Cookbooks Books

I just received this book and can't wait to try the recipes in it. I have the Sonoma Diet Book and my husband and I both LOVE the recipes. We don't necessarily use it to lose weight, but to make good healthy meals that we both can enjoy.

The Sonma Diet gets you the results you want, and the food tastes great. Happy Cooking and Happy Eating...

I've lost 24lbs in 5 weeks so far on the Sonoma Diet and my palate hasn't been bored yet! The recipes in this cookbook are well written, easy to follow, contain ingredients easy to find in most grocery stores, and produce great results. Although most of the recipes feature cilantro, parsley, marjoram, rosemary or cumin as flavor enhancers, you'll find a variety of flavors in this book. In fact, no two recipes taste alike - which is more than I can say for many other "diet" cookbooks I've tried.

My family has particularly enjoyed the soup recipes in this book, our favorites being the spicy black bean chili and tomato with bread soup. Also good are the flavorful, hearty salads. This book features a lot more fish recipes than the original Sonoma Diet book does, but it is still pretty light on Vegetarian items. Some of the vegetarian items just did not turn out at all (barley risotto, for example, never cooked all the way despite adding more than 10 minutes to the suggested cooking time). However, the great recipes far outshine the not-so-great.

Bottom line: Well worth the money, nice variety of flavors, sound nutritional advice. A little light on vegetarian dishes, but overall a great cookbook.

So many yummy, healthy recipes that you don't even miss the butter or gravy! I refer to this cookbook constantly, and the whole family never even realizes that they are eating so healthy. I'm waiting for the author to come out with part 2.

I have been a cook and pastry chef for 20 years. This is the best cookbook I have ever used. I use it daily and have recommended it to several of my friends. The food is amazing. Taste and flavor just explode from each wave. Easy to find ingredients and easy to prepare recipes. After 7 weeks, I have lost 22 pounds and am still enjoying every meal I prepare from the book.

This is a wonderful book! I have tried three or four recipes from it now and got rave reviews from my guests. It is a beautiful book as well, the photos and printing are gorgeous and the background info on Turkey is very interesting as well. Definitely a new favorite in my cookbook library!

This is a wonderful cookbook for beginners or more experienced cooks of Turkish food. The ingredients are all in customary American style (no liters, ounces, or "Turkish coffee spoonfuls"). Instructions are clear and concise. Best of all there are closeup photos of many of the finished products - very helpful for those who don't know how the dish should look when served up. I like the Turkish serving utensils and other kitchenware (pepper grinder, wooden spoon) that add to the local scene. I also like the way the book gives the Turkish name of the food and then the American version in each recipe heading. Ozan has done an excellent job of giving all the information one needs to make these delicious dishes.

An excellent book for lovers of traditional Turkish food-easy to understand and beautifully illustrated.I have travelled many times to Turkey and have never found an English language Turkish cookbook like this.

Wife loves it and I love the results. Very interesting reading and excellent photography make this a real deal. Worth more...we're looking forward to visiting his restaurant, as we live next to Boston.

An excellent cookbook that is as wonderful to browse as it is to create from. Recipes from this book will delight the senses.

I absolutely love this cookbook. I have already made several things and everyone has raved about the meals. Easy to follow, lots of fresh vegetables and produce are used making it very healthy also. I would highly recommend this cookbook to anyone, it would make a terrific shower or birthday gift for someone who loves to cook.

I love every recipe I've tried in this book, and all of them are easy to follow, fun to make, and taste excellent. These recipes and all of the tips throughout the book have made cooking much more enjoyable for me, and they always come out great.

I stayed away from the meat recipes at first (I only occasionally eat a little meat nowadays), but I have found that some can be made without meat and are excellent! For example, the lamb curry with saffron couscous tastes amazing with no meat at all. The flavors of the indian curry spice mixture in this recipe is the best I've ever tasted anywhere and is perfect for veggies with either basmati rice or the couscous.

