Simple*elegant*everyday recipes
927688
Love this cook book, simple everyday recipes an average cook can put together and expand their knowledge of cooking!!! Try the Pork Milanese!!! Oh my....so good!!!
3189798
The recipes are easy and tasty!  So happy I found this book.  I bought it on kindle, but I am considering buying the actual hardcopy of the book.  The author has created some easy and delicious recipes that utilize basic everyday ingredients.  You don't have to go on a shopping scavenger hunt to find the items for any one recipe.
446148
Simple, easy to follow recipes. Great photos of each recipe make it very inviting. Upfront instructions are clear and simple.
1837864
I've read a lot of recipe books, most geared toward healthy eating or a specific diet. I enjoyed this one for its straight-forward simplicity, valuable tips and easy, yet tasty recipes. While not incredibly extensive nor exhaustive, the recipes are a great foundation from which to make your own adjustments and additions.

I particularly appreciated the chart of substitutions, recommendations on how to save time and money, and the suggestion of printing a weekly menu from a template (from software you likely already own). It also has practical storage suggestions for various foods to extend their longevity.

If I had to quibble, my only complaint is the suggested use of zero-calorie sweeteners. I personally don't like their flavors, even the natural variety. To me they have a chemical aftertaste. But I would simply swap that out in recipes in favor of local honey, agave nectar or apple sauce.
3251724
Sometimes looking at a cookbook, I feel I have to be a culinary expert just to be able to understand and execute the simplest recipe. When I picked up Six Sisters' STUFF, I was delighted to find not only yummy recipes, but practical and easy instructions even a novice cook like me can follow.

The recipes aren't complicated and use canned and packaged ingredients. That way more time is spend with the family than in the kitchen cooking. However, if you want to go into more detail, many of the recipes also include instructions for ingredients made from scratch rather than a box or can. Though simple in preparation, the recipes are packed with great taste and easy to prepare for families on the go.

The cookbook is divided into three sections: Recipes, Crafts, And So Much More. In the Recipe section the categories are broken into Main Dishes, Slow Cooker, Sides, Salads, Breads and Desserts.

The Slow Cooker section has recipes for everything from Melt-in-Your-Mouth Slow Cooker Pot Roast to Slow Cooker Hot Fudge Brownies. Having only used the slow cooker for roast, beans and soup, I decided to try the Creamy Slow Cooker Ranch Pork Chops and Potatoes recipe. It was simple, easy and best of all - tender and delicious. Even the clean up wasn't bad. I'm looking forward to trying the brownies next.

Woven among the recipes are fun and inexpensive crafts ideas, as well as helpful hints and tips. The crafts include such things as an Easy Monster Sock Puppet to a neat Ultimate Kid Wash that will have grownups wanting to play. The hints and tips feature such items as a spring cleaning checklist, fun family activities and even 50 fun date ideas for the adults.

Six Sisters' STUFF would make an ideal gift for a bride, a nice housewarming gift or a fun surprise for anyone who enjoys cooking. The fact that it is compiled by six sisters (Camille, Kristen, Elyse, Stephanie, Lauren, and Kendra) gives it an extra appeal to me. This debut cookbook evolved from the sisters' blog that began in February 2011. Living in different parts of the country, the sisters used the blog to stay in touch, share ideas and express their love to cook, craft and create.

This is a fun cookbook filled with almost 100 delicious recipes designed to give families more time together at the table. The recipes are easy and nutritious. The extra crafts and more are designed with creating family fun in mind.

FTC Full Disclosure - I requested this book as part of the Six Sisters' Tour and it was sent to me by the publisher in hopes I would review it. However, receiving the complimentary copy did not influence my review.
249382
5 Easy Steps to Healthy Cooking: 500 Recipes for Lifelong Wellness by Camilla Saulsbury is the cookbook I've used most often this summer, which is saying something when you're a cookbook junkie like me! It's packed with recipes that are simple, delicious and healthy, a winning combination if there ever was one!

