Lucinda's Rustic Italian Kitchen Review

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(More customer reviews)Lucinda's Rustic Italian Kitchen offers simple, authentic, mouthwatering recipes paired with fantastic photography. This small book should be on every food enthusiast's book shelf.

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The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook Review

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(More customer reviews)Though I've seen complaints that these aren't all Martha's "original" recipes, I think those are from people who are missing the point. This is simply a compilation of the most popular recipes--more than 1,500 of them, this is a BIG book--which have appeared in Martha Stewart Living magazine to date. Stewart makes no secret of the fact that many of these recipes come from chef's, friends and others who have either appeared on her show or contributed to her magazine.
I've looked at other Martha Stewart cookbooks, including the classic "Entertaining," and think that, for the money, this is the best Martha cookbook on the market. It offers a wide variety and hits on all the favorites from both her show and magazine.
While I wouldn't necessarily recommend this as the only cookbook to have in your kitchen, it does have a great mix of old-fashioned classics--those contributed by Martha's mom are my favorite (I'm addicted to her meatloaf)--and meals which can "wow" company, both with taste and presentation.
Alongside the classics--"The Joy of Cooking" and/or "The New Joy of Cooking," the "Betty Crocker Cookbook," the "Fannie Farmer Cookbook" and/or a Cook's Illustrated title (either "The Best Recipe" or the "Cook's Bible")--the voluminous and comprehensive "Martha Stewart Living Cookbook" will round out a perfectly balanced recipe collection for anyone who enjoys cooking, or just wants to be able to put together a smart looking meal now and again.

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Good Things for Easy Entertaining: The Best of Martha Stewart Living Review

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(More customer reviews)I have this book on a 30-day preview and it's on a mental future purchases list. I've been pleased and excited by it. Every "good thing" from those on the endpapers to the sidebars are wonderfully do-able ideas. I'm planning to use a few (the finish-your-own-lemonade setup and flower/blossom on a napkin are two) for an upcoming birthday dinner. This book is an excellent introduction to entertaining in a new, yet only-Martha way. I also highly recommend Good Things, Arranging Flowers, Comfort Food, and Desserts, all four of them in The Best of Martha Stewart Living series as companions to this book.

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In this latest volume in the Good Things With Martha Stewart Living series, you will find dozens of ideas, projects, and recipes to help you entertain more easily and often.Delicious drinks and hors d'oeuvres, simple lighting projects, beautiful centerpieces, clever place cards, creative table coverings, and luscious desserts round out this inspired collection.

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Martha Stewart's Christmas: Entertaining, Decorating and Giving Review

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(More customer reviews)Yesterday I made Noel Nut Balls and the chocolate-dipped almond cookies for the fifth or sixth Christmas in a row, and chances are I'll make several of the other recipes before the end of the holidays. The cookie recipes are easy to follow, guaranteed to please and the cookies themselves can be frozen for weeks without any change in texture, appearance or flavor. However, I can't imagine many busy people whipping up the cassoulet or even the fruitcake unless they are experienced cooks who can confidently evaluate and execute rather expensive (in terms of ingredients) recipes.
The craft and gift ideas run the range from easy and very rewarding (such as making your own wrapping paper, which turns out to be a great activity to do with children-- and those gold and coppery designs look sensational under the tree) to the fantastical...like using a jeweller's drill to make holes in nuts for decorative purposes. Still, this is a book full of ideas for holiday activities and creations for people with the full range of abilities and available time and it really is enjoyable to read and to look through.
I am buying a second copy because the first has literally fallen apart. This is the second Martha Stewart book to have broken into pieces (Entertaining did, as well) and I do question the quality of binding.

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The paperback edition of the best-selling book in which Martha Stewart invites readers to join in her Christmas celebrations as she decorates her home, wraps special gifts, and prepares luscious meals for her friends and family throughout the holidays. Full-color phontographs.