The salad dressings are also amazing. I had never tried a salad dressing with roasted walnut or hazelnut oils before, and it's so wonderful and brings out the flavors in a salad. They're so simple to make, I never buy the bottled kind at the grocery store at all anymore, and it tastes so much better and fresher when it's homemade.

There are lots of healthy, nutritious and at the same time delicious recipes, just real and delicious whole food with a ton of variety. The cookies recipes are great too!

This is fast becoming my new favorite cookbook. I have only tried a few recipes so far: Seared Scallops, Artichokes with Jalapeno Arugala aioli, Fusion Cole Slaw, and Cheesy Zuchini. They were all excellent. I look forward to creating many more. The pictures make me want to make all the recipes, just beautiful!

A great cookbook also tells a story. This is a wonderful story of a family, a business, and filled with incredible recipes. The discussion of why organic and the types of foods that are best for you start the reader off. There are personal touches with photos that make the reader feel a part of their story (so to speak). The recipes have history to them and are excellent. It is good sized book and is more than worth the price paid. A must for the serious cook or someone just getting started and wants to explore great food possibilities

I recently received a copy of The Earthbound Farm Organic Cookbook, Food to Live By, by Myra Goodman with Linda Holland and Pamela McKinstry, from Lillian Margolin, an intern at Earthbound Farms. As soon as I had pulled the book from it's box, I started reading and couldn't stop. I even found myself reading it by candlelight that evening so I wouldn't disturb my infant daughter sleeping nearby.

I was captivated by the story of the young couple, Drew and Myra Goodman, living on a farm in exchange for property improvements, and selling raspberries to help pay the bills. Captivated because it's exactly the sort of thing I would do myself.

It's hard to believe that Earthbound Farms came from such meager beginnings considering just how large they are now. I think one of the most fun facts about them is that they were the first to introduce and sell pre-washed bagged salads. I don't know of anyone who hasn't purchased bagged salad, and it was neat to read that Earthbound Farms is where that idea was born.

This cookbook has quickly become one of my favorites, and I can see myself turning to it often. The recipes are fabulous--there is no ingredient so foreign that it can't be found--or at least a suitable replacement--nearby. The instructions are very clear and easy to follow and each recipe has a little history or fact written about it. That's something I truly appreciate, since the recipes in my own family cookbook all have a little something written about them. That extra makes the book very personal and also tells the reader that each recipe has actually been made, and loved, by the author, Myra Goodman.

The photos are beautiful and story-telling. This book is not just packed with over 260 delicious recipes, it's full of helpful tips and interesting facts; Myra's 'Four Food Choices I Live By' is something everyone should read, and heed. I also love that it's not just a cookbook, the story it begins with could easily stand on it's own.

A short time ago an acquaintance suggested I use 'X-Product' on my tomatoes, and I just nodded politely, all the while thinking, "WHY would I put a chemical on, in or near my food and then feed it to my family?" No thanks--garlic and marigolds planted near my tomatoes have provided all the protection I need. Reading this book has made me feel completely vindicated in my own gardening practices, which I didn't really see as organic until now.

I made the granola (which can also be purchased at the Earthbound Farms website) just before my oldest daughter took off on a camping trip. She and her friends loved it, as did the rest of my family. So we've eaten it straight up, as a cereal with cold milk, and as a hot cereal one morning. The only thing I did differently was to use chopped, dried apricots in place of the raisins; I love raisins, but I have a few 'raisin-haters' here.

If you love vegetables, if you're striving for a healthier body and earth, please pick up a copy of this cookbook, you'll come to appreciate and love it as much as I do!

