5 comments about Top 100 Baby Purees: 100 Quick and Easy Meals for a Healthy and Happy Baby.

1. I loved this book! Got it for my babyshower and cooked every recipe in it. The recipies are simple and my son loved them. I highly recomend it.



2. Can't wait until my little one is big enough to eat some of the recipes in this book. They look easy and yummy.



3. This is a great book. We made our own baby food for the first year and our baby loved all the different recipes from this book. I highly recommend it if you plan on making your own baby food.



4. I've been making baby food from the recipes in this book since my son was 6 months old. So far, I've made about 15 of the recipes and all of them have turned out to be extremely tasty. I love how the recipes are divided into age groups.
   
   My son is now 10 1/2 months old and just becoming accustomed to solids with thicker textures that require chewing, so over the weekend I made the Pasta Risotto recipe. It was easy, fast, and amazingly delicious. I really couldn't believe how good it tasted (I'm going to make a bigger batch for myself this next weekend). My favorite, though, is the fried banana with orange juice and butter recipe. I would have never thought of something so simple but so GOOD.
   
   This book has taught me basic cooking skills and how to make amazing, diverse food for the baby. Highly recommended.



5. I purchased this book when my son was 5 months old and we were just starting him on solids. We had a lot of success using it. At the time, I was not a great cook but could follow a recipe. I welcomed the advice on how long to steam a vegetable before pureeing and what fruits would taste good when mixed together. My son loved the recipes and has since become an excellent eater. Even our day care provider comments on what a good eater he is and how she believes it was because of all the great foods we made for him as a baby. You should consult your doctor on some things like the red berries, etc. but we lived on this book for the first few months after we introduced food and had no side effects from using butter or anything else. I even bought another Annabel karmel book, Superfoods, and still continue to refer to it to cook for my now almost 2 year old. I highly reccommend this to any new mom.

5 comments about Ad Hoc at Home.

1. The model for Ad Hoc the restaurant is that there is no menu: you show up, and they serve you whatever is "for dinner." That in mind, the items they make must be broadly appealing, flexible in presentation, and really REALLY good, because you're still forking over hundreds of dollars for this lack of choice.
   
   The recipe book is excellent. Great, classic dishes with inviting ingredients, well prepared. As someone who owns--and has cooked from--Keller's French Laundry cookbook, I can tell you that this book is a different animal indeed. It could not be more different.
   
   A great one to have on the shelf. I expect to cook quite a lot from this book over the next year.



2. Fabulous and beautiful cookbook, makes a wonderful gift!
   I looked for this book at several different bookstores and websites before purchasing here. The price couldn't be matched. It was well packaged and arrived with no scuffs, dents, or scratches. The book was still in its original plastic. Shipping was fast and on-time. No complaints; very happy with the purchase.



3. This is a beautiful book- delicious recipes with pictures that make your mouth water. These dishes are supposed to be what you'd make at home, everyday. They aren't fussy dishes, but read through them first because the ingredients often require multiple steps before they are ready to add. One good part is that once you make these ingredients, they are in large enough quantities that they can be used several times or in different recipes. I have thoroughly enjoyed this book and am slowly working my way through the tempting and fun recipes.



4. I received this cook book for my birthday and have to say I love it. Have made two recipes so far (fried chicken and braised chicken thighs) both were easy to follow and fantastic. I've read through much of the book already scanning and reading most of the recipes. It is very easy to follow, has a great mix of short and simple recipes combined with some more intricate ones. The pictures are beautiful, crisp and self descriptive. I have a few dozen cookbooks and think this will become one of my 'go to' books just like How to Cook Everything/Bittman, Joy, and full collection of Cook's Illustrated hard bound. I've eaten at Ad Hoc and can't wait to try those menu items at home now. Whether you are a basic or advanced cook I'd highly recommend this book for pleasure of reading and great recipes.



5. I am absolutely certain I will not find adequate words to describe how I feel about this incredible cookbook. I have read other reviews that have expressed my views perfectly. Still, I wanted to put in my five stars and attempt to address why I am so wild about Ad Hoc at Home.
   
   I am a caterer by trade, and for a long time I was mostly self-taught. I have since had some training in particular areas of interest and it has certainly improved my skills. I think, however, that had I had this book in hand ten years ago, I would have achieved a higher level of expertise far more quickly. There's everything here, from tying a roast to obtaining the perfect sear on a divers scallop. It's about respect for great ingredients; simple (and sometimes not-so-simple) techniques that elevate a dish from good to luxurious; it's about the importance of pairing the right components to unite a dish. It's about keeping a well-stocked pantry (and how to do it!) Mostly, however, it is about what love and attention to detail can bring to a meal for family and friends. That is priceless.
   
