Cookbooks Books

The Best Of The Best And More is a splendid compilation of recipes drawn from more than twenty-three years of culinary publishing and experience. There are recipes for muffing, breds and burnches; beverages; appetizers; salads and dressings; soups; pizza, pockets and wraps; pasta; veggies; fish, seafood and chicken; lamb, pork and beef; cookies, squares, and candies; and all manner of desserts. From Baguette Sticks; Buffalo Chicken Wings; and Barber's Best Chili; to Greek Ribs; Pavlova (New Zealand's national dessert); and Pumpkin Cheesecake, The Best Of The Best And More is an ideal addition to any kitchen cookbook collection. Beautifully illustrated with full-color photography.

"Best of Bridge" cookbooks have been a staple in my kitchen for over 20 years. I have all seven of their books and never once has a recipe failed to work or delight my family. With these books you can plan a dinner party without trying out the recipes ahead of time, they all work and they're all great. "The Best of the Best and More" is what all the Best of Bridge fans have been waiting for. Now we can have their most requested recipes in one book -- plus they've included a whole batch of new recipes. This is a great book for a new bride or anyone just starting on this super cookbook series.

"Best of Bridge" cookbooks have been a staple in my kitchen for over 20 years. I have all seven of their books and never once has a recipe failed to work or delight my family. With these books you can plan a dinner party without trying out the recipes ahead of time, they all work and they're all great. "The Best of the Best and More" is what all the Best of Bridge fans have been waiting for. Now we can have their most requested recipes in one book -- plus they've included a whole batch of new recipes. This is a great book for a new bride or anyone just starting on this super cookbook series.

My cookbook was received withing a week of ordering and in the brand new condition as described. Perfect!!

This is a great recipe collection.
I own several Best of the Best cookbooks but this seems to be the one I reach for the most.
I am not from Texas but lived there for several years and it brings back memories of some of the foods I ate there.

This cookbook is the finest book I've come across with down to earth Texas Cuisine. That I remember from my early childhood.

PECOS BILL WOULD BE PROUD!

This is one of my favorite cookbooks. Great family-type recipes that don't feel like 'diet food' in any way.

I honestly LOVE this cookbook. It has a lot of pictures of the finished dishes, all of which are easy to fix and don't require weird ingredients. It's a great cookbook to set the kids at the table with and say "hey, YOU guys pick the meals this week". It's THAT good, and you will not be disappointed. The crockpot section is very good too and will be perfect for during the school year when our family's schedule gets hectic again. My family gives this cookbook the all thumbs up!!

This cookbook has awesome recepies that fill you up! Try the Beef Tortilla Bake, the Chicken Nacho Bake, Cheeseburger Calzones and so much more! Everything I have made from this cookbook has been a winner at my house. My boyfriend is a very picky eater, I am too, and we love these meals! They are so satisfying, low calorie and low in fat. And for the price, it should be a no-brainer. You need this cookbook!

I purchased this book in 1967, it was a set of three (BC Good and Easy, BC Hostess Cookbook, and BC Dinner in a Dish) that I ordered through the mail. It's funny now as I agonized over parting with the $9.00, which included shipping, for all three cookbooks. In looking back I could have paid $100 or more as these books have been faithful companions throughout my cooking and hostessing journey. I love cooking; I've planned parties for 4 to 1,000 guests; I've written cooking columns for three newspapers, and I've written my own nostalgic cookbook, but after all these years I still from time to time find myself referring to the BC books for party planning or to make a brunch favorite like the French Puffs from BC Hostess Cookbook. These are great books for the beginner or the experienced host and they're worth their weight in gold. Pork Chops and Applesauce: A Collection of Recipes and Reflections

This is a fun read with nice recipes and useful advice. Some of the helpful hints do bring a smile, such as the suggestion single girls not serve any type of meat or poultry requiring carving, as this is a man's domain. Also, it does not look lady like for the hostess to be "performing surgery" at the table. The pictures and drawings are sweet too. If you're planning a retro party soon, this is the book for you!