I ordered this book as a gift for a friend at work, who loves Trisha Yearwood, and he also loves to cook. Well .... decided to keep the book for myself, and now I'm just waiting for HIS book to arrive in the mail! Trisha's style of cooking is much like the cooking that I grew up on in Georgia, and alot of her recipes are nearly the same as mine -- but I am enjoying the variations, as well as the new recipes I have never tried before. The Pecan Pie Muffins are to die for!! Be sure to try those !!! And, yesterday, my husband and I picked blackberries and I tried the Blackberry Cobbler recipe - it was a bit different than my own recipe, and we truly enjoyed it! If you like Southern cooking, you can't go wrong with this cookbook. Trisha tells little stories about some of the recipes also, and the entire book is fun to read. HIGH recommendations!

The recipes are tasty and so easy to follow. The personal stories are a nice touch. It is nice to get to see a positive side of a celebrity, instead of all the negative things you see in the media.

This girl knows her way around the kitchen thanks to her Mama who taught her well. All her recipes are tried and trues...try Kyle's Lemon Pound Cake which is irristable and the Barbequed Pork Ribs, they fall off the bone practically! Another great southern cookbook! Filled with colorful pictures of delicious food and family...

My mother was not a great cook. I have never really learned but by myself. My husband bought me a RR cookbook which I thought would be easy but was not so! I love this book. The first week I made four (4) recipes out of this cookbook (that is a record for me in one week). And they all turned out great. My kids loved the Chicken Broccoli Casserole, the "Kyle Leomon Pound Cake" (my 21 year old son almost ate the whole cake).. I made the "Trisha Homemade Chicken Salad" (again, gone in like 3 days)... I made the cooked the "Roast Beef with Gravy" (came out perfect, even tho I was about 1/2 hour late taking it out. I have four kids (and one 21 year old with a girlfriend) I cook alot. She really means it when she says the ingredients are easy to find in the grocery store. The other cookbook I called for expensive cheeses (like perconico reggionno or whatever)... this is a great econominical cookbook. I have never ever written a review for a cookbook, I am so happy with this one. This weekend I am going to try two more recipes ... I love this cookbook. I have purchased so many in the past that have really disappointed me.. this is right on the mark. And I really love the stories with the recipes.. they are fun to read and very insightful. I wish I was in this family.. I cannot wait if Trisha and her sisters publish another book, I would immediately buy it. I will get thru all the recipes in this book soon, like I said, so far, it is easy and every thing has turned out great (I plan on trying her rib and cole slaw recipe next week on the 4th of July).. Thank you so much Trish Yearwood for sharing your cherished recipes with all of us.

This cookbook is fabulous! So many of the recipes remind me of what my country grandmother used to make. I have already made over 20 recipes from this book and have liked all but one! I read it cover to cover like it was a chapter book and I had never done that with a cookbook before. Trisha makes you feel like she's writing notes just to you. I ended up buying two more copies to give as gifts. HIGHLY RECOMMEND

Recently while pondering over dinner ideas a co-worker said she had the answer and indeed she did. The next day she brought in her FAVORITE BRAND NAME COOKBOOK, and after skimming through it I realized I had to get my hands on one. The easy to follow reciepts made it very user friendly and all the ingredients needed were right in my cabinets. The one dish reciepts were quick and simple too. The unfortunate thing is I am unable to get one of my own, I have looked everywhere and have had no luck and my co-worker is not willing to sell hers so please REPRINT THE BEST COOKBOOK EVER ASAP!!!!

I have 100's of cookbooks and I always refer to this one as my bible. The recipes are easy to understand, and most of the time quick to put together! I use this book for anything, for holiday dinners, company to everyday. My mom got everyone in the family this book when it first came out. My kitchen was flooded and this is one of the books I lost and the only book my mom & I looked high and low to find and did on your web site. I am now getting the bible for my daughter who just moved on her own and has started her own collection of cookbooks, this one is her first request. This book is a must for every kitchen.

I'm a French and I was looking for a cookbook easy to read because I'm not familiar with american recipes ( and I'm not fluent in english). This one is very complete and easy to do, I even find some french recipes! I think I will use it a lot and bring it back to France, it will complete my collection of french cookbooks. It's pretty amazing to find a cookbook where all the recipes are good and easy, and you can do lot of them with the same king of food or sauces, you don't have to buy 25 different spices for one recipe! It's a very good cookbook (my husband is agree with me!)and now I can really make dinners!

