Taste of Home Best Loved Recipes: 1485 Favorites from the World's #1 Food & Entertaining Magazine

by Janet Briggs (Editor)

Real recipes from real home cooks—they’re what make Taste of Home one of America’s most popular—and most trusted—names in home cooking. Over the years, we’ve featured tens of thousands of recipes in our magazines and websites. But what makes this book so special is that it features not just great recipes. Not just award-winning recipes. These are our best-loved recipes: The ones that conjure up heavenly aromas, that bring you back to Sunday dinner tables, summer picnics and holiday parties, that call vividly to mind the special cooks who made them. The ones that make you close your eyes, smile and say, “Mmmmm!”They’re all here—cook-off winners and bake-sale favorites, must-have comfort foods and secret family recipes, regional specialties packed with flavor and style. This collection contains 1,485 of the most requested, most beloved dishes, all submitted by Taste of Home readers. Recipes for all occasions are included from Blueberry Cheesecake Flapjacks to Caramel Apple Bread Pudding, mouthwatering main dishes from Creamy Seafood-Stuffed Shells to Chicken with Rosemary Butter Sauce, and delicious dessert recipes from Magnolia Dream Cheesecake to Chocolate Ganache Tarts.Here’s what else is included: ·        Top 100 favorites recipes·        Prep/Cook Times·        Recipe comments from our web community·        Everyday ingredients·        Easy-to-follow directions·        How-to photos·        Cooking tips·        26 chapters·        20 photo sections with 400 full-color photos The most cherished magazine features are included: Mom Made it Best, Our Favorite Contributor’s Meals, Mealtime Express, Cooking for One or Two, Grand-Prize Winners and Potluck Picks. Besides special features, the remaining chapters cover everything from appetizers and beverages to entrees and sides and breads and desserts.  
 Recipe Chapter Titles
AppetizersBeefBeveragesBreadsBreakfast & BrunchCakesCandiesCelebrations & HolidaysCondiments & SaucesCookies & BarsCooking for One or TwoDessertsGrand-Prize WinnersMealtime ExpressMom Made it BestOur Favorite Contributors’ MealPasta, Grains & RicePies & TartsPork & LambPotluck PicksPoultrySaladsSandwiches & PizzaSeafoodSidesSoups

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Nonfiction, Reference

928 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2012

Reviews

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the last few months, I've made 2 to 3 recipes a week from this behemoth of a cookbook. I realize this doesn't even get me to 10% of the included recipes, but I'll do my best with the review as it's time to move on.
This one came to me for free. It was a gift to my mother who never used it, so she passed it on to me. Was I very excited to get such a big, varied cookbook? Of course. Now? Meh. I'll start with the good: Every recipe had clear instructions, accurate time and temp, and accurate serving sizes. I found all the recipes well written. Every recipe I made used easy to find ingredients from standard grocery stores. While I didn't make all 1500+ recipes (HA!), from reading it all and my previous experience with Taste of Home, I can say this is true of every recipe. All recipes were distinctly on brand for the magazine and this compilation cookbook.
I made one recipe from each section and tried to make a variety of appetizers, entrees, sides, and desserts. I did not make any of the drink recipes, as most made huge amounts of punch/non-alcohol drinks for big gatherings. Trying to organize what I made was a little difficult by the book organization. There are the standard categories like "Pies and Cakes" or "Seafood" but there are also specialty categories like "Cooking for 2" or "Mom's Best Meals" which have a bit of everything. I'm not sure there is a great way to truly organize this many recipes, but I'm not sure this was the best (although I get it followed the magazine categories). Only 1 recipe didn't turn out well, the Cinnamon Crackle Cookies. Great flavor but hard as rocks. I tried making them twice, thinking I may have done something wrong, but came out almost inedible both times. Everything else was fine. On a scale from 1 to 10 (1 going in the trash to 10 being amazing), we rated most recipes from 5 to 7. Average, edible, we ate the leftovers without complaint but nothing I would make again without edits. The best was the Sundried Tomato Goat Cheese Tarts from the appetizer section (great flavor and my book club loved them but needed much less breading). It isn't that anything was bad, more like it wasn't to our tastes. We found ourselves, when rating every recipe, discussing all the ways we would make it better rather than enjoying it as is. For example, the mini stuffed potato appetizer (can't remember the exact name) was good. But it would be better baking the potatoes instead of boiling them first to have a crisp potato skin, needed a bit of garlic, an a different, sharper cheese. The Peanut Butter Chewies were easy and turned out fine, but were overwhelming sweet and needed more peanut flavor. The Curried Turkey is a decent use of leftover turkey, but the too mild flavor needed something and would be better served over biscuits or egg noodles instead of the suggested rice. And the list goes on.... I made all recipes as written, but wouldn't a second time.
Could there be a few hidden gems I missed. Absolutely. It would take me years to make all these recipes. From my 2 month experience, though, I don't think this one will be put to heavy use.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

