Rating: 
Summary: Great family-style recipes
Review: As a mother of two small children, I fancied myself too busy to cook "every night." Then one day I realized that, in a world of macaroni & cheese, frozen vegetables, and takeout cuisine of all varieties, I was NEVER cooking at home, unless it was a big, formal "dinner." Marion Cunningham has inspired me to rethink "supper" for my family--I have rediscovered the ease of baked chicken and vegetables, and I make fried rice instead of another night of Chinese takeout. Many of these recipes involve easy preparation that can be done earlier in the day, so at dinnertime it is just a matter of popping something in the oven or cooking it on the stove. The ingredient lists are simple (all things you can actually find at your local supermarket!), but the flavors are wonderful. There is no attempt to cut fat or carbohydrates, but then again, you also aren't adding excess sodium and preservatives to your diet. If you are new to cooking, I also recommend "Learning to Cook with Marion Cunningham," which has many easy recipes that will impress your friends who are also new cooks! Either book would be a great graduation or wedding gift.
Rating:
Summary: Great family-style recipes
Review: As a mother of two small children, I fancied myself too busy to cook "every night." Then one day I realized that, in a world of macaroni & cheese, frozen vegetables, and takeout cuisine of all varieties, I was NEVER cooking at home, unless it was a big, formal "dinner." Marion Cunningham has inspired me to rethink "supper" for my family--I have rediscovered the ease of baked chicken and vegetables, and I make fried rice instead of another night of Chinese takeout. Many of these recipes involve easy preparation that can be done earlier in the day, so at dinnertime it is just a matter of popping something in the oven or cooking it on the stove. The ingredient lists are simple (all things you can actually find at your local supermarket!), but the flavors are wonderful. There is no attempt to cut fat or carbohydrates, but then again, you also aren't adding excess sodium and preservatives to your diet. If you are new to cooking, I also recommend "Learning to Cook with Marion Cunningham," which has many easy recipes that will impress your friends who are also new cooks! Either book would be a great graduation or wedding gift.
Rating:
Summary: Another dandy from one of our most accomplished writer-cooks
Review: Did I need this book? Well, I thought I might have done without it--until it arrived and I took it for a spin around the kitchen. After reading "Lost Recipes," I was agog with renewed respect for Marion Cunningham. She is a woman with a mission--to encourage friends and families to sit down and share a meal, a simple one easily as satisfying (or even more so) as one calculated to impress. Her accessible presentation of the recipes in this book may well persuade even the most food-prep-averse to try out her dishes assembled from ingredients that are almost always more economical to purchase than to resort to mundane restaurant or take-out fare. Virtually all of the recipes can be prepared with pantry staples or supplies from most any grocery store. If these dishes can't be put together in one go (or if the cook prefers not to), Cunningham offers succinct instructions on how to proceed in simple stages. There are a number of completely do-ahead offerings, and there's much to please vegetarians as well as those who choose not to combine meat and dairy, with a few easy and obvious substitutions. The art director of "Lost Recipes" merits five stars as well. Layout and illustrations are gorgeous, and the book has an unusual, and most welcome, feature: a front cover that allows the brand-new book to lie flat, as well as providing a roomy pocket to accommodate jotted notes, clippings from newspapers and magazines, and other info that is likely to be lost rather than to be found and followed. Cunningham enhances her text with relevant quotes on dining ranging from Brillat-Savarin to contemporary writers, many of which are unfamiliar even to rabid cookbook collectors. And as the holidays draw near, it's worth noting that this book is quite reasonably priced. "Lost Recipes" would make a fine gift for anyone from a kitchen neophyte to an experienced cook. Those belonging to the latter group may not have actually "lost" their versions of some of Cunningham's recipes; however, it is warming in every sense to be provided with friendly, workable examples of just how good these home-style dishes are, and how rewarding it is for harried folks (and who isn't, these days?) to relax and enjoy a comforting meal in good company.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful!
