One of the best, most helpful books in the kitchen
927669
One of the best, most helpful books in the kitchen!! Especially for new cooks that have no idea what they can substitute! I have gotten one for each of my kids as they moved out, and as gifts for others! Great reference book to keep handy!
3635593
I feel like Deborah Madison has basically taught me how to cook with this incredibly helpful and comprehensive cookbook.  First of all, the organization is very helpful and there are many sections and sub-sections to find exactly what you're looking for. The index I so comprehensive that at times I've sat with the fridge open, book in hand, and can pretty much search on any ingredient I have to find a relevant recipe. It is one of the most useful reference areas I've found in a cookbook for the moments I've needed some extra inspiration.

The recipe quality is top-notch, and each one has a detailed description plus variations. I have found that while cooking for a family of meat eaters, just about every recipe I have tried from this book has won rave reviews and been satisfying as a meatless meal. We have also tried many as side dishes, or added meat, chicken stock, etc for variations.

Another great aspect of this cookbook is that each section goes into strong detail about cooking techniques, handling, and storage. This is not only for individual foods, but also for certain dishes. A soup for example: the soup section talks about the basics of making a soup from scratch, starting with the oil and vegetables, the stock, the aromatics, the finishing touches, and so on. After making a number of her recipes I started experimenting more and more with making my own based on the steps provided. At this point I rarely open the soup section of any cookbook unless I'm looking for inspiration - and I have this book to thank for that.

I have had Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone for years, since the first edition was released, and it really has helped turn me into a great cook. I now have a pretty vast collection of cookbooks but vven after all this time, it's still the first book I grab for when perusing my cookbook shelves.
276599
I have a lot of cookbooks and I do a lot of cooking and I love to cook. If I were forced to keep just one book and get rid of the rest, this one would be it. It contains the kind of wisdom passed down verbally from one generation to another, knowledge that might be lost if Frieda Arkin had not written this book.  Get it.  Keep it on your kitchen counter.
3136512
Like a good millennial, I use Google and Pinterest to find a lot of recipes. I read ingredient lists off the browser on my phone. But sometimes, I want something reliable, detailed, and solid. So I turn to this book! I love that it provides all these little tips, tricks, and explanations about the different foods and ingredients. It's actually better than the internet when I'm trying to look up the best way to do something. It's also just fun to read through, even when I'm not cooking. Anyways, this is a must-have for every kitchen, whether you're 18 or 80. Joy of Cooking is the best, most thorough cookbook I've ever used (way better than the Better Homes and Gardens one my mom used to use). It's improved my cooking 100%, and I'm planning to use it until I'm 100 years old and can't see or cook anything. I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH.
1395530
As someone who just started learning to really cook, this book is all the arsenal you need in the kitchen. Unlike the majority of cookbooks I have, where it simply lists the recipe and directions, I really appreciate the commentary before each recipe explaining how they got to this particular version of the recipe. There's a lot of discussion of "technique" in the book, as well as product reviews, such as skillets and saucepans. Everything I've tried has been amazing. The only caveat is most of these recipes do take a bit of time. There's a 3-minute version, which I might also pick up, since I don't have the patience to wade through the entire book to figure out WHAT'S a 30-minute meal. Overall, though, this book is amazing and worth its weight in gold!
2425080
This book gives you the most thorough description of how and why to cook recipes a certain way for the sake of taste and efficiency that I have ever seen. It also rates various brands of kitchen equipment and provides simple but extremely useful graphics. Best of all, the recipes turn out consistently terrific food. I just got this book a few weeks ago and feel I can't live without it.
1284877
A classic book, great gift for aspiring new cooks
195585
I used to buy way too many cookbooks, an in recent years I have scaled back to a few essential ones - Bittman's How to Cook Everything, Cooks Illustrated's The Best Recipe, and a handful more. This cookbook, in the short time I have owned it, has earned a spot among the top three! The way it is organized is *so* innovative and different, yet perfectly intuitive. I love that she starts out with the ten best cocktails, because it's so fun to have a signature drink when you entertain. The chapters on soups, steak, and chocolate are particularly fabulous. The recipes (I've cooked about 15 things out of it since I got it last month) have turned out every time, and I've rated most of them "great" and a few of them "good". Delish!
2801327
Whether you know Melissa Clark from her highly acclaimed NYTimes column "A Good Appetite" or you own nearly 30 books she's co-authored, you know that her recipes and writing are not only the "real deal" but are also attainable for real people with day jobs, who also want to cook regularly, and not take "cheating" shortcuts. Melissa's recipes are practical, delicious, and innovative. It's comforting, but offers an element of surprise. It is truly a must-have in any cook's kitchen. I've heard a few gripes here and there that the book is lacking photographs and that's a detractor. But let me disagree here. First of all, the book offers a narrative before every recipe. It's as much of a book to read, as it is to cook from. I allows you to focus on the cooking process, on the memory it creates, and encourages you to make your own stories and memories woven around food. Sometimes you cook a recipe from a cook book and your own version might not resemble the version in the photograph. This is probably because with a lot of food photography, there is a lot of styling involved and real food, as we know it, might not resemble food that has been styled, photographed, photo-shopped and then added to a book. I LIKE the fact that there are no pictures. It gives me an opportunity to read the story before the recipe and then busy myself in the kitchen.

