Customer Reviews

Williams-Sonoma Family Meals: Creating Traditions in the Kitchen

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
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Many other reviewers have listed the recipes contained herein. Most are pretty lengthy in process. Few could be assembled in less than an hour. This book is beautiful to look at with an ample number of lush photographs. It promotes almost-lost traditions of baking homemade bread, cheese and pickles as well as making marshmallows from scrach, which taste and feel significantly different than those found in the plastic bags.

Who will love this book: Moderns and "country" cooks who enjoy the process of cooking and the time spent with family will love the ideas, photographs and suggestions. The pictures are reminiscent of a rustic style home in the country with a family featured throughout working together on the recipes. Whether most children would eat some of these recipes largely depends on your family. The food has an appeal as it is all "from scratch" and relies on whole foods and real ingredients to a large extent, however whole foods are not necessarily low-fat or whole grain. If you're opposed to packages mixes and the like, this is your style.

Who will not like this book: The health-conscious, whole-grain oriented, anti-sugar, modern, in a hurry to get dinner on the table, stressed-out mom with picky eaters. The recipes are a mix of old school and ethnic-flare, which is nice. However, if your kids are the mac 'n' cheese or pizza type, they will not eat most of these. Also, meal prep is way too long and the emphasis is on taking time to enjoy the preparation, rather than a quick meal, which is what the majority of moms I know are concerned about. The proverbial "soccer mom" will enjoy the pictures and never use the recipes. Also, most bread recipes rely on white flour and sugar is used without reservation. I'm concerned about my kids feasting on copious amounts of these ingredients for medically sound reasons and cannot in good conscience make most of these. Also, the meat recipes and cheese recipes are neither low in fats nor cholesterol and do not lend well to conversions of that type.

All that said, the book is beautiful to look at and to read. It is strongly reminiscent of generations past but may not translate well to modern cooks or activity-centered families. As with most cookbooks in the Williams-Sonoma line, this is created for people who enjoy the process of cooking and don't mind spending time to do so. If you are one of them, enjoy!

Maria Helm Sinskey's latest offering, Williams-Sonoma Family Meals: Creating Traditions in the Kitchen, is an absolute delight. Those that want to start cooking from scratch, particularly cooking from scratch with children, will find this book invaluable. While the offerings are not encyclopedic - there are only about 100 recipes - some are truly unusual. Sinskey tells us how to make natural Easter egg dyes, smoke our own salmon, make jam, and produce fresh pasta.

I do have two quibbles with the book. I would label them "minor" but they are not. My academic background is in medical science and I've had lots of experience in medical microbiology. First, Sinskey recommends cooking pork chops "until light pink in the center" - pg. 215. I have huge problems with that. Current USDA regulations state that pork needs to be cooked to only 140 degrees Fahrenheit. However, CDC recommendations for pork are that it be cooked to 170 degrees Fahrenheit. The cysts that lead to trichinosis (found in pork and bear) are not killed at temperatures under 165 degrees Fahrenheit or so. Trichinosis is relatively rare in the US - about a dozen cases a year - but it is fairly common elsewhere. And it is deadly. Since so much of our food supply these days comes from outside of the US, I am hardpressed to consume pink pork and certainly would never recommend that anyone else do so.

My second quibble is similar. Sinskey includes instructions for producing your own homemade sourdough starter by catching a wild yeast. She starts with a bunch of grapes. (The bloom on the grapes contains yeast.) This is fine for her, since her family owns a winery and she has access to grapes that she knows are safe. I, however, live in New England. Except in the fall when my own grapes are ready, the grapes that I buy come from elsewhere - often South America. We don't eat grapes that have not been washed, which of course defeats any attempt to use them as a source for a wild yeast.

That said, Williams-Sonoma Family Meals: Creating Traditions in the Kitchen is packed full of information, beautifully laid out and chock-full of wonderful illustrations. A nice gift for every young mother on your list.

I was torn about how to review this cookbook. It seems to be somewhat in between a working cookbook and art. It's definitely one of the most beautiful cookbooks I've owned, and as both a cook and a photographer, I can certainly appreciate all the artfully done photos that comprise a great deal of this book. You could probably even use this book as a coffee table book when not in use, as it's the type that people would just enjoy picking up and looking through. But I'm not sure that all the space used for photos really added to my ability to successfully step through these recipes, and for the size of the book, you get a fairly small number of recipes as a result, so as a cookbook, I felt it fell a bit short of what I look for. This is definitely not a book for cooks that want quick, easy meal to prepare. I don't mind preparing a meal that takes a little while on occasion, but a lot of these take so much time and steps that I'm not sure I'd ever get around to trying them (like making ricotta cheese). If you are the type of cook though that likes to try making all kinds of things from scratch, you would probably enjoy this book a lot. I do think it's the kind of book that would make a great gift as well, for the family approach to meals that it takes, and the lovely photography. It's definitely not the best book for someone who is looking for a really comprehensive set of recipes that cover a wide variety of ingredients and meals.

