Subjects:  1. Cookery    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Courses & Dishes - General    5. General    6. Menus    7. Cooking / General   

Reviews (10)

A Quirky Treasure
Recipes, hostess tips, and landmine humor. Now, you can invite your fiends over for a party, and for entertainment you can pass around this book. From the colorful, comical pages, and the recipe photo collection, there is something for everyone, if you're slightly twisted.

Finally!A book about entertaining I can relate to!
I don't think a book about entertaining has ever made me laugh to the point of tears before!Seeing peanuts!Gift ideas for nuns! Dad come home cake!Change your medicine chest from herbal remedies to something that works! The section on guest etiquette is priceless and hits the nail on the head. Todd Oldham's photography with its lurid lighting/hues is amazing. And the children's games section alone is worth twice the price of the book.
Well rope me up and call me Doggie!
First of all, I want to be adopted into the Sedaris family.Really, I do.I have been waiting for this book to come out for the longest time with a borderline unhealthy anticipation.I marched right into the bookstore this morning and saw it waiting there just for me!I read it in the car while driving to work, and I didn't even care that the other driver's minded.It is SO FUNNY!...and practical.Let me tell you, there is a party on every page!!When I got home, I ordered four more to give to friends who might invite me to their house's or something. Now, I'm going to go make an eye burrito to help relax my eyeballs so I can sleep because I'm so excited!I am going to have visions of heavyset cheeseballs dancing in my head all night long!! Well done Amy Sedaris!You can be my BFF any day!!
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Subjects:  1. Anecdotes    2. Cookery    3. Cooking    4. Cooking / Wine    5. Entertaining    6. Entertaining - General    7. Home Management    8. Hospitality    9. Recipes    10. Cooking / Entertaining   

Reviews (97)

Pollan is my hero!
I am a pharmacist who is also very interested in how diet and exercise maintain people's health.Michael Pollan's book was an incredible eye-opener.I first heard him interviewed on Science Friday on NPR news (podcast) and decided to read his book.It is an extremely well researched book with an entire source list in the back.It is also very entertaining and easy to read.It is obvious he has a great sense of humor.His book encompasses the economics, politics, biology, ecology, and physiology regarding our current american diet.His book has surely changed the way I think about food and I was fairly well versed before I read his book.Now, I am a member of a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and have been spreading the word! This is one of the best and most influential books I have ever read. Everyone should read it.Ignorance is not bliss.Just ask some of my pharmacy customers who have side effects from the medicines they take and have to spend hundreds to thousands of dollars on those same medications.

My response to Vegan/Vegetarian horn-tutors
I'm about halfway through this book (I've been kind of skipping around to various parts--which is how I usually read non-fiction books). Modern agriculture, factory farming, and where our food comes from are all subjects near and dear to my heart. These are topics that only people in the industry or professionally trained chefs (which I am) usually know and care about. I don't think veganism/vegetarianism is a good response (and I don't think it will fix anything). Instead, we need to be voicing our displeasure with our dollars.
Must Read for the Health Conscious
The Omnivore's Dilemma is an exploration into the foods that are on our plates and why. The answers he delivers are at times frightening.
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Subjects:  1. Anthropology - General    2. Archaeology / Anthropology    3. Food Science    4. Food habits    5. Food preferences    6. History    7. Manners And Customs    8. Nutrition    9. Popular Culture - General    10. Social Science    11. Sociology    12. Health & Fitness / Nutrition   

Reviews (11)

Excellent source
This book has lots and lots of pictures and loads of information on a large selection of herbs and spices.Some of them are non-traditional...which in my opinion only add to its value.There are a few reciepes, but this isn't really a cook book...it's a reference book for ideas.

Great book
One of the most detailed and enthralling books on cooking I've read in some time.Excellent graphics, descriptions, and infinitely useful

Only book you need on herbs and spices
`herbs & spices, the cook's reference' is the latest of eight different books on either herbs or spices by noted culinary editor and author, Jill Norman, one of the more influential disciples of the great English culinary writer, Elizabeth David, who contributed two books of her own to this subject.
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Subjects:  1. Cookery (Herbs)    2. Cookery (Spices)    3. Cooking    4. Cooking / Wine    5. Herbs    6. Reference    7. Specific Ingredients - Herbs, Spices, Condiments    8. Spices    9. Cooking / Herbs, Spices, Condiments   

Reviews (40)

Daisy Rocks!
Yea, Daisy....do your "thang"...as a Latina who cooks the typical Latin cuisine, I found myself wanting to try out her recipes after watching her show.Daisy puts her stamp on her recipes because she has a flair that can be found in her genuine love for culture and food.I stocked up on her "Top Ten Hits" and my kitchen has been rocking!I highly recommend this book, the instructions are clear, the pictures are mouth-watering, and the stories are endearing.I only wish they add more shows to the network.Oh yea.... when you buy this book, try the Carne Mechada (Puerto Rican Pot Roast) with the Roasted Garlic String Beans Your kitchen will sing with all of the wonderful smells and your family will thank you!

