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Summary: Wonderful!
Review: This was the first cookbook I ever purchased, and I love it. It is literally the bible of cooking.
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Summary: For the chef who can't cook
Review: Mr. Bittman is an absolute genius! As a college student who has very little time (and even less money) it's really hard to eat well, but this book offers a lot of basic recipies that give options to my otherwise dull culinary skills (i.e. pasta).The first time I used it, I made 'red snapper fillets w/ apples' and my roommates thought I had slaved away for hours, when it only took me about 30 min. This book is an absolute must!
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Summary: I use this book at least 3 times a week!
Review: I'm one of those cooks that doesn't like to follow directions. So I never used to bake,since this method doesn't work very well. Since I bought this book I make my own bread and have switched to making most other items (stock etc) from scratch. I use this book at least 3 times a week and love it. Everytime I try a new recipe my husband and I always give credit to Mark Bittman by proclaiming that "Bittman Rocks" as we dig into another delicious meal. The recipes are explained clearly and all the professional cooking lingo is explained. A great gift idea too!
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Summary: You'll broaden your culinary horizons!
Review: Mark Bittmann has given me the courage to try cooking things I've never dared before! The instructions are written in a way that gives even a novice chef courage to explore. I've made caramel custard, fresh bread, "oven-fried" catfish and collard greens! Everything my family has tried has been as tasty as was promised in the book. The CD-rom has great suggestions for meal planning, and allows you to add your own recipe to your hard drive so that they can be included in shopping lists and menu plans. I wish, however, that printing the shopping list was less cumbersome. I assembled plans for four meals, and the shopping list was almost six pages long! (It prints your list in a single column, in 12 pt type, doublespaced.) It would be better if it could print a two-column, categorized list (so that all the produce would be in one section, all the meats in another, etc). Overall, I have thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone.
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Summary: A Real Cookbook
Review: So many so-called "cook-books" out there are mere collections of recipes. This book really teaches you cooking - techniques are mapped out in detail, realistic cooking times are given, and (my favorite part) each recipe is prefaced by a paragraph or two, giving an idea of what sort of flavor to expect from the food, what to serve it with, what to be careful of, etc.
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Summary: A real bargain
Review: I don't cook, I grill and heat or at least thats been the way all my life. After taking an intrest in cooking as a hobby and having victims (family members) to experiment on I purchased this book to fill in the gaps. Aimed at the begginer with no clue this book does a fine job of bringing a noncook up to speed. I would agree with a couple of the critical reviews in the following areas. Ethnic food support, if the scant few Mexican recipies are an example the ethnic food support is very marginal and unauthentic. Seasoning is very low, easily corrected and he does try and point variations out. Its defiantly East Coast oriented in vegatable/meat selection. Having said all that, its the best book I have seen yet for a non cook to refrence and make something good, and build on their confidence. Not just a collection of recipies, it will function as a backbone for home cooking. I have purchased several for friends and family and everyone has used it as a starting point for any unfamiliar dish. I find the information well organized and simply use the index and have made a wide range of the dishes , all have been good and several with minor variations have been repeats. For the target audience, people with limited cooking skills and little time, its a tremendous bargain.
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Summary: This book brought "joy" back to my cooking
Review: I love cooking but after years of disappointment, I stopped buying cookbooks for several years. So many cookbooks nowadays are so "gourmet" oriented, their recipes may be fun for weekend cooking endeavors, but did not help an everyday cook like myself. I read the recipe collections put together by church, realtors, and so on, but so many family recipes call for canned cream soups and mayonnaise ... they didn't turn me on either. One day, I went to a bookstore, just to see what is out there, and I fell in love with this cookbook. I cannot agree with the author more about today's misconception of cooking "from scratch" in this country. It can be much more easy and fun than many of us may think and this cookbook teaches us how in plain English. They are so simple, you may wonder why so much fuss was made in other cookbooks. I tried the recipes for "Clam Chowder", "Stir-fry Cabbage", "Brownie", "Apple Pie" and so on within a few days after purchase, they are all so easy and delicious, and my family loved them too. (Especially, I will never buy a box of brownie mix again!) In short, this book brought "joy" back to my cooking and I am thankful for the author. One more factor to mention: the fonts and layout of this book are excellent, it is very easy to read.
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Summary: True Convenience
Review: As far as I'm concerned, no home should be without this bible of cookbooks. Mark Bittman's style is clean with a tell-it-like-it-is attitude. This is probably the only cookbook I've ever taken the time to read aside from the recipes. I don't know about you, but I was tired of going into a grocery store feeling ignorant about types of foods and equipment. I feel much more confident after reading this book. The CD-ROM is an added bonus, and has some convenient meal-planning options as well as Quicktime movies showing you how to prepare the recipes.
Rating: 
Summary: Good book, poor CD-ROM
Review: The book is fine, but I wouldn't advise getting the CD-ROM. The only extra content you get are a few video clips, but these clips will not install correctly on my computer (Windows 98). The recipe search could be useful for some people, but not for me - I prefer thumbing through the book's index. The CD-ROM would have been better if the content were in HTML so people could use their web browsers to view the recipes and video clips, instead of using the clunky program they provide. IDG's technical support for the software is only available via phone or regular mail. If they provided on-line support (e-mail), I'm sure they would hear more complaints about this product.
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Summary: High on my list...
Review: This one is right up there next to the Joy of Cooking. A real basic teaching the whys and hows to succeed at cooking absolutely anything. Whenever I'm stumped, it's the first book I pull down. The recipes are mostly fairly simple to follow, and the ones I've tried so far are winners. This book would make a great gift for the seasoned or unseasoned cook.
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