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Summary: Grown-Up Gift for a Teenager
Review: My friend's daughter turned fourteen and I was searching for the "right" birthday gift. She has shown an interest in cooking so I purchased this cookbook for her. It has proven to be a perfect gift since it makes her feel grown-up. The easy step-by-step recipes and photographs lead to culinary success and rave reviews from her family. This is a great way to help build a teenage girl's self-esteem. This cookbook contains the necessary basics and is straight-forward. My husband has now requested a copy for Christmas -- that's what I call real success!
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Summary: The perfect way to stop fearing the kitchen!
Review: The previous reviewer was right on...my roommate has this book and it has been a godsend in helping me to become a better cook. I bought it for my boyfriend (who is newly on his own) and he is really starting to dig the kitchen and dig cooking! This would make the perfect gift for a high school graduate just striking out on his/her own, your favorite bachelor, etc...
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Summary: Cooking good food and doing a good job.
Review: This book is well organized by showing how to cook, prepare and serve meals. The meals are not too basic but perfict for sombody who does not have the reasorces in ther pantry. The time it take to prepare the dishes is farley quick, so you are not spending 2 hours cooking somthing that will be eaten in 10 min.
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Summary: Best cookbook I own!
Review: This is the absolute best "beginner" cookbook I own.Perfect for someone who's too embarassed to ask others how to make mashed potatoes or a decent omlette! My favorite recipes are the do-ahead lasagna and the au gratin potatoes (both much easier than you would think). Great photos, glossary, etc.
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Summary: If I can give you an advice
Review: 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!!
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Summary: a timeless cookbook for amateur cooks and proud chefs alike
Review: 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.
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