Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Impeccable Recipes from Around the World, April 29, 2008
As a former owner of a catering company and still-avid chef, I love to read cookbooks.
Oprah writes the introduction to this book. I liked this: "I definitely believe in the mystical, magical, healing power of a home-cooked meal."
The photographs in O, The Oprah Magazine Cookbook, are phenomenal. It's actually hard to look at the book without wanting to eat! They stand out as truly the most beautiful pictures of food that I've ever seen.
The book covers soup to nuts recipes, both fancy and simple. I want to make everything, thanks to those photographs!
I really enjoyed the commentary from chefs and foodies alike. On the page with the commentary there is also a list of that writer's recipes found in the book. Nice touch. For example, "At the Table with Michael Nischan," Nischan writes about his organic garden at his home in Connecticut and his commitment to feeding his five kids as healthfully as possible.
The recipes span the globe. There are classic dishes, like Avgolemeno soup, which is a classic Greek chicken soup. There is an egg salad sandwich. What makes the egg salad special is the addition of fresh tarragon, cilantro, shallots, capers and mustard.
Then there are creative dishes like crostini with wild mushroom and mozzarella , baby greens with asparagus and pistachios and many more fabulous sounding and looking recipes. I tried the crostini dish and it was absolutely delicious.
At the end of the book is a section titled "What to Serve..." The following are listed:
When you're really short on time
When you want to keep it simple
When you crave something healthy
For the vegetarians you love
There is also a nice proportion of different types of dishes. Simple meals, holiday fare, snacks, vegetarian meals and lots of healthy dishes...it's all in the book.
If visuals motivate you to experiment with new dishes, buy this book immediately!
From the author of the award winning book, Harmonious Environment: Beautify, Detoxify and Energize Your Life, Your Home and Your Planet.
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27 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Someone's in the kitchen with Oprah (60 chefs, all user-friendly), April 29, 2008
Oprah cooks? Well, she does everything else, it seems. But really...cook?
Duh. Read the title. The Oprah MAGAZINE Cookbook. Someone's in the kitchen with Oprah --- in a manner of speaking --- and those noted chefs have served up recipes that delighted the magazine's editors and readers before being blessed by Herself.
Will these recipes help you live your best life? Fractionally. Will they lure celebrities into your home to jump on your couch? Unlikely. Will they save you time, boost your creativity in the kitchen and dazzle your friends and family? Definitely.
Sixty chefs present 175 recipes in these easy-to-follow, appealingly photographed dishes. The absence of specialty ingredients is welcome. So is the lack of a twenty-page catalog of drink recipes that too many cookbook writers use as filler. Best of all, there are no complicated sauces and dressings here. The emphasis is on the natural flavor of fresh ingredients --- and modest, internationalized twists on battle-tested favorites.
We have made a green salad with asparagus and pistachios; the one specialty ingredient we needed was lemongrass, and then we had glory. In cool weather, broccoli leek soup will unite two overlooked vegetables. Tarragon mustard makes a nice addition to egg salad. Ditto the combination of Cognac, horseradish mustard and beef stew.
I was thrilled to see a recipe for Ropa Vieja, a Cuban dish translated as "old clothes". As you may know, it's a stew of shredded beef, peppers and onions; serve it with red beans and yellow rice, and you might as well be in Havana. Continents away, adding curry powder and its Indian cousins to a roast chicken will liven up a Thursday.
Only one duck recipe: good. No exotic fish: better. Grill recipes that include --- how's this? --- spicy shrimp and...watermelon. A potato gratin with two kinds of potatoes. A basic oil and vinaigrette dressing --- with nine variations. "Oprah's favorite" crab cakes and (cue the trumpets) her very own corn fritters. And, for those who, like Oprah, have personal trainers at their beck and call, some dazzling cakes and tarts.
Along the way, chefs and friends share food memories and fantasies. Nice. Pleasant. Unhelpful. Those pages are redeemed by a What to Serve guide in back --- recipes grouped under time of preparation, simplicity, child-friendliness, healthy eating, entertaining and snacking. There's a whole page of suggestions for vegetarians. And a primer to wine pairings.
My expectations for this book were modest. Silly me. It bears Oprah's name. Oprah rules.
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20 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Just what you would expect from Oprah!, May 6, 2008
This cookbook is exactly what you would expect from Oprah: many beautiful color photos, sturdy pages, good organization, and brief interviews with some of the more than 60 featured chefs and other contributors.
Chapters include Appetizers & Salads; Cocktails & Beverages; Soups & Sandwiches; Meat, Poultry; Fish & Seafood, Vegetable Side Dishes; Potatoes, Pasta & Grains; Sauces, Dressings, & COndiments; Biscuits, Breads & Muffins; and Desserts. In the back of the book, there is an index of suggested recipes for What to Serve... When You're Really Short on Time, When You Want to Keep It Simple, To Make Children Happy, During the Holidays, When You're Entertaining Guests, For a Snack, and For Vegetarians You Love. There is also a list of suggested wine pairings! Oprah thinks of everything.
If, like me, you have ripped out recipes from Oprah magazine for years, this is definitely the book for you. I recognized several recipes from the magazine that I had saved, and now I don't have to try to find where I put them! It looks like the cookbook uses the same font as Oprah magazine, which I like.
For the majority of recipes, the ingredients can likely be found in regular grocery stores (particularly slightly upscale ones such as Whole Foods). I noticed a few ingredients that could be a little more difficult to find (sugared cocoa nibs, pickled jalapeno chili, cardamom pods, etc.). I didn't notice any recipes that call for specialty bakeware or other equipment that I don't have.
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