Customer Reviews

Classic American Food Without Fuss:: Over 100 Favorite Recipes Made Easy

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Speaking as some one who has very few kitchen skills, I find McCullough and Witt's CLASSIC AMERICAN FOOD WITHOUT FUSS an indispensable work, for it offers more than one hundred receipes of foods I always liked but never actually knew how to make--and it offers them in concise, easy to follow, and surprisingly witty prose.

The sections include starters, soups, salads, main dishes, side dishes, breads, and desserts. In addition to such homey items as deviled eggs, chicken soup, pot roast, and macaroni and cheese, McCullough and Witt also include a surprising number of complex ethnic dishes such as moussaka and duck a l'orange, taking care to reduce their more complicated dishes to an essential level that even non-cooks will find unintimidating. The text is also sprinkled with side-bars on everything from roasting garlic to macaroons, and the various receipes invite experimentation.

Truly advanced cooks will no doubt find this particular cookbook basic, but for some one less interested in spending all day in the kitchen than in simply turning out an enjoyable upper-middle-class dinner for four it is a remarkably useful collection, easy to read and easy to use. It is also quite a bit of fun. Recommended.

If you're pondering again about what to fix for dinner look no further than this cookbook. It is complete unto itself. You no longer have to sift through the pages of over-built cookbooks that are so heavy one could use them for a doorstop. This is a mere 277 pages but it laden with delicious recipes. From carbonara to rice pudding. Everything I have fixed from this book is both pleasing to the eye as well as to the palate. You can quiet even the most finicky eater with this tome. Nicely laid out and easy to read and understand. The classic, that is to say, original recipe for coq a vin is included. Delicious!!! This book easily lays open on your counter or workspace. Don't be afraid to break the binding. It won't matter becase you will be using this book over and over again anyway. It covers the world. Pasta, fish, lamb, desserts, breads. If it is a comfort food brought over by many of the immigrants, it will most likely be here. Greek; mousaka. Italian; lasagne. French; steak au poivre. Jewish; potato pancakes. English; corn pudding. Too many crowd pleasers to name but absolutely one to have in your home.

I got this cookbook when it came out, more than ten years ago, because I forgot to check the "no book this month" option on the book club postcard. But I liked the book so much that I count that error as one of my better mistakes.

There is little in this collection of 100-or-so recipes that will surprise you. It's all the American home cookin' that you think of fondly -- comfort food not defined by high fat-and-carb content, but comforting in the sense of familiar and a warm, happy belly. There's a wide variation of ethnic influences, from chicken cacciatore to gazpacho to pastitisio, but every recipe I've tried -- and in ten years, that's been a LOT -- has been utterly reliable, easy to follow, and requires no exotic ingredients. It does mean it when it says "without fuss," yet this isn't a cookbook that, in the effort to "save time," cuts so many corners that nothing is left.

This is the cookbook I turn to for Cobb Salad. It's where I learned the trick for making deviled eggs without that weird greenish cast to the yolk. I've used this book's recipe for steak au poivre (with peppercorns, finished with brandy) and have turned often to its cornbread recipe. It's never been the cookbook I use for an impressive dinner; it's what I use for cherished, ordinary family time.

Chicken cacciatore is simmering while I write this, and boy does it smell good. In addition to the standard ingredients (bell pepper, onion, chicken, garlic, a big can of tomatoes) you hit the pan to deglaze with red wine, then add dried herbs and balsamic vinegar. My kitchen smells like an Italian restaurant right now. No... more, it smells like dinner at an Italian friend's house, on a quiet Monday night... yet I have the leisure to wander off and write an Amazon review. That's just what I want. And at the amazingly low price for this book (available used), I expect that's what you want, too.

Very minimalist describes the approach to this collection of favorites. From Boston Baked Beans to Coq Au Vin, this has the recipes we all enjoy.

Receiving this one free is likely the only way I would have this in my collection. I have others that I turn to for more inspiration on American cooking, such as Sheila Lukens "USA Cooking" which is exceptional, or James Beard's "American Cooking."

This is not worthless or poorly done, it is just too bland for my tastes, such as a simple Meat Loaf with the ketschup smeared on the top. Many will gravitate to this food, so to each his own meatloaf.

I picked this cookbook up from a bookclub I was in ten years ago and have loved it ever since. I haven't tried all of the recipes but the ones I have, exceptional. My young teenage son expressed interest in cooking so I picked up another copy as a Christmas present. He has enjoyed it too and we both have begun making meals together.
It's certainly easy to read and the recipes are within my capabilities. Definitely a recommendation.

Yeah, you might think that's rather gross but my husband was devastated when our paperback copy was ruined. He pulled out the recipes he really liked (as long as they hadn't been hit) and had been looking for another copy of the book locally ever since. Finally he resorted to Amazon and got a hardcover replacement for a song.

As he's the one in the family who does most of the cooking, he's the one who really loved the recipes in this book. He's been dying to try the macaroni and cheese recipe (what has stopped him was the addition of dry mustard to the sauce), and he loves the jambalaya recipe (shrimp, smoked sausage and bacon, what's not to love?). The recipes are definitely all-American - some of it reflecting our melting pot heritage - and some are so regional you may never have heard of them unless you lived in that particular part of the country. (Boston Brown bread, anyone?)

Definitely a book we'll use again and again (and now that we have a hard cover, and don't have that particular cat, it should last us a long time).

The best test for whether a cookbook is fitting your needs is how often you refer to it. This is the book I refer to the most. It's aimed at everyday home cooks, people who aren't chefs and who love simple "Soul Food." I've tried many of the recipes included in SIMPLE AMERICAN FOOD WITHOUT FUSS, and have tried some of the variations listed. Novices will find those variations instructive, they encourage you to spread your wings and experiment a bit. Let's face it, cooking is chemistry, an ongoing experiment that teaches you what you like and what you don't like.

I like this book! Soul Food is my favorite food, delicious and comforting. Once you've mastered Soul Food, you have arrived. This book will help you get there.