I have never bought a cookbook quite like this. The author is really selling us on a lifestyle, and I'm only too happy to jump aboard. Those that have reviewed and complained about the fussiness, or time consuming aspect of the recipes must be accustomed to microwaving TV dinners and shaking fish sticks out of a box onto a cookie sheet (there's a devine fish stick recipe in this book), because this cookbook doesn't contain anything all that elaborate. On the contrary all of the ingredients are readily available, nothing strange or unobtainable, and you can probably start cooking the day you get this book if you have a moderately stocked pantry.

If you find baking a loaf of bread to be too much of a time commitment, you need to overhall your mindset about cooking or skip this book. This book is about relationships, slowing down, and savoring the bountiful food we have available to us in season.

You will be enchanted by the photos (of which there are tons) and impressed by the fact that the author, her husband and her two children grace all the pages. You get to see them in action, cooking, engaging each other and making homemade stick to the ribs food.

I wouldn't call the recipes hyper healthful, and on the flip side I wouldn't categorize them as decadent and unhealthy. This book is all about seasonal comforts, tried and true delicious food. It spans a wide range of tastes, flavors, and food moods.

There are some rich foods, some light and fresh foods, and some strange and welcome recipes- such as marshmallows! I was sold when I saw the star shaped marshmallows bobbing around in a cup of hot chocolate.

I think the most impressive aspect of the book (and unique!) is that the author builds on each recipe. For instance when she addresses dairy products she teaches you how to make yogurt and cheese. Then she follows with recipes using the yogurt and the cheese, which of course you can always just go buy if you're pressed for time.

She continues on in each different food area giving us a homemade recipe (berry jam) that can then become an ingredient in a cookie. Or make homemade ice cream and from there make homemade orange vanilla pops. I think that's really neat. She's got us making mayo and tarter sauce, fridge pickles, sourdough starter, natural egg dyes and weaving each of these into delightful recipes and meal plans. It's just organic and natural and all laid out so beautifully.

I'm most excited about the homemade tortilla lesson. This is real usable information in a beautiful and gorgeous package- with a message: Children need us, they need to be taught, nurtured and families need to slow down, sit down and eat....together!

If you want to teach your children to cook real whole foods this is your book.

The children's plates have been cleaner since buying this book, and their willingness to try food has increased dramatically.

I heartily recommend this book, it could change the way you cook, eat and relate to your children.

Williams-Sonoma's latest cookbook takes us back to the basics, literally.

Designed as a guide to creating meals as a family, the book contains recipes for such basic dishes as macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, braised beef stew, and coconut rice pudding -- just over 100 recipes all told. It is beautifully photographed, and full of detail describing every step involved. It's also full of some interesting background info -- things like leavening agents and how they work, various forms of milk and various cultured milk products (buttermilk, yogurt, etc.). It makes for some fascinating reading.

While I applaud the underlying concept, I have to wonder how many families facing today's challenges have the time, energy, and finances to spend the necessary hours it would take to create these family meals. A number of the recipes are extremely time-consuming, requiring hours and multiple steps to create something that, let's face it, could be prepared easier and faster using a couple of reasonable shortcuts. I would never make my own ricotta, since I have a great local source for it. I can get locally cured bacon that is cheaper and better than the more popular national brands -- I don't need to make my own.

That said, there are a lot of very fine recipes and "kitchen projects" in this book that should give parents some ideas on how they can involve their children in meal preparation.

Family Meals has all of the essentials of a good cookbook, with a fair amount of family fun, food science and history added for good measure. The book is kid-friendly, beautifully illustrated throughout with photographs, many full-page, of the author and her two daughters having fun in the kitchen. The plentiful photographs make it great fun to look through, even if you're not looking for something to cook.

The book is organized into chapters that cover breads, dairy, eggs, fruit, veggies, seafood, meat & sweets. The recipes are for basic dishes with broad appeal (think cheesy lasagna, chicken potpie, blueberry pancakes, cinnamon sugar donuts). They use commonly available ingredients -- nothing too exotic and nothing requiring trips to the specialty market. For each recipe, the author shares a story or anecdote, and for many recipes she offers tips on how to "get creative."

