Reviews (1)

Not for the home cook, but the book doesn't professes to be for the home cook.
These are the best cookbooks together now (I have read and used a lot of Belgian and French cookbooks!).
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Subjects:  1. Cookery    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Methods - Gourmet    5. Regional & Ethnic - American - California Style    6. COOKING / Methods / Gourmet    7. Cooking / American / California Style    8. General cookery    9. New York   

Reviews (9)

Great Great Book
As a Chef for a large Oil Field Camp in Alaska allot of these workers are from the South. Since we do a Cajun theme meal once every 5 weeks this Encyclopedia as come in handy allot. So full of useful information and history that it really brings to light allot of things that I never knew about Cajun cooking and cuisine. Would highly recommend this book if you're a lover of Cajun food as I am becoming and so are the people I feed.

The best of everything
This book is the greatest compilation of where Cajun & Creole Cuisine came from and where it is now.It is a fantastic read, and just generally fun to look at the pictures.BUY THIS BOOK!

An Oasis in My Desert
For the last 5 years we've been living in the deserts of Mexico and southern Arizona.I know all too well what it means to miss New Orleans.On a trip home last summer, friends of ours had this book displayed on their coffee table.I knew immediately I had to have it on my own table in Arizona.People there just don't understand our passion for food and culture.
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Subjects:  1. Cooking / Wine    2. Regional & Ethnic - Cajun & Creole   

Editorial Review

First published in 1950, Read more

Reviews (92)

A little bit newer desired
When I was first married, in 1966, I received a Betty Crocker cookbook that I wore out through so much use. I bought a newer version but didn't like it as much as my older one. I was trying to duplicate the older one when I bought this one. I think was trying to find one that was published a little later than this one. I don't really like the way the index is set up in this one but I do appreciate the good amount of basic information provided for a new cook.

A "must have", but...
Does contain very helpful information for the beginning cook left out of many "general" cookbooks. All the recipes turn out well, unlike recipes in some other cookbooks that seem like nobody ever tried before publishing them. Good for building confidence in a new cook.
Can't go wrong with the original!
My grandmother used this cookbook religiously for years and through it, taught me to love cooking and baking. Her original book was lost over the years, so I was delighted to get this version. It's absolutely perfect and so many recipes bring back fond memories. The recipes are simple and basic enough that I can share them with my 5-year-old daughter. We love the blueberry muffins and my husband raves about the pineapple upside down cake. Still my favorite cookbook! Thanks Betty! :) ... Read more

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

Reviews (19)

Professional Encyclopedia of Haute Cuisine
For this new translation, the dust jacket proudly proclaims 'Here, for the first time, is presented to the English-speaking public the entire translation of...'The copy on these dust jackets is usually just ad copy written by the sales department, and I would not take what it says too seriously. When I was much younger, I had the Crown version of this book as I happily puttered around in my kitchen. I no longer have it, and am unable to verify claims as to the superiority of this new translation over the older version (according to the editorial page, this translation dates to 1979 and is based on the 1921 French edition).
The Chef of Kings
August Escoffier was known as "The king of chefs and the chef of kings". This book is indispensible to anyone who is serious about the culinary arts. Escoffier defined the benchmark for classic French cooking from which most western cooking gets its roots, much like all forms of modern music from rock to country have their roots in classical music.You can find essences of classic French cooking in even the lowliest diner fare.
Classic
I am very annoyed that people who do not have any idea of what this book is, have the audacity to rate it. If you made the mistake of buying this book thinking it was a cookbook that is your own fault! Please don't rate Escoffiers culinary writings based on your own stupidity.
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Subjects:  1. Cooking    2. Cooking / Wine    3. Methods - General    4. Regional & Ethnic - French    5. Cooking / French   

Editorial Review

Discover why every kitchen worth its salt has a flour-dusted, bouillon-stained, batter-encrusted and whisk-maimed copy. ... Read more

Reviews (105)

My go-to for new dinners
I am recently married and love to cook, and of the several new cookbooks I got, this is the one I use the most, especially for "real life" cooking. It's organized well, so I know where to look if I want to cook chicken, meat, pasta, fish, cookies, something in the crock pot, etc. Each recipe I've tried has turned out well, and has been worth the effort involved. I bought a copy for my sister, so now I'm constantly telling her "Try that spicy chicken and rice bake, we loved it."

