What do you think?
Rate this book
The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook
Ten years ago, Martha Stewart made cooking a primary focus of her bold new magazine, Martha Stewart Living . Over the decade, each issue has been a treasure of culinary information and inspiration, bringing the pleasures of cooking and entertaining--in impeccable style--to millions of devoted readers, from novice cooks to professional caterers.
At last all of Martha's favorite magazine recipes have been gathered in a single volume. The Martha Stewart Cookbook is a compendium of the best of the best from the food pages of every issue. But more than a mere collection, this specially designed volume is a major step in Martha's mission to keep home cooking traditions alive. The Martha Stewart Cookbook is filled with recipes--1200 in all--for every kind of cook and every occasion. Some recipes invite you to stretch your cooking knowledge and expertise while others provide inspiration--and instruction--for what to have for dinner.
Organized, in trademark style, for maximum practicality and ease of use, this major general-purpose cookbook features nineteen classically arranged chapters, from Basics, Breakfast, and Hors to Meat, Poultry, Fish and Shellfish and Desserts. In between there are Salads, Soups, Vegetables and whole chapters devoted to Vegetarian Main Courses and Potatoes. Throughout, there are basic classes--cooking 101s--for making food that should be in every cook's macaroni and cheese, omelets, roast turkey, fried chicken and mashed potatoes. Specialty dishes are here, too, whether the occasion calls for a casual cocktail party, dinner with the in-laws, or a sit down luncheon for a bride-to-be. Cooking tips and techniques, pantry and equipment glossaries plus a guide to finding unusual ingredients make the kitchen tested recipes accessible to home cooks everywhere. An ideal reference, The Martha Stewart Cookbook belongs on every kitchen counter in America.
Martha Stewart is the author of thirteen best-selling original books on food, entertaining, gardening, and home restoration, is the chairman and chief executive officer of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia . She lives in Connecticut, Maine, and on Long Island.
At last all of Martha's favorite magazine recipes have been gathered in a single volume. The Martha Stewart Cookbook is a compendium of the best of the best from the food pages of every issue. But more than a mere collection, this specially designed volume is a major step in Martha's mission to keep home cooking traditions alive. The Martha Stewart Cookbook is filled with recipes--1200 in all--for every kind of cook and every occasion. Some recipes invite you to stretch your cooking knowledge and expertise while others provide inspiration--and instruction--for what to have for dinner.
Organized, in trademark style, for maximum practicality and ease of use, this major general-purpose cookbook features nineteen classically arranged chapters, from Basics, Breakfast, and Hors to Meat, Poultry, Fish and Shellfish and Desserts. In between there are Salads, Soups, Vegetables and whole chapters devoted to Vegetarian Main Courses and Potatoes. Throughout, there are basic classes--cooking 101s--for making food that should be in every cook's macaroni and cheese, omelets, roast turkey, fried chicken and mashed potatoes. Specialty dishes are here, too, whether the occasion calls for a casual cocktail party, dinner with the in-laws, or a sit down luncheon for a bride-to-be. Cooking tips and techniques, pantry and equipment glossaries plus a guide to finding unusual ingredients make the kitchen tested recipes accessible to home cooks everywhere. An ideal reference, The Martha Stewart Cookbook belongs on every kitchen counter in America.
Martha Stewart is the author of thirteen best-selling original books on food, entertaining, gardening, and home restoration, is the chairman and chief executive officer of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia . She lives in Connecticut, Maine, and on Long Island.
640 pages, Hardcover
First published October 10, 2000
57 people are currently reading
1540 people want to read
About the author
Martha Stewart
456 books572 followersMartha Helen Stewart is an American retail businesswoman, writer, and television personality. As the founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, focusing on home and hospitality, she gained success through a variety of business ventures, encompassing publishing, broadcasting, merchandising and e-commerce. She has written numerous bestselling books, was the publisher of Martha Stewart Living magazine and hosted two syndicated television programs: Martha Stewart Living, which ran from 1993 to 2004, and The Martha Stewart Show, which ran from 2005 to 2012.