I put my husband though law shcool with this cookbook. Every other weekend before we were married, I would visit him at the U of Iowa. While he studied, I would prepare 10 different casseroles from this cookbook and freeze them. In 1996, shortly after we were married, the book was accidentally dropped in a sink full of sudsy water. I am still searching for a replacement. This book is a "cooking bible"!

I use this book above all others for get-togethers, last minute dishes, and dinners. I would love to purchase this book for my sister-in-law! She bought me this cookbook as a gift a few years ago and I'd like to give her a copy too. I have not found a recipe yet that my family hasn't LOVED! Please reprint this cookbook!

One of the best cookbooks I've purchased all year! A wealth of information--from growing and caring for your own herbs, to harvesting, storage and usage. There's even a section dedicated to edible flowers and a list of herbs used in desserts. The recipes are fool proof and delicious! My only wish is there were more photos, but that's not enough for me to knock off a star!

This book has everything. A terrific herb identifier with info on how to take care of and grow fresh herbs. Great seasonal recipes! Substitutions are suggested for when you can't find an ingredient. Lot's of info as well as good cooking ideas!

I keep coming back to this cookbook again and again. It's probably not for your average cook- I've attending culinary school and have studied cooking for over 10 years- I want to mention this because some of the recipes are time-consuming and require more skill than average. There is a duck with cherry sage sauce recipe that is to die for in this cookbook- a true show stopper that guests talk about years later. It takes all day though because you end up making stock with the duck carcass. It's so well worth it!!! There is an EXCELLENT fall mushroom soup I've made over and over again. I highly recommend the quality recipes here.

Great for novice and expert alike! Good food & easy recipes, no more need be said.

The author of this book has a great talent with words. He truly writes stories that tell you the background of the recipes, bringing you the sights and smells and sounds. You can tell that he absolutely loves food in all its forms.

I have really enjoyed this cookbook and have tried several recipes. While some of them have been more "gourmet" than I usually cook, most of the recipes have actually sounded fancier than they are (which is a good thing - I meant they weren't as difficult to prepare as it might appear).

I love to read this book just as much as I enjoy cooking from it. I feel transported to the herb gardens of Seattle when I settle down to read it.

This cookbook is wonderful for basic as well as exotic dishes. I trust its recipes for accuracy, authenticity, and great taste. Example: I asked a friend who was born and raised in Poland to compare Doubleday's "Magyar Chicken Paprika" with the "Chicken Paprikash" she grew up with. She said that the recipes were identical. The cookbook has great ideas for leftovers too, like the fabulous "Curried Lamb leftovers". A friend who is a chef used this cookbook as his bible at the restaurant where he worked. However, you don't have to be a gourmet cook to enjoy the many delightful dishes. My old copy of the Doubleday Cookbook was literally falling apart after many years of use. The new one I recently purchased was an overdue replacement. I love this cookbook!

I bought my first copy when I was a 19 year old bride. I am on my second copy and have given copies to all my children when they left home. It is my gift to friends who are culinary challenged (their description not mine)or accomplished cooks. It tells you how to buy your food, how it should look, smell, etc. It then gives you the basic ways to cook items ( boil, broil, bake, fry, etc.) But it doesn't stop with the basics, it then gives you more complicated recipes. The recipes are easy to follow even for a novice. I use the book as a resource and stepping off point for creating new recipes. I have over 150 cookbooks, this is my favorite.

I was given this book by a friend several years ago and consider it my "Kitchen Bible". It is the most complete cook book I have ever seen (and I've seen 100's). The directions are straightforward and clear and there are recipes for everything from Baba Ganush to Cherries Jubilee.
I have purchased a new copy of The New Complete Doubleday Cook Book for a friends birthday present. It is a "Cook's cook book."

