Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:  
Summary: great cookbook
Comment: Great book for beginners and seasoned cooks! Takes the cook from basics to gourmet one dish at a time! Has very nice reference charts and the spiral binding with dividers is very convenient! I bought it for my son and then bought one for myself!!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Perfect Cookbook For Newbies & Veterans
Comment: I purchased this for a gift for my future DIL and was really impressed with the detailed information and pictures. I know for myself 'Joy of Cooking' was a great staple to get as a new bride (20+ years ago :). But I have to admit that having illustrated pictures is very helpful and certainly a draw to the newer generations. The only problem I had was in the shipping of it, the first book arrived with a damaged spine and the second one had a damaged corner (which we kept anyway). A very thorough cookbook illustrating basic skills (anyone still remember HomeEc in Jr. High?) and advanced. Quite tempted to buy one for myself :)
Customer Rating:
Summary: Love it
Comment: This is one of the handiest cookbooks I have. Not only does it have hundreds of easy, delicious recipes, it also gives an extensive substitution list for you when you run out of specific ingredients. No buttermilk? No problem - just use this as a substitute - Love it! This has simple, down-to-earth recipes that use everyday ingredients - even my 15 year old son can make the recipes in here!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Best Cookbook Ever! Threw away my Betty Crocker CB
Comment: I literally threw away my 20 year old Betty Crocker cookbook once I opened and started reading through my new America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. I have tried numerous recipes like the "Simple Cheese Lasagna" on page 205 which got raves from my mother-in-law and her husband. I even made my own "Chunky Tomato Sauce For Lasagna" too. It was delicious! I've also tried "Cheesy Baked Manicotti" on page 204, "Shrimp Jambalaya" on page 275, "Pan-Seared Chicken Breasts With Vermouth and Tarragon Sauce" on page 286, "Chicken Piccata" on page 290, "Roast Chicken and Vegetables" on page 319, "Chicken Cacciatore" on page 320, "Chicken Pot Pie" on page 323, "Chicken-Fried Steak With Cream Gravy" on page 342, "Beef Stroganoff" on page 354 (which was to DIE for!!), and many more under the Baking, Salads, Quick Breads and Slow Cooker and Pressure Cooker tabs. Every recipe turned out great, like it was made in a restaurant. Now, my husband can't wait to come home to see what I have cooked next. I will never buy processed food ever again, including pasta sauce.
Another thing I love about this book are the buying guides for meat, pasta, salad greens, and rice/grains. I highly recommend this book for first time cooks. If you can read, you can cook!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Comment: Thirty years ago, I used the Joy of Cooking, 1973 edition, to learn to cook. Now, in my mid-50's, I've found the only other cookbook that I would recommend without reservation. In fact, I gave it to my daughter and daughter-in-law for their birthdays.
America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook is for the "experienced" eater, though not necessarily for the experienced cook. The tips, photos, etc., make more difficult recipes accessible. For instance, when I was first learning to cook, I had no idea just how "packed" you should compress the brown sugar when measuring it. And boy, did I pack it! I made THE BEST chocolate chip cookies in the world, because the amount of brown sugar was probably double what the recipe called for. (My grown kids still like me to make them that way, even if they flatten out when baking.) But in America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, they SHOW you how to pack the brown sugar. The tips and photos are liberally sprinkled throughout, and though I've been cooking for decades, and consider myself a pretty accomplished cook, I've learned some great things from this book.
And I've EATEN some great things from this book! The recipes are excellent. Corn chowder, bread pudding with caramel sauce (I used the caramel sauce recipe from another cookbook because the one in here was more of a production than I wanted to do), fancied up deviled eggs and egg salad for a church picnic, THE ONLY reuben I've EVER liked, and I LOVED this one. And much more. Not one recipe has been a "fail". Just the section on what pasta shape to serve with what kind of sauce would make this cookbook a standout.
I could've lived without the suggested brand names for ingredients (seems like ads to me), but I think when I was a new wife, I would've wanted those suggestions. I just know what brands of things I like by now (I happen to agree with a lot of their suggestions, btw.)
Tonight we're having stuffed shells with homemade tomato sauce, with an arugula, goat cheese, and almond salad.
Va Bene!
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