In 2004, Stewart was convicted of felony charges related to the ImClone stock trading case; she served five months in federal prison for fraud and was released in March 2005. There was speculation that the incident would effectively end her media empire, but in 2005 Stewart began a comeback campaign and her company returned to profitability in 2006. Stewart rejoined the board of directors of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia in 2011 and became chairwoman of her namesake company again in 2012. The company was acquired by Sequential Brands in 2015. Sequential Brands Group agreed in April 2019 to sell Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, including the Emeril brand, to Marquee Brands for $175 million with benchmarked additional payments.
In 2004, Stewart was convicted of felony charges related to the ImClone stock trading case; she served five months in federal prison for fraud and was released in March 2005. There was speculation that the incident would effectively end her media empire, but in 2005 Stewart began a comeback campaign and her company returned to profitability in 2006. Stewart rejoined the board of directors of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia in 2011 and became chairwoman of her namesake company again in 2012. The company was acquired by Sequential Brands in 2015. Sequential Brands Group agreed in April 2019 to sell Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, including the Emeril brand, to Marquee Brands for $175 million with benchmarked additional payments.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
July 4, 2018
I don’t see myself pulling this book off my shelf on a regular basis; however, I wouldn’t consider my cookbook collection complete without it. I know it kind of sounds like I’m contradicting myself but I will try to explain.
This book has an enormous amount of information it. Kitchen tools, pantry items, cooking techniques, etc., are all described in great detail. In fact, you don’t even encounter an actual recipe until page 66. It’s nice to have this reference available for basically any question I might encounter in regards to cooking.
Now as far as the recipes are concerned: Everything I’ve tried so far has been delicious. There are a LOT of recipes so there is no worry about not being able to find anything. Nothing crazy or different— I would describe these dishes as your standard or staple recipes that most people want to know how to cook at some point in their lives. A vegetarian section is also included.
The recipes are very involved. If you’re like me, you will perceive this as having more options when preparing food. For example in her first recipe of the book, deviled eggs, Martha doesn’t want you to use store bought mayonnaise. She wants you to flip to a different page to follow the “homemade mayonnaise” recipe first. Then you will be all set to go back and follow that deviled egg recipe with the homemade mayonnaise. It is my experience that the more homemade ingredients involved, the more delicious the food. Of course, the average person doesn’t have the time or energy to put into preparing lengthy involved recipes all the time. I think it’s great fun, I just can’t always do it. So I really like the option this book gives me to choose a recipe and make a meal completely from scratch, halfway from scratch, or hardly at all from scratch depending on my mood and especially depending on my time and energy of the current day.
The only drawback is that there are very limited pictures. Some of the recipes have small informative black and white photos to illustrate steps in the process but as far as appetizing color photos of the finished product, very few.
This book has an enormous amount of information it. Kitchen tools, pantry items, cooking techniques, etc., are all described in great detail. In fact, you don’t even encounter an actual recipe until page 66. It’s nice to have this reference available for basically any question I might encounter in regards to cooking.
Now as far as the recipes are concerned: Everything I’ve tried so far has been delicious. There are a LOT of recipes so there is no worry about not being able to find anything. Nothing crazy or different— I would describe these dishes as your standard or staple recipes that most people want to know how to cook at some point in their lives. A vegetarian section is also included.
The recipes are very involved. If you’re like me, you will perceive this as having more options when preparing food. For example in her first recipe of the book, deviled eggs, Martha doesn’t want you to use store bought mayonnaise. She wants you to flip to a different page to follow the “homemade mayonnaise” recipe first. Then you will be all set to go back and follow that deviled egg recipe with the homemade mayonnaise. It is my experience that the more homemade ingredients involved, the more delicious the food. Of course, the average person doesn’t have the time or energy to put into preparing lengthy involved recipes all the time. I think it’s great fun, I just can’t always do it. So I really like the option this book gives me to choose a recipe and make a meal completely from scratch, halfway from scratch, or hardly at all from scratch depending on my mood and especially depending on my time and energy of the current day.
The only drawback is that there are very limited pictures. Some of the recipes have small informative black and white photos to illustrate steps in the process but as far as appetizing color photos of the finished product, very few.
January 1, 2016
This a good book by Martha Stewart, is a recollection of all her most famous recipes, isn't a book with tons of pictures, so if you are looking at that you won't find it. Love the classic recipes. Can't wait to try them!
