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83 of 85 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another dandy from one of our most accomplished writer-cooks, November 7, 2003
This review is from: Lost Recipes: Meals to Share with Friends and Family (Hardcover)
Did I need this book? Well, I thought I might have done without it--until it arrived and I took it for a spin around the kitchen. After reading "Lost Recipes," I was agog with renewed respect for Marion Cunningham. She is a woman with a mission--to encourage friends and families to sit down and share a meal, a simple one easily as satisfying (or even more so) as one calculated to impress. Her accessible presentation of the recipes in this book may well persuade even the most food-prep-averse to try out her dishes assembled from ingredients that are almost always more economical to purchase than to resort to mundane restaurant or take-out fare. Virtually all of the recipes can be prepared with pantry staples or supplies from most any grocery store. If these dishes can't be put together in one go (or if the cook prefers not to), Cunningham offers succinct instructions on how to proceed in simple stages. There are a number of completely do-ahead offerings, and there's much to please vegetarians as well as those who choose not to combine meat and dairy, with a few easy and obvious substitutions. The art director of "Lost Recipes" merits five stars as well. Layout and illustrations are gorgeous, and the book has an unusual, and most welcome, feature: a front cover that allows the brand-new book to lie flat, as well as providing a roomy pocket to accommodate jotted notes, clippings from newspapers and magazines, and other info that is likely to be lost rather than to be found and followed. Cunningham enhances her text with relevant quotes on dining ranging from Brillat-Savarin to contemporary writers, many of which are unfamiliar even to rabid cookbook collectors. And as the holidays draw near, it's worth noting that this book is quite reasonably priced. "Lost Recipes" would make a fine gift for anyone from a kitchen neophyte to an experienced cook. Those belonging to the latter group may not have actually "lost" their versions of some of Cunningham's recipes; however, it is warming in every sense to be provided with friendly, workable examples of just how good these home-style dishes are, and how rewarding it is for harried folks (and who isn't, these days?) to relax and enjoy a comforting meal in good company.
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36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great family-style recipes, December 29, 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: Lost Recipes: Meals to Share with Friends and Family (Hardcover)
As a mother of two small children, I fancied myself too busy to cook "every night." Then one day I realized that, in a world of macaroni & cheese, frozen vegetables, and takeout cuisine of all varieties, I was NEVER cooking at home, unless it was a big, formal "dinner." Marion Cunningham has inspired me to rethink "supper" for my family--I have rediscovered the ease of baked chicken and vegetables, and I make fried rice instead of another night of Chinese takeout. Many of these recipes involve easy preparation that can be done earlier in the day, so at dinnertime it is just a matter of popping something in the oven or cooking it on the stove. The ingredient lists are simple (all things you can actually find at your local supermarket!), but the flavors are wonderful. There is no attempt to cut fat or carbohydrates, but then again, you also aren't adding excess sodium and preservatives to your diet. If you are new to cooking, I also recommend "Learning to Cook with Marion Cunningham," which has many easy recipes that will impress your friends who are also new cooks! Either book would be a great graduation or wedding gift.
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27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
All my favorites in one place!, February 18, 2004
This review is from: Lost Recipes: Meals to Share with Friends and Family (Hardcover)
When I received this book, I greatly enjoyed simply reading through it . . . the inserts about the value of simple family cooking were truly inspirational. Then I settled down to actually try out the recipes, and was delighted with every one that I tried! Even better, I found that the book is a virtual compendium of my family's "favorite dishes" . . . recipes that I had gradually searched out or serendipitously discovered by trial and error from a huge collection of cookbooks over the past several years. What a lot of trouble it would have saved had I simply ordered this cookbook in the first place! (Chicken and dumplings, Salad Nicoise, Corn pudding, New England Boiled Dinner, Monkey Bread, Strawberry Shortcake with a biscuit-type base . . . the list of simple, down-home style recipes goes on and on.) The book also includes very useful, concise advice for such things as cutting up a whole chicken or freezing bones for making homemade broth. It gives good ideas for ingredient substitutions according to what you have on hand or what is in season, and even helps you figure out what to do with specific sauces, chutneys, and side dishes once you have made them . . . what to serve them with, for example. For me, this book is a winner! However, I will have to agree with the reviewers who have complained about the odd physical format of the book. It is definitely not built to stand up well over long-term use. How unfortunate.
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