Phenomenal
This cookbook is excellent.Daisy captured the essence of latin cuisine.Not only did she share numerous authentic Puerto Rican recipes, but she also presented recipes that reflected other latin influences.This is a very diverse cookbook.The recipes are easy to follow and fun to make.I highly recommend this book.

Daisy is Adorable & So Are Her Recipes
I love watching Daisy cook!I actually smashed and fried plantains for the first time after watching her show. The book is worth every penny and the DVD of her cooking program is a bonus.I actually bought one of those DVD players for the kitchen to help me view Daisy's cooking techniques as I cook. I can't imagine why anyone would find this woman annoying. She's creative, high energy and delivers extremely useful information on cooking while using metaphors intelligently.I love how she shares her family's Latino heritage and love of food so naturally with the viewing public.This woman's a total star. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cookery, Latin American    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. International And Ethnic Cookery    5. Regional & Ethnic - South American & Latin American    6. Cooking / South American & Latin American   

Editorial Review

Fans of Food Network star Paula Deen enjoy her unpretentious Southern-gal persona as much as her easy, what's-not-to-like recipes. As a writer of four other cookbooks, including Read more

Reviews (2)

Excellently Appropriate Selection of Events and Recipes. Buy It.
`Paula Deen Celebrates', by Food Network star and home cooking matron, with assistance from "Savannah Magazine" columnist, Martha Nesbit expands Ms. Deen's franchisee in a most logical and expected manner, by being a collection of recipes appropriate to twenty-one (21) favorite occasions to celebrate with food.
Start entertaining

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Subjects:  1. American Regional Cookery    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Entertaining - General    5. Holiday - General    6. Holiday cookery    7. Menus    8. Regional & Ethnic - American - General    9. Regional & Ethnic - American - Southern States    10. Cooking / Entertaining   

Editorial Review

Since its first private printing in 1931, Read more

Reviews (347)

Great content, LOUSY MANUFACTURING
I use this book a lot. The publisher chose to cut costs by perfect-binding 1156 pages, a big NO-NO. (Perfect binding is the kind of glued binding used for paperbacks, but they at least have the added strength of the paper-back cover.) Here the perfect-bound pages are inserted into a hard-cover case, and have no support. The binding broke after two or three openings, pretty bad for a book you want to use often.

My absolute FIRST choice for everything book!
This is an excellent cookbook that I go to for everything from soups, deserts, conversions, cooking times, etc.I haven't made a bad dish yet and have been cooking from this book for 6 years.My husband and I received it as a wedding present and it has been a golden reference.If you are looking for a good basic cookbook, this is the one for you.Many of the recipes provide some geographical or historical context for the dish, which I find interesting and makes for great dinner conversation.Don't be intimidated by the length or number of ingredients in some of the recipes.These such recipes provide that flavor layering effect which takes the taste of the finished project off the charts!

A far cry from the old classic favorite!
I was so disappointed in this version! I have a "Joy" from the mid-1950s and one from the early 1980s -- I would chose either old one over this one any day. The print is terrible and the tone is smug and elitist. It doesn't act as a foundation for cooks -- it assumes you already know everything! PLUS, despite my not using it very often, the binding came apart and pages came out (after less than two years.) Find an old "Joy" on ebay and you'll be happier! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cookery    2. Cookery, American    3. Cooking    4. Cooking / Wine    5. Courses & Dishes - General    6. Regional & Ethnic - American - General    7. Cooking / General   

Reviews (219)

Good recipes, fast preparation, could be organized better
I have to say I was surprised by how much I have liked a lot of the recipes in this book.My wife asked for this book because she likes Rachael Ray and she likes to have a lot of simple meal recipes for during the week.If that is what you are looking for, this book has that.
Hard to Find Ingredients
I bought this book hoping to add some variety to our family meals.I live in a rural area with what I consider "normal" grocery stores.A lot of the ingredients Rachel's recipes call for are impossible to find in my area.I also thought many of the recipes were similar in that they had an Italian theme.I have to say I was highly dissappointed with the book.I wish I had spent my money on a different cookbook.