OMG…this book is massive and there are 100's of great recipes. The 4 star rating is because it could use more pictures "with" the recipe and it would have been nice if it was in spiral form. 5 stars for the amount of recipes in one massive book. I love Taste of Home recipes.

[Monica Willyard Moen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite modern cookbooks. There is something delicious here for everyone, regardless of diet preferences or level of expertise in the kitchen. All of the recipes have been taste tested and have nicely standardized instructions to make them easy to prepare.

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite cookbook; all the recipes are excellent

[Patty · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one big cookbook! Taste Of Home Best Loved Recipes has 1,485 recipes between it's covers. The introduction of this cookbook talks about cooking and baking your way through it. That is exactly what you will want to do.

There are 26 chapters filled with recipes from the Taste Of Home magazine. Each chapter has an 8 page picture collage of recipes, which look very appealing. There are obvious chapters like Beef, Cakes, and Soups. But there are also unique chapters like Condiments & Sauces, Cooking For One Or Two, and Sandwiches & Pizzas. The chapters called Mealtime Express, Mom Made It Best, and Our Favorite Contributor's Meals have all the recipes listed by year, starting with 1993, the year the Taste Of Home magazine was first published, and go chronologically to the year 2012. The rest of the chapters have the recipes listed in no particular order. Just like in the magazine, all the recipes in the cookbook have the name of the reader who submitted it, where they live, any comments they shared about it, and the year it was published. Getting to know the reader a little makes it even more interesting to read.

The top 100 reader selected recipes are highlighted. Reader comments from the tasteofhome.com community are shared throughout the cookbook. The recipes in Taste Of Home Best Loved Recipes do not use ingredients that are difficult to find. If they are not already in your pantry, they can easily be found at the grocery store. There are no complicated directions to follow. A beginning cook could make the recipes without any problems. An experienced cook will appreciate the diversity of the recipes. I found more than a handful of recipes that have been family favorites from Taste Of Home for years. Grand-Prize Winners is a chapter that I enjoyed. Like many readers, I have submitted several recipes in their contests hoping to be chosen as the Grand-Prize Winner.

Any cook, beginner or experienced, will enjoy reading Taste Of Home Best Loved Recipes. If you like recipes that have easy to find ingredients, are simple to make, and taste great, this cook book is for you. Check out Taste Of Home Best Loved Recipes and see for yourself.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

If you would like to purchase this cookbook:
From now until September 13th Taste Of Home Best Loved Recipes is only available through the Taste of Home website:
http://www.tasteofhome.com/best-loved...

When you order from the Taste of Home website you'll get an exclusive Taste of Home Baking Guide Free and free shipping.

Come September 13th it will be released to the trade and will be available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and where books are sold.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

taste of home Best Loved Recipes boasts 1,485 favorites and they aren't kidding. The first thing that I noticed about this book was simply its size. I'm used to receiving books in bubble envelopes or flat rate priority mail envelopes. This hardcover cookbook required a medium size priority mail box! At almost five pounds for 928 pages, it doesn't qualify as a light book either. All of these recipes are contained within a very sturdy cover and a red ribbon bookmark is included so you won't loose your recipe while you are cooking.

taste of home Best Loved Recipes is a selection of favorites from the magazine's twenty year history. The recipes have been submitted over the years by folks cooking in their own kitchens then they are evaluated by Taste of Home editors and tested in their kitchens. The recipes included in this book have a comment from the original author and include the year they were published in the magazine showing the evolution of recipes over time.