Great Starter & Basic Cookbook
I received this cook book as a wedding present 3 years ago and have been very pleased with it.
My most trusted cookbook!
I love this cook book! It has TONS of great recipes. Everything from cakes, pies, and breads, to pastas and various meat and vegetable dishes.It even has a recipe for homemade pasta. I was really amazed at how many great recipes it contains. Plus, I know I can trust it because Homes and Gardens tests their recipes. So, far I have only tried a few but every one has turned out great! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cookery    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Courses & Dishes - General    5. General    6. Methods - General    7. Regional & Ethnic - American - General    8. #1; cooking; basics; everyday; technique; tips; favorites; tested    9. Cooking / General    10. Main courses   

Subjects:  1. Cooking    2. Cooking / Wine    3. Courses & Dishes - Desserts    4. Courses & Dishes - Pastry    5. International And Ethnic Cookery    6. Cakes, baking, icing & sugarcraft    7. Cooking / Desserts    8. Cooking; desserts; pastries    9. Desserts   

Reviews (5)

A superb "how-to" introduction to Spice Island cuisine
Cradle of Flavor: Home Cooking from the Spice Islands of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore is a compendium of one hundred authentic recipes celebrating Spice Islands cuisine, from Green Mango Sambal and Lemongrass-scented Coconut Rice to Indian-Style Fish Stew with Okra, Javanese Grilled Chicken, Sweet Spiced Mung Bean Porridge, and much more. In addition to the recipes themselves, Cradle of Flavor provides extensive information on obtaining and preparing ingredients that may seem exotic to cooks from outside the Spice Islands, as well as a handful of color photographs. A superb "how-to" introduction to Spice Island cuisine for cooks of all skill and experience levels.

A Delicious Journey along the Ancient Spice Routes
I am not much of a cook, and certainly not of exotic foods that require many spices and shopping in special markets. But I bought this book because I had heard that, apart from recipes, it offers a travelogue and historical glimpse into the mystery and wonder of the ancient "Spice routes," a subject that has always fascinated me. Oseland too is captivated by this mystique and his adventurous spirit also takes him deep into the hills and paddys and homes of the Spice Islnads. We get not only the whiff of history but also perceptive glimpses of modern Indonesia - its religion, politics, social tensions and customs - all boiled down through the experience of individual families around a dinner table of delicious food.
An Inspiring Cookbook
I got this book a few weeks ago and was immediately engrossed by the descriptions of food in the Malay Archipelago.It makes the unknown world of Indonesian and Malaysian cooking approachable.I found the chapter that explains the ingredients very helpful, as were the color photos. (I wish there were even more pictures, though.)Since I've never done any "Spice Islands" cooking before, I figured I'd start with something relatively easy.So I tried the "Sate Ayam" (chicken satay) and it was a big hit with my family.We all thought the flavors were perfectly balanced.The directions for the satay are very clear and walk you through every step.Now I'm ready to try some of the more complex dishes.My only complaint is an esthetic one--I wish the margins were wider and the typeface for the ingredients was less blocky looking.Nonetheless, the cookbook has definitely inspired me.Now I want to go shopping in Chinatown...or better yet, in Indonesia. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cookery, Southeast Asian    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Regional & Ethnic - Asian    5. Regional & Ethnic - Pacific Rim    6. Cooking / Asian   

Reviews (4)

Things are really pass down!!!! Must have book!!!
When I read this cook book I realize how things are just pass down through generations. Regardless if you've been born in this country. The cooking styles are the same and I soon realize how the women in my family cook must of the food that's in this book... This is an amazing book and Thank You too the Chef!!! It just brings back memories....:-))

Soul is the Proper Noun
Having been to Africa, I know a little about the enchantment of at least parts of that vast continent.I admit I love Africa, Africans, and African food. I've looked for a book like this for quite a while and I am not at all diappointed at what I see here.I love the way this book is organized and written, and it is not the recipes alone that have whetted my appetite.The stunning photographs have made me long for a return trip so I can greedily consume the colors and sounds as well as the food of these exotic places.Until then, this book is the next best thing to being there!

outstanding
I am about half way through this book now, an excellent lesson in African food and reference book, as a Certified Executive Chef it is a prize to my library right next to the french laundry. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cookery, African    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. International And Ethnic Cookery    5. Regional & Ethnic - African    6. Africa    7. Cooking / General    8. Food & Drink / Cookery   

Reviews (47)

Hilarious........
This book kept me laughing for hours on end. I am from the south and had an occasion to spend 6 months in Greenville, Miss. recently, so having been there, met lots of natives, etc. made it even more comical. While reading the book you can almost hear the accent of the "Southern Ladies" in conversation. Gayden really has a way of turning mundane everyday life in the Delta, into one hilarious situation after another. I thoroughly enjoyed the stories and great recipes as well.

