Customer Reviews

The Williams-Sonoma Cookbook: The Essential Recipe Collection for Today's Home Cook

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have a ton of cookbooks, but this one is my favorite. The ingredients are not hard to find; they dont require fancy set-up for the recipes, and the give great little tips on the side bars. Not to mention, I have never tried a recipe from Williams-Sonoma that hasn't been a hit with my guests. I have done an all-WS Thanksgiving for the past three years, and everything is always fantastic.

Just got this cookbook for my bridal shower last weekend, and so far we have made three recipes: the chicken with tomatoes and zucchini, the steamed salmon with charmoula (we used tilapia instead), and the banana bread. All were excellent and simple to make. There is a good mix of simple and relatively quick recipes for weeknights, and more involved dishes for weekends or when you have guests over. The book is beautiful, directions are easy to follow, and there is a diverse selection of recipes in all categories. A previous reviewer noted that this is not a basic "everyday" sort of cookbook; she is right - in a good way. No casseroles, cake mixes, canned cream of mushroom soup or any of that junk used as ingredients here; it's written for the WS customer who values interesting and quality food. I'm already planning for my next WS cookbook purchase!

There are some truly wonderful recipes in this book. If you're looking for basic home cooking and recipes for Stroganoff and Lasagna then this book may not be for you. It goes a fair bit beyond the basics with some very interesting recipes from all over the world. Its a beautiful book with wonderful photography.

Too bad it does not talk about the origins of the recipes. I always like a bit of background so I can talk a little about the food when entertaining.

I picked up this cookbook at a bargain price at Home Goods, intending to give it to my daughter or daughter-in-law, since I have a bookcase full of great cookbooks. After I got it home and went through it cover-to-cover, I decided to keep it for myself. I'm experienced enough to know, without having tried any of the recipes yet, that they will be terrific. The photographs, too, are wonderful and plentiful. There seems to be something here for everyone, from American to international dishes, some really easy (for example, the sauteed chicken breasts with mustard sauce) and others somewhat more challenging. I now plan to order two more from Amazon, as gifts for my daughter and daughter-in-law.

When I got my first copy it was a little crushed, so I sent custom service a question not even sure if it was worth returning, and they sent another out automatically and paid for shipping back!!! AWSOME SERVICE!!!!! Plus the book was a great price!!!

I love this cookbook!!! I have tried 2 or 3 recipes so far and each have been to die for!! Absolutely delicious!!!! Definitely a MUST have !!

My mom brought this book over for me to look at from the library and thought I could copy anything I might like. I didn't even get beyond the first section when I already knew I had to buy this book. Got on-line/found it on Amazon/bought.

I'm still turning pages and slowly going through it. I cook a great deal and this book still has a lot to offer and so many tips and additional informational.

As some other people said, I like that the ingredients are not hard to find, (because who wants to be stuck with all kinds of expensive rondom ingredients you never will use again!), and that it gives you the kind of tips that if you are not so familiar with cooking, are extremely important tips to know! Everything I have made tastes amazin, the only issue I have is that I think some of the food in the pictures have had little enhancements made in preproduction to make it look slightly shinier and browner, if its a baked good, or crispier and more colorful if it is regualar food, because I just can't seem to get my finished product to look exactly as it does in the pics,... anyway they taste amazing, and the book is easy to navigate, and has LOTS of pictures, so thats what matters most to me!

It's titled The Essential Recipe Collection For Today's Home Cook, that's certainly a tall order. First off this cookbook is huge, it's over 450 pages, the pages are glossy so they would hold up over time, the pictures are lovely and there are lots of them.

There are tips scattered throughout the cookbook. Such ideas as to ripen an avocado is to place it in a paperbag with a banana. The ethylene gases emitted by the banana will speed the ripening process of the avocado. Every page has some sort of tidbit or tip included.

These recipes are advertised for the home cook. So to me that means food you would serve on a daily basis. That wouldn't include a lot of these recipes. The one for deviled eggs was to make the filling using capers, champagne vinegar, parsley, and anchovies. I did like the tip about after boiling the eggs to crack them and leave soak in the water for an hour before peeling. I'll have to try that next time. But to serve these deviled eggs at the next family reunion? I don't think so.

Another recipe was Tuna Tartare on Ruffles Potato Chips. Is this sushi on potato chips? No kidding it was sushi grade tuna mixed with a raw egg served on Ruffles potato chips. This is for the home cook?

Another recipe was Steak Tartare on Baguette Croutes. This time you used raw filet mignon with capers. There are lots of caper recipes just to warn you. So as not to be outdone with the raw fish, there's Ceviche. I've never and will never serve my children raw fish and eggs for dinner. That is not essential home cooking.

If you're describing a cookbook that is "essential home cooking" then you're referring to Betty Crocker Big Red CookbookBetty Crocker's Cookbook (5-Ring Binder) or even The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook: America's Bestselling Step-by-Step Cookbook, with More Than 1,400 Recipes. This falls into the same category as the new Martha Stewart Cooking School Cook book. It's too high end for the everyday dinner.

I made the corn bread with dried blueberries. It was not very good. The corn bread was dry and not very tasty. I also made the chocolate chip cookies and they were dry as well. I'll just go back to the Tollhouse recipe on the bag.

If you like the Martha Stewart Cooking School cookbook then this is just for you. If you want a cookbook that is truly essential home recipes then go for the Betty Crocker Cookbook (you know, the big red one) or Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook or even Cook's Illustrated The New Best Recipe book. This one is a coffee table book at best.

This is a great cookbook. It is very comprehensive and illustrated. I have several W&S cookbooks and consider this to be one of the best due to the extent of coverage. And the recipes are very good and doable.

this kitchen manual is full of quick recipes and tons of useful information. i did find that you need to tweak some of the recipes in order to get a little more flavor out the food, as they tend to be on the bland side.