Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful and Inspiring, if not always pracitical
Review: I bought this as one of the first cookbooks I ever purchased while in collge. Ambitious is one word for that!
This cookbook is beautiful and inspiring. The photos are wonderful, it has suggested meals (with their nutritional analysis). I really love how original and unusual many of these recipes are. This is not the kind of cookbook that insists you substitue applesauce for butter and other such nonsense- rather, these are recipes that are inherently healthy but delicious in everyway nonetheless.
I made a huge 11 lb ribeye roast recipe from the cookbook (cured in salt, fresh dill) and served it with the wasabi butter asaparagus for a big family Passover meal. It was a HUGE hit, and the family wants wasabi butter on everything now.
I've also made the pink grapefruit with guava syryp and candied violets (which were a trick to find), many of the little salads, and even the 'laughing milk', a strange drink made of whipped egg whites and sugar. The fish recipes are simple and among my favorites.
My only complaint about this book is that some of the recipes are the author trying so hard to force a dish out of three ingredients that the recipe becomes cumbersome and over-complicated. I like the recipes that benefit from the simplicity of using only a few ingredients, rather than seeing how many different ways you can use broccoli in one dish.
Also, unless you live in New York City and know where to find the fish market or the produce market where chefs shop, there are some ingredients that you will simply never find.
Overall, I do adore this cookbook and I drag it out time and time again when I want to make something fun and a bit exotic.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a Weight Watchers 1-2-3 book!
Review: I bought this book because I hate shopping from long lists of ingredients. Some of the ingedients may be hard to find at a regular grocery store(ie tandoori paste or certain fresh herbs). I made the roasted onions with carrot puree, which was delicious. Although the ingredients are few, the preparation may be extensive. This is not a "quick and easy" cookbook. I liked the menu suggestions, complete with fat and caloric information. It would've been nice to have the nutritional information on the same page as the recipes instead of near the index, but that's a minor point. I know I'm going to use this cookbook a lot.
Rating:
Summary: Flavorful simplicity
Review: I bought this book because I hate shopping from long lists of ingredients. Some of the ingedients may be hard to find at a regular grocery store(ie tandoori paste or certain fresh herbs). I made the roasted onions with carrot puree, which was delicious. Although the ingredients are few, the preparation may be extensive. This is not a "quick and easy" cookbook. I liked the menu suggestions, complete with fat and caloric information. It would've been nice to have the nutritional information on the same page as the recipes instead of near the index, but that's a minor point. I know I'm going to use this cookbook a lot.
Rating: 
Summary: I've had fun with this.
Review: I found it in an upscale furniture store, set out as a coffee table book. The dissonance was enough that I had to buy it.I'll vouch for garlic mashed potatoes (p.132), and the pickled beets (p.109). The latter is simple enough that I've told lots of people in grocery store lines (what are you going to do with those beets?) about it. Some aren't nearly as simple, like the pasta cooked with broccoli florets, with a broccoli-butter sauce. If you make any of these for a pot-luck, which is my usual experimentation mode, double them.
Rating:
Summary: I've had fun with this.
Review: I found it in an upscale furniture store, set out as a coffee table book. The dissonance was enough that I had to buy it. I'll vouch for garlic mashed potatoes (p.132), and the pickled beets (p.109). The latter is simple enough that I've told lots of people in grocery store lines (what are you going to do with those beets?) about it. Some aren't nearly as simple, like the pasta cooked with broccoli florets, with a broccoli-butter sauce. If you make any of these for a pot-luck, which is my usual experimentation mode, double them.
Rating:
Summary: Not a Weight Watchers 1-2-3 book!
Review: I pre-ordered this book well before it was published thinking that the "1-2-3" reference in the title meant it was related to Weight Watcher's "1-2-3" Success program. I was chagrined to learn upon its receipt that the book wasn't what I expected. The book does, however, contain some interesting recipes and some might rank high as part of a weight management menu.
Rating: 
Summary: Good if you can obtain the exotic ingredients
Review: Overall, this is the best cookbook I've ever used. Every recipe I've made is absolutely delicious, and for non-veggie eaters like myself, it is a God send. This is because the book encourages one to try different types of vegetables cooked in different ways and with different sauces & accompaniaments. Don't be fooled though--while some of the recipes are quick and simple to make, some take quite a lot of time--all the better to savor the finished meal, however. This book has truly taught me to enjoy the entire process of cooking, from shopping for the best ingredients, preparing the meal, then enjoying it with a nice glass of wine.
Rating:
Summary: A Must-Have Cookbook
Review: Overall, this is the best cookbook I've ever used. Every recipe I've made is absolutely delicious, and for non-veggie eaters like myself, it is a God send. This is because the book encourages one to try different types of vegetables cooked in different ways and with different sauces & accompaniaments. Don't be fooled though--while some of the recipes are quick and simple to make, some take quite a lot of time--all the better to savor the finished meal, however. This book has truly taught me to enjoy the entire process of cooking, from shopping for the best ingredients, preparing the meal, then enjoying it with a nice glass of wine.
Rating:
Summary: Culmination Of A Culinary Style
Review: This book represents Gold's masterwork. It takes the simplicity concept to its best application, namely a cuisine that is sustainable across every night of the week. By simplicity, I mean singularity of taste, not ease of preparation. The majority of dishes here are probably more suited to people who like to spend time in the kitchen and enjoy new challenges, although many recipes are not difficult. Gold does not present a "one pot" style of cooking, but the results are worth it. Her palate is sophisticated and her books have educated my own taste buds and appreciation of food stuffs. These dishes are healthy but not restricted in ingredient types. Cheeses and oils are frequently found, satisfying the diner but not overwhelming the meals in fats or calories. To eat from this cookbook is to enjoy a wide range of foods, including hints of rich ones, but to be health conscious and to adhere to smart consumption guidelines. Gold presents produce-plentiful dishes, gorgeously photographed and presented. She also provides her most personal, intimate writing, abandoning any connoirseurship of the well-connected New York chef in favor of telling her private motivations for writing this book. She gives us a most interesting point of view in the crowded cookbook arena.
Rating:
Summary: Culmination Of A Culinary Style
Review: This book represents Gold's masterwork. It takes the simplicity concept to its best application, namely a cuisine that is sustainable across every night of the week. By simplicity, I mean singularity of taste, not ease of preparation. The majority of dishes here are probably more suited to people who like to spend time in the kitchen and enjoy new challenges, although many recipes are not difficult. Gold does not present a "one pot" style of cooking, but the results are worth it. Her palate is sophisticated and her books have educated my own taste buds and appreciation of food stuffs. These dishes are healthy but not restricted in ingredient types. Cheeses and oils are frequently found, satisfying the diner but not overwhelming the meals in fats or calories. To eat from this cookbook is to enjoy a wide range of foods, including hints of rich ones, but to be health conscious and to adhere to smart consumption guidelines. Gold presents produce-plentiful dishes, gorgeously photographed and presented. She also provides her most personal, intimate writing, abandoning any connoirseurship of the well-connected New York chef in favor of telling her private motivations for writing this book. She gives us a most interesting point of view in the crowded cookbook arena.
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