Cookbooks Books

I love this book. I collect cookbooks and read them for fun. I love her chatty style of describing recipes. She gives you such a good idea of when they are good to use, what equipment you will need. Also, her combinations are quite unique. Over and over I came across unusual ideas that sound fabulous. I recommend this to anyone who loves to cook, it's a great resource.

we are fortunate to be able to visit the restaurant several times a year the favorite of my family for their visits esp the pork chop and the ribs and the amazing lemon lime pie now, they can do these at home was a perfect gift for my sophomore and jr college grandchildren, who love to cook, and do these in their apts at school. mom and dad, too

Love the cookbook and am looking forward to cooking from it right away. Thanks

My mom and I had a chance to eat at the restaurant Oct. 2007. Our experience was positive. I had to try the Mongolian Pork Chops from the reviews I'd read. Every bit as good as people reported. The only thing was that a month after I'd returned home, I was craving it (the whole meal)! I promptly ordered the cookbook. Again, I was impressed. Lots of beautiful pictures. I immediately set about trying the recipe, which not only included the entree, but the side dishes as well. My husband loved it too (he didn't get to experience the meal at the restaurant). I was so pleaseed, also bought the book for my aunt!

I was given this cookbook for Christmas and was a little intimidated by it. It looks more like a coffee table cookbook at first glance -- something fun to look at and read but too challenging to actually use. However, I have fallen in love with this cookbook!! The Jack Daniel's Pecan Chocolate Cake with chocolate sauce is divine AND easy (and for those who don't eat wheat or gluten, totally flourless). The House-Made Ketchup is extremely good and makes a great bbq sauce (recipe also included). Even though the recipes are not hard, this is no canned-mushroom-soup cookbook. If you're the king (or queen) of fresh and don't mind spending a little time in the kitchen now and then, you might just love it. Kudos to Mustard's for sharing their best.

Martha Pearl is a spunky wonderful character. More than that, she is a wonderful Southern cook. Her son,James, shares her sense of humor and love of cooking. I adore the way she puts him in his place when he wants to "fuss" with her recipes. I am almost through with the entire cookbook. I have laughed and underlined and referenced. It is a great, wonderful read. Knowing recipes as I do, I can tell you that you can trust this book to give you great food. Don't wait. Don't even put this on your wish list. It's a keeper. Yum

Jim Villas is one of our better cookbook and culinary memoir writers, while remaining a throwback to the likes of James Beard and Craig Claiborne. His affinity to Claiborne is especially strong, as both are unreconstituted Bourbon drinking Southerners who live(d) on Eastern Long Island and wrote for the `Eastern Establishment' publishing powers. Villas' special talent seems to be in recapturing what is most familiar and most comfortable about food for Americans. This is certainly true of his most recent cookbooks `Crazy for Casseroles' and `Biscuit Bliss'. His most recent collection of culinary essays and opinions `Stalking the Green Fairy' brings out this orientation in well written essays, but no book represents his culinary roots and inclinations quite as well as this book, cowritten with his mother.

On the face of it, this book would seem to be a transcription of mother Martha Pearl's little black recipe book into a form which William Morrow can publish and we can read and effectively translate into reproductions of Mrs. Villas favorite dishes. The back story of the book seems to be much more complicated than this, as Mrs. Villas' written recipes were sketchy, poorly handwritten, and done only as an aide d'memoire for someone who cooked almost entirely by experience, and look and feel, just like every other traditional southern cook whose praxis has been memorialized in writing. Thus, Villas had to do anthropology by observing his mother at work and doing his best to estimate amounts from quantities doled out by hand and eye. This too was made difficult by an entirely familiar friendly antagonism between mother and son in the kitchen. A running theme is that Mother Villas and son agree that Jimmy simply could never quite reproduce the quality of his mother's own recipes, in spite of years spent at studying and writing about the world's cuisines. Some of the repartee which documents this antagonism is a little difficult to believe, as when Miss Martha cannot find any `White Lily' or other soft southern flour in Jimmy's East Hampton kitchen with which to make biscuits. I've been cooking regularly for less than three years and I have a regular supply of `White Lily' shipped to the Lehigh Valley from Tennessee like clockwork.