A taste of the deep south
I found this such a humorous and, for me, sentimental read. For each incident and character, I have enough life experiences in the deep south to be able relate the tale to characters and events in my past, including seeing ladies examine invitations from an angle to be sure they are engraved ("that beauty-graving is so tacky"). I am going to buy a couple copies for family members who I am sure will love this book as much as I do.

Sorry, but I didn't like it that much
The book was recommended to me by an elderly Southern lady with a great sense of humor, so I had high hopes.
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Subjects:  1. American Regional Cookery    2. American Satire And Humor    3. Cookery, American    4. Cooking / Wine    5. Entertaining - General    6. Etiquette    7. Form - Essays    8. Funeral rites and ceremonies    9. General    10. Humor    11. Regional & Ethnic - American - Southern States    12. Southern States    13. Southern style    14. Cooking / General   

Reviews (4)

great treasure
This is a great treasure.One needs to look at each recipe and try to anticipate how the original plate should have been like.No need to follow the exact instructions as they are only hints.Lot's of fun.

Brilliant, if bulky
High priced absurdity? Hardly. Compared to Adria's or Pierre Gagnaire's texts, Ducasse's tome reminds me of a blown up, bulky version of the French Laundry. There are no foams. There are no overtly experimental techniques; save the odd sous vide recipe.
Serious cooks only need apply -
First and foremost this is a cookbook for serious cooks/chefs. No compromise in the ingredients or the techniques required executing the dishes. The recipes are very detailed and very complicated, and, as with many chef cookbooks, it assumes you know how to cook! Don't be in a hurry to produce the dishes, read many times, absorb the essence/idea of the dish and then you should go!
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Subjects:  1. Cooking    2. Cooking / Wine    3. Methods - Gourmet    4. Regional & Ethnic - French    5. Cooking / French    6. General cookery    7. Reference works   

Subjects:  1. Cooking    2. Cooking / Wine    3. Regional & Ethnic - English, Scottish & Welsh    4. Regional & Ethnic - Italian    5. Cooking / Italian   

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

Features

• Illustrated

Reviews (71)

Eat Your Way to a Better Life
Dr. Agatston developed the diet for his chronically overweight heart patients. Soon, thanks to his patients' results, Dr. Agatston's diet became all the buzz in Miami.
Great recipes
Eat less calories and burn more of them through exercising.It sounds simple, but it's not easy to do.So I turned to South Beach diet. I've found this to be a very practical diet. After the initial first two weeks (the strictest) I've lost about 5 pounds. But, I've done no exercise whatsoever and have eating quite a bit which accounts for the lower than the average weight loss.Check the net for more FREE info.

Lots of tasty recipes
Amazing amount of tasty recipes. You can lose weight and get to enjoy delicious meals with this book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. American Regional Cookery    2. Cookery For Medical Conditions    3. Cooking    4. Cooking / Wine    5. Glycemic index    6. Health & Healing - General    7. Health & Healing - Weight Control    8. Recipes    9. Reducing diets    10. Weight loss   

Reviews (2)

This Book Makes Me Want to Drink A Whole Glass of Buttermilk
The Lee Bros. Cookbook is really inspiring--it makes me want to take the day off and go crabbing, mix up a frosty pitcher of mint julips for my friends, or drink a whole glass of buttermilk (like my Grandpa used to do). It makes me--a New Yorker via Southern California--want to go to the South! Right now, this very minute. The recipes are welcoming, homey, conjure images of grandma's kitchen (Grandma was from Chicago but made a mean fried chicken and biscuit). They are also elegant in their simplicity, in their respect for pure, fresh ingredients--and completely unpretentious. The book includes a long, affectionate mediation on grits (a much maligned delicious food): lemon grits, herb grits blue cheese grits!!! It is truly grit-tastic. Vegetarians who love Southern food--take heart--this book loves you: collards, okra,field peas, squash,jerusalem artichokes and ramps! The buttermilk lime dressing and pimento cheese sandwiches are killer. And of course, there is plenty of meat--things like hot-pepper roasted duck and fiery BBQ pork tenderloin, not to mention the classic--fried chicken.
delectable prose
The Lee Bros.' recipes are fantastic, but the writing itself is the real marvel here. I never expect a cookbook to be a good read, but this book's lyrical prose should be savored and the delicious stories should be served again and again. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cookery, American    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Regional & Ethnic - American - Southern States    5. Southern style    6. Central Southern states    7. Cooking / American / Southern States    8. Food & Drink / Cookery   