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Martha Stewart's Cooking School: Lessons and Recipes for the Home Cook Review

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(More customer reviews)Martha Stewart's Cooking School: Lessons and Recipes for the Home Cook is an indispensable cooking guide for beginners through mid-level cooks. By mid-level, I am referring to anyone who cooks but is not adept at the various cooking techniques or one with a firm understanding of how and what tools to use in the kitchen.
As a former caterer and chef, I see that many people lack basic cooking skills. This book does a fantastic job of teaching the skill--Stewart provides clear instructions and the accompanying photographs makes the job of learning how to cook seem simple. (And cooking is fairly simple...you just need to practice--and get good guidance!)
The book is stunning in its layout and with impeccable photography throughout. The photographs alone would entice even the most reluctant beginner to jump in and learn to cook!
Cooking School begins with the basics--what cooking supplies to stock in your kitchen. Stewart believes in keeping things simple and she lists the basic equipment to do the job. Also included are knife sharpening tips and much more. Here again, the photos assist in the show and tell method of this book.
The remainder of the book is divided as follows:
* Stocks and dips
* Eggs
* Meat, fish and poultry
* Vegetables
* Pasta
* Dried beans and grains
* Desserts
Each section provides cooking techniques and recipes, many of which are classics.
This is a wonderful book to buy yourself or anyone who wants to learn to cook--or to cook better. I bought a copy for my niece as a housewarming present!
By the author of the award winning book, HARMONIOUS ENVIRONMENT: BEAUTIFY, DETOXIFY & ENERGIZE YOUR LIFE, YOUR HOME & YOUR PLANET.


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Fast and Fabulous Hors D'Oeuvres: A Survival Guide for Today's Busy Entertainer Review

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(More customer reviews)I have made many recipes from this book and they have all been fabulous. The make-ahead tips are extremely helpful and actually let you prepare for a party weeks in advance. Many of the recipes can be frozen, and they taste great when thawed. This book has enabled me to feel at ease about throwing a Christmas party for 60 people!

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Fast and Fabulous Hors D'Oeuvres: A Survival Guide for Today's Busy Entertainer brings you 350 exciting recipes for dips, sauces, spread, pates, molds, pastries, and more.

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The Martha Stewart Living Christmas Cookbook Review

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(More customer reviews)I have read this newly-published cookbook from cover to cover today and I LOVE IT! It's not surprising Martha Stewart could put together a collection of recipes representing the Christmas holiday. Some cookbooks only focus on Christmas cookies or only Thanksgiving, but this cookbook highlights sophisticated recipes from drinks (I hadn't seen a Ramos Gin Fizz in a cookbook ever!) to entrees and of course, desserts. Sure, there are only so many things you can do with cranberries, chestnuts, hazelnuts, and pumpkins, but these are not tired, redone recipes just so she could publish yet another cookbook. This book is polished, much like the format of her h'ors d'oeuvres book. Beautiful photographs, great recipes. Anyone who loves cooking during the Christmas holidays, and not just bake cookies, will definitely love this cookbook!

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Since Martha Stewart Living Magazine's debut more than a decade ago, readers have come to look to its holiday issues for the best seasonal entertaining and menu ideas.Each issue of Living has included Martha's favorite recipes, as well as the staff's. For the first time, more than six hundred of these holiday dishes are collected in one volume: The Martha Stewart Living Christmas Cookbook. Throughout the ten chapters of recipes, every element of holiday entertaining—from hors d'oedvres and cocktails through main courses and desserts—is covered. Whether you're searching for an eggnog to sip on Christmas Eve, planning to serve a traditional roast goose for Christmas dinner, or putting together a festive brunch for overnight guests, The Martha Stewart Living Christmas Cookbook offers a comprehensive array of classics and new favorites to choose from. Guiding you are how-to photographs and illustrations, along with sixty-four pages of beautiful color photographs that will inspire even novices to get into the kitchen and start cooking. The book is filled with tips and techniques, and it also includes a special menu section to help you create the perfect meal.This collection of recipes—ranging from simple to extravagant—makes an indispensable cookbook, not just for Christmas Day, but for the entire holiday season.

