Recipes: A Collection for the Modern Cook

by Susan Spungen, Martha Stewart (Foreword), María Robledo (Photographer)

Recipes. Cooking all comes down to the recipes -- those ingredient-by-ingredient, technique-by-technique, step-by-step instructions.In Recipes , Susan Spungen , founding food editor and editorial director for food at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia for twelve years, presents her own easy, unfettered ideas for cooking simple food rich with freshness and flavors to share with family and friends.Recipes is organized by technique, explaining why sautéing is great for two or four but when feeding a crowd braising is the better choice. "Prepare" focuses on the basics, from making a vinaigrette to roasting garlic and peppers. "Chop" includes not just salads, but gazpacho and a Provençal sandwich that requires knife skills. "Sauté" explains how to pan-sear fish and make a layered omelet. "Grill" shows proper techniques for cooking scallops, asparagus, and steak over an open fire. "Roast" offers the perfect roast chicken and a roasted squash salad. "Bake" features a variety of pizzas as well as mushrooms baked in parchment paper. "Simmer and Braise" coaxes the most flavors from soups and lamb shanks. Finally, there's "Indulge," a selection of desserts from simple brownies and peach melba to a fruit crisp and a rich chocolate cake.Susan believes that one of the most pleasurable parts of a meal should be the making of it. Recipes encourages home cooks to become confident cooks.

Genres: Cookbooks

288 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2005

Reviews

[Marina · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite recipe books. Recipes are simpler to make than you'd think from the way the plates look on the pics. I.e. not much work = delicious & great looking meals. And yes, I love cook books with lustrous photographs.

[Dona · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do like this cookbook and am re-reading.

[False · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't really care for this book...and yet..I should have. The food was styled beautiful which you would expect from the former Chief Food Stylist for Martha Stewart. I found the recipes to be repetitive (same ingredients) to some degree, and there were very few I copied and saved to try at a later date. My past experience with Martha Stewart is that she doesn't test her recipes properly and they often fail. Unlike say...Ina Garten who gives you "no fail" recipes that actually taste good. So I've got my doubts about these, but...time will tell. Way too much space was given over to things you could find anywhere: vinegarettes, pizza dough, roasted chicken. Given her experience, she should have given us "wow."