   I admit to one quarrel with this book: there are a number of recipes that require forays off to several different pages for additional recipes to complete a single dish. I don't necessarily mind one or two, but when you have four or more different pages to go to to complete a part of the ultimate whole, then you begin to frustrate me. Still, although I may swear under my breath when at the fifth sub-recipe to complete a simple dish of meatballs with pappardelle, I wouldn't let anyone take this book away from me for anything.
   
   I think that this cookbook, coupled with "Ratio" and "The Flavor Bible" can bring out the confident, adventurous cook in anyone. Thank you, Chef Keller.

No comments about The Pot and How to Use It: The Mystery and Romance of the Rice Cooker.

5 comments about Hungry Girl 1-2-3: The Easiest, Most Delicious, Guilt-Free Recipes on the Planet.

1. I have read thru this book and marked some recipes...it sounds like it will be very good but I haven't actually tried them yet



2. I am very glad I purchased this cookbook. Not only does it have some very good recipes they are also low calorie, and most usually things you have in pantry.



3. I always sit down & look through recipe books before buying them, and it's saved me from wasting money on books not worth half their recipes. This is one of those books, I would feel guilty buying/making/eating a lot of these recipes. Total disappointment, I'd love low cal & easy recipes, but I want them to be healthy too.
   
   I guess if you feel guilty because of the number of calories you eat than this book is full of guilt-free recipes. But if you feel guilty poisoning your body with chemicals & an unhealthy balance of electrolytes (too little potassium & too high of sodium) than DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK.



4. So I've been looking through the recipes in this book and am disappointed in what I see in some cases but I'm not ready to give the book a bad review as I haven't tried many of the recipes yet. What I'm disappointed in is the small amount of ingredients used to keep the calories low. Here's an example. A recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of mini chocolate chips in the funky monkey squares. This recipe makes 9 servings. That's like 2 mini choc chips in each square - not very chocolaty. This is just one example. For just a few more calories, you could double the mini choc chips and make it good. You have to decide for yourself how much you are willing to give up. These just totally lose the "chocolate banana fun" she proclaims with this tiny amount of choc.



5. I was really looking forward to getting this book but I was amazed by the ingredients in half the recipes. Also the sodium counts! One recipe had a single serving had 1200 mg of sodium! 1200! I can't stand to eat something low fat/low calorie that then bloats me up because of all the salt I just ate. What's the point in that?
   
   I really don't like having recipes where I have to use all artificially flavored or artificially sweetened foods. I have tried to see what I could possibly make out of the whole book. The only thing I might even want is the french toast style waffles. This recipe involves taking nutrigrain low fat frozen waffles and then adding the typical ingredients for french toast (swapping out egg for egg substitute). That's not too bad but again sodium starts to rack up when you are using 3-5 ingredients of processed foods.
   
   I bought three cookbooks after this one that I love. Devin Alexander's "Fast food Fix", "The Most decadent diet" and "I can't believe it's not fattening". Now those I love! The most recent "I can't believe it's not fattening" tries its best to still use some items that are prepackaged products to save time but she focuses on all natural products and tries to keep all her recipes healthy. I have made dozens of items from each of these books but I have yet to still be able to make anything from the HG 1-2-3 book.
   
   I was so dissapointed with the recipes, plus even the food in the pictures looks unappealing. I highly recommend you not buy this book and try something else. Even eating lean cuisines will be better for your health. At least there you are only looking at 500-600 mg of sodium per meal. You can get at least three lean cuisines for the price of this book.

5 comments about Mastering the Art of French Cooking (2 Volume Set).

1. Undoubtedly one of my best cookbooks. I've learned so much from it. It is a must have for anyone who is serious about being a good cook.



2. So much detail and amazingly clear recipes and instructions, the food comes out soo well!



3. If you enjoy cooking and are tired of all the Tex-Mex recipies that are clogging TV and current cooking trends, this "blast from the past book will really awaken your taste buds! We have tried many of the dishes already and have loved them all. Mastering the Art of French Cooking (2 Volume Set) is a must for all serious home chefs.



4. Encouraged by the movie, Julie and Julia, I decided to try my hand at some of Julie Child's recipes. I've always been a "throw-together" cook and look forward to learning how it is supposed to be done and tasting the results.



5. Anyone want to try their hand at French cuisine? This book cook is a MUST!

5 comments about The Primal Blueprint Cookbook: Primal, Low Carb, Paleo, Grain-Free, Dairy-Free and Gluten-Free.