It is not often that I leaf through a cook book and want to cook EVERY SINGLE THING in it. But with this one - I really do. And I can't stress enough what a great addition it'll be to your own collection or as a gift. I've given 4 out as gifts already and I've gotten rave reviews and big thanks.
3808915
I have lots of cookbooks. It's my favorite genre and divides into two basic categories: the ones by famous/trendy chefs that sit like pretty trophies on the shelf and the ones I use. The latter become filled over time with post-its marking favorite recipes. These are books I learn from and enjoy going back to again and again. I have not had The Healthy Mind Cookbook for long, but it appears destined to be one of the latter. The kind of book I go to until most of it is committed to memory. It's the kind of book I buy for friends when I want to give a gift that is not only pretty, but useful. Yes, the pictures are gorgeous.
Rebecca Katz is every bit as much favorite teacher as she is the cook, here. Her previous works, Cancer Fighting Kitchen and The Longevity Kitchen both contain her demonstrable chops in the field of nutrition and knowledge of not only what to eat but why. The conversational writing style brings this material forward in a way that is not preachy but welcoming - like talking to your best friend.
Her Braised Chicken and Earthy Root Vegetables and Almost Better Than Nana's Brisket have become family favorites with warmth that comforts us through a seemingly-unending winter. As a working mom, I appreciate that the recipes have an average prep/cook time of 30-45 minutes.
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in cooking delicious food. If you don't cook, buy this book for someone you love so they can cook for you- it's a win-win!
3925839
This book should be a staple in every discerning cooks kitchen. Ten minutes or not, in the era of Rachel Ray (and I think she is lovely by the way) its nice to have a little class and soul in a "quick fix" cookbook.
Dr. de Pomiane is funny, insightful, and guiding. He not only gives you wonderful recipes to work with, he takes you by the hand and tells you just how to achieve the perfection you deserve and still have time to dwaddle over your coffee.
3223193
I've used the Joy of Cooking for decades. It contains a lot of valuable general cooking information, such as how to cut up a chicken or make variations on a basic vinaigrette. And so many recipes!  Joy of Cooking has an incredible array of baking recipes, too. This is the maybe tenth Joy I've purchased, first for myself, and then for friends, whether experienced or just learning to cook. Everyone should have Joy in their kitchen!
2209345
For the past 4-5 years I've been trying to learn how to cook and of all the cooking books I have, this is one that is ALWAYS stuck between my desk and my kitchen for easy grabbing. No other book as been as handy as this, with the exception of my substitution book that sits right next to it.

It's also a great idea to include this in start kits for new cooks. Anytime one of my friends asks me what books they should get as starters I recommend this.
848501
Like many of my cookbooks, this was something I found on the shelf in a bookstore, looked through it, and immediately knew I had to have it.
Since then, it's received quite a bit of heavy use - there are a few certain recipes that the book falls right open to, they've been used so much.  Others have yet to be tried, but they look just as delicious and appealing as others.
There is plenty of information on selecting and storing garlic, along with preparing it, and even a selection of trivia and stories, making it more than just a list of recipes using the wonderful ingredient.  They also recommend some kitchen tools to make it easier to work with garlic - the garlic peeler they recommend is truly magnificent.
The recipes cover the entire range of foods, from simple appetizers and salads, to fancy main courses - to even a few desserts.  I regularly hunt down new recipes I have yet to try, and have not been disappointed with any to date.  And the Pork Chops with stuffing recipe in here has become my favorite method of cooking pork.
The recipes are also easy to read and follow - no confusing ingredient listings or unclear instructions.
1098814
Every recipe I've tried so far from this gem of a book has been imminently workable, and the instructions--which include helpful sections called "tense moments" about how the thing you're making is likely to go wrong and the best way to avoid or fix it--are clear and accurate. That's all very nice. What's really endearing about it, though, is the way it convincingly communicates the joy and centeredness you feel when you're making yogurt or cheese or mayonnaise yourself. I have friends and family who wonder *why* I like to do these types of things, and now I have an answer: read this book.
2936356
This book is not only entertaining reading from beginning to end, it is truly helpful in the kitchen.  Sure there are a couple of recipes I don't care to try, but I've cooked most of them already and they've all been big hits.  All the Ladies in my church group wanted the recipe for "La Pate".  (Didn't give it to them)  The "Crock Pot Baked Beans" went very fast at the last BBQ we attended.  The "Blue Cheese Chicken Italiano" has turned into a family favorite and The "Chocolate Mousse" impressed several friends.  Now people are inviting us over for dinner and requesting we bring certain dishes.  This book is the sole reason my teenage son has started cooking!  He cooked the "Wiener Schnitzel" for his grandparents and they loved it.
1693458
I checked this book out of the library and enjoyed it so much I had to buy my own copy. Then I bought a copy for my mom as a gift. It is WELL WORTH the cover price (times two, or more)!!!

I have flagged DOZENS of recipes to try, and out of the many I've managed to cook so far, we've had only one so-so entree (Moroccan Meatballs). I have two boys, 1 and 4, and both will try everything that comes out of this book. The baby finishes all, and the 4-year-old doesn't always complain. Our family faves are: My Beef and Barley Soup, Refried Bean Soup, Wild West Wagon Train Supper, Mu Shu Pork at Home, Bayou Stew, and Very Veggie Lentil Chili.

The batch cooking ideas are also incredibly helpful. I chair my church's food ministry, and having pre-cooked and frozen portions of Big Beef Roast and Great Grilled Chicken available really gives me good and flexible options for preparing meals for others in need.

If you're a busy cook feeding a bunch of folks on a budget, this book is for you.