I am glad I am skeptical of Jimmy's inability to reproduce Miss Martha's recipes, as if this were gospel, it would bode ill for your or my ability to make the recipes in this book into something remotely like the jewels which appear on Martha Pearl's North Carolina dinner table. In fact, I think a fairly well practiced cook with average equipment will do quite well with these recipes thank you.

The best things about the collection of recipes in this book are that practically all of the classic southern recipes are represented here and, in spite of the crack about doing anthropology, true practitioners of this cuisine are interpreting the recipes for us. With all due respect to Villas' friend Paula Wolfert, there is no observation and interpretation going on here. This is the real deal, where cook and scribe are part of the culture on which they report.

Just as Italy has it's `oil line' separating the butter from the olive oil cuisines of North and South, I think the Mason-Dixon line could double as the mayonnaise line, as I suspect that beginning in Maryland, sales of Hellmans doubles per capita as you cross each state border from Maryland to the Carolinas. Both Villas are on very safe culinary grounds here, as they typically specify either Hellmans or homemade, AND, the Hellmans brands of mayonnaise are consistent winners in `Cooks Illustrated' taste tests.

Most recipes in this book are fairly easy, although they are typically more picky about some details of method and ingredients than fellow Southerner Paula Deen of Savannah. They are also a lot pickier about the details of method than my own mother whose ideal recipe is Deen's spiral bound church fundraiser cookbook style. Of course, Miss Martha and my mother share a passion for the very freshest corn and tomatoes in season. There are also significant differences between Deen and the Villas in even a basic recipe such as pimento cheese spread. I suspect the Villas' interpretation is more traditional and it is certainly in line with Mother Villas' cardinal rule of not messing around with the taste of the main ingredients by adding a lot of extras. Their recipe for my favorite creamed chipped beef is a good example, as it is almost exactly the same as the recipe from Mississippian Craig Claiborne, but without the addition of Worcestershire sauce.

The recipe chapters fill all the niches you expect in a traditional southern cuisine, including Breakfast and Brunch; Canapes, Appetizers, and Snacks; Soups and Stews; Salads; Meats; Poultry and Game; Seafood; Casseroles; Vegetables; Breads; Desserts; Cookies and Confections; Pickles, Relishes and Preserves; Sauces and Dressings; and Beverages. With the chapter on preserving, the book covers more than most compendia of Southern cooking.

At every turn of the page in this book, I find myself nodding in agreement over choices of methods and ingredients. The use of torn bread pieces in place of breadcrumbs in meat loaf agrees with all my best sources for this delicacy. Patties for frying and doughs for rising are all chilled in the fridge for the righteous length of times to either firm up or relax. Miss Martha does share with Miss Paula the tendency to use canned soup and store-bought croutons in casseroles and such, but the application is judicious. Note that the coverage of the North Carolina speciality, pork barbecue, is a bit light. Do not depend on this book for much smoke work.

I really liked this book. It was a perfect mix of authentic, doable recipes and stories to make them and the authors come to life. Real home cooking with a good read thrown into the bargain.

Like me, many of you have probably come across stacks of so-called southern cookbooks that are full of non-southern recipes! I was beginning to think that no one had published an accurate accounting of deep south cooking.

Then, I found this book! It is by far the best and most authentic southern cookbook I've ever seen, and I regularly use many of the recipes.

My family and I are from Arkansas, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Texas, and like so many other southerners, we're very particular about getting food just right. After moving out west , I longed to have a greater selection of the southern recipes I enjoyed as a child, but unfortunately, the family cookbook that was passed down to me only contained a limited number of recipes. (Like Villa says, it is typical for southerners to not have recipes written down.)