Recipes for everyone

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Subjects:  1. Cookery    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Methods - Quick & Easy    5. Quick and easy cookery    6. Cooking / Quick & Easy   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (62)

SB Menu Enhancer
Need for quick yet diet conscious recipes which provide great nutrition, variety of ingredients and tasty meals are hereby provided in this "quick and easy" addition to SB diet collection.
great!
i'm not on the southbeach diet... i don't even know why i bought this cookbook, to be honest.i actually considered returning it but by the time i remembered, it was too late.
Excellent for SB Dieters
I would recommend this South Beach Diet Quick and Easy Cookbook for your diet programs.
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Subjects:  1. Cooking / Wine    2. Diet / Health / Fitness    3. Diet/Nutrition    4. Diets - General    5. Health & Fitness    6. Health & Healing - General    7. Methods - Quick & Easy    8. Nutrition And Diet    9. Recipes    10. Reducing diets    11. General cookery    12. Health & Fitness / Diets   

Reviews (234)

Love it!
This book is all I hoped it would be....a delicious collection of wonderful recipes that I am dying to try.Just thumbing through the book made me hungry!

Everyday Italian: 125 simple and Delicious Recipes
Just the cookbook I was looking for. Many wonderful recipes that don't use ingredients not kept in the pantry.

Not one recipe fails!
I am a first time cook and everything is so clear in this book. I have not made one thing that has failed to be delicious. Love you Giada! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cookery, Italian    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Italian cooking    5. Regional & Ethnic - Italian    6. Cooking / Italian   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (6)

Beautiful cookbook with grerat recipes!
Having been a Bon Appetit Magazine subscriber for several years, I had to have the Bon Appetit Cookbook when it came out. It is a beautiful cookbook-the burnt-orange color is striking and the recipes are well laid out and easy to follow. The titles of the recipes are in the burnt-orange color and stand out-better than the Gourmet Cookbook's titles being in a pale yellow. Several of the recipes that I have made from the magazine are included in the book, as well as some I have not seen.The Classic Saganaki with Olives and Lemon is a great appetizer, and the Grilled Chicken with Red Onion and Mint Kebabs with a Greek Salad is a great summer meal. The only thing I would like to have seen in the book was the actual date the recipes appeared in the magazine and maybe source cited at the end of each recipe.The Bon Appetit Cookbook is a great addition to any cook's library! The free subscription to the magazine with the purchase of the cookbook is an added bonus!

My new favorite cookbook
This cookbook has recipes for just about everything you could ever want, as well as "notes from the test kitchen" on things like how to devein shrimp and caramelize sugar. I also own the Gourmet cookbook, but I find that Bon Appetit's book is much better to actually use in the kitchen. For one thing, it's easier to read (the recipe titles in Bon Appetit are actually legible!), and I think it has a much more attractive design, with inserts of recipe photos scattered throughout the book. It's also a little more mainstream in terms of the difficulty level of the recipes, so it's perfect for everyday cooking and entertaining. A great new addition to my kitchen!

Accessible and easy to use but not appealing!

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Subjects:  1. Cookery    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Courses & Dishes - General    5. Cooking / Courses & Dishes / General    6. General cookery   

Editorial Review

Bill Buford's funny and engaging book Read more

Reviews (71)

Erratic, boring and without passion
This book reads like a term paper written by an overly diligent student who's not really interested in his subject. The author erratically jumps from one topic to another to demonstrate that he has really done lots and lots of research.
Same story, different book.
I love to read narrative books on food.I also love to read cookbooks.But to me, this book is too similar to the more entertaining "Kitchen Confidential."I have no problem with the actual writing of the book, Buford is a great an enthusiastic guide to the inner workings of a kitchen.But I am tired of reading about how hellish and stressful it is to work in a restaurant kitchen, and glorifying the macho boys club of the professional culinary world.Yes, we get it, it's not really all that glamorous to work in a restaurant day in and day out. If you have never read a book like this and are infatuated with Mario Batali, I say go ahead and read it, but if you have read "Kitchen Confidential," there's not much new here.

