Customer Reviews

Great Good Food: Luscious Lower-Fat Cooking

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have an extensive cookbook collection, and Great Good food has been a big disappointment. I have The New Basics and The Silver Palate, and each of them, while not favorites, have provided me with recipes which I have enjoyed. Both are also fairly easy to use. However, Great Good Food has never provided me with anything that I really wanted to make again. Moreover, searching for a particular type of recipe is a chore. Recipes are broken up into "menus" and "seasons". When, for example, I want to look for appetizers or a soup, I don't want to have to spend an hour flipping through the whole book looking to see whether I've missed anything. Convenient it is not.

I looked forward to using this book after many happy explorations with The Silver Palate cook book. I found, however, that Ms. Rosso's recipes are very time-consuming and many of them have very long ingredient lists. It's a pity because I feel she is on the right track, trying to use fresh and essential flavors to create innovative and healthy dishes. I just don't think it needs to be as complicated as she makes it, nor should I feel as exhausted as I do when I cook from this book. I live in a major metropolitan area with ethnically diverse and yuppified food stores -- but even I have to make a trip to two to three supermarkets just to fulfill her recipe requirements!

I was thrilled to find Great Good Food. I used to make everything out the of the Silver Palate cookbooks and New Basics. However, all of the recipes were so calorie-laden. So, now I make many of my old favorites only lighter (and better). I also apply her "lightening" methods to recipes from the original books. Rosso's grouping of the recipes by season is nothing new. The Silver Palate Good Times cookbook is also organized in this fashion, and it is rated one of the best cookbooks. Familiarize yourself with the index (very complete), and you will be more than satisfied. As for the ingredients not being readily available, if one does any kind of cooking, these are things that you already have, or needed an excuse to buy.

I was given this book as a gift in maybe 1994 but never had the counterspace to make its recipes on until I got married in 2000! Since then, my husband and I have often enjoyed meals from it. In a nutshell, it is a fabulous means of eating healthy but flavorfully and without a lot of fat! Some of its pros: with each recipe is given the calorie, fat, cholesterol, and carb content of it as well as how many people it serves; it offers an abundance of informative, health-conscious information on some of its pages (such as a section listing a variety of fruits and vegetables and the nutritional benefits of each one, as well as a section that defines and explains things about cholesterol, fat, sodium, etc. in relation to the body); on pages throughout, complete meal menus using recipes that complement each other well are suggested; the recipes are quaintly classified by seasons, holidays, and even by day and time of day--i.e., morning/breakfast, "Afternoon Tea", "Mother's Day Brunch", "Sunday Evening Dinner," etc. Recipes involve more prep time than your average cookbook recipe (like Betty Crocker, for instance), but that's because every single ingredient you use is FRESH! NO CANNED and NO FROZEN stuff. So, your body is guaranteed optimum taste and nutrition! I must add that my husband has never been big on vegetables; yet, whatever vegetable side I've made from this book so far, he has scarfed it down with a smile! I never truly enjoyed cooking until I started using this book. It revealed to me that I CAN make gourmet-tasting meals, and THAT by itself is a swell reward!

The things I've made so far from this book have turned out very well. However, finding recipes seems to be a problem... the organisation is a real mess. Organising it by American public holidays doesn't make much sense for a book which is published internationally, anyway.

There was also a glaring inaccuracy in the index, with one whole section given page numbers which applied to another. My book is a few years old so this may have been rectified now.

The recipes do tend to contain lots of ingredients and can be time-consuming to put together. However results are consistently good, as long as you have some time on your hands. So, I'd recommend the book on the strength of the recipes. They're well worth it... when you can find them!

As a wine buyer and amateur cook, my guests expect a special feast when they come to my home. The wine industry has been hard on my waistline and I find this book to be a nice marriage of low fat and flavorful recipes that I can cook from for special occasions and everyday. I have cooked from this book extensively and I have not encountered any of the errors in recipes that some other folks have.The only part I'm not crazy about is the organization of recipes by holiday or season. It is a little tough to reference. Even still, this is a well worn member of my cooking library. Check it out for yourself.

So many of the recipes contain errors that I find I can't trust the book in general. Case in point: a vegetable stock recipe that does not include or refer to any liquid whatsoever. This is fine for those with experience, but is a shocking oversight for a book touted as easy to use. Two TABLESPOONS of vanilla flavoring in a batch of one dozen small muffins? Gimme a break! With these kinds of errors, I can't say that I use the book much. However, it does have some interesting ideas as starting points for your own recipes.....

Have not found a bad recipe in the book. Every dish I have tried has come out well. Have been getting compliments and sharing these recipes with others but am now buying copies as gifts for family and friends. Recipes are easy to follow and ingredients are usually on my shelves or easily obtainable. One of our daughters has the original "Basics" and I had the "Great" one without either of us knowing it. When I gave a hard-bound edition as a wedding gift, the bride wrote saying "Thank you so much. My "Silver Palate" paperbook is nearly worn out." Cook books do not come any better!

I love this book. I haven't found any of the errors mentioned in another review. I always take this book with me when we go to the beach or the lake. I love the use of fresh and regional foods and this book takes the best advantage of both. I've given this book as a gift countless times. I wouldn't be without it.

There isn't much wrong with this book. The artwork is interesting, the selection astounding and it makes for entertaining reading while planning a weekly menu or a celebration. I don't understand the complaints about not being able to find things, as the book has a wonderful index. The menus are well thought out and very diverse, making for some excellent themed meals if you so choose. However, the individual recipes stand very well on their own. Nothing disappoints and some of her recipes, such as Potato Leek soup, have become our favorites. This is probably my favorite cookbook when I'm looking for something new to make. You won't be disappointed, especially if you use the index...