Everything I've made so far has been delicious and I've got lots more recipes bookmarked to try this fall and winter.

Recipes I've tried: Pumpkin Yogurt with Quinoa Crunch, Waldorf Salad, Mesclun Salad with Dates and Goat Cheese, Chopped Greek Salad, Broccoli Carrot Slaw with Cranberries and Sunflower Seeds, Southwestern Sweet Potato Salad, Lemony Lentil and Quinoa Salad, Summer Salmon Panzanella, Summer Vegetable Orzo Soup, Sweet Potato Bisque with West Indian Spices, Winter Squash and Goat Cheese Enchiladas, Eggplant Parmesan Melts, Easy Ratatouille with Poached Eggs, Lentil, Mushroom and Kale Burritos, and Farfalle with Tuna and Tomatoes

Recipes I want to try: Whole-Grain Blueberry Maple Muffins, Multigrain Cranberry Breakfast Cookies, Chewy Cherry Granola Bars, Thai Curry Pumpkin Soup, Tabbouleh Soup with Lentils and Bulgur, Green Club Sandwich (with hummus, avocado and watercress), Spicy Salsa Joes, Greek Pizza, Speedy Black Bean an Quinoa Skillet, Spicy Skillet Chicken with Avocado Mango Salsa, Wagon Wheels with Broccoli, Turkey and Parmesan, Soba with Shrimp, LIme and Cilantro, Spiced Date Bread, Pumpkin Biscuits, Maple Oat Drop Scones, Decadent Chocolate Cake, Whole Wheat Maple Applesauce Cake, Spiced Carrot Cake with Currants, Maple Pumpkin Micro-Pies, and Pumpkin Cranberry Cookies and Cocoa Truffles made with dates.

All the recipes include nutritional information and cooking tips. And you'll find informative health notes and superfoods highlights scattered throughout the book. There's also a very useful chart on cooking whole grains that provides grain/water ratios, cooking times, and expected yield, which I keep meaning to copy and stick on the fridge for easy reference.

There are not lots of pictures, but the 25 full-page photos appearing in the middle are mouthwatering.

5 Easy Steps to Healthy Cooking covers all the bases, with recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, bread and snacks. Chapters include:

Breakfasts
Power Snacks, Spreads and Nibbles
Salads
Soups, Stews and Chilis
Wandwiches, Warps, Burgers and Pizzas
Meatless Main Dishes
Poultry and Lean Meat Main Dishes
Fish and Seafood Main Dishes
Multigrain Pasta and Noodles
Side Dishes
Natural Sugar Sweets

This is a very useful, cookbook for those of us wanting to eat healthy food that is also easy and delicious. In 5 Easy Steps to Healthy Cooking: 500 Recipes for Lifelong Wellness, Camilla shows us how to make wholesome food that is simple and creative, familiar yet interesting.
1085038
Recipes offered in this book are solid, simple, tasty recipes offered by an actor you just have to love.  Despite the simplicity, there are a lot of excellent recipes to be found in this book.  And maybe a lot of the excellence stems from the fact that they are so simple.

Plenty of pretty pictures, but not necessarily one for each recipe.  There are a lot of pictures of the actor in action (cooking, that is), plus pictures of his wife and his children.  It makes for an interesting read, in addition to a good volume of recipes to keep close at hand.  Included are his recipes, family recipes, friends recipes, some from favorite or memorable restaurants.

There are some new ingredients for me to get to know:  Puntarella, trofiette, liquid aminos, nutritional yeast, for example.

There might be a few gripes from less experienced cooks:  Instructions and ingredient lists are sometimes too brief:  Flip or turn the frittata and cook for a minute more.  Yeah, tell that to a cook making their first frittata..  Or ingredients that don't explain what they are, or don't give size:  Three zucchini; one large pompano, sea bass, grouper or red snapper, (Wow, there is a lot of leeway there!); puntarella, Mostarda di Frutta, (I had to do internet searches on those two); add whatever you like to a frittata; okay, how much can I add before it won't hold together?  But those things are not enough to affect my rating on the book.