1. All my readings and life experience (previously working for five years in a natural foods co-op) have now finally converged on the Primal diet lifestyle as the common sense approach to nutrition (and, for me, backed up by the well-researched book, Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes).
   
   I've bought a lot of cookbooks on my journey to a more healthy diet. And some of those cookbooks seem to be comprised of recipes that were conceived purely on theory and not at all on taste (cough..Atkins..cough).
   
   I knocked out 5 of the recipes in the Primal Blueprint cookbook in a week and a half, and every single one of them tasted FANTASTIC. Even my wife and two children, whom I'm slowly trying to wean from their highly-refined carbo-centric tendencies, raved about the recipes I cooked (e.g. Moroccan chicken, Transylvanian stockpot, Coconut ice cream, zucchini frittata...) These are not people who like the taste of real vegetables. My wife said, and I quote, "That cookbook is best money we've ever spent. I can't believe how good this tastes."
   
   Clearly, the recipes were tested and refined by an actual person who knows the taste of good food. Thank you, Jennifer Meier.
   
   Also, I have a son who is Type 1 diabetic. We noticed that the meals I cooked from this book had a very low effect on his post-meal blood sugar. No huge post-meal spike and less insulin required at mealtime. That in itself was worth the price of admission. Cookbooks like this show him that he can eat delicious meals that do not adversely affect his blood glucose. He will need this knowledge to cope with his diabetes when he ventures out on his own (he's 10 right now).
   
   To me, a five-star rating indicates a perfect book (or movie, or whatever), so I'm giving it 4 stars, a very high rating to me, for the following reasons:
   - It does not have an index referencing the ingredients. I often cook by the "what-have-I-got-in-the-refridgerator" method; designing a week's worth of meals (and our food shopping) around that. With this book, I can't look up all the recipes that have zucchini in them. So put an index in it already.
   - I do have the Primal Blueprint book also, but what if I'm someone who doesn't have that and just wants the cookbook? This cookbook doesn't contain a brief overview of the theory behind the recipes it contains; it just jumps right in to the recipes. A Primal Blueprint primer at the beginning of the cookbook would round it out nicely.
   - Final (unfair) criticism: not enough recipes! You do get your money's worth, but I want Volume II already! (I'm not one to browse the internet or blogs for recipes; I like cookBOOKs.
   
   Highly recommended cookbook as it contains excellent tasting, easy, nutritious recipes!



2. I've been long awaiting a cookbook like this, and it lived up to it's expectations.
   
   I've made the Buffalo Chili, the Peach Chicken Salad, the Jambalaya, the Roast Beef and the Grok Rocks. All of which have been delicious.
   
   The book has some really interesting ways to work around foods you are used to eating. I've been really impressed with some of the ideas such as grated Cauliflower as an alternative to rice. Worked great in my Jambalaya.
   
   On the down side, the book is a little too short, but worth the money in my opinion. Would buy again.



3. The book provides great recipes for healthier living. The recipes are simple, easy to follow and delicious. If you want to jump start your diet and begin living a healthier life these recipes are a way to go.



4. Even if you're not following the Primal Blueprint eating plan, these recipes are just delicious. What I really like about this book aside from the fesh and clean tasting dishes, is that the recipes have limited ingredients and clear, pretty easy instructions. I took a leap of faith purchasing this and it has become my new favorite cookbook, primal or not!! Because it is primal, the dishes keep you satisfied for a really long time and I never feel guilty when I eat meals made from this book (not even when I a made the cocunut custard!). Great book!



5. I've been following a Primal Diet since 2/2010 and was very excited to get this cookbook. For once, here's a cookbook that fulfills all of my diet choices without me having to adjust the recipes to fit what I eat. What I've tried from this book has been good-I'm a huge fan of the pumpkin nut muffins and LOVE the Enchiladas recipe (FYI-steep learning curve to making the egg-white tortillas, but great once you do!)
   Here are my issues:
   1. Mark Sisson has been working on this cookbook for a long time and asked people on his blog to contribute recipes. A lot of those recipes that ended up on the blog (and are AMAZING) didn't make it into the cookbook. While this means that there are different recipes in the book, I really wanted to have some of those other recipes more easily on hand.
   2. There are a TON of color pictures in this cookbook. While I find pictures of how something should look helpful, giving me a picture of all the ingredients grouped together on a plate is just a waste of space! I didn't pay for pictures, I paid to get great recipes.
   3. They need a better editor! The Enchilada recipe that I love so much doesn't give a temp for the oven--they only tell you to cover the dish with foil and bake it for 20 min. I've had to play around to figure out what works to get the dish done in 20min (it isn't 350). You might think I'm being nit-picky, but this isn't the only recipe that's missing information.
   The gist of this is, the recipes that I've made are good, I just wish there were more of them and that they had complete cooking information. It's a great place to start if you're new to this diet. Also go to Mark's website: [...] for recipes as well.