Armchair Sous Chef
Having spent hours watching the Food Channel:Iron Chef America, Throwdown and even Rachael Ray, one always thinks that it doesn't look so hard...that is until you try to accomplish medium dice of anything with a consistent size.Somehow anything I chop looks as even as if I had done it in a food processor.So why don't I use one you ask??Because they don't on Iron Chef America, they slice and dice with ease.
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Subjects:  1. Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography And Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Cookery    7. Cookery, Italian    8. Cooking    9. Food    10. Italy    11. Literary    12. Methods - Professional    13. Personal Memoirs    14. Tuscan style    15. Tuscany    16. Cooking / General   

Reviews (40)

I love many cookbooks but this is not one of them
The first thing I didn't like about this book was the number of non-crock-pot recipes.It's disconcerting to be reading a slow-cooker cookbook and find salad recipes.Other books I've read give suggestions (such as, serve this with rice and a salad) but this is the first one to actually include directions for salads and rice.If I want to make fried corn fritters I will refer to The Frequent Fryers' Cookbook and not a slow cooker book.
Too Much Work!
If you like recipes with 10 or more ingredients, and you want to spend your spare time and money looking for ethnic foods and weird stuff you will only use once, then this is the book for you. Also, it doesn't get to dinner recipes until page 309. I really don't need hundreds of recipes on beans, rice, oatmeal, etc. I was very disappointed.

Great cookbook!
I have made 4 or 5 of the recipes and all have been very good.I am a big fan of the different oatmeals that you can start cooking the night before.We have been eating them all week!I have also made one of the chili dishes and the raviolicasserole.We have been eating great food with minimal fuss since I bought this cookbook.One good thing about this cookbook is that the ingredients are inexpensive (for the most part)We are going to try a roast this week and that is obviously a little pricey.However, the meals in this book can be made to fit almost any budget. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cooking    2. Cooking / Wine    3. Electric cookery, Slow    4. Methods - Special Appliances    5. Cooking / Special Appliances    6. Food & Drink / Cookery   

Reviews (69)

If its too good to be true.....
Well you know the rest. Aside from her brash repetative demeanor her cooking has a lot to be desired. These meals CANNOT be done in 30 minutes, unless that is if you want everything half cooked. The book makes false promises and does not deliver. There are also NO PICTURES and NO INDEX and the recipes are very confusing..most of them deriving from an original Master recipe and then just changing one or two things. If you want good food and a good cook book don't buy into the hype and don't buy this book.

Interesting reading and do-able, but on-hand items aren't common
This cookbook definitely makes for good reading; it's done in a conversational style like her show is.Kind of humorous when they have to include a section about what EVOO is and what it means to let food "hang out".
Easy cook bookfor the non-cook
Good but needs to have more interesting choices ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cooking    2. Cooking / Wine    3. General    4. Methods - Quick & Easy    5. Quick and easy cookery    6. Quick and easy cooking    7. Cooking / General    8. Main courses    9. Cooking, Wine & Spirits   

Reviews (3)

Eat healthy on those special occasions too!
The South Beach Diet Parties and Holidays Cookbook is an excellent addition to your cookbook collection whether you are following the program or not.
yummy in the tummy
While being in the healthy foods business for many years, I have had a deaf ear to fad diets.When my husband's physician suggested he try the South Beach Diet to lose weight, I ran to the library to find out what was going on with this popular diet.
Fantastic Cookbook -- Even if you are NOT on the Diet
Try the recipes even if they look odd compared to what you're used to eating. The food is LOADED WITH flavor that somehow satisfies your hunger with far less food than ordinary. Not only that, but after you eat these foods you feel GOOD and HEALTHY instead of just STUFFED and TIRED (like normal food.) ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cooking    2. Cooking / Wine    3. Entertaining - General    4. Health & Healing - General    5. Holiday - General    6. Holiday cookery    7. Recipes    8. Reducing diets    9. Weight loss    10. Cooking / Entertaining   

Reviews (11)

Fun Read
Really satisfying-- it's got a great history about the U.S. food revolution along with some juicy gossip about the big players of the movement.You feel like an insider hearing all the stories about these people.David Kamp tells stories beautifully, and the footnotes are sometimes the most hilarious parts on the page.This is a must read for anyone who considers themself a foodie, and well, for anyone who just enjoys eating...and a good story!

