Customer Reviews

New York Times Cookbook

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

but this has nothing to do with the quality of the bookbinding, but rather the quality of the book itself.

The New York Times Cook Book was one of the first cookbooks I owned. By now it has lost its bright purple cover, the outside has a few spots from over-zealous cooking aka the splat and sizzle method of cooking, and the binding shows wear-and-tear. I have the updated Joy of Cooking, but it doesn't compare to this classic.

My book automatically opens to the picadillo recipe, which is just one of many recipes in this book that opened the door for me to other cuisines. From it, I discovered new ways to cook pasta and learned that there was life beyond spaghetti with meat sauce. Classic American recipes are covered as well so that you can cook the foods that you grew up on.

The recipes are direct, not convoluted. You will not be spending hours in the kitchen on a single recipe it takes your family five minutes to consume. To steal the title from another book: it puts the joy back in cooking.

This is the first book I turn to when I'm stumped for something to prepare for dinner and it seldom lets me down. When I'm looking for a gift for a young person setting up a new home, this is one I consider.

I have both Joy of Cooking and the NYT Cookbook, and I have to say that the NYT cookbook is our kitchen bible. The recipes are basic, like chili and pot roasts, yet somehow a cut above the average kitchen standards. So this is the one I reach for when entertaining or just figuring out what to make for dinner.

The sour cream fudge cake is our favorite dessert in the book. This simple yet unbelievably good cake doesn't even need icing and is just the thing for bringing to a party. Again, this is the kind of recipe in the book; standard chocolate cake, yet better in every way than other recipes we've tried.

I have several cookbooks, but this one has the most stains in it by far, which is probably the best way to determine if a cookbook is any good. I turn to the Times cookbook when I want to make my old standbys, when I am trying something new or when I have company coming over. Of course, I was raised by a mother who used an older edition of this book as her main cookbook, so I may be a bit biased.

The cookbook has everything out there you need to start cooking. When I first started cooking, I was able to pick up this cookbook and start with almost no background. All the recipes turned out excellent. I particularly liked the chili recipes.

Last year, I mixed and matched these recipes with ones typed on index cards that I inherited from my grandmother and made a successful Thanksgiving dinner (which may be the ultimate praise for a cookbook).

One warning: recipes in this cookbook are not shortcuts. They will take a decent time to prepare. If I am in a hurry, I don't usually use this cookbook. If you never have much time to prepare a meal or do not enjoy cooking, this is probably not the book for you.

I borrowed it from the library. I tried some recipes thinking I'll be dissapointed like I was with Joy of Cooking. I was WRONG. It's the best cookbook I've ever seen. I decided to buy it. Every recipe I tried was delicious. The recipes are easy to follow, it's not complicated like some other cookbooks.I highly recommend this book.

I picked up a copy of his 1961 cookbook at a used book show. I previously had some of the updated editions but I honestly did not care for them (gave them back to the book show). When I found this edition, I was quickly turning the pages and finding so many recipes I wanted to try. Many are rather quaint but staples that everyone should have if you yearn for recipes that your mother or grandmother may have made such as salsbury steak, beef stroganoff, chicken Kiev and so on. This is a book I use over and over again. Look for the original, it's still the best.

I have owned this cookbook for a number of years and out of all my cookbooks it is my most used one. I know that anytime I make any recipe in this book, it will be excellent and have no hesitation making a recipe the first time for guests. The recipes are basic yet at the same time are not. They are all excellent. A must have cookbook in a person's collection.

I have been consistently impressed with Craig Claiborne's New York Times Cookbook. I expected the recipes to be complicated and to require expensive or obscure ingredients. This is not the case at all. This is a surprisingly accessible cookbook for someone who has at least basic cooking skills. Not for absolute beginners, but certainly not for advanced chefs only. While other general-purpose cookbooks like Joy of Cooking will provide more nitty-gritty information, this one is pure pleasure cover to cover.

The beauty of this cookbook is its timelessness. It was first written when people who cooked automatically knew basic terms. Therefore, the recipes are straightforward and not ostentatious. Claiborne also assumes a certain amount of confidence that the reader has, so his writing style doesn't make the home cook feel stupid or uninformed.

Even if you already have three or four cookbooks you regularly use as your bible, buy this one for the value of understanding where the American gastronomic movement came from. It was pushed forth partially by Claiborne.

This book is full of recipes that aren't difficult to make.

I own more than 300 cookbooks, and this one is used all the time by me.

There are NO PHOTOS, which is fine by me. I don't need photos to cook.

Every single thing I have made from this book comes out AMAZINGLY good.

NYT also made an international cookbook. The two together are a lovely gift....such a practical book.

I love cooking from a to z. I'm not a pro, but a die hard romantic fan of do it yourself exquisite cuisine. I found this jewel in a used book store in the Caribbean (I live there) for 3 dolars. I looked at it, bought it without hesitation and Wow....It is a very simple good old fashion cookbook. Not too many explicit directions (like Joy) but the ones necessary to carry out the recipes succesfully regarding you have BASIC skill (chop onions, fry, mix, measure, etc.) It has a variety of around the world cuisine, not too much, just enough to make the book interesting and I constantly find myself rumaging through it just to see what I can make next. I prize this book, some days I use it more than others (depending what my inspiration is) but the Oatmeal Bread, Gnocchis, Tomato Sauce, Gorgonzola and pasta, Creme Celeste, Fig and Cashew Ice cream......Rare recipes I found in this book that gave me great culinary delight are worth every penny of the real value of this book. I hope you do buy it and enjoy it as romantically as I have. It's like an old friend I visit for confort food now and then and till now, it hasn't let me down. Just love it for what it is, a great old fashion cookbook that belongs in any culinary library.