Rating: 
Summary: A milestone in vegan cuisine
Review: Overall, this is one of the best cookbooks I own, and I make that claim as a former meat-eater and a recent most-of-the-time vegan. I have been using "The Millennium Cookbook" since February and have made roughly half of the recipes in the book, including nearly all of those for pasta and pizza. I use this book all the time. My husband--a sometimes meat-eater with an open mind and palate--says nearly always that our Millennium meals are "exquisite." I certainly concur. Here are some stand-outs, in our view:Appetizers: Roasted Tomato and White Bean Galettes; Plantain Torte; Grilled Portobellos with Herb-Tofu Aioli and Red Onion Marmalade Salads: Oil-Free Caesar Dressing; Millennium Warm Spinach Salad; Curried Almond Dressing; Ruby Grapefruit, Avocado, and Pickled Red Onions with Baby Spinach and Grapefruit Mojo Dressing; Moroccan Eggplant Salad Soups: Yellow Split Pea Soup with Sage and Smoked Dulse Gremolata; Brazilian Black Bean Soup with Coffee and Orange Pasta and Pizza: Pasta with White Wine-Marinated Tomatoes and Basil; Mushroom, Fennel, and Dill Cream Penne; Marinated Fig, Onion, and Black Olive Pizzas with Herb-Tofu Aioli; Caramelized Garlic and Smoked Portobello Pizzas; Tempeh Pizzas with Puttanesca Sauce Sides: Millennium Fat-Free Mashed Potatoes Entrees: Baked Madras-Glazed Tofu with Saffron Basmati Pilaf, Sauteed Vegetables, and Peach-Lime Chutney; Rosa Bianca Eggplant Torte with Smoked Onion Ratatouille and Flageolet-Sage Sauce; Seitan Piccata; Grilled Jerked Seitan with Coconut Mashed Yams; Spring Onion, Morel, Fresh Pea, and Lemon Thyme Risotto Brunch: Smoked Tempeh and Potato Sausages; Flaxseed-Apple-Battered French Toast with Warm Apple Compote; Millennium Oat and Walnut Pancakes with Blueberry-Orange Sauce Desserts: Mocha Mud Slide; Mad Good Chocolate Cake; Pine Nut and Anise Cake; Brownies a la Mode; Chocolate-Almond Midnight; Meyer Lemon Bundt Cakes with Blackberry Sorbet and Meyer Lemon Sauce; Fig and Almond Tart with Red Wine and Pear Cream The desserts are "to die for," especially the fat-free version of their brownies. Overall, the meals are delicious, filling, and very satisfying. We don't hesitate to accompany them with a good bottle of wine. Another plus is that with time, you get a feel for using fat substitutes (e.g., braised garlic, stewed prunes, and the amazing silken tofu) and can soon come up with your own novel creations. Readers should be aware that this book does have its drawbacks. While many of the recipes can be made easily and quickly (pasta and pizza, mostly), many others require considerable time and effort. Close inspection reveals that there are a certain number of errors (sometimes of omission, e.g., saffron-cream sauce that leaves out the saffron ..., or even lack of directions). It should be noted that these can be attributed ultimately to the editors and not to the authors. I'm sure the second edition will clear these up. I've also found that many of the recipes work better with a little less liquid than called for (I don't know if this is a question of personal preference, altitude, or something else). For the above reasons, the "Millennium" is not for beginning cooks, in my view. But if you know how to cook, want to be a vegan, and are tired of searching "Gourmet" for the odd recipe that doesn't contain animal ingredients, this book is for you as much as it is for me--an inveterate "food snob" of the first order. Given rising rates of population and chronic disease, along with diminishing resources, vegan cooking is inevitably the culinary wave of the future. Compared to the other vegan cookbooks out there (even "The Vegan Gourmet"), the "Millennium" is the best. It's certainly worthwhile to join its celebration of great plant-based food. This is the best investment I've made in a cookbook in many years.