I bought my first copy of THE DOUBLEDAY COOKBOOK when it was first published in the mid-70s. It's been the kitchen resource I turn to most for answering questions and for ideas about a recipe. I own many all-purpose cookbooks, including JOY OF COOKING, which I've always found difficult because of the way the recipes are layed out on the page. THE NEW DOUBLEDAY COOKBOOK is more sophisticated, and when Nancy Evans was publisher of Doubleday in the late 80s, she ordered a big overhaul of the book and it was redesigned and re-jacketed. The results were even more impressive. I often give it as a wedding gift. The selection of recipes is vast and covers just about all the great classics. Jean Anderson is one of the great unsung heroines in cooking. The information she provides on everything from ingredients, cooking, storage, equipment, alcohol and wines, preserving, and so much more is what makes this book have pride of place in my cookbook collection. You can find out how to boil an egg, prepare lasagne, bake a loaf of bread, or stun your guests with Lobster Americaine. Indispensible.

The cover pretty much says it all - this is a very solid, all around, all under 1 cover compendium of basic no-frills american home cooking. This is the kind of book you give as a bridal shower gift. It's well edited, it's stood the test of time, and it's earned a spot atop my fridge. Personally, I prefer "The New Complete Joy of Cooking" better, and mostly relegate this book to fill in any gaps not covered adequately by the former.

Don't bother looking for anything fancy, nor should you expect to find any pictures (there are none). This is just an all-purpose A-Z culinary tome of basic recipes.

Recommended. A very adequate, albeit decidedly unspectacular, offering.

I initially bought this cookbook to learn more about Sichuan cuisine, but quickly realized the recipies are extremely practical and easy to follow. They do not require much specialized equipement (unless you consider a wok specialized) and the ingredients can be found at a local Asian market or online. I prepared several bean curd recipes this week. Once I had the ingredients prepped, the actual cook time was only 3 minutes or so (at a very high heat).

In addition to being simple, economical, and fast to prepare, most of the recipes seem fairly healthful (Deep fried foods or pork belly would be obvious exceptions).

If you have never tasted Sichuan pepper, it is definitely worth experiencing. It is not spicy, but it does have a have a fairly big impact on your mouth. That said, even my children (who do not like spicy foods) were able to eat and enjoy the recipies with the Sichuan pepper. Some recipes do have more heat for those who like very spicy food.

I highly recommend this cookbook both for the cultural/historical information and for the recipes.

I am very impressed by the depth of knowledge the author acquired to write this book and how she carefully shares it with her readers. It is not just a book of recipes. The author did her homework understanding the hows and the whys. I love how she explains the many cooking and cutting methods very clearly, AND she includes the Chinese calligraphy (beautifully done) for each, as well as the Chinese pronunciation. This truly helps 'connect the dots' because English translated menus in Chinese restaurants do not always use the same words so it's very helpful to see it in Chinese and know how to pronounce it too. She goes into details explaining the use of Chinese cooking utensils, how to prepare/oil your wok properly, etc... seriously goes beyond the usual cookbook! THANK YOU!

And of course, from her descriptions of the dishes, I could practically smell the spices and want to sink my teeth into the dishes so badly... This was my first Dunlop book and I am a fan now.

I have to say that as much I've cooked from this book, I've appreciate much more my neighborhood Sichuan place.

The author has done a great job. I do think there are some small areas where the technique isn't too obvious.

I would recommend reading the introduction and the basics before proceeding to the recipes - offers a good grounding into Sichuan foods and techniques.

The Good:
- Authentic recipes (lots of them). Most of the dishes taste pretty good. The first dish I made was Gong Bao Ji Ding and it was delicious.
- Very nicely written. Instructions were clear and easy to follow. Lots of great info and details about the ingredients and cooking method. The author also provides an interesting background for each dish. You can tell Dunlop is passionate about Sichuanese food.
- Great organization (separated by Noodles, Appetizers, Meat, Fish, etc.)
- No MSG

The Bad:
- Lacks pictures. The pictures were great but I wish there were more. I had to use google to compare my results.