5 comments about Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats.

1. If you are not afraid to venture outside your comfort zone, you will find yourself learning a great deal from this book. It is indeed a cookbook, but it is so much more. You will find out how much and what foods are on your table that are sitting there because you have been told that it is good for you, only to discover that you have been the recepient of a bunch of propoganda that is being perpetuated by one or another group of governmental lobbyist. Corporate America is alive and well, and they are increasing their territories, and we have unwittingly become their pawns and subjects. I am not a person given to ideas of conspiracies, but we need to look at how few companies are in charge of things like what we eat, what we see, and what we hear. Know what you are eating, (look at the ingredients, if you can't pronounce it, it is not food), and why. Check this one out, you will find yourself having a few "aha" moments. It will take you quite awhile to get through this book, it is not the traditional cook book.



2. I have read literally hundreds of books on nutrition and wellness. In my search to cure debilitating illness, I have been Raw Vegan, Macrobiotic and every other diet supposedly founded in health and healing, yet I failed to thrive. There were jewels to be taken from each approach, as well as huge amounts of misinformation. Fallon's book is an amazing compilation of the jewels. She uses well-documented research to clear the misinformation and untruths that abound. Honestly, I was near tears before finding this book. Every "diet" had failed to provide the wellness it promised. Each theory contradicted the other. Eventually, I had no concept of what foods were genuinely nourishing to my body. In one sentence, this book provided the answer to curing my leaky gut that lead to intense chronic fatigue. It all clicked in a Eureka moment! I am on a path to true health and wellness now. The information in this books is a Godsend. I cannot recommend it highly enough. I would have paid thousands of dollars for the information contained within.



3. Nourishing Traditions is the cookbook for the Westop Price Foundation. Following their guidance I have gratefully reclaimed my health. I always keep at least 2 copies of this book at home as I routinely give copies away to guests who like my food and want to learn more. By the way - the cookbook tells you how to make Kombucha at home - WAY CHEAPER than buying by the bottle and lots of fun to make! Thank you Sally Fallon and Weston Price Foundation.



4. Nourishing Traditons rocks. This is one of the most informative and educational books on nutrition that I have ever read. Granted being in the 21st century and knowing more about chemicals and food preservation adds a lot.
   I enjoyed the very educational information in the margins of the book and was only too sad when I finished the book. It only made me eager to read more. I cook pretty much the way the recipes are written, but will use real butter and a better grade of sea salt.
   I was extremely amazed to learn that commercial maple syrup contains formaldehyde and that many foods contain minor amounts of MSG which can cause severe headaches. I too, have allowed myself a bit of red meat now. Being a biologist I have visions of the animal and cannot eat meat but, also, it I do not like meat I never have. It is just too heavy on my stomach and I do not like the taste.
   
   I look forward to reading more by this author.
   PS. My daughter an organic farmer led me to read Nourishing Traditons!!!



5. It is SAD to see how many people are so deeply in denial that they can with such ease swallow the pseudo enlightening information this book. To their own dimay.

5 comments about Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking.

1. I received the book in great condition - new. It came quicker that estimated. The recipes are great and easy. Bread was good, made cinnamon rolls also - very easy.



2. Jeff Hertzberg, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery that Revolutionizes Home Baking (Thomas Dunne Books, 2007)
   
   Okay, let's get the main criticism of the book out of the way in the first paragraph: yes, this could have been a pamphlet, and the vast majority of its two hundred forty-two pages are devoted to variations on a single theme, to the point where by page fifty, you will find yourself able to skip the last half of most of the recipes here; you'll have memorized it. On the other side of that coin is the fact (and this is not opinion, it is fact) that what could have gone into that pamphlet is easily worth five times what you're going to pay for this book in the amount you'll save at the grocery store per year by baking your own bread.
   
   It's pretty simple: get yourself an oven thermometer and a pizza stone (assuming you don't have them), whip up a batch of dough, and have enough bread for a week or more with a minimum of time and effort. I don't know about where you live, but in my neck of the woods (cost of living is kind of high compared to Arizona, but nowhere near rural New York), if you shop at a regular everyday grocery store, you're looking at over a buck and a half for a loaf of bread. Depending on the kind of flour you're buying, you may manage to make an entire week's worth of loaves for a buck and a half using this recipe. I'm not seeing a downside to this.
   