While the recipes are simple,they are definitely not meager, and the results are luscious.  There are some not-too-simple recipes included, too.  An experienced home cook probably will have seen many of these recipes in some shape or form many times before, but the fact that they are gathered together in one book, and done with Tucci style, is a real draw.  I'm liking this book quite a lot!

There are not only Italian dishes, but also British (thanks to his wife Felicity nee Blunt).

My 'odds and ends' notes:
--Plenty of seafood recipes, beautiful meat dishes, classic pasta and rice dishes, interesting techniques.
--Some odd inclusions:  Baked beans made with a 32-ounce can of Bushs, for example.
--Some recipes in the sides chapter seem a bit too basic:  Greens with olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes; grilled spring onions with olive oil and salt; fried green tomatoes; polenta; mashed potatoes; roasted tomatoes; roasted cauliflower slices.
--The dessert chapter is full of goodness, but I think it is probably the weakest chapter.  The Tucci adults claim that they are not much into sweets.

**I received a temporary download of this book from the publisher.
1185363
I have earlier acquired and used one of Giada De Laurentiis' cookbooks, "Everyday Pasta," which was jammed with good pasta recipes. None that I ever tried turned out to be a dud. So, I took a look at another of her books, "Giada's Kitchen."  Again, this is a fine resource.

She begins be speaking to her approach (Page 10): "These days, my palate responds most to clean, vibrant, simple flavors, and my eyes can't resist the undeniable freshness of great ingredients and bursts of bright colors." So, presentation of dishes is an element in her selection of recipes for this volume. And, indeed, the pictures of the finished product are mouth-watering and aesthetically appealing!

I married into an Italian family, and one of the benefits is my introduction to dishes such as stuffed mushrooms.  Giada presents a recipe for Tuscan Mushrooms as an appetizer. Not quite the same as my family recipe, but a filling of red bell peppers, olives, cheese, and scallions spooned into mushroom caps sounds awfully appetizing.

A very attractive dish (see the photo on page 79) is simple to make--Asparagus and Zucchini Crudi. A couple zucchini (shaved) and a bunch of asparagus (trimmed and sliced into small pieces), tossed with a dressing of olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. After tossing, shave some Pecorino Romano cheese and sprinkle over the vegetables.  Like I said, both simple AND tasty.

Pasta? Take a look at the photo on page 104 and the recipe for Asparagus Lasagna on page 105. Instead of using tomato sauce as the basis for the lasagna, she suggests sun-dried tomatoes. I have not yet made this, but it is on my list to try out in the very near future.

I made my first risotto yesterday (featuring mushrooms), and was well pleased with the results (I can't say that every dish I try comes out wonderfully!). The Lemon Risotto presented here is another approach. Arborio rice, chicken broth, lemon juice, shallots, white wine, grated Parmesan cheese etc. One thing that I learned when making my first risotto is also emphasized by de Laurentiis: one must stir pretty much constantly as you add the broth bit by bit to the cooking rice.

One nice feature comes at the end of this book--recipes that kids can help out with. The author says that (Page 203): ". . .my hope is that these recipes will help kids be more comfortable in the kitchen and give them the confidence to try new foods and to ultimately create their own dishes."