It measures 8-7/8 x 10-inches. It is hardback with the nifty spiral binding, that makes it really nice for lying flat in the kitchen! Cover displays a neat 60's styled home in a bright blue background. Made in 1967. Let me just give you a little hint as to what the contents are in this book: Dinner Parties, featuring everything from easy little dinners to classic company dinners; Bright Little Brunches and Lunches, featuring a brunch "Parisienne" and a mixed-foursome lunch; Teas and Receptions, featuring a wedding reception and a small afternoon tea; Casual Get-Togethers, Outdoors and In, featuring a malibu barbecue and the morning coffee break; and lasty Happy Holiday Specials. What I most love about the BC cookbooks is that not only do you get the recipes, but you get all the little details spelled out for you......so many hints and tips on giving a successful party! A great piece not only for the recipes but a neat piece to have displayed!

Betty Crocker's International Cookbook by Betty Crocker. This book has lots of great recipes in it, including a great Szechwan Chicken recipe and a simple Cream of Mushroom soup recipe that I love. I've tried many of the recipes in this book, and, in general, I like them. My edition is the 1980 hardcover edition, which is now out of print. My copy of this one is falling apart, and I have difficulty keeping all the pages in order in it.

Besides my mother's recipes, this is the cookbook I used the most (and I own about 150 cookbooks). By luck, I bought it not long after I got married. The content of this book is a solid foundation for a lifetime of good cooking for weekdays and holidays. I read with curiosity all the comments and tips. They provide good basic information that is necessary for international dishes. The recipes are very reliable, clear and precise. The pictures are great and very helpful. I tried almost all the recipes and we have numerous favorites.
The book is not outdated even 23 years after it was first published. A great selection from all over the world. I bought several copies to my friends and now I buy used ones for my daughters. I don't like Betty Crocker's New International Cookbook as much as this one.

I have also had this book since soon after its publication. I have never been disappointed with the results and refer to it often. The recipes create an authentic tasting international dish, with nice presentation. They may not be as authentic in source ingredients as the Time-Life Series of International Cookbooks, but, and this is a big deal, Betty Crocker makes these dishes accessible to every cook, much like Julia Child made French cooking accessible to the American home cook. My copy is full of sticky notes and bookmarks on the many pages I return to on a regular basis every year (Hot Cross Buns, St. Lucia Buns, Coulibiac, Steak Ezterhazy, Blueberry Crisp, Cheese-stuffed Mushrooms, Greek Cheese Puffs, Couscous, etc etc).

I am sad that I can't buy the original edition in new publication because I truly think it is one of the best in my collection and want my daughter to have a copy!

This book is Vollstedt's effort to bring back the tradition of lighter suppers in the evening following the heavier dinner earlier in the day. This is how my mother-in-law cooks during holidays and I like this approach because you don't have a heavy feeling late in the day.

The recipes are easy to understand and follow and not intimidating at all, she took the term easy seriously when putting this book together. Easy does not mean boring or monotonous her recipes cover a wide variety of foods including soups, salads, sandwiches meat, poultry, eggs seafood and fish, pasta, vegetables, pizza stir-fries, grilling and desserts. Two categories salads, and pasta grains and legumes have both a chapter for main dishes and one for side dishes.

Although the focus is easy recipes there is a wide variety to choose from and it would be hard to pick up this cookbook and walk away without some ideas for a good and tasty supper.

Too busy to cook? Not with the aid of Big Book Of Easy Suppers: 270 Delicious Recipes For Casual Everyday Dining, packing in almost three hundred recipes which rely on a degree of processed foods paired with appropriate fresh foods for quick production. From entrees and side dishes to dessert, tips include how far ahead the dish can be made, insights on what will make flavors blend better, and advise on what makes the dish bake up better. No color photos, but the very simple directions and recipes don't need 'em

This is an excellent book full of simple yet delicious recipes. My mom has other cookbooks by the author and really enjoyed them. Then she stumbled across this one and after I flipped through it, I picked up one for myself. There recipes are very basic and easy to follow and call for normal ingredients. Nothing exotic or specialized. Even my meat and potatoes husband enjoys what I have cooked out of this book.