   I did knock the book a little for the incredible repetition in the recipes, but that doesn't mean I recommend it any less. It's a time-saver, it's a money-saver, and it's a platform for just about endless possibilities. Pick this up. *** ½



3. This my be the most practical and used cookbook I have ever purchased and I've purchased a lot of cookbooks. The instructions are easy to follow and the results are fantastic.



4. Have been using this for several months and it is a great process. I've even passed it on to a good friend who has never baked and found wonderful success. It gives an easy, fast great tasting bread.



5. After baking dozens of baguettes using The Bread Baker's Apprentice and getting results that I consider mediocre at best, I was shocked by the results of my first loaf with this book.
   
   The Bread Baker's Apprentice is a more traditional approach that includes kneading and proofing, steam blasting with a water bottle.
   
   The bottom line for me is that I was able to achieve a crust on my first loaf with this book that was MUCH better than anything I was able to accomplish with the Bread Baker's Apprentice. I don't think there is any magic here. I think it's the wet dough that makes the difference. My crust was thick and hard and the crumb was soft and moist.
   
   What is weird is that I think this bread tasted better even only after fermenting (rising) for a few hours in the fridge as opposed to all the over night batches of bread I've made with the Apprentice book.
   
   Wet dough. That is the secret.
   
   Good book, highly recommended.

5 comments about Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. 1.

1. LOVED the recipes. Complicated for a working wife but great for the weekends when there is time



2. I bought this book for my wife after watching the movie Julie and Julia. We both really enjoy cooking all types of foods. I personally have enjoyed this book because of the descriptions and advice she gives about cooking. We have yet to actually follow an exact recipe in this book; but are planning on making the Boeuf Bourguignon as soon as I can get to the store. I don't know much about French cooking but this book seems to give a pretty good idea of how do it (besides adding copious amounts of butter). Fun book, highly recommend; watch the movie and this book will mean that much more to you!



3. this book is and will most certainly always be, one of my favorite cook books. Of the handful of recipes I have randomly chosen, all have turned out very well. While it is a much older book and certain tools and methods therein described may be considered dated by today's standards-I love it! With just a little bit of prior basic cooking knowledge, this book could easily be anyone's favorite. A definite tried and true classic. You must try the potato leek soup! my husband dubbed it "leaky potato," but for a typically "meat and potatoes guy" he actually loved it, once he was able to overcome the appearance that is.



4. I plan on reading the whole book. I just got it after watching the movie "Julie and Julia". What little I have read so far has already been helpful and it's fun to read. I love cooking and can hardly wait to try more recipes. As a child I remember watching her on TV. Even though I wasn't interested in cooking then, she was a part of my life.



5. Thank you very much for asking me to write a review on this book. However regret that I have not yet received the book though the date of delivery has way passed.

5 comments about Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving.

1. I found this book in a bricks and mortar bookstore and loved the cover art. I'm a food preserver and a cookbook collector so I thumbed through it. There are tons of interesting recipes in here that aren't the 'standards' that are all over the internet. I've become a gardener mostly to save money on canning things so I have turned to this book to find out what to do with my green cherry tomatoes that were on the plant that colapsed its tomato cage...you make dilled green tomato pickles! Ball Blue Book and Putting Food By now lay unused for canning (though are still great books for other forms of food preservation) and Home Preserving sits on the coffee table for browsing. My biggest complaint is that ClearJel is used in many recipies and is very hard to source. And there aren't enough canning jars in my house to make everything I want to make from this book.



2. I purchased this because of other good reviews. What I was really wanting to know is what foods need pressure canning vs water bath. I wish it would plainly state that on each recipe or by each food type.



3. 
   Having loaned out my Ball Book, I opted to try for this one...bad mistake. If you are interested in mostly creating preserves, as in a fruit spread like jelly, jam, conserves this would be acceptable. I wanted to refresh my memory on foods for pressure canning and the length of time to process vegetables, soups, et al,
   however I strongly suggest you purchase a Ball Cookbook. If you need to purchase a used one, I would recommend you do so.



4. a true gem. every kitchen should have this book. i grew up watching my mom can. and my wife and i finally gave it a whirl. using this book. it was a very easy process even though the initial though of canning can be daunting. i bought a second book for a friend. she has been canning all her life. and she also praised this book.



5. I enjoyed my purchase, it was easy great product and arrived early. The seller discribed it well in the write up so I knew exactly what I was geting and was happy on the transaction.