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Great Parties: The Best of Martha Stewart Living Review

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(More customer reviews)Now I know that we can't all go to Texas to have an authentic Tex-Mex fiesta, but the ideas are great none the less. Who care's if no one comes dressed the part? This book is all about themes. Themes that you can manipulate and call your own. Each party is beautifully photographed and the recipes are delicious. They even offer her infamous "Good Things" as a sidebar for many of the parties. Don't let the perfection overwhelm you. This book delievers.

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An inspiring source of ideas for creating a variety of celebrations, from fun and festive to elegant and refined, Great Parties features fully illustrated, step-by-step instructions to help readers throw a party that is as special as it is memorable. Full-color photos.

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Mad Hungry: Feeding Men and Boys Review

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(More customer reviews)At first pass, I almost overlooked this lovely title BECAUSE of the title. I don't have any children, I don't eat beef and often avoid the heavy and greasy staples associated with men, and my husband is my partner in the kitchen -- not someone I wait on hand and foot. Inside this beautiful book, the reader will not only find a solid collection of easy and delicious recipies, but equal parts useful advice about food, family togetherness, cooking, and auto-biography. Impressive credentials as a Martha Stewart big-wig aside, Lucinda Scala Quinn's food is accessible, familiar and yet inventive, and can be cooked using the budget and pantry of an average American family. This is a handsomely styled book filled with healthful tasty plates equally worthy of a cherished Sunday dinner and harried weeknights that scream for Chinese take-out or pizza.
Scala Quinn is a regular on the PBS show "Everyday Food." Regardless of your gender or how many "men and boys" you have to feed, fans of the show and the magazine will love this collection of 10-ingredient or less recipies that can be simply prepared in 30 - 60 minutes.
The cover art sort of screams at you, but Lucinda Scala Quinn's voice is calm, patient, funny, and real. This is one book you are better off not judging by the cover.

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Civilize the wild beasts in your life, one meal at a time.Four hungry brothers. Three ravenous sons. A husband who loves to eat. Lucinda Scala Quinn has spent much of her life feeding the men and boys in her life and teaching them how to feed themselves. Now Scala Quinn—chef, television personality, and Martha Stewart Omnimedia's resident food guru—shares winning strategies for how to sate the seemingly insatiable, trade food for talk, and get men to manage in the kitchen. She provides recipes for single-skillet meals and dinners that yield fabulous leftovers and that are a cinch to stretch for extra guests. Her grab-and-run breakfast will help kids start the day right, and her healthful drinks make it easier for guys to say no to soda. Scala Quinn's recipes are easy to prepare, affordable, and so good that even the most finicky eater will want to dig in.Along with her cooking techniques and survival strategies ("Never be caught without bacon"), Quinn muses about life in a predominantly male household and provides empowering advice to feed guys' spirits as well as fill their bellies. With her help, homemade meals become second nature, nourishing both diner and cook.

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Martha Stewart's Dinner at Home: 52 Quick Meals to Cook for Family and Friends Review

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(More customer reviews)The first Martha Stewart cookbook that I purchased was her "The Martha Stewart Cookbook." Awfully good, but not for the everyday cook in his/her kitchen. The second of her cookbooks that I acquired, "Martha Stewart's Cooking School," was more accessible (at least to me). I have enjoyed a number of recipes from this book. My third acquisition, "Martha Stewart's Dinner at Home," has an interesting twist--(Page 9): "Arranged seasonally to take advantage of what's in the market, these meals are accessible, but they also satisfy our desire for an even broader range of foodstuffs."
For each season, there is a set of meals (52 in all, one for each week).
Spring: Here is an example (and one that I aim to try out in the near future--except for the rhubarb!). Baby lamb chops with lemon strips; asparagus with aioli; Quinoa, pea, and mint salad; vanilla-poached rhubarb. The lamb chops are very simply made. The asparagus dish is also quite doable. I have never used quinoa before, but have seen a number of recipes that use it, so this dish intrigues me (again, looks pretty straightforward to make). The rhubarb? I'll let that go, since I'm not a fan!
Summer: "The markets are overflowing with local fruits and vegetables at their peak, yet the long, sunny days cut short any thoughts of spending hours in the kitchen (Page 73)." One example. Avocado and lemon on toasted rustic bread; Seared tuna in tomato-basil sauce; green beans with lemon butter; Peaches in honey syrup. The tuna dish uses readily available ingredients, so would be pretty easy to make for the home cook.
Fall: As Stewart puts it, a season with plentiful produce lending itself to heartier preparations. The example? Pork chops with sautéed apples and onion (I have made a similar dish, but this recipe promises to be more delicious still); Shaved fennel-celery salad; mustard mashed potatoes; maple custards.
Winter: Here is the example that I especially like. Roast chicken breasts in creamy tarragon sauce (I haven't used tarragon as much as I should have over time, given that it adds an interesting taste to dishes); warm lentils with spinach; caramelized endive; poached pears with chocolate sauce.
All in all, a fun, accessible set of recipes. I look at this as a fine addition to my kitchen library.