Rating:
Summary: Exceptional;y creative, original recipies in beautiful book
Review: Review of The Millennium Cookbook by Dr. Neal Pinckney The typical vegetarian cookbook presents a healthful and appetizing array of recipes, but most ofthem are the standard fare we all know and love. The Millennium Cookbook by Eric Tucker andJohn Westerdahl is a rare and very welcome exception. Here is a visually pleasing and well- organized collection of over 250 original and imaginative delights, worthy in every respect of theMillennium name. If you've never had the adventure of eating in San Francisco's Millennium restaurant, you'll haveto look at the excellent color photographs in the book to get an idea of how exciting this can be. Each dish is a visual work of art and the flavors, textures and aromas tend to be both subtle and exotic, but always pleasing to the most finicky palate. The Millennium Cookbook's recipes are all vegan (no animal products, no eggs, no dairy), some simple and relatively quick to prepare, others requiring the preparation that must be given to a culinary masterpiece. Each recipe has an analysis of calories, fat percentage and grams, carbohydrates, protein, cholesterol, sodium and fiber. Many recipes have low fat directions and analysis for those who choose to omit oil. In addition to devoting a section on each course of a meal (with decadently delicious desserts by Sacha Weiss), there's a how-to section called "basics" that explains how to cook grains, make seitan, smoke tofu, prepare stock and much more. This section alone is worth the $19.95 price. The book is a faithful representation of a Millennium experience. Having met Chef Eric and delighted my taste buds there a number of times, I look forward to making almost all the treats presented. While my efforts may lack the unique atmosphere of that restaurant, I'll have the pleasure of an eating adventure worthy of any special occasion. And when I want to give anyone who loves food, vegetarian or omnivore, a special present - the Millennium Cookbook will be my choice. The Millennium Cookbook, available early November, 1998, is published by Ten Speed Press, P.O. Box 7123, Berkeley, CA. 94707. Paperback, 10.25 x 8.25, 258 pp. ISBN: 0-89815-899-0. ----------------- Neal Pinckney is a retired psychotherapist and analyst who was told five years ago that he would soon die if he didn't have heart by-pass surgery. He didn't do either. Following the Ornish program, he is well and active, helping others with support groups fostering low fat vegetarian lifestyle changes. He is the author of the Healthy Heart Handbook, including 76 low fat vegan recipes.
Rating: 
Summary: Looks pretty, but do we really have the time?
Review: Several months ago, I purchased this cookbook to expand my collection of vegetarian cookbooks and reference. Although I am an avid cook, I have not tried a single recipe. They look interesting, but in order to actually prepare them, you would have to hire a prep team. Each recipe requires the preparation of about six OTHER recipes... Just looking at the recipes makes me tired.
Rating:
Summary: a new melody of flavors.
Review: The best cookbook in a very long time. If you REALLY like to cook, have a well stocked spice cupboard and don't mind orchestrating recipies with several parts, the results are stunning. If you are used to Julia Child's style, this is a whole new language of flavors. Have faith, make the Oat Walnut Pnacakes with Blueberry-Orange Sauce or the Plantain Torte and amaze yourself. The index is terrible, the measuremen ts include "a bunch" and there are careless errors but this is original art--when is the last time you found a cookbook filled with original masterpieces? No need to be vegetarian. This is no cholesterol cooking and these are gourmet recipies!
Rating:
Summary: For everyone, vegans and non-vegans, who loves good food.
Review: The biggest impediment to the acceptance of veganism is the stereotype that exists concerning the taste of vegetarian cuisine. The Millennium Cookbook offers some of the best tasting, best looking recipes that I have ever had, vegan or not. The range of flavors and ingredients used are creative and delicious, and provide a lot of inspiration for trying out varieties of foods that you may never have used before. They end up looking great no matter what, so though some recipes take some time, they will be well worth it if you have company you want to impress. There are variations and tips on sauces and dressings if you want to make the same thing in a different way. And there is nutritional information contained for each recipe on calories, fats, proteins, carbohydrates, sodium and fiber for those who are concerned. There is cholesterol information too, although everything has 0 cholesterol anyway. If you like the stuff in this cookbook, you'll probably want to visit the restaurant in San Francisco as well, which is another great experience in itself. And everything is fun to make, at least for me. You'll have to buy it to find out if it's fun for you too. And yes, some recipes take time and more than a few ingredients. But this book shows that there are no sacrifices a vegan has to make with regards to taste. Delicious and healthful vegan cuisine can and does exist. Breaking down the taste stereotype is as important as vegan ethics and health in gaining mainstream acceptance of veganism.
Rating:
Summary: For everyone, vegans and non-vegans, who loves good food.
Review: The biggest impediment to the acceptance of veganism is the stereotype that exists concerning the taste of vegetarian cuisine. The Millennium Cookbook offers some of the best tasting, best looking recipes that I have ever had, vegan or not. The range of flavors and ingredients used are creative and delicious, and provide a lot of inspiration for trying out varieties of foods that you may never have used before. They end up looking great no matter what, so though some recipes take some time, they will be well worth it if you have company you want to impress. There are variations and tips on sauces and dressings if you want to make the same thing in a different way. And there is nutritional information contained for each recipe on calories, fats, proteins, carbohydrates, sodium and fiber for those who are concerned. There is cholesterol information too, although everything has 0 cholesterol anyway. If you like the stuff in this cookbook, you'll probably want to visit the restaurant in San Francisco as well, which is another great experience in itself. And everything is fun to make, at least for me. You'll have to buy it to find out if it's fun for you too. And yes, some recipes take time and more than a few ingredients. But this book shows that there are no sacrifices a vegan has to make with regards to taste. Delicious and healthful vegan cuisine can and does exist. Breaking down the taste stereotype is as important as vegan ethics and health in gaining mainstream acceptance of veganism.
