I purchased this book at the grocery store and spent some time paging through it. I love the colors and photographs. I decided I would try a recipe from the book and planned my shopping for the day around it. Beef Stew with carrots was my choice and I followed the recipe directly except I added a cup of spaetzle 15 minutes before it was done (and had to add a little hot water at that time too). The flavor was aromatic and complex and totally satisfying. Unlike many stew recipes that have you dust the cubes of beef with flour, this recipe makes a flavorful thick broth without the flour or any thickening agent aside from an onion and allowing the stew to... well, stew. Even if it hadn't turned out so well, I would have been happy with the book as it is very entertaining to read and has gorgeous pictures. However, I wouldn't have given it 5 stars unless the recipes cooked true as written. I plan to try another recipe for tomorrow.