I ordered the book on 12/2/08. It arrived 1/2/09. It was ordered as a Christmas gift. The book arrived as described with new packaging.

If you are serious about cooking and/or food science, then get this book. The quality of the print and binding are worth the price. The amazing information found inside brings it all to a new level. This book is not JUST a cookbook and should not be used as such.

This book is pretty symbolic of how Heston Blumenthal cooks: it's done to perfection. The book is incredibly massive and filled with beautiful photography and brilliant artwork.

The first third of the book is the entire history of the Fat Duck, which includes a lot of Heston's philosophies about food and engaging the senses.

The middle of the book is packed with recipes, many are famous, some are not, and a couple never made it onto the menu. Each dish includes some background, and complete, exacting recipes for every component. These are not simplified for home cooks and call for many obscure ingredients and pieces of equipment. These are the exact recipes used in the restaurant.

The last third of the book is a veritable textbook of food chemistry, with articles by a handful of scientists who have worked with Heston over the years. For disciples of Heston's style of cooking, this will likely be the most useful part of the book.

The price tag may seem steep, but for any serious cook, it is an invaluable tome of information. While the Alinea cookbook was very sterile and straight-forward, the Fat Duck book is much more engaging and playful. And besides, it's pretty much the ultimate coffee table book for foodies.

The Big Fat Duck Cookbook

This book is an accomplishment worthy of telling Blumenthal's tale of discovery and evolution. It is in fact exactly what I had been looking for every time I had previously purchased an overgrown coffe-table cook book... usually to be let down by the quality, format or content.

Those three aspects: quality, format and content drive the perfect rating I served up. The book is weighty, with high quality paper so thick you will swear that two pages are between your fingers, not one. I seemingly always have trouble with book bindings that fall apart... not this time: the Fat Duck is quite well bound with marker-ribbons for placekeeping.

The art inside is a blistering barrage of jazz-era, inked sketches of Blumenthal at various stages of discovery superimposed upon vividly colored, intriguingly compelling and sometimes darkly disturbing swaths of imagery. If asked prior to reading the Fat Duck, art in a cookbook would have been the component I consider least important to it's overall success. In contrast, here the art is an essential component, almost like theme music that drives audience emotional investment in a theater performance. The photographs are also of exquisite quality and sharpness, even when comprising the entire page.

The Fat Duck is formatted into three sections: History, Recipes and Science. The history section (~125 pages) is a autobiographical tale that really emphasizes how unique Blumenthal's journey has been. His amazing priority of food exploration and inquisitiveness come across clearly in this section. The conversational, fireside manner of the discussion makes it eminently readable.

The recipe section (~300 pages) has each item prefaced with a background tale of discovery and evolution. I found this to be fascinating snapshots of the creative process; they also provide some continuity if the reader elects to peruse the book from front to back instead of hopping from recipe to recipe. These prefaces were exactly what I had been hoping to find when I purchased the El Bulli cook book (latest one) some time back, only to be left lacking. Fortunately, the Fat Duck does give insight into the recipes, where El Bulli directs the reader to some incomprehensible series of images on a separate CD or to a complicated meal engineering schematic. Again, here Blumenthal's conversational prose and intuitive approach provide something that is lacking from many other cooking texts (I find Thomas Keller to also have a great writing style, if that helps you to gauge what I prefer). The recipes have lots and lots of information, and in this respect Blumenthal certainly lives up to his creed that a great recipe has all the pertinent info splayed out for the cook, so one doesn't have to imagine what takes place between the written steps.

