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Summary: The only cookbook you'll ever need!
Review: This cookbook clearly explains everything that a person would like or need to know about everything food! I have made countless dishes from this cookbook without any failures. I consider myself a good cook- at best, and have had no problems completing any of the recipes. I too, have tattered my paperback edition to shreds and am now finding I must upgrade to a hardcover. This is an excellent gift for a wedding, shower, or birthday! Bon Appetit!
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Summary: The naysayers are wrong.
Review: Some previous readers/reviewers claim that this cookbook is snooty, requires you to have a personal staff on hand, requires you to get expensive kitchenware, and forces you to go on expeditions for pricey, obscure ingredients. Well, I have found none of those things to be true. I am a destitute grad student who couldn't boil water until last year. Yet somehow, even I can manage to cook recipies from this cookbook on my crappy $40 pot and pan set from Kmart. And with great success. All the recipies that I have ever tried from this cookbook have been hits. My friends are under the impression that I am some master chef. But really, all I did was read this book.
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Summary: Love This Cookbook!!!
Review: It is true, as others have said, that this book can be complicated at times; but the compliments I get when I use it make it well worth the trouble. I make the apple pie all the time and am always asked to bring it to family gatherings. (I must admit, I take all the credit) In the words of one family friend,"This is the most AWESOME apple pie I've ever eaten" Bottem line, get this book, at the very least you will have a great reference and Ideas book!
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Summary: Snooty attitude and silly recipies! A disappointment
Review: These women must not cook dinner often. If they do, they must have amazing gourmet kitchens. This book has some great recipies if you want to impress someone, and I love the sections that give you menu and snack ideas (how to serve this cheese with that fruit, etc.)....but what's with all the long ingredient lists and obscure ingredients?? This book is not practical for everyday use. The lemon cookie recipie didn't work, and I've heard that other recipies were wrong, so I don't tend to use this book for actual cooking, just for ideas. It looked like a great book but overall was a letdown.
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Summary: Learned the hard way! But can read a menu like a pro now...
Review: Living alone and trying to cook for the first time at the age of 24 (rice-a-roni was a stretch), I bought this book looking for the basics. The REAL BASICS. Great book, wrong title. I ended up buying lots of expensive ingredients & pans & spending six hours on sauce just to fix lasagna for friends spur of the moment. As a non-cooker but a "regular fine diner," it did not occur to me that using a jar of good store sauce was just fine if you are in a hurry. I was that "basic." But I learned so much more by reading this book than I have in several expensive NYC cooking classes. The cleverly-drawn pictures, specific explanations of herbs, meat cuts, etc., and anecdotal commentaries helped me make up for lost time. I can read a menu at the chi-chi-est of places with comfort, an even try to duplicate the foods at home (though never as good >:) ) . I have since read many a cookbook looking for something that is basic enough for a beginner but sophisticated enough for a person who dines out five nights a week and "knows food" from the eating perspective - not to be found! So although I learned how to clean leeks and roast peppers before I could make scrambled eggs or broil a chicken, the journey was well worth it, and, in retrospect, I guess I am glad I was baptised by fire. I now know how to make a great Spicy Italian Tomato Vegatarian sauce and some very creative Eastern chicken dishes, but I still want to know how to cook for one without too much trouble, and also, what about Taco Salad and Pot Pie like Mom made?...... SUMMARY: A great cookbook for people who know and enjoy food and appreciate spending time and money on it - and also want to learn more. These ideas are not especially pricey, but this is not a good choice for those on a very strict budget or those who do not derive lots of Joy From Cookin!
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Summary: The only cookbook you will EVER need
Review: I cannot begin to express that ANYONE who enjoys to cook MUST have this book -- it's wonderfully organized, easy to read and I have not made a recipe that has failed me. I have coordinated weddings and parties completely on this book -- I promise you you WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!
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Summary: Love it. Not basic, though.
Review: I freaked out my mom once by calling this cookbook "simple." I wasn't quite sure what I was comparing it to at the time, but I had learned to cook from these two women's books, so it seemed as though nothing could be more simple.Then I picked up Julia Child's The Way to Cook with recipes like: (1) Clarify butter (2) Fry steak in butter. So yeah, I guess this is complicated as far as basics go, and it also neglects what you get from Childs or the CIA cookbook -- technique and theory. There are a lot of charts, but not a lot of proper knife technique or menu theory. This is a basic cookbook for someone who already knows his or her way around the kitchen, and loves to cook. It will always have its place in my heart and on my shelf, but as far as everyday cooking goes, do yourself a favor and look elsewhere.
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Summary: This book has everything
Review: This is one of the best gifts I have ever received. I use this cookbook for all of my major meal planning. I also attribute this book in helping me learn how to cook. I find that whenever I think about the meals my Mother used to cook and wonder how to make them, I simply refer to this cookbook, and voila, the recipe is there. It has a great kitchen glossary (it explains everything from cuts of meat, what wine to serve and how to prepare vegetables). I too have worn out my paperback and purchased the hard cover.
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Summary: Classic and Classy - Be daring, but keep it simple
Review: The best part of this book is the way it entices you to be daring and try something new; and it's foundation in the classics. Cocktail party in the future? No problem with nearly 80 pages of appetizers. Tired of the same old veggies? 100+ pages should give you some new ideas. Need a good stock recipe? Bertha's is the best one (page 781). No, best parts of this cookbook are the stories about each particular dish or ingredient. After all, meals have historically been the most social of occasions. With people, you've got stories and histories. No wait, the best part is the number of ideas it gives you for serving these dishes. It offers several combinations for most dishes to mix and mach with others in the book. Ok. I'll admit it, I can't say enough good things about this book. Count me among its fans.
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Summary: A classic for our time
Review: Definitely the most used cookbook on my shelf. I know I can count on these recipes to turn out right and taste great. Wide range of complexity. Perfect ingredient lists. Also, an encyclopedic amount of additional information that is arranged in easy to read tables and quotes and quips.
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