In addition to the recipes, each chapter begins with several pages of interesting reference information. For example, the chapter on veggies begins with a discussion of different veggies, what's in season when, pesticides, growing a vegetable garden. The chapter on eggs talks about all of the different preparations of eggs. The chapter on seafood is particularly well-done, with lots of information on types of shellfish and fish, cuts, preparations, etc., and the author managed to find many kid-friendly fish recipes.

Each chapter contains what I'll call a "kitchen project" -- a fun family project that's little bit out of the ordinary -- how to make things like sourdough starter, homemade ricotta, vegetable-based egg dye, berry jam, marshmallows, and my favorite -- how to cure bacon. These projects contain step by step illustrated instructions, and most of the projects look fairly simple. Who knew it was so easy to cure one's own bacon (not that I've tried it yet)?

Overall, great book. Would be ideal for a young person or teen just starting to cook, or for parents looking for kid-friendly recipes and avenues for drawing their kids into the kitchen. There's no gourmet fare here -- just beautiful, simple food.

This is a great cookbook with straight-forward, easy to follow recipes. The book contains extremely traditional recipes (mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, french toast), as well as some more unique offerings (roasted plums with cream, butternut and bacon pasta). Most of the recipes contain less than ten ingredients, and almost all the ingredients were ones that are easy to obtain, if not always ones that I keep in my house. There are beautiful photos on almost every page, with the ingredients, final products, and intermediary steps depicted. The only downside of the photos is that they aren't captioned, so it's occasionally unclear what's being shown.

The cookbook is divided into ten sections: breads & pastries, dairy, eggs, fruit, vegetables & herbs, seafood, chicken, meat, pasta & grains & legumes, and sugar & spice & chocolate. Each section begins with an introduction to the main ingredients necessary for that section. The breads & pastries section describes flour and rising agents, with information on different types, what the ingredients do, and how to store them. The seafood section describes how to know if seafood is fresh, how different types differ, as well information on cuts of fish. After the introduction, each section proceeds with ten to fifteen recipes.

Overall, I'd say this is an excellent general cookbook. I don't think it does much to get families into the kitchen together or to create family traditions, both of which seem to be the purpose of this particular cookbook. Aside from a few photos of cute kids helping in the kitchen and some brief anecdotes about the author cooking with her family, the book doesn't really directly address the issue of families cooking together. But if you're just looking for a really nice, attractive, informative cookbook, this is for you.

We've enjoyed every meal I've made from here - I've even started making my own cheese and sourdough starter for breads...the greatest thing is that I can adapt these to suit my diet as I must have gluten free!

These recipes are awesome, my kids and husband love everything I've made from here. I bring her desserts to parties and people are astounded at how simple yet wonderful they are.

Thank you Maria Helm Sinskey, you've helped make my life a little easier.

Simple living is attractive to many of us, and sadly not as simple as it seems. Familymeals is a book that details a return to "basic" cooking. Not boiling water basic, but making your own bread, jam, pasta, popsicles, marshmallows, basic. It's designed to be read alongside your family, and has many lavish pictures. I can say it's probably one of the only cookbooks I've read recently that has more pictures than recipes. Each is vibrant, beautiful, and interesting.

Everything is here, from basic pasta, to making your own orange and cream popsicles. All the food advocated is natural, no processed food, and all of it can be made with or alongside children. It is not a book for busy moms, necessarily. It's a book to build traditions and quality family time with.

As such, the format of the book is not, well, always "index perfect". There are multiple page spreads about techniques that vary from preparing to make pasta to gardening, to marshmallows. It all comes together though, in a delightful package full of tasty tidbids for ideas and projects.

If we all could live this richly every day, the world would be a far better place.

My daughters and I enjoy this cookbook a lot. The pictures are beautiful and the recipes are fairly simple. The blueberry pancakes are very yummy. We also tried the ice cream, extra cheesy lasagna, and the golden broccoli gratin. There was steps easy enough for my 6-year-old to do and my 12-year-old probably could have handled the recipes herself with little supervision during the prep work. There is a wide variety of recipes in this book, some comfort foods and some that may be something new for children. I have found that if a child helps cook the meal that they are more inclined to at least try it. This works wonderful with my picky 8-year-old son. He actually tried a dish that he helped make that had beans in it, which is something close to a miracle, as he thinks that beans are evil. ;) Another thing worth mentioning that I did like was that even though the book is hard covered and not a three-ring binder type book, it lays flat and it doesnt seem to be ruining the binding at all.