December 3, 2015
I'm more generous with cookbook ratings than with the typical fiction novel. If even half of the recipes in a given book are amazing, it's getting five stars from me. But this one: this is something special. I found it at DI last week and have made something almost every day from it. It is a collection of the best/favorite 1,200 recipes from 1990-2000 from the Martha Stewart Living Magazine that decade.
Martha has the last word on baking. She just does. She combines techniques right into the recipe instructions so you know exactly what to do and how to get an incredible finished dish. Everything I've made so far is in the baking category---desserts, breakfasts, breads, etc., but I've tabbed several dozen other dishes--main courses, salads, homemade dressings, and meat dishes--that I am confident will turn out great.
Martha has the last word on baking. She just does. She combines techniques right into the recipe instructions so you know exactly what to do and how to get an incredible finished dish. Everything I've made so far is in the baking category---desserts, breakfasts, breads, etc., but I've tabbed several dozen other dishes--main courses, salads, homemade dressings, and meat dishes--that I am confident will turn out great.
October 28, 2017
Along with Bittman's book, this is my go-to reference for foundation recipes and techniques.
I picked up the set (this volume, plus the blue-covered Vol. 2) secondhand at The Strand ages ago. I paid something like $12 apiece, and they've since proven themselves invaluable. Say what you will about her morals or her personality, Martha Stewart knows how to cook and she ran a tight ship at MSL. I'm sure their test kitchens rivaled DuPont's labs for method and precision. And while my own cooking style might generously be labeled "freestyle," I appreciate that level of attention to detail.
The very thorough and descriptive indexes are a large part of the reason these books make such excellent reference sources. If you have both, use the index in the second volume; it cross-references all of the recipes in the first.
No pictures, though, so not great for inspiration browsing.
I picked up the set (this volume, plus the blue-covered Vol. 2) secondhand at The Strand ages ago. I paid something like $12 apiece, and they've since proven themselves invaluable. Say what you will about her morals or her personality, Martha Stewart knows how to cook and she ran a tight ship at MSL. I'm sure their test kitchens rivaled DuPont's labs for method and precision. And while my own cooking style might generously be labeled "freestyle," I appreciate that level of attention to detail.
The very thorough and descriptive indexes are a large part of the reason these books make such excellent reference sources. If you have both, use the index in the second volume; it cross-references all of the recipes in the first.
No pictures, though, so not great for inspiration browsing.
January 29, 2009
OK, so here's the thing. I'm a little embarrassed, but I love these survey-size Martha cookbooks. There are lots of recipes that don't involve cans of limp vegetables, ground beef, or the perennial cream of mushroom soup. If you cull appropriately, there are good, simple recipes that use a variety of spice-sets, and a variety of veggies and fruits. When you have beets or kholrabi (sp?) in your CSA box and no idea what to do....you can call Martha. There are also basics that you're too embarrassed to ask about (can't remember how to boil eggs or pop popcorn? Ask Martha.) The only cookbook I've liked better recently is my 1940 good housekeeping cookbook, which has many of the same virtues, but a lot more gravy.
April 30, 2008
I bought this just to have an up-to-date reference sort of cookbook, considering that I only had my grandma's Betty Crocker binder before this came into my kitchen, plus the internet. I trust Martha and her minions.
December 25, 2024
🖍️Here are Martha Stewart's "classic" recipes. A few were good, most are pretentious, and I donated my copy, so I hope someone else found it more useful than I did.
📖 Book version.
📖 Book version.
July 16, 2019
Along with Bittman's book, this is my go-to reference for foundation recipes and techniques.
I picked up the set (this volume, plus the blue-covered Vol. 2) secondhand at The Strand ages ago. I paid something like $12 apiece, and they've since proven themselves invaluable. Say what you will about her morals or her personality, Martha Stewart knows how to cook and she ran a tight ship at MSL. I'm sure their test kitchens rivaled DuPont's labs for method and precision. And while my own cooking style might generously be labeled "freestyle," I appreciate that level of attention to detail.
The very thorough and descriptive indexes are a large part of the reason these books make such excellent reference sources. If you have both, use the index in the second volume; it cross-references all of the recipes in the first.
No pictures, though, so not great for inspiration browsing
I picked up the set (this volume, plus the blue