Irma Rombauer collected recipes from friends for the first Joy of Cooking, and published it herself. For this sixth edition, the All New, All Purpose Joy of Cooking,... read more

Irma Rombauer collected recipes from friends for the first Joy of Cooking, and published it herself. For this sixth edition, the All New, All Purpose Joy of Cooking, Ethan Becker, grandson of Irma and son of Marion Rombauer Becker, worked with Maria Guarnaschelli, senior editor and vice president at Scribner's. Together, they called on top food professionals to produce a Joy that reflects the way we eat today.

Five new chapters satisfy today's love of pasta, pizza, noodles, burritos, grains, and beans, including soy. The roughly 3,000 recipes, most revised from earlier editions, give the food processor and microwave their due. Interest in ethnic flavors, grazing, leaner meats, more fish, and less fat are reflected, and old standbys such as Tuna Noodle Casserole and Fried Chicken are updated. Information on canning, jams, pickles, and preserves is replaced by expanded material on grilling, barbecuing, flavored oils, and vinegars. Also gone is the personal voice of the old Joy. The new Joy of Cooking is comprehensive for today's cooks. Time will tell if it remains the long-loved, dog-eared kitchen companion and teacher Joy has been since 1931. (hide)

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

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

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

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

"Has it really been 40 years since Julia Child rescued Americans from dreary casseroles? This reissue, clad in a handsome red jacket, is what a cookbook should be:... read more

"Has it really been 40 years since Julia Child rescued Americans from dreary casseroles? This reissue, clad in a handsome red jacket, is what a cookbook should be: packed with sumptuous recipes, detailed instructions, and precise line drawings. Some of the instructions look daunting, but as Child herself says in the introduction, 'If you can read, you can cook.'"
- Entertainment Weekly (hide)

Food Network darling Ray wants home cooks to become more "instinctual," and this assortment of quick meals is expansive enough to encourage even novices to wing it. The... read more

Food Network darling Ray wants home cooks to become more "instinctual," and this assortment of quick meals is expansive enough to encourage even novices to wing it. The author hopes readers cook their way through the entire book; to that end, she organizes the recipes not by course or main ingredient (though there are indexes), but by number. The organization takes some getting used to. Helpful but occasionally jarring "tidbits" pop up everywhere, and many "recipes" make more than one dish, so cooking just one requires a fair amount of reading. For example, number 16 encompasses "Oregon-Style Pork Chops with Pinot Noir and Cranberries; Oregon Hash with Wild Mushrooms, Greens, Beets, Hazelnuts, and Blue Cheese; [and] Charred Whole-Grain Bread with Butter and Chives." Readers making just the hash must read around the instructions for the other two dishes. Still, the recipes are great. They vary in technique and ethnicity, and many give instructions on expanding the dish (after making Spicy Shrimp and Penne with Puttanesca Sauce, for example, "now try" omitting the olives and capers, swapping linguine for the penne, reducing the number of shrimp, and adding lump crab meat and mussels to make Frutti di Mare and Linguine). As Ray would say, "Yummo." (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. (hide)

Using fresh, wholesome ingredients, this book offers a variety of slow cooker recipes that range from appetizers to desserts. A wealth of practical information on slow cookers and... read more

Using fresh, wholesome ingredients, this book offers a variety of slow cooker recipes that range from appetizers to desserts. A wealth of practical information on slow cookers and accessories. (hide)

"A confidence-inspiring charmer, Oliver constantly reminds us that cooking should be fun."

"A confidence-inspiring charmer, Oliver constantly reminds us that cooking should be fun." (hide)

Lauren Bacall gets cranky when Barefoot Contessa, an East Hampton specialty food store/institution for more than 20 years, is sold out of Indonesian Ginger Chicken. She can now... read more

Lauren Bacall gets cranky when Barefoot Contessa, an East Hampton specialty food store/institution for more than 20 years, is sold out of Indonesian Ginger Chicken. She can now thank her lucky stars that exuberant owner Ina Garten has written The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook and included this recipe. Ms. Bacall is sure to be pleased to discover how easy it is to achieve such fantastic flavor. Simplicity is something of a bottom line at Barefoot Contessa. "Food is not about impressing people," Ina Garten says. "It's about making them feel comfortable."

Aimed at the cook who intends to entertain, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook draws on Garten's experience as a caterer, as well as her knowledge of what customers really want to eat when they arrive at her shop. She has culled her favorite recipes and has included timesaving tips, always striving for ease and simplicity. Neither cooking nor entertaining should be a chore, according to Ina Garten, and her lovely cookbook is a case in point.

This is an intensely illustrated cookbook that shows the foods to best advantage (and makes it a lovely gift book). Presentation counts for a great deal, and Garten's food styling adds to any food platter. But just as relevant are photos that bring in the spirit of fresh, locally grown produce. There's the local poultry producer proudly holding a laying hen in case anyone should wonder where the eggs come from.

Starting with appetizers, Ina Garten isn't afraid to include such basics as hummus and guacamole: she knows from experience that her versions make a profound impact. There are French Onion Soup and Corn Cheddar Chowder, Baked Virginia Ham and Salmon with Fennel, Roasted Carrots and Caramelized Butternut Squash--and then one killer dessert after another. Included, too, are some breakfast specialties. Any upscale bed and breakfast could have this book in the kitchen and get rid of all others.