I love the indexes that are included in this book because some of the main recipe sections are not the most traditional. Yes there are sections for appetizers, beef, beverages, breads, cakes, cookies, poultry, and salads but you also have celebrations, grand-prize winners, mealtime express, and mom made it best. Some of the categories overlap more than I've seen in other cookbooks so I might find a side dish in any number chapters.

There are so many recipes in this book that I didn't even know what section to look at first! As I flipped through each section I saw so many recipes that I want to try. I really like that the recipes include not only the time it takes for a dish to cook but also the required prep time at the top so it can be seen at a glance. This is especially important with a recipe like Glazed Corned Beef which requires nearly 3 hours for one aspect of cooking plus another 25 minutes in the oven to finish it.

There are so many recipes in this book it would be impossible to include pictures for every one. There are several photo inserts throughout the book showcasing a variety of recipes from each section.

With this cookbook in my kitchen along with the taste of home Cooking School Cookbook, I don't think I will need to invest in any other cookbooks for a long time. I now have recipes to cook for years to come and I'm sure we'll find some family favorites in the mix.

I received a copy of this cookbook from FSB Associates for review purposes. This review was originally posted at Library Girl Reads & Reviews.

[Holly (2 Kids and Tired) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a big cookbook and it's bulky. It took several evenings for me to look through the entire thing and mark recipes I wanted to try and there were a lot. One cold evening, however, I remembered a soup recipe I'd seen and I found it easily in the Index. And, like you've come to expect from Taste of Home recipes, I had all the necessary ingredients on hand which was nice.

One thing I have always loved about the Taste of Home magazines is the photos. Nearly every recipe in a magazine will have a photo. Here, there are about 400 photos for 1485 recipes and those photos are bunched together in sections. Not my favorite structure. I prefer photos with the recipes.

The Mealtime Express section is cool, with the whole menu planned by theme: Mexican, Sandwiches, etc. The Index is good and something that will be well used, as it's the quickest way to find a particular recipe and you can search by alphabet or main ingredient or recipe type. There's also an index where you can search by year, but I'm not sure why you would. I also liked that there were suggestions from people who had commented online after preparing some of the recipes.

One of the recipes I've prepared is Mexican Chicken Corn Chowder and it was a hit. You can see the recipe at 2 Kids and Tired Cooks. It will go into our soup rotation.

Overall, this is a cookbook I like. It's one that I know will get a lot of use.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, I'm not as keen on this cookbook as I was on another of Taste of Home's cookbooks - the Cooking School Cookbook.
This cookbook as a zillion recipes - many I would make, too - but the layout isn't as appealing to me. And all the photographs of the dishes are clumped together pages and pages after the recipe appears. I would rather have the photos with the recipe, so I don't have to keep flipping back and forth between the two. Awkward.
But other than that, the cookbook is literally overflowing with recipes. I did like how there were actual reader comments that were included. That gives the recipes a bit of down-to-earth hominess, like your neighbor is recommending the recipe to you.

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Potato Soup


6 bacon strips
3 c. cubed potatoes
1 can (14.5 oz) chicken broth
1 small carrot, grated
1/2 c. onion, chopped
1 tbsp. dried parsley
1/2 tsp. each celery seed, salt and pepper
3 tbsp. flour
1 c. heavy cream
2 c. 2% milk
8-10 oz. Velveeta, cubed

In large saucepan cook bacon, drain. Add potatoes, broth, carrot, onion, parsley, celery, salt and pepper. Cover & simmer until potatoes are tender.

Combine flour & milk until smooth; add to soup. Bring to a boil; boil & stir 2 minutes. Add cheese; stir until melted & soup heated through.

[Stacie Wyatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

http://www.amazon.com/review/R6JJGXBP...

I also read Taste of Home: Best Loved recipes, in exchange for review from netgalley. The book also had simple, easy to read, colorful recipes. I loved the BLT tomatos, potato skins, party bread, and shrimp nachos. The Book provides great recipes for parties, celebrations, and family gatherings.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

This cookbook is a compilation of favorites from the Taste of Home magazines. There are some pictures and the recipes are formatted nicely for quick viewing as you cook.

This would be a great wedding shower gift or housewarming gift.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best cookbooks on my shelf! This book is HUGE and contains a wide variety of recipes and a few menus to aid in meal planning. All recipes seem easy to make. The ones I have tried have all turned out great. I very highly recommend this book.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

http://rannthisthat.blogspot.com/2012...