Anyway, this is a highly recommended book. It won't disappoint!!

I have spent hours since this book arrived last week just trying to decide which dishes to make first. I ended up making a "Southern" dinner for my Wisconsin mate using the Calabash Cole Slaw and "Brown Paper Bag" BBQ Chicken (I used a Reynolds Hot Bag, thank you!) from this book and Cheddar Cheese Grits from Martha Phelps Stamps' "New Southern Basics" (ISBN # 1581822413 -- another excellent Southern cookbook). It was a big hit and nothing was wasted (next day: grits with breakfast, cole slaw and chicken for lunch!).

As a bonus you get the story behind many of the recipes and running commentary from Villas' mother on many of the recipes. It is clearly a give-and-take mother and son relationship when he says his mother drives him crazy over this or that ingredient and she implies that his version of the family recipe is a little "uppity". She says Jimmy makes his hush puppies with yellow corn meal, but she prefers white. It is both bitchy and sweet at the same time!

I already have my next meal planned from this wonderful book and can recommend it for the cole slaw and BBQ chicken recipes alone - not to mention the lively stories and commentary. Enjoy.

This is the cookbook I can pull out and count on to produce a wonderful dish every single time. I haven't come across a dud yet. Martha Pearl is delightful (and yes I AM hinting for a dinner invitation) and so are her recipes. The macaroni and cheese is a family favorite that already has stains on the page because I make it so often. The pecan coffee cake is another recipe I have made many times and always get compliments on. I live near Charlotte and keep hoping to run into Jimmy and Martha Pearl picking over the Silver Queen corn at the farmer's market. I would unabashedly tell her what a devoted fan she has made of this transplanted Yankee.

Stew, So far we've tried two of you recipes, New England Cod and Marinated Lamb. We loved both dishes (especially the magic taste of the cornbread on the Cod, what a great idea. We look forward to trying other recipes. Thanks, Christopher Senie

I very, very highly recommend this book.It is filled with wonderful recipes. The special tips offered by Stew Leonard are an excellent addition. I very much enjoyed seeing the photos of the store and how food is prepared . It was also very interesting to see how the store developed from its humble beginnings to one of the country's most amazing culinary shopping experience. This is a must buy for anyone interested in cooking, or a really fun look at Stew Leonards!

I watched ABC today and saw Chef George preparing a great recipe from this book. It sounded so quick and easy that I decided to buy it. It's full of quick recipes that make you look better than Martha! I have the family fooled!

I was testing out a pie recipe for Thanksgiving, and wasn't sure which variety of apples to buy. I was able to look it up in the Stew Leonards cookbook. As a matter of fact, there was a whole page on each variety and how they are best used. While I was at it, I checked out the pie recipe, and it was fantastic. The kids gobbled it up. Can't wait to try more recipes. Looking forward to the Garlic mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving dinner.

Being a working mom and wife and the primary cook of a family of five it seems I never have enough time to plan and cook a meal that everyone loves. I've tried all sorts of other cookbooks even ones you use on the computer but the "STEW LEONARD I CAN DO IT COOKBOOK" takes the stress out of cooking. I'm not just happy my family is too!

A must nepali cook book for any kind of nepali food. I am now able to cook all those nepali foods that I would have never been able to. It's a magnificent piece of cookbook for all.

This is the most comprehensive English-language Nepali cookbook available. It contains almost 500 pages and 300 recipes. If you want to know how to make a particular dish, the recipe will most likely be in this book. I am incredibly happy this book was published because I no longer have to bother my mom for her recipes. Most recipes also have a brief, but helpful commentary.

For those unfamiliar with Nepali cooking, there is also an ingredients/equipment section and a brief glossary.