Review: Faulting this cookbook for not being as comprehensive as the Fannie Farmer Cookbook is like faulting a vegetarian cookbook for not including a section on pork chops. What Mrs. Cunningham sets out to do here, and what she accomplishes so well, is set forth a group of quickie recipes that don't taste like shortcuts. She is presenting an alternative to calling for pizza or stopping at Boston Market for supper. And believe it or not, she's on the mark. The first recipe I tried (Ozark Pudding) was so quick to prepare I found myself re-reading the recipe while the pudding was in the oven. I wanted to make sure I hadn't skipped a step. I hadn't, and a half hour later, I had a terrific, warm, home-made dessert. Next I tried her Welsh Rarebit recipe. Again I was concerned that the recipe sounded a little too basic to turn out very well. But honestly, in the time it would take to mix up a box of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, I'd prepared a lovely hot meal that even my 13 year old approved of. I think this book would make a lovely gift for a new bride, a college graduate or anyone that has the best intentions about trying to call for take-out food just a little less. I agree with the criticisms here about the binding on this one. While the inside pocket to store your own recipes is a cute idea, a spiral bound book would work better in the kitchen. But that doesn't stop me from giving this book 5 stars. I really think you'll love it!
Rating: 
Summary: Handy cookbook
Review: Handy cookbook to have and use in the kitchen due to it's size. Smallish and easy to ready, you can prop the book up in your cookbook holder, and follow along as you cook. The recipes are simple and easy. Some are old-fashioned recipes that may have been lost but found due to Cunningham's compiling them in her cookbook. The only negative is the way the book is bound. At first I was stumped, thought the spine had split, but discovered the book was originally bound that way. Kind of strange but the recipes make up for this quirk.
Rating:
Summary: I love this cookbook!!
Review: I absolutely love this cookbook!! And reading the negative review below, I feel I must defend this great cookbook. I suppose if you had enough time you could go through lots of cookbooks and find all of these recipes, but that is not the point. This volume is meant to have a selection of homey, easy to make recipes that will take you back in time to when home cooking was the norm. Reading through this was like a walk down memory lane - most of these dishes were prepared by my grandmother many years ago, and it has been fun for me to prepare them myself for my family. Nothing exotic or nouveau here, just yummy, old-fashioned food that your family will love. Very nice format, too. I highly recommend this cookbook.
Rating:
Summary: excellent recipes, good for family meals
Review: I have hundreds of cookbooks and find it hard to justify buying any more... but the title of this one got to me. My mother is, by her own admission, an indifferent cook. But my grandmother was a country cook who taught me how to bake bread and heavenly cinnamon roles. I think this book would have pleased her.
The recipe that I really enjoyed a lot was the one for saltine crackers. I had to try it first, because it sounded so unusual. My sons and husband just loved them! I used extra sturdy crackers I got from Whole Foods, which probably helped.
Rating:
Summary: Another Excellent Book from Marion Cunningham
Review: I just received this long awaited book and it is incredible. I have already made several of the recipes and they are fantastic. The Lemon Pudding Cake is delicious, as well as the Scalloped Spinach. Pure comfort food. There are so many other recipes I can't wait to try. Marion Cunningham is my ALL TIME favorite cookbook writer. I have over 200 cookbooks and her books are always the ones that I refer to first and her recipes are always that ones that are most requested from our friends and family. Marion Cunningham is such a respectable woman and an American icon in the fields of baking and cooking. She is an advocate for teaching children to cook and to bringing back the "family dinner".
As a personal advocate for the Slow Food movement, this book shares the same values of bringing people back to the roots of pure, healthy cooking and enjoying the beauty of a shared meal.
Rating:
Summary: Down-home old-fashioned recipes that are easy to make!
Review: I picked up this recipe book because it is so cute! It's a small hardcover with all kinds of old-tyme graphics on its pages. Great for a gift. I have made the Spoonbread recipe so far and it was amazing! I'd never had Spoonbread before and now I found out I love it. All the recipes are easy to make, with normal ingredients you can find at any grocery store. Very practical.
Rating:
Summary: Intriquing Introspective
Review: In a world of take-out food, culinary maven takes us back to a simpler, more beautiful place of home cooking. The history of these recipes are fascinating, and just as in her "The Fanny Farmer Cookbook," Ms. Cunningham breaks them down to approachable, user friendly creations. Thes recipes are sure to become new classics.
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