Moosewood Restaurant Celebrates : Festive Meals for Holidays and Special Occasions

Rating:
Summary: not a vegetarian cookbook as advertised
Review: i bought this with the assumption that i am buying a vegetarian cookbook, at least that's what the category on the back cover advertised. you can imagine my disappointment when i saw all the fish, shrimp, crab etc. recipes. if you're looking for vegetarian cooking, skip this one. (i presonally recommend mollie katzen's books or the voluptuous vegan by myra kornfeld.)
it would indeed be a special occasion the day i include fish in a vegetarian meal.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Cookbook for Entertaining
Review: I love this cookbook. I have made three recipes from it: the lemon-basil deviled eggs, the grapes with gorgonzola, and the jazzed-up cranberry sauce. They were all spectacular. I made the cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving, and it was so good I sat there and ate it with a spoon right out of the bowl - it had such a tangy and unique flavor. I made the deviled eggs and grapes with gorgonzola (I used blue cheese) recently for a party and they were both well-received. In fact, people went ga-ga over the grapes. All three recipes are very easy to make, can be made in advance, and have no hard-to-find ingredients. Easy and unique recipes that produce results fit for company - this is my kind of cookbook! It's also one of those cookbooks that's fun to just sit down and read.

Rating:
Summary: It's not the best Moosewood cookbook, but it's okay...
Review: My biggest complaint: Lots and lots of seafood recipes. Since when did fish and shellfish become part of a vegetarian diet?

Rating:
Summary: Get over it
Review: The Moosewood Collective does not purport itself to be a fully vegetarian enterprise. Anyone who has actually visited the restaurant (or even just the website) would know that. Their purpose is to provide healthy, diverse, organic-when-possible, colorful menus. It is their prerogative to offer seafood items just as it is the prerogative of each individual to *eat* seafood items if they desire. You'll note that none of the Moosewood Collective's fine cookbooks advertise themselves as being vegetarian. The fact that some people assume them to be something they are not is not the fault of the Collective. If the sight of a seafood recipe offends you, don't buy any of the Moosewood books-- however, if you eschew beef, pork and chicken and want to experience some delightful and fresh recipes, get them all and enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: A Heartwarming Cookbook
Review: What a great idea for a cookbook - food as the symbol of celebration and tradition. Want to plan a vegetarian or vegan Thanksgiving spread? You're in the right book. Even if you are not cooking, the book is a pleasure to read and browse through because it explains the origins of vaious holidays and the foods that are made to celebrate them. The recipes are organized by season and by holiday (multi-cultural holidays such as Hannukah, Ramadan, and Christmas, as well as Fourth of July and Father's Day BBQ). There are tasteful illustrations and helpful hints about how to plan a meal so that everything arrives hot at the table. My only qualm is that many of recipes look as if they might take a long time to make; although there is an index for 30-minutes-or-less cooking.