Allowing for variations in cooking styles and tastes between individuals, I do have serious issues with the quantities listed in the recipes. Having made about a dozen dishes from this book, I am convinced that many of the recipes were not tested. I am an experienced cook and grew up on this food, so I was able to make the necessary adjustments. For instance, a dal recipe requires twice as much water as listed; some dishes are woefully undersalted; the maalpuwa requires more enrichment from milk and clarified butter, and the sel completely falls apart in the oil if the batter is made to the consistency of "heavy cream" as directed. Someone unfamiliar with the cuisine might require a few tries to get it right, or might end up with the wrong impression of how the dish is supposed to be.

Nepali cuisine is almost exclusively home cooking, and even the mistakes in the recipes exemplify this notion. The only measuring devices used are the eyes and the hands, and perhaps that is why some of the quantified amounts seem to be off. Still, I have to take off a star for this, as well for the lack of photos.

In the end, I still highly recommend this book, both to Nepalis and others interested in this cuisine. I am confident that you will find pleasure in one of the least known and healthiest cuisines in the world.

"Taste of Nepal" is truly an encyclopedia of Nepali cuisine with a wealth of popular and specialty Nepali dishes from "momos" to "Raajkhaani Taareko"! It is a great book for young Nepalese like me studying in the US. I used to have to call up my aunts living in the US and ask, "How do I make tama-aloo tarkari like Ma used to make in Kathmandu OR What masala aren't you supposed to put in eggplant?" Now, I've got a reference book right in my kitchen. I would highly recommend the book to anyone delving into Nepali cuisine for the first time or to those like me who wished they had paid more attention to their mothers/grandmothers in the kitchen.

Finally, a cookbook devoted entirely to Nepalese cooking which offers a range of classic dishes adapted for American kitchens and equipment. History, discussions of Nepalese cuisine, and introductions to each dish which offer serving tips and insights - as in a Spicy Stuffed Eggs, compared to Deviled Eggs and advised to serve at room temperature by itself - makes for a cookbook clear in instruction and approach. No color photos - but the easy recipes don't need them. Access to a spices shouldn't be a problem either, as most - ground cumin, chopped cilantro, ground coriander and fresh ginger, for example, are readily available in American markets. Highly recommended: a 'must' for any serious international cookbook collection: there's simply nothing like it on the American market.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

With several dozen cookbooks on our shelves, my wife and I are fairly critical of new additions. This one definitely passes with flying colors. Pathak has included the little details that make shopping, cooking and eating such a delight. Not only do you get Nepali recipes in exquisite detail (an extremely rare occurence in and of itself) but you come to learn much about the country, its people and its customs. I highly recommend this book to any foodie or otherwise.

This book is OK but "Cooking Up a Storm: The Teen Survival Cookbook" is a much better book for teens. A good addition if you want more than one cook book for kids.

My daughter received this book and we both love it. The entree recipes provide clear directions and come with side-dish suggestions and general cooking tips. Any teen who wants to move cooking skills beyond the microwave should own this book and the partner book Teens Cook Dessert. The recipes in both are delish!

This recipe book gives such a wide assortment of recipes for young people to use almost everyday. The recipes are easy to understand, ingredients are everyday items, and there are plenty of hints and tips to help the novice chef. My niece (high school)and daughter (college) both received copies from me and both are enjoying their cooking experiences from this book. I have even used some of the recipes since they are great for working women who need to put something together quickly and still feel like they are putting on a "home-cooked" meal.

I am having a back to school program for my teens at the Library teaching them how to make easy and delicious after-school snacks. This is a great book. Just looking at the flyers I have up, they are psyched that we will be making snacks created (and taste approved) by teens. The recipes are easy, the ingredients are easy to find, and the best part is these will be healthier for them than microwavable, perservative-riddled frozen "snacks." I also like that there is a section on breakfast food since many teens tend to skip this very important meal. The cool thing is that a lot of the breakfast recipes (like the scones and even the breakfast casserole) can be made in advance and grabbed when their scurrying out the door.

My daughter checked out this book from our puplic library,she was sooooo excited when she was able to cook the things in the book without much help from me. When she would finish,it would be GREAT!!!!! I will defiantly be purchasing this book.