Editorial Review

It's an inspired idea--to better understand the human diet, explore what culturally diverse families eat for a week. That's what photographer Peter Menzel and author-journalist Faith D'Alusio, authors of the equally ambitious Read more

Reviews (17)

Wonderful Look at the World
If you enjoy the Material World series, you will love this book.It is a fantastic look at something that we all share, food, and how it can be so different around the world.Like traveling without leaving your couch.

Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today.Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Hungry Planet.I loved seeing the photos of each family representing a country on this great planet. It made me think about how much I pay for food during the week,and what my family eats. It also showed that the countries that ate more vegetables and less processed foods seemed to have less diseases and spent less.I also liked to read how members in thefamilies helped each other out with daily chores. I especially found the essay titled, Baked, Boiled, Roasted and Fried interesting. It was about how humans are the only species on Earth that cooks their food and that humans are not carnivores, but cookivores. I highly recommend it and look forward to reading other books by the this author and photographer team.

i was in the book
My name is Tyrone Demery and i am the younger son from the Revis family.
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Subjects:  1. Anthropology - Cultural    2. Diet    3. Food    4. Food habits    5. Photo Techniques    6. Photoessays & Documentaries    7. Photography    8. Photography Of Specific Subjects    9. Pictorial works    10. Regional & Ethnic - International    11. Subjects & Themes - General    12. Subjects & Themes - Travel - World/General    13. Food & Drink / Cookery    14. Photographs: collections   

Reviews (6)

A winner.
CHRISTMAS WITH SOUTHERN LIVING 2006 (0848731158, $29.95) isn't strictly a cookbook, though recipes are its core: it combines menus and time-saving holiday plans as well as party ideas with dishes which lend to entertainment and family gatherings. Many are fast, easy editor's picks, with chapters handily divided by type of entertainment: brunch buffet, office party, dinner party, and the like. A winner.
Not Up To Snuff
Like many of you, I collect these books year after year.This year was very disappointing.The book really is mainly recipes.I don't buy them for that, although the few I try are good. I buy this book mainly for the decorating and gift ideas.This year the book is really lacking in them.In years past they've shown how to decorate the outside of your house, the mantle, the table, and just about anywhere in a house that you could put a decoration.This year you basically have one mantle.That's it.Sorry, this book had me saying to myself, "I paid full price for this!!"
Christmas with Southern Living 2006
I love this book! I give to my 3 girls as well. I have gotten this book almost every year since it was first published. It has decorating suggestions, crafts, recipes and just all kinds of information to make your Christmas the best ever. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. American Regional Cookery    2. Cooking    3. Crafts / Hobbies    4. Entertaining - General    5. Holiday - Christmas/Hanukkah    6. Holiday - General    7. Regional & Ethnic - American - Southern States    8. Seasonal   

Reviews (11)

Mangoes and Curry and so Much More, Oh My!
Mangoes & Curry Leaves is one of my favorite cookbooks and I have scores of Indian cookbooks, as I'm sort of a gourmet chef. I wrote a cooking column for a sailing magazine for a couple years and one of my favorite articles was my "Two Ways to Tandoori" which you can read in one of my "Amazon So You'd Like to Guides," if you want. Tandoori chicken is just delicious. Anyway, while I was making the guide, I listed fifty cookbooks from my collection. I have more. I know, I know, one would think a couple books would be enough, but it's sort of an obsession with me, making food taste great and I just love to see how others have done it.
Beautiful and authentic
I cannot imagine anyone writing anything negative about this book...my family and I come from Bangladesh and India and I have tons of Pakistani friends. The depth that the authors have gone into understanding ingredients and the cooking is remarkable. I cannot imagine how they came to know some of those details. Like my neighbor in PA who had written a negative review, I have also Jaffrey's books which i love but Alford and Duguid got into the very essence of real home cooking of the subcontinent.Other authors sometimes focus on party foods while this book advises the readers on what people really eat on a daily basis. The other travel advice is interesting and the photographs gorgeous although i understand the concerns of the Bethlehem, PA reviewer of pictures that are hard to interpret. Just let it go. They still do an even better job with this book than Hot Sour Salty Sweet. The book is great. I'm glad amazon offers it for a lower price than bookstores.