This isn't a cookbook about getting outrageous with food. The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook is about warming the hearts and souls of your guests with familiar food raised to a gourmet level. --Schuyler Ingle (hide)

With its cover image of the fetching de Laurentiis wearing a low-cut top and its promise of easy, tasty Italian recipes, this cookbook is sure to draw in... read more

With its cover image of the fetching de Laurentiis wearing a low-cut top and its promise of easy, tasty Italian recipes, this cookbook is sure to draw in home cooks who don't know how to make a basic marinara sauce and want to be introduced them to the beauty and simplicity of Italian cuisine. Which is, of course, a good thing, but a shame, too, since this work lacks depth or meaning. Readers seeking a true introduction to the building blocks of Italian cooking would be worlds better off with one of Marcella Hazan's or Lidia Bastianich's early primers. What those who are lured in by the good looks and charm of de Laurentiis (granddaughter of film producer Dino and star of Food Network's Everyday Italian) will get is an unsophisticated but decent selection of Italian-American classics, from antipasto to pasta, meat dishes to desserts, including Clams Oreganata, Caprese Salad, Salsa all'Amatriciana, Fettucine Alfredo, Veal Marsala, Caponata and Chocolate Tiramisù. De Laurentiis provides an introduction to each dish, and her recipes are generally minimalist (there are no recipes for homemade pastas or stews that take a day to make). Though bursting with glamorous shots of a lovely looking author, this is a rather flat first effort.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. (hide)

Food Network darling Ray wants home cooks to become more "instinctual," and this assortment of quick meals is expansive enough to encourage even novices to wing it. The... read more

Food Network darling Ray wants home cooks to become more "instinctual," and this assortment of quick meals is expansive enough to encourage even novices to wing it. The author hopes readers cook their way through the entire book; to that end, she organizes the recipes not by course or main ingredient (though there are indexes), but by number. The organization takes some getting used to. Helpful but occasionally jarring "tidbits" pop up everywhere, and many "recipes" make more than one dish, so cooking just one requires a fair amount of reading. For example, number 16 encompasses "Oregon-Style Pork Chops with Pinot Noir and Cranberries; Oregon Hash with Wild Mushrooms, Greens, Beets, Hazelnuts, and Blue Cheese; [and] Charred Whole-Grain Bread with Butter and Chives." Readers making just the hash must read around the instructions for the other two dishes. Still, the recipes are great. They vary in technique and ethnicity, and many give instructions on expanding the dish (after making Spicy Shrimp and Penne with Puttanesca Sauce, for example, "now try" omitting the olives and capers, swapping linguine for the penne, reducing the number of shrimp, and adding lump crab meat and mussels to make Frutti di Mare and Linguine). As Ray would say, "Yummo." (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. (hide)

Ever get a midnight hankering for onion fritters, or for a plate of lamb stewed in coconut milk? The recipes for these Indian delicacies are widely considered to... read more

Ever get a midnight hankering for onion fritters, or for a plate of lamb stewed in coconut milk? The recipes for these Indian delicacies are widely considered to be on the forbidding side. Yet Madhur Jaffrey, an international authority on Indian food and the host of several tandoori-driven TV shows, makes it all seem relatively easy. The kicker: more than 70 of the dishes can be prepared in a half-hour or less. (hide)

"It is the one true kitchen friend."

"It is the one true kitchen friend." (hide)

Rachael Ray is a household name and a best-selling author, thanks to her simply fabulous recipes, free-hand style of cooking, and unfailing good results. This latest collection of... read more

Rachael Ray is a household name and a best-selling author, thanks to her simply fabulous recipes, free-hand style of cooking, and unfailing good results. This latest collection of recipes, a companion book to her show, will feature flexible menus for cooking great meals 24/7. (hide)

Rachael Ray's fans can't seem to get enough of the wonderful recipes featured on her television show, 30-Minute Meals.

Rachael Ray's fans can't seem to get enough of the wonderful recipes featured on her television show, 30-Minute Meals. (hide)

Part of Ray's appeal to legions of Food TV fans is her loose, nonnitpicky approach to cooking at home. Every meal she presents can be prepared in 30... read more

Part of Ray's appeal to legions of Food TV fans is her loose, nonnitpicky approach to cooking at home. Every meal she presents can be prepared in 30 minutes or less, and she consistently emphasizes simplicity and nonfussiness. So it's no surprise that Ray's contribution to the supposedly waning low-carb cookbook genre does not strictly adhere to the diet. Ray adores carbohydrates—"I cannot and will not eat without them"—and she believes consuming them "in moderation" is a healthy option. This selection of recipes, then, does include pasta dishes, but Ray wisely makes them heavy on the meat and vegetables and low on pasta (a half pound for every four entrées). Her devoted viewers will delight at the prospect of Bucatini with Sausage, Peppers, and Onions; Creamy Polenta and Bolognese Sauce; and Eggplant and Wild Mushroom Pasta with Ricotta Salata. Other chapters are just as appealing, offering ideas for main course salads, as well as meat and fish dishes, burgers, soups, snacks and desserts. In keeping with her low-maintenance style, Ray is lax with her instructions, calling for "a couple slices of smoked salmon" in one recipe, and "2 tablespoons vegetable oil (eyeball it)" in another. Ray's standard chatty demeanor, which comes through loud and clear, coupled with interesting, varied recipes, make this book a winner. (Apr.)
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