The final section (Science; ~80 pages)is a series of chapters describing in fantastic, but readable, detail such topics as Meat Cookery, Ice Cream Science, Fat Duck Restaurant tools/instruments and ingredients. Next comes a series of vignettes from notables and hoary scientists from the field of food science. In full disclosure, I am a scientist so perhaps I am not the best judge of how approachable these sections are, but I feel its about on the level of "Scientific American" articles; i.e. a reasonably intelligent, but unfamiliar reader will have no trouble. I think it speaks volumes that Blumenthal decided to publish a family/child cookbook as his first attempt; that fundamental priority to educate drives this publication as well.

The table of contents is a fold out four-page peek into Blumenthal's brain (literally!). It isn't to be missed.

Finally, the content: As a fellow who worked in restaurants for >10 years before returning to school and eventually becoming a scientist, I am ecstatic to see my twin loves, food and chemistry, brought together in such an over-the-top book. This book continues a recent trend toward popularizing and demystifying Molecular Gastronomy that includes such works as Grant Achatz' Alinea and Keller's Under Pressure: Cooking Sous Vide.

In a nutshell, The Fat Duck is a grand attempt to capture a bold persona, a cooking revolution and a sensible approach to flavor design all in one book. In my opinion, it succeeds on every level.

It has been a long time since we have worked with a cookbook that everyone has loved unequivocally. Despite the fact that most of the recipes we made were labor intensive, time consuming and sometimes involved making 2-3 recipes for a recipe, everyone said that they would continue to cook from the book and re-visit the recipes they had made again.

With music from the movie Big Night streaming in the background, we gathered at the table and spent 3 hours sharing stories about what we made and sampling each dish one by one. In the end, it was impossible to choose our top 3-5 like we usually do, everything was so good.

This book is thoughtfully written and well laid out. We appreciated the front matter with Tips for Planning a Big Night In, Equipment, and Ingredient Information. Domenica makes meal planning a cinch with the Menu Suggestions in the back which were well thought out. Full of mouth-watering photography and appealing recipes, it was hard to choose which to make. We ended up making 18 dishes (19 if you count 2 Minestrone soups) - now that's what I call a Big Night In - Italian family style!

The Cooks Notes, Do Ahead advice, and Goes With sections that were included in most recipes were constructive and wise. They gave us a good feeling for Domenica, at times we felt like she was in the kitchen with us or had become a friend whom we could phone if we needed cooking advice.

Overall, we liked the layout and design elements of the book. A couple people found the ingredient font size too small and hard to read especially with the darker colored ingredient boxes.

Our meal was served in three courses.

Soup and Salad
Minestrone Soup - made by 2 people
Smoky Ham and Corn Chowder
Winter Endive and Orange Salad
Farro Salad
Calabrian Fennel Salad

Main Courses and Sides
Eggplant Parmagina
Three-Cheese Stuffed Red and Yellow Peppers
Fresh Tuna Stew with Olives and Herbs
Roast Pork Loin with Carrots, Fennel and Onions
Roasted Squash Wedges
September Gratin
Tomato and Cheese Tart
Frank's Garlic Bread

Dessert
Blood Orange Granita
Baked Farro Pudding
Toasted Coconut Crostata
Drunken Strawberries
Harvest Crostata

Quotes heard through out the night:"There were so many great recipes for dinner parties"
"This was a pain to make but it is so good I'll make it again"
"The recipes were straightforward and ingredients easy to find."
"I enjoyed reading the head notes"
"The pictures were great and so many of the recipes looked so good it was hard to choose what to make"
"Loved the Do Ahead notes"
"Many of the head notes were great to read because the author would tell the reader how the recipe was personal."

Stay tuned for some of the recipes. They will be featured on MyKitchenMyTable throughout December.