I always know that if Ms. Robertson is the author, the recipes will be wonderful. Vegan Planet is my most used cookbook but Fire and Spice is certainly competing for number one. All of the recipes I have made to date are easy and taste delicious. The quinoa stuffed avocados is a perfect recipe to serve to guests. it is both easy and colorful. I just made the Garlic Soup yesterday and it is absolutely delicious!

Thanks so much, Ms. Roberston; keep them coming!

I bought this book a few weeks ago for my vegetarian daughter. She has cooked many different recipes from it and they are all great. I think that we'll throw out all our other cookbooks. This is the only one that we now use. My husband and I have stopped eating meat since my daughter's cooking is so good. The meals are rich and hearty, and they don't need meat to make them great. Robin may be a couple of new vegetarian converts soon!

Robin Robertson has done it again. Vegan Fire and Spice is one more gastronomic masterpiece to add to her impressive repertoire of cookbooks. This collection of recipes is as exotic and flavorful as it gets, from Vegetable Tagine with Seitan and Apricots to her recipe for Arugula Potato Salad, a unique twist on ordinary potato salad, laced with cayenne and speckles of capers. Robertson inspires the reader with every turn of the page. From the heat of the Mediterranean to the "Fiery Bliss of India," I was transported on a tantalizing journey around the world via these extraordinary recipes. For anyone who likes it hot, this book is for you!

I've hesitated to review cookbooks because I'm never sure when I've tried enough of one to warrant a review. After all, I can only comment on the bits and pieces with which I have experience. Still, the good cookbooks are worth mentioning, and this is one of the good ones.

As I flip through Vegan Fire & Spice, I'm finding that just about every recipe screams "Try me!" The recipes are organized broadly into large swaths of the globe (The Americas, Mediterranean Europe, The Middle East and Africa, India and Asia), and each section is further broken down into more specific regions. The recipes are -- you guessed it -- spicy, though of course this is adjustable to taste by varying the amount of spice or the quantity of chilis.

Anshu's Red Lentil Sambar sounded immensely appealing, although it required a trip to the local Indian grocery to purchase Garam Masala and a Sambar spice mixture. This is a good weekend recipe, as preparation and cooking takes some time. And there's a small criticism: I wish this cookbook included estimated prep times, because although some steps in this recipe gave approximate times, others did not and so it was hard in advance to get a sense of how long I'd be in the kitchen. I started making this at 6:45 and the meal wasn't ready until 9:00. Now that I understand the recipe, I'm sure that I could cut that time way down -- but it was worth even the long prep time.

The sambar is a delicious, hearty dish, full of chunks of vegetables and rich simmered lentils. It is more like a stew than the thin sambar soup you normally get in restaurants. Spiced to perfection -- and even better when I brought some with me for lunch the next day.

On a side note: I purchased this and another vegetarian cookbook from Amazon, and in a lovely gesture, they tucked in a coupon for a McDonald's chicken sandwich with my order. How thoughtful. At least I got a laugh in about it!

Whenever I'm looking for a tasty change-of-pace recipe to make for dinner, I turn to a Robin Robertson book, whether Quick-Fix Vegetarian, Vegan Planet, and her latest, Vegan Fire and Spice. Robin's recipes are hearty, straightforward, and they always work. Her passion for great food, healthfully prepared always shines through, and her knowledge of international cuisines is impressive. I'm a bit timid when it comes to spices, so this book has helped me appreciate bolder flavors.

What a surprise and a delight this book is! The recipes have so far proved fool-proof and have pleased even the most jaded and widely-traveled of our friends. Far more than a cookbook, Argentina Cooks is a nice piece of travel writing. Ms. Brooks brings this country, which gets little press in the US, alive. As a person with an academic background in geography, I truly valued and enjoyed her descriptions of Argentina's regions and the ways that geography and culture have influenced each region's cuisine. She adds just enough info. to enhance the choice of recipes. The black & white illustrations are delightful. Color photos would have been nice, but her writing is so vivid and detailed that their lack takes nothing away. An unusual, useful book on many levels.