Rating:
Summary: Delicious Gourmet Vegan fare but not for the average cook
Review: The layout of the book was lovely and crisp -- nice photos,roomy margins for notes. The recipes are delicious and since thereare few vegan cookbook collections out there, vegans will LOVE it! For entertaining or more elaborate menus it's a real treat! For the average cook or the average palate -- it's going to be hit or miss. I would not suggest this book to a new vegetarian or a non-vegetarian trying to incoporate a few vegetarian meals a week into their diet. For them I'd point to 1,001 Low-Fat Vegetarian Recipes by Sue Spitler or The McDougall Quick & Easy Cookbook by Mary McDougall, John A., M.D. McDougall Most of the recipes in Millenium rely heavily on fresh, quality ingredients and herbs and spices that will be difficult to find in a "regular" grocery. If they are there, they might not be fresh, because they don't sell as often in a regular store and this will affect the resulting dish. Ingredients that sit on the shelf gathering dust and losing flavor, particularly herbs and spices that these recipes rely on, are NOT going to yield tasty results. While vegans/vegetarians with experience shopping at other places will have no problem, the average person will be a little puzzled as to where to find shiitake, miso, tofu, anise, fennel, nutritional yeast, Rice Dream, etc. The busy person will also not have time to deal with making these recipes -- they require more effort, skill, time. Those with more experience will find the recipes easy to follow, those who work primarly from cans, pre-made mixes, and 5 or less ingredients might find the recipes daunting and they might find cooking gourmet fare from scratch a challenge. While the rewards are delicious, this isn't the cookbook I'd head to on a tiring Monday night after work! The recipes are also generous with 6-8 servings -- in my 2 person family, it's too much food for us. You can expect to have to adjust the numbers if you are a small family. Overall I think it was a wonderful book, and a welcome addition to my collection. I'd still put it towards the "advanced" end of the spectrum though.
Rating:
Summary: Too much work; not enough taste
Review: These recipes are really complicated & time-consuming & the results aren't worth all the effort. I spent the weekend making stuff from this book. On Saturday I made the dessert napoleans with hazelnut filo & caramelized lemon cream & kiwis. The lemon cream is basically sugar, tofu & soymilk & tastes like, well, tofu; the napoleans tasted better without it. On Sunday I made the cabbage & shitake spring rolls with plum sauce. The plum sauce came out tasting like ketchup & the red cabbage stuffing in the spring roles completely overpowered the taste of the shitakes & dyed everything a weird purple color. This is a beautiful-looking book & the recipes certainly sounded intriguing, but the ones I tried turned out to be an over-produced mishmash of flavors that didn't really work together. I'm sure they're good for your karma but they just didn't taste very good to me. I'm going back to traditional Japanese & Mideastern cuisine to find vegan recipes based on long-established combinations of flavors that are healthful & taste good too.
Rating:
Summary: Gourmet vegan - but not for those in a hurry!
Review: This is a wonderful cookbook for the experienced cook. The recipes are complex and use unusual ingredients but it is worth the effort. Most of the recipes are made up of multiple sub recipes but some can be simplified. This is my all time favourite cookbook and I have lots of cookbooks. I learnt many new vegan cooking techniques from this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Self-flagellations of the Vegetarian Orthodox
Review: Vegan or carnivore, people are impressed with and love food prepared from these recipes. Sophisticated and complex, the dishes cover the globe in style. When I first bought this book I became frustrated, being unused to saucing my dishes and not having both blender and food processor. The time consuming procedures and multiplicity of steps were daunting and it sat on my shelf for a year. I went back to it when I started entertaining and, renovation of my kitchen complete, found that I could indeed handle the recipes. Some of the dishes are out of my range either because I don't have the means for smoking food or because in my rural Mid-Atlantic community there is not a farmer's market with the types of produce that San Francisco enjoys. I am, however, all about the culinary philosophy that undergirds this book, and many of the recipes have been fantastic. It is apparent that it was written in a restaurant kitchen but nevertheless it makes for superb holiday or entertaining meals. Big hits have been the Latin-style Torte with Plantains and Tofu, the Filo-Wrapped Spring Rolls, the Hot and Sour Soup (which is Vietnamese in style), and the Pureed Root Vegetables.
| 
