Moosewood Restaurant New Classics (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Famous for turning frequently bland vegetarian fare into a menu of comfort foods with ethnic panache, the Moosewood Collective knows better than to toy with a successful formula. It has evolved, however, and its most encompassing volume so far offers mainly new hits. The original Moosewood Cookbook seems dated compared to spunky new recipes such as zesty Tabouli with Shrimp and Oranges, and Middle Eastern Lentils and Pasta, which gets bite from onions and chilies. Recipes are consistently easy to make; Black Bean and Sweet Potato Hash, and Tuscan Panzanella, are a cinch on any family's weekly menu. Many dishes, such as Instant Tamale Pie, will appeal to the pickiest of taste buds. A chapter on seafood, with Pecan Crusted Fish and Cioppino, is offset by vegan recipes such as Baked Tofu Sticks, Curried Quinoa and Vegan Lasagna. Macaroni and Cheese with Tofu is a welcome low-fat alternative to a classic, and Lovely Low-Fat Latkes contain only 2.5 grams of fat each. Complete nutritional information and tips on substitutions and recipe histories, as well as sections on organic standards and a guide to ingredients, make this book beginner friendly. With a section on sandwiches and wraps and a generous dessert section (including Big Chocolate Chip Cookies, Pistachio Cardamom Cake and even a Vegan Oil Pie Crust), this may be for vegetarians what the Silver Palate's New Basics was for aspiring gourmets. Photos not seen by PW. (Nov. 5) Forecast: This cookbook will join the ranks of the topselling original.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The ninth book from the Moosewood Collective, the well-known vegetarian restaurant in Ithaca, NY, offers hundreds of mostly homey recipes. Some of the recipes are vegan or can be made so; there are also a handful of fish dishes. As in the other books, the influences of a variety of cuisines are evident in dishes such as Israeli Za'atar Salad, Pan American Grits, and Vegetable Pho with Shrimp. Jeanne Lemlin's Vegetarian Classics (LJ 4/15/01) offers more sophisticated recipes, but Moosewood's books are always popular. For most collections.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter; 1 edition (November 6, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0609802410
• ISBN-13: 978-0609802410
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #35,523 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kind of like "Joy of Cooking--Veggie Style", August 13, 2002

By	Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

Is this a "new classic" and what's in this book for the average cook who wants to cook vegetarian food? This heavy tome is packed with useful recipes and is all over the map, both ethnically and in types of recipes. As other Moosewood cookbooks, this is a vegetarian cookbook, but with asides into fish, which I don't mind--being one who limits meat but has not problem eating it. Some people do view fish as living creatures, which, of course, they certainly are.

What's also new here compared to the dairy-laden earlier books is a venture into a few vegan recipes that leave out all milk, egg and other animal-source product, including a recipe for very useful mock sour cream. So there's a little something for everyone, vegetarian, limited vegetarian and even vegan. The recipes tend to the family-style rather than super-gourmet.

One of the most useful recipes for me is a vegetable broth. This is a very good recipe base all kinds of soups. I despise the taste of canned broths and it's a nuisance to make chicken stock from scratch. Vegetable stock freezes well and this recipe makes a particularly flavorful version, using carrots, onions, celery, potatoes and garlic. The potatoes, in particular add consistency to the broth. The recipe offers either sweet potato or carrot for that sweet-spicy element and the sweet potato version also adds body to the broth. There is a version for mock-chicken broth, and an Asian ginger flavored broth base as well.

Italian dishes dominate the recipes, lots of pasta sauces, including a vegetarian kind of Bolognese (meat gravy), a good basic tomato sauce, frittatas, risottos and cioppino fish stew. There are also plenty of diversions into novelties such as an interesting peach salsa.

The breads lean more to biscuits and cornbread than to yeast breads and the dessert section is loaded with cookies. There are also sections on sandwiches, wraps and mock burgers.

In summary, this is a very good vegetarian-based home cooking book, maybe something like Joy of Cooking - Veggie-Style. In that respect, this is a new classic, and certainly found a welcome home on my cooking bookshelf.

36 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow!, December 1, 2001

By	Bob M. (Woodstock, NY) - See all my reviews

I bought this volume, along with another Moosewood collection, a little over a month ago. To say that I'm totally hooked would be an understatement. I've done more than twenty five of their wonderful recipes. Most are SO good I can't wait to make them again, but I keep finding more and more new ones to do and never get back to them. The soups in here are simply extraordinary, wonderful bean soups, rich vegetable soups, and the many vegetable sides are their equal.

I suspect that Jane Brody's excellent Good Food Book, my kitchen bible, has been displaced by the Gospel according to Moosewood.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Delicious vegetarian fare, January 3, 2002

By	G. Nichols (Bloomington, Indiana) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I bought this cookbook recently and have already tried about a dozen of the recipes. The strawberry salad dressing was excellent, even made with frozen berries. The Greek lasagna with eggplant and chocolate cherry biscotti also were quite good. I made the asparagus leek strudel for guests, and the entire panful was devoured in no time flat. The recipes that I've tried have been interesting and well-seasoned as written. I have even enjoyed just sitting at the kitchen table, reading this cookbook like it's a novel.