Conclusion:
Overall a great book and easily recommended. Despite the lack of pictures, I still have to rate it 5 stars because of the delicious recipes.

Wonderful cookbook, my husband & I have become exteremly interested in Sichuan Cooking over the past few months and we were very excited to find a cookbook representing the Sichuan style of cooking. We love cooking with Sichuan Peppercorns and the "Hot & Numbing" style of cooking. The first recipe we tried was the Dry Cooked Beef, the recipe was very well written, easy to understand and the end product was yummy. I would recommend this book to any one who is interested in a wonderful and very interesting style of Asian cooking.

My daughter-in-law hooked me on Sam the Cooking Guy so I bought his book. Ingredients are easy to find and recipes easy to follow. Food tastes great.

Sam the Cooking Guy is my hero.

His cooking methods are perfect for us normal people that want to cook good food with easily and with food that we would actually find in our kitchen. I have mad most of the food that is in this book and have not been disappointed once. To go along with recipes are great little quirky stories and great recommendations for cooking and things that you need in the kitchen.

The recipes are great and easy to make. Sam's humor is mixed in throughout the book. I also like the front of the book where he gives general advice and techniques. I bought a copy for myself and plan to buy more to give as gifts!

I have watched Sam the Cooking Guy on local cable for some time. His simplistic view of cooking is refreshing to me. Knowing I can pick most of the ingredients out of my own pantry, makes cooking fun and not intimadating. The book is written simular to what his show is like.
Love this Book!!! Love Sam!!!

Sam incorporates his humor into his cookbook. My children and I enjoy watching his cooking show and we wanted to have his recipes. This book has a variety of recipes and most of them are very simple to make.

I was tired of getting my mom the typical Mother's Day gifts, so I turned to cookbooks. Instead of typical cookbooks, I got my mother White Trash Cooking and White Trash Cooking II to play on the fact that she and my father relocated to Mississippi in recent years.

While I myself have not had the pleasure of reading these, they were a huge hit. We're just wondering where to get our hands on a cooter to cook up....

This cookbook has a lot of basic and simple recipes in it that are good for every day use. It has great ideas for family "gatherins" I found it to be very helpful when I want to make a quick lunch, or when unexpected people stop by. It uses very common ingredients that I usually have on hand.

As a chef, and a food historian, this book is a "must" for anyone serious about regional cuisine. I have pilfered many recipes from the "White Trash" series of books to the delight of my guests. Offering a bit of "home" to guests is a treat for both me, for being able to bring their "comfort foods" to them, and to them, for having it available. Many of his recipes have been adapted onto my specialty menus, and even born and bred Yankees want a taste of the classic southern cooking that Mr. Mickler has preserved.

I also have found some great Americana recipes in the Firefox series, and would recommend those to anyone who is interested in traditional family Appalachian cuisine.

I must confess that I resisted buying this cookbook for many years. I am an avid collector of American Regional and International cookbooks, but found the title of this book offensive. I assumed it was written to mock rural whites, a people I know to be hardworking, self-reliant, and decent. I was wrong about this one. This book actually celebrates these people and their cuisine, and is one of the very best traditional American cookbooks in print. Great recipes for fried chicken, catfish, hushpuppies, collard greens, Hoppin John, cornbread, and biscuits, as well as rabbit, squirrel, and yes, even possum. The book has a folksy humor throughout, and the recipes are authentic. Books like this become even more precious as this and other American regional cuisines disappear under a blanket of bland corporate burger chains, sub shops, and pizza joints. Incidentally, several recent medical studies have shown that rural Appalachians who consume this traditional fare are far healthier than those who embrace the modern suburban diet of chain restaurant food! If you have any interest in traditional American cooking, this book is a must-own.

Don't let the title fool you, the recipes are good and the pictures are great. If you've ever lived in the deep south for any length of time , this cook book is a treasure.