A lot. Have Martha Stewart's cookbooks lived up to my expectations? Nope. What does she present us with here? Nothing to get excited about. This cookbook does include a range of recipes for breakfast, lunch, hors d'oeuvres, dinner, drinks, and dessert. However, about the only things that turn out really well are the cookies. Then there are the basic breakfast foods and easy things such as her mashed potatoes that turn out okay too, but you have to really try to screw those things up (and who doesn't already have better recipes for them). I really wonder what goes on in their test kitchens because nothing else seems to ever turn out right, or even like any of the pictures (which there are disappointingly few of). Ms. Stewart has definitely not mastered her "comfort foods" because her macaroni and cheese and roasts aren't very tasty. I have tried many of these recipes that were previously published in her Living magazine and can say, simply put: too many of these recipes don't turn out well, making this cookbook a risky investment. This cookbook will entice you, as it did me, with the name on it's cover and the lifestyle it is trying to sell you. But let me tell you before you get sucked in: resist the urge to buy this cookbook!
Rating: 
Summary: Use with common sense
Review: Whenever I want to try something interesting but cannot risk a questionable recipe (when cooking for guests), I go to this book. I also refer to this book for a lot of basic information, as it has several tables and illustrations for techniques mentioned in the recipes. For example, there is a helpful table on time for blanching different vegetables (brussel sprouts take 8 minutes, but snow peas take 30 seconds). While it does not claim to be an exhaustive reference on technique, it includes just enough to make you think you can count on it to have everything you need. Unfortunately, I often expect it to have some basic information I need to look up quickly, only to be disappointed that what I need is not covered. It is a good addition to a library for those who take cooking seriously and have some experience with it. Not all the recipes are difficult, but many are. Occasionally, Martha (or the editor?) puts in comments before the recipes to alert you to crucial things you might overlook, but there are no listing of indicators that give you some idea of the complexity of the recipes, like preparation time. If you cook frequently, you probably do not require these, but even if you are Julia Childs, such information helps you to quickly select a recipe from among the thousands. This could almost be the only cookbook you use, as the recipes are diverse and it covers nearly every type of mainstream cooking (and plenty of exotic things too). Yet it falls short as a reference. For example, the chapter on eggs does not have a table for cooking times for eggs, such as hard boiled vs. soft boiled. For many things like that, a good basic cooking reference is still needed. Still, it lives up to what it claims to be, "a collection of good, workable, everyday recipes." There are quite a few that go beyond "everyday," but you will have no problem finding plenty of simple and quick recipes too.
Rating:
Summary: great but lacks a few basics
Review: Whenever I want to try something interesting but cannot risk a questionable recipe (when cooking for guests), I go to this book. I also refer to this book for a lot of basic information, as it has several tables and illustrations for techniques mentioned in the recipes. For example, there is a helpful table on time for blanching different vegetables (brussel sprouts take 8 minutes, but snow peas take 30 seconds). While it does not claim to be an exhaustive reference on technique, it includes just enough to make you think you can count on it to have everything you need. Unfortunately, I often expect it to have some basic information I need to look up quickly, only to be disappointed that what I need is not covered. It is a good addition to a library for those who take cooking seriously and have some experience with it. Not all the recipes are difficult, but many are. Occasionally, Martha (or the editor?) puts in comments before the recipes to alert you to crucial things you might overlook, but there are no listing of indicators that give you some idea of the complexity of the recipes, like preparation time. If you cook frequently, you probably do not require these, but even if you are Julia Childs, such information helps you to quickly select a recipe from among the thousands. This could almost be the only cookbook you use, as the recipes are diverse and it covers nearly every type of mainstream cooking (and plenty of exotic things too). Yet it falls short as a reference. For example, the chapter on eggs does not have a table for cooking times for eggs, such as hard boiled vs. soft boiled. For many things like that, a good basic cooking reference is still needed. Still, it lives up to what it claims to be, "a collection of good, workable, everyday recipes." There are quite a few that go beyond "everyday," but you will have no problem finding plenty of simple and quick recipes too.
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