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The Martha Stewart Cookbook: Collected Recipes for Every Day Review

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(More customer reviews)Someone didn't proofreading this volume. It is a shame too. It would be a great cookbook and a source of good inspiration otherwise. As it is, it is a dinner party disaster waiting to happen.
Typos abound. Temperatures are forgotten. Items in the directions are not in ingredients list -- and ingredients listed are not in the directions. (Example: Portobella Mushroom Risotto doesn't mention when to add the mushrooms.) The errors are frequently serious enough to render your very expensive ingredients inedible.
And caveat emptor: This is a compendium of Martha's previously published cookbooks. I do not know if the original cookbooks had the same errors.
The book is also overwhelming -- even for a cooking addict. It became a game for me to see how exclusionist the ingredients list could be. I got out my Italian and French cooking dictionaries to figure out the obscure terms. To share the fun I called neighbors and friends from Venice, Paris and Lyon.... What DOES plissee mean????
Joy of Cooking and Fannie Farmer are better places for novices to start. Experienced cooks will appreciate and their money will be better spent on another volume from James Beard or Cordon Bleu.
It is a great cookbook to get ideas from... but I would hate to be forced to actually cook from it. Martha, my dear: a major revision with a good copy-editor and recipe-checker would make it worth buying.

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Martha Stewart's Hors d'Oeuvres Handbook Review

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(More customer reviews)This is the ultimate Hors D'Oeuvres handbook -- the best I've ever come across.
In this massive tome, Martha covers all types of hors d'oevres. In addition to easy-to-follow instructions, every "finished product" is beautifully photographed and labled. All you have to do is flip through the photograph section at the beginning of the book, select the hors d'oevres you would like to make, mark it with one of the attached silk book holders, and flip to the recipe in the back of the book.
Here are a few notes:
1.) Included in the back of the book is a good index (This is helpful if you want to search for a specific main ingredient -- like if you have 10 lbs. of asparagus you need to use up.) and a resource guide (This is great for those who don't have a gourmet supermarket within driving distance. Almost all ingredients and tools can be ordered either via the internet, by phone, or mail.).
2.) As is typical with Martha's books, the recipes are high on presentation and low on portability. These delicacies are best suited to an at-home cocktail party, as most of the items to not travel well due to their sometimes elaborate construction.
3.) A nice feature is the classic recipes section featuring party favorites such as stuffed mushrooms. (These recpies are great, as my guests are not always in the mood for nori or endive.)
4.) While I appreciate the design choice to put all of the photos at the beginning of the book, I would have preferred the pictures be featured with each recipe. Expect to flip back and forth a bunch of times.
Functional Note:
You'll need bookweights or a cookbook stand to hold this open, as the pages are packed pretty tightly.
Bon appetit!

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Martha Stewart's Menus for Entertaining Review

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(More customer reviews)This is my favorite Martha Stewart book - and I have several. The menus are original but yet not over the top. I have actually tried and used the recipes - and have been asked for them - which to me is the ultimate compliment. The pictures are great - this is a book you will actually use - instead of just reading and putting back into your cookbook library. Buy this book, you won't be disappointed.

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