I'm a timid cook and hate to travel--but I bought this book. Go figure. I've tried several recipes and they've turned out great. Even though there are many recipes for meat dishes, if one doesn't eat meat, there is still a lot to choose from...side dishes, fruits, desserts. Good chicken and Fish dishes. Lots of very interesting information about the distinct regions of this land and about how their regional cuisine is influenced by indigenous and European traditions. Fascinating!

I am an Argentinian leaving in the United States, after reading this book I shall for ever be in debt to Ms Brooks.
The recipes are authentic, well researched and elegantly presented.
The traveling information is even better.
Please , Ms. Brooks do us honor, again.

I am so glad I chose to expand my culinary horizons via Argentina. It has been a delectable journey exploring a cuisine virtually unknown in the US. I also learned a great deal about Argentina itself. This is a wonderful cookbook for serious cooks--definitely not a coffee table decoration.

We returned from our first trip to Argentina about a year ago. Argentina is great. The food was truly one of the best finds. The food is great - fresh and not spicy. Not what most people from the US would expect. This book came to our attention soon after our return and we bought right away. It is quite a good book. We recognized some of our favorite dishes. For us it was a great find!

I ordered this book after seeing it on Food TV. I have baked 3 cookie recipes and made one pasta sauce from this book and they are all superb. As somebody else said, the "real deal". I grew up next door to a lovely Sicilian woman and the pignoli cookies in the book are exactly as she made them. If you have one Italian cookbook, this should be the one.

Great memories, great recipes. Fun book to look through. A must have if you love true Italian cooking.

It's permanently on the counter right next to my WEEKEND BAKER cookbook.

PS: I have to add a negative. In my opinion, a few of the recipes leave out *just a little bit*. I noticed in the pignoli cookies, for example, I believe the instruction should say "beat the egg whites", it does not tell you to do that. I have found the same in another recipe. Just my opinion, but I think there is a little secret keeping. I still recommend this book, there are truly marvelous recipes to be enjoyed.

The recipes were excellent but the story of the "Real Liitle Italy" was fantastic. I grew up in this neighborhood as a child and was encouraged to find out that many of the merchants and the character of the area are still in place. Great recipies and even better story. I have not been back for many years , but I will now make an effort to visit when I go back East.

If you have ever lived near, or on A street in NYC like Arthur Ave.and Little Italy, the pictures and recipes will bring you there again, you can even hear the conversations, and the smell of the neighborhood are so vivid, you want to try to repeat the recipes and be there. They did,nt have super markets, it was a neighborhood ,and shopping for the foods needed for the day ment talking to the veg. man and the sausage maker and then the cheese store. It ment asking how the family in Itly was, and getting the news or a different story from every market. Fresh bread OH How I Miss it. This book is a master of REAL ITALIAN FOODS, and from the REAL ITALIANS

This is a wonderful book with great recipes and stories. For anyone who had an Italian immigrant arrive in this country through Ellis Island, and especially if their family settled originally in the Bronx, this is a must-have book.

The Arthur Avenue Cookbook is beautifully put together in every way. The recipes, the photographs, the storyline and the quality of the book itself are absolutely first-rate. The people in this book are completely genuine - there is an honesty about their lives and their livelihoods that jumps from the pages. There are no pretenses here: the recipes do not require a lot of complex sauces or fancy ingredients and there isn't a lot of impressive talk about the celebrities who may have visited these businesses, rather it is a book about ordinary people with extraordinary attitudes about what tastes good. It is all as you would want it - cooking that is straight from the heart, straight from the soul. Bellisimo!!

This is one of those MUST HAVE cookbooks! Even if you don't use cookbooks, you will find this one fascinating just to read; and then I can almost promise you will want to make something from it! I was floored by the things in it that I never ever imagined you could make yourself. I got my copy from my mother in law after pulling it out of her basement and sitting down to copy a couple recipes; she gave it to me. It is the one cookbook I would miss the most out of my vast collection.