Revelatory
Nietzsche writes, "What good is a book that doesn't take you beyond all books?"David Kamp illuminates a rare but relevant subject and, wittingly or not, goes far beyond it to animate the culture of 20th century America, from which its subject springs.His book renders each of the last several decades vividly and down to astonishing detail.The buoyancy and wit of his storytelling, and the accompanying sense that you're in the good hands of a rational historian, make this book an immense pleasure to read.

my two favorite things: Eating and Reading!!
Loved this book! Toast is a big accomplishment for me, yet I thoroughly enjoyed Kamp's story. Had to eat while I was reading it! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Anthropology - Cultural    2. Cookery, American    3. Cooking    4. Cooking / Wine    5. Cultural And Social Anthropology    6. Essays    7. Gastronomy    8. History    9. Cooking / Essays   

Editorial Review

Fans of the Food Network's Read more

Reviews (31)

Recipes you will really make, again and again.
I don't have any of Giada's other cookbooks, so I cannot compare them to this one. What I can say is that this (Giada's Family Dinners) is a cookbook you will actually use, not just look at the pictures. The recipes show how simple and easy to make real Italian food can be. If you love to cook, you'll enjoy working with fresh ingredients to make really tasty main dishes and other recipes. The chicken marsala is a real winner - ditto the winter minestrone. I look forward to working my way through all of the recipes, then back again. Thanks Giada!

Brides and grooms will love this!
One of the biggest trends in wedding registries is signing up for cookbooks. Brides and grooms want to cook together, entertain, host family holidays -- and they want fabulous recipes to impress the in-laws as well. So grab this book for all the newly engaged and newlyweds you know, and give them the gift of preparing for a wonderful, nurturing future together. Giada is a phenomenal guide even for beginning cooks, and this cookbook is a treasure for every engaged couple's kitchen.

review
The cookbook is wonderful.What I was not happy about was not being able to change my order once I hit submit.2 minutes later it said it was being sent for delivery.I hit the wrong delivery service I wanted and was not able to change it 2 minutes later. It was a sunday, I hit 1 day delivery by mistake.Since it was Sunday I ended up not getting the book until Tuesday.I think that there should be some kind of grace period, at least a couple of hours to be able to change or cancel your order. Everything else was great ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cookery, Italian    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Family    5. Italian Cookery    6. Nutrition    7. Quick and easy cookery    8. Regional & Ethnic - Italian    9. Cooking / Italian   

Reviews (39)

Taste of Home Entertaining picked the perfect Chef to work with, this is wonderful!
Mario Batali entertains us all on Food TV with his incredible knowledge of Italian Cuisine and now we can make these dishes ourselves. I use this when hosting parties because of the vast array of appetizers available.They are easy to make and you can find the products in most grocery stores. Maybe even the Boar!

Great Recipes - If you can find boar
It's a beautiful looking book, with several recipes that look very tasty, but it requires some ingredients that you certainly cannot find at your neighbourhood grocery store. Furthermore, although I am admittedly far from a professional chef, I do not think the recipes are all that easy to make, even if you can find the ingredients. But if you live in Soho, NYC and have access to specialty stores & are a pro in the kitchen, you probably find these recipes great & simple.

Another winner from the American Italian cooking master
If you love to cook and eat Italian food this is the book for you!
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Subjects:  1. Cookery, Italian    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Italian Cookery    5. Regional & Ethnic - Italian    6. Cooking / Italian   

Reviews (2)

Don't like the binder...
I am a collector of taste of home cookbooks. When I saw this new release I pre-ordered it. while I enjoyed the recipes I found the binder to be cumbersome. The pages are not easy to turn, and the spine was dented. The page stock is thin and not durable. I think I prefer the standard format cookbooks.
Real food, for real people packed w/ info extras.
I have long been a fan of the Taste of Home magazine & would collect their annual "Yearbooks" of recipes. Naturally I had to add this to my collection and was pleasantly surpised by the addition of a conversion and substitution chart on the inside cover. The lay out of the book itself is orderly and in each section includes a wealth of information on everything from different cheeses, meat preparation, utensils, what goes well with what etc.
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Subjects:  1. Cookery    2. Cookery, American    3. Cooking    4. Cooking / Wine    5. Courses & Dishes - General    6. Methods - General    7. Cooking / American / General   

Reviews (1)

Another real Heavy -Physically HEAVY Book
As a gradaute of the CIA we had to carry the CIA Pro 7 to some of our classes and it was awesome thinking it could not get any bigger or have more information - BUT Pro 8 is the heaviest book ever published.This book is big and it includes a lot of updates from 7, easier methods and it looks like many of the recipes we did in the kitchens - A great resource to everyone and an even better one for CIA grads who can find pics of some of the old pros in them - Martinni, Matel and Andrienni were three I had and there they were playing in front of the camera - you guys really do have a good side no that the book is published - GET BACK TO WORK! - Great book CIA - congrats! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cooking    2. Cooking / Wine    3. Methods - Professional    4. Quantity cookery    5. Cooking / Professional    6. General cookery