Good work in a cookbook/travelogue
I am a novice American learning to cook Indian style.I have studied enough books to know that sticking curry powder in a melange of stewing vegetables is not really "getting it" in terms of creating an authentic Indian meal.In my search for authenticity, I think Alford & Duguid go a long way in presenting just that, scouring the villages & cities of India.
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Subjects:  1. Cookery    2. Cookery, Asian    3. Cooking    4. Cooking / Wine    5. Essay    6. Essays    7. International And Ethnic Cookery    8. Regional & Ethnic - Asian    9. Regional & Ethnic - Indic    10. South Asia    11. Cooking / Asian    12. Indian sub-continent    13. National & regional cuisine   

Reviews (40)

The only one you will need!!
This is an absolutely fabulous book - I use it all the time, I never knew one cook rice in so many varied and interesting ways!
Great collection of authentic Persian food.........
Ms. Batmanglij presents a thorough listing of Persian cuisine with beautiful pictures accompaning most dishes.Her style of cooking almost represents the Western orientation of Iran which is truly the most tasteful and decorative collection of the Persian cuisine.

Excellent food in easy to follow recipes!
This is an excellent cookbook with authentic Iranian cuisine. All the recipes I've tried so far, came out great, just as I remember my Iranian grandma making them. Some of the ingredients are difficult to find in areas without Iranian specialty food stores, but Batmanglij usually gives alternatives that are readily available anywhere. The directions for each recipe are clear and easy to follow. The beautiful pictures are mouth-watering, and it's sometimes difficult to decide what to cook first.
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Subjects:  1. Cookery, Iranian    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Iran    5. Reference    6. Regional & Ethnic - Middle Eastern    7. Social life and customs    8. Cookery, Middle Eastern    9. National & regional cuisine   

Editorial Review

InRead more

Reviews (8)

Great Recipes, impossible ingredients
I can't make most of the recipes in this book without resorting to mailorder from La Tienda.I'm not living in the complete middle of nowhere, but a town of 100,000 is not large enough to stock things like monkfish or spanish chorizo or any of the other dozen essential ingredients Andres uses.He doesn't acknowledge that any of his essentials might be rare, and so never indicates alternative ingredients.
Tasting Tapas
I bought this book because a friend of mine took me to Andres' restaurant in DC while on vacation. I loved the food and wanted to recreate it when I got home.
Great Tapas!
This is a beautiful book and would make a wonderful gift for anyone who likes Tapas or enjoys looking a great cookbooks. Beautifully photographed, you get hungry just looking at it. Everything that I have made is wonderful. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cookery, Spanish    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Courses & Dishes - Appetizers    5. Regional & Ethnic - Spanish    6. Spanish Cookery    7. Tapas    8. United States    9. Cooking / Spanish   

Reviews (3)

An excellent first choice
I fail to understand the complaints of two previous reviewers. This beautiful glossy volume is an excellent compendium of previosly publisned Cook's Illustratedrecipes. In style and format it would make an excellent first choice for anyone wishing to be introduced to a selection of the best of the best recipes from America's Teet Kitchen (i. e. Cook's Illustrated) without the tediousness of having to wade through lengthy descriptions of how the recipes were arrived at.
Good, but consists entirely of previously published recipes
This book is a compilation of recipes from other America's Test Kitchen publications that have been released within the last 1-2 years, including their magazines (Cook's Country and Cook's Illustrated) and books (The Best Light Recipe, The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, Best American Side Dishes, and The Best 30-Minute Recipe). Above each recipe there is even a thumbnail image of the publication in which the recipe originally appeared.Scattered throughout the book are tutorials (such as "Rice and Grains 101" and "Pie Pastry 101"), equipment reviews, and taste tests (similar to what appears in Cooks Illustrated Magazine).
Recipes are a dime a dozen ...
I subscribe to Cooks Illustrated, owned season 4 and 5 DVDs and have bought all their previous 6 books under the America's Test Kitchen title. This is my 7th. I used to subscribe to Cooks Country but found that to be amateurish and have since discontinued.
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Subjects:  1. Cookery    2. Cooking    3. Cooking / Wine    4. Courses & Dishes - General    5. Entertaining - General    6. General    7. Methods - General    8. Regional & Ethnic - American - General