To conclude, this is a very nice cookbook, filled with recipes that are (and promise to be) tasty. The recipes are, for the most part, accessible to the amateur chef, not so fancy that you need a sous chef to help out! And the photos are attractive indeed.
4488422
This book contains recipes with foolproof clear instructions to follow and all the easy to find ingredients are required here. Nothing too fancy, nothing too wild  I love it!
162099
Real Simple is one of my favorite magazines and I ordered their book of Real Simple Best Recipes for my daughters as they are busy and need something easy and good to cook at the end of the day.  The book doesn't disappoint: the recipes are really simple. The photography is excellent.  But if you can cook, as we can, you may find yourself chosing a recipe and then saying, "an onion and some garlic would be good here.  And some chopped basil".  We have tried several of the recipes, my husband and I, and have found them delicious....with a few extra herbs. Starting out easy in a cooking career is the best way to learn and our girls love the book.
1338045
I loved this little book. Clearly written by someone with a passion for healthy living for her family. Simple and practice meals with good directions and nice photos.
3329442
An Everlasting Meal aims to redeem cooking from the fallen world of packaged pre-boiled eggs, celebrity chefs, overpriced restaurants, and fussy recipes. Tamar Adler wishes to remind us that cooking can be simple and elegant and inexpensive. Her essays are beautiful and wise, and though she offers up the occasional recipe, her ambition is to set us free from the tyranny of recipes. Keep this book within easy reach in your kitchen and pick it up whenever you find yourself hungry and needing inspiration.
907005
Another excellent little book by author Hannie Scott with her lovely ways to present easy to do, quick and enjoyable recipes.  For a new way of easy cooking to open your mind and encourage you to try each one of the recipes included.

Highly recommended Nutella Cookies, Lemon Butter Cookies and Peppermint Cookies recipes among other but the ones we've loved the most.  This book also contains a free ebook with 55 easy recipes that you can get directly from Hannie Scott publishing website.

I have enjoyed this book and do hope that you will find it as useful as I did.
835027
This book was a gift to me from a good friend.  I was immediately struck by how beautiful the pages looked - a welcome relief from the usual textbook-like cookbooks I've kept in my cabinets.  Then I started to read the recipes and realized that these were simple! The bonus was that not only would my husband like many of these recipes, but so would my young daughters.  I use it almost every week for a great home-cooked meal or dessert.
4448810
I have been using Blue Apron for over a year now. Aside from the convenience, what really keeps me coming back to Blue Apron is its simple and easy but flavorful recipes which are developed by the chefs who graduated from Culinary Institute of America.

Just to try out if this book also pleases my tastebuds, I followed two recipes (one fish and one meat) from the cookbook. The first dish I made was "Shallow Poached Fish with Fragrant Vegetable". All I needed to do was to heat up spices in the oil, cook veggies and tomato paste, add white wine, add a white fish, and cover with a baking paper to cook. In less than 30 mins or so, the dish was ready at a table. The broth which was made from the veggies and fish was very flavorful and my husband and I cleaned the last bit of meal with a baguette. The second dish I tried was "Roasted chicken and veggies in a pot". It was again a very simple recipe, although it took about an hour in total. Sear chicken, cook veggies, add white wine and some herb, and put them in the oven. The dish was very flavorful and the broth was just amazing. We again cleaned the plate with some bread.

The way Blue Apron presents the recipe is very well organized. Instead of having a dozen steps, most recipes are described in about 5-8 steps. It makes it easy for me to conceptualize the cooking process to make one dish, and it allows me how to create my own variation more easily. I understand that the recipes are different from what is usually included in the Blue Apron box, which is a streamlined version of a main and side dish usually. (However, the book does suggest some accompaniments for some dishes. ) I personally prefer how this book is laid out because I can choose what to cook.

Although this book does not come with ingredients delivered at the door, this book is full of Blue Apron spirits: simple enough to cook at home (they do not call for 25-year old balsamic vinegar) and the flavors are spot on! I highly recommend this book for a chef-at-home!
1049931
I love the simplicity of these recipes. Not to mention how diverse and appealing they are. Great book! I plan on recommending it to others.
3335801
I am very happy with this recipe book! It is replacing several that are not quite as easy to work with. I love that each meal has a photo with it so you can see what it is supposed to look like. Also, this allows my husband to browse through and pick out what looks good rather than guessing.  The food isn't fancy--it is food everyday cooks can make for their families and guests.