I am under the impression that there are two versions of this cookbook - the first written by the authors before the days of microwave ovens, slow cookers and other more modern, affordable kitchen appliances and then the other a new version, rewritten years later to take advantage of the new appliances - but the basic recipes are basically the same. Only the methods are different, where they can be improved or speeded up.

You can find everything you ever loved to buy at German or Italian delicatessens - the sauerkraut, the pickles, the bagels, the Italian sweet sausage, the Italian spicy sausage, the stuffed peppers, EVERYTHING I love. The first time I found the old version in the Army Post library, I photocopied half the book and enjoyed all the great stuff I wasn't able to buy in a foreign country. The authors say they love to make all these things from scratch (even homemade ketchup!) because they don't want their families to have all the food additives in commercially prepared foods. Frankly, I'm not so squeamish -- but I LOVE the food - think corned beef and real, smoked pastrami and cracked olives. The newer version uses blenders, heavy-duty mixers, home smokers, microwave ovens, no matter what you use, recipes are easy to follow, ingredients are not usually hard to find. Enjoy!

My copy of this book is spine-snapped in several places, dog-eared, and spotted and soiled throughout, in spite of all my care. I searched for years to find a copy to give to a fellow "basics" cook and she was as thrilled with it as I have been. The anise cookies are fabulous, as are the pretzels and, in fact, every other recipe I've made. A Must Have for a serious cook's bookshelf.

When my house burned down and I lost all my cookbooks, the one favorite I coouldn't replace is this one. I know two people who own it and I've been borrowing it a lot, esp. during summer/harvest. I need it for jams, pickles, sauerkraut. At this moment I have sauerkraut bubbling away and a rye sourdough starter that's just ready to use.
I don't know of another book that covers all these things and...graham crackers, deviled ham, chutney. Make it all! Just about my favorite cookbook and now I've found it!!

I found a reference to this after having searched the internet for marshmallow recipes. The recipe was posted online, but I bought the book figuring it was the right thing to do. I had NO idea how delightful this would be. Most of the recipes I've never seen anyplace else (gingerbread cookie MIX!?!) The marshmallow recipe alone has won me a couple marriage proposals. If you have any impulse to cook or bake, please buy this book. You will be amazed.

Wow, this is some cookbook. I picked it up in the Orlando Airport, and have been enjoying it ever since. Highly recommend it.

A recent salad made wonderfully by a friend convinced me that there is just about as much art in making salads as anything else. It made me think of the excellent 1905 Salad at the Columbia Restaurant which we get every time we're there. It has just the right combination of things and an especially fine dressing. But here's a case of "Don't try to do it at home" unless you are really accomplished at that sort of thing. The time we tried to do it, following the recipe provided exactly, it didn't taste anything like what you get at the restaurant. And we had purchased their own dressing. Anyways, they have have a new location in Palm Beach which I want to visit. The best we've tried is the one in Sarasota. You can go afterwards to see the Rubens tapestry cartoons at the Ringling Museum of Art. That's a fun afternoon.

This is a wonderful recipe that also goes into the history of the restaurant. I love the columbia and always got to the one at St. Armands circle when I am in Florida. I love the ropa vieja and cuban snawhiches are quick and easy

y la historia..te cautiva.
Lo que me fascino, fue el gaspacho...

This is such a wonderful cookbook. In South Florida, I visited Columbia and loved the food. I purchased it to try something new. The recipes are authentic with some background narrative woven in there. The language is easy and you can follow the recipe without any problems. Of the recipes I tried, most could be prepared from a well-stocked pantry, not necessarily a huge trip to the grocery store like some cookbooks demand. There are some really great seafood recipes in here too. You'll love the simple Cuban sandwich in here too. I believe this cookbook is well worth the price.