After having more than a year to enjoy her Glorious Soups and Stews I was really looking forward to anther chance to taste what Domenica was cooking up for this intriguing new cookbook. Big Night In, so aptly titled has exceeded my expectations. First of all it is such an easy layout- so well designed to help you plan and prepare a special meal. I love the colorful segmented ingredients lists which make it pleasing to the eye and make it convenient to plan. The tips, ingredient descriptions and equipment suggestions at the top of the book are very helpful. Domenica also has a lovely way of personalizing food and entertaining; just like you would exchange ideas with a good friend.
So having said that, the best part: the recipes!
I got the book just prior to my turn to host my monthly book club. This is a group of 5 women who have been meeting and exchanging hosting dinners for over 10 years. We take pride in trying to create something special for each other each time we meet. I was excited to plan a Big Night In experience for them. After pouring over all the menus I decided on the Spicy Seafood Chowder, Spinach & Apple Salad and Frank's Garlic Bread. One reason I picked this was because we have a non meat eater in the group but also it was something I could mostly prepare ahead of time so I would not be fussing in the kitchen when my friends arrived. Domenica takes care to give "Do Ahead" tips that facilitate planning.
Well what a hit it was! Our conversation was frequently interrupted with exclamations of praise over each dish. I had made an entire loaf of the garlic bread thinking I would have leftovers. Well, there were nary a few crusts left. No one turned down an offer to take some of the chowder home either for themselves or their spouses, which I was of course delighted to provide, yet selfishly realized the next day I would not get to enjoy it as many subsequent times as I hoped!
Exciting recipes, easy to follow instructions, warm and helpful commentary and gorgeous photos, make this a winner of a book. I know what I am giving as a Christmas gift to many folks on my list this year!

I bought this after a friend's recommendation, and am so pleased with it. The recipes are a mix of easy ones as well as more involved ones. The photos are beautiful and I like how the book is organized. So far I've tried the carrot soup, loved the splash of rice, what a unique addition. Normally carrot soup recipes are too bland, but this has a nice kick to it. I also made her ham and corn chowder with great success. Great book for holidays.

We *love* to entertain but all-too-often find ourselves at one another's throats when company arrives, striving for perfection that is, realistically, unrealistic.

These two have the right idea...it's quality time with friends that matters most, but that can't happen in the quality of the food is lacking. Follow the path to ensuring both quality experiences...here is your road map.

Thanks!

The "platter approach" that is the basis for the recipes in this cookbook will help anyone who likes to cook for company. If you are among the fearless who choose to forego the caterer and boldly go into the final frontier (which is creativity), then this book will be indispensable for you in planning, cooking and serving your own dinner parties. And by the way, the recipes are fantastic too.

At last! A cookbook that guides you on how to feed a small army with style, and still have enough energy left to actually enjoy your own party. The dishes are delicious (especially love the spicy scallops), the recipes are easy to follow, and the results go beyond expectation. The professionalism of the two authors, and their sympathy for what a home chef faces, is apparent. I highly recommend this book, and am personally giving it to my entertaining friends for a holiday gift.

I have owned this cookbook since it came out, I think. It's divided into four categories, which I know by heart: Seduction, Motive, Destitution, and Revenge.

Awesome. Hilarious. The Wasabi and peanut butter sandwich is inspired - her best "revenge" recipe!

Someone brought this book to work about 12 or so years ago. I couldn't put it down. I laughed until I cried for hours. I hurt I laughed so hard. I copied my favorite chapters and kept it for those days when I felt down and blue. No matter how sad I felt, after reading it I would be in tears laughing again. It is a cookbook based on the stages of a woman's realtionship with a man. It is gut wrenching funny!

If you are lucky enough to find a copy of this book you'll not only find yourself picking it up and flipping through it on a monthly basis for the rest of your life, you'll also find yourself unable to resist sharing the book--and perhaps the dishes--with friends. A completely unique cookbook.

Billi Gordon is a robust, blessedly rubenesque, extremely attractive black woman who has earned the nickname "the living Mannequin" for her skill at modeling and entertaining. The photography is as worthwhile, entertaining, and hilarious as the text. No ethnicity or other category of person is left unmocked in this book, and... Oh for pete's sake; get a copy. You won't regret it, and you'll probably end up looking for copies to give as gifts like I am.