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32 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Deserves To Become a Classic Wedding Present!, May 6, 2003
A useful cooking manual and a feel-good read!I ran across this cookbook one rainy Saturday, and newlywed nostalgia and the beautiful format drew me in. After buying the book and reading it in two sittings, I've begun to cook my way through it. The recipes are considered and fresh, not complex or pretentious. I like the emphasis on seasonal ingredients, especially since this book provides a table of when various fruits and veggies can be expected to be at their peak. Rather than overwhelming you with recipes, the book offers a small, balanced selection to take you from appetizers to dessert. The culinary authors were caterers and their recipes seem likely to appeal to a wide range of palates. The overall message is that cooking isn't mysterious: with a little preparation it can be done well. For example, you're encouraged to caramelize a large batch of onions and then keep them on hand in the fridge--an easy but pleasingly sophisticated addition to weeknight dishes. Another thing I found to like about this book came unexpectedly. Less tangible than all the cooking help but equally gratifying is the revelation of the amazing bond between the book's twin sister authors, who have apparently been cooking together since they were kids. Their views on how food helps shape and define our relationships (fortunately, nothing preachy or pseudo-psychoanalytic) are a simple acknowldegement that food can be a chance to do something nice for other people. The book's modernity is really refreshing. There are sections on cooking with your mate and how to stock a pantry so that you can still eat in when you don't really feel like cooking. There's an overall sense of realism; the bride isn't cast as a Good Housekeeping-style kitchen slave, but the book is subtly geared toward the one partner with a greater interest in cooking, with hints about involving and empowering the less interested partner so that he or she can help with preparations or stocking the fridge and pantry. Other sections have been useful in surprising ways. Ironically, the tutorial on necessary kitchenware for the new kitchen gave me some insight on simplifying my existing, overstocked one. Most of the recipes can be described as new American classics and all have been good so far. I look forward to trying more recipes and am frighteningly addicted to the slightly decadent, easy-to-make herbed popcorn. I would recommend this book as a great gift for couples or singles, or for anyone willing to make a moderate time commitment for simple, stylish food.
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by Sara Corpening Whiteford
by Robin Miller
by Ryland Peters & Small
by Abigail Kirsch
