olive515's review against another edition
5.0
I love this book. Amanda feels like an old, quirky friend from the first page and her commentary on the recipes and contributors is a delight to read- so much so that I can actually sit down and read through this book for serious lengths of time and not come up for air. The recipes are arranged chronologically, with a timeline at the beginning of each section with lines like: 1990s "We get much more excited by risotto" and 2000s "Exhausted with risotto..." The recipes are also intriguing and different from other NYT cookbooks. There is a wide variety to choose from and the first thing I made from it - cabbage and potato gratin with mustard bread crumbs- was fantastic and completely surprised my dinner guests who were expecting it to be bland- HA! Will return to this book again and again when needing inspiration or entertainment.
antidietleah's review against another edition
2.0
Very dense. Very dry. But a bible in the cooking world. Just not very useful for everyday cooking...
kstehel's review against another edition
3.0
This is a good reference book but lacked photographs which is a must to meet my standards.
meganobrien's review against another edition
5.0
Like yes this is a cookbook.....but it is *the* cookbook. Lots of cool history of food included, very witty, and just enjoyable to read as well as obviously use for recipes.
ejdecoster's review against another edition
3.0
A combination of culinary history and recipe treasure trove from the newspaper of record. While a good portion of the recipes were not to my personal taste, I still enjoyed reading about the history of the recipe - where it originated, how it's developed over time, regional variations, etc. I don't know that I'd recommend rushing out to buy this cookbook unless you're serious about experimenting with your cooking, but if you're interested in American culinary history, I think you'd enjoy this one.
mcurry1010's review against another edition
4.0
Here is a cookbook that is great fun to read and a wonderful source for a wide variety of recipes. The recipes are arranged chronologically so you can browse to see what was being cooked/eaten since the mid 1800s. I particularly enjoyed the vignettes that accompany many of the recipes.
megfang315's review
3.0
Great book that sheds light on American food history. It is a bit overwhelming, however, and is reminiscent of a dictionary. I'm not too fond of how the recipes are categorized in the beginning of each section (I'd rather have it by what order the recipes show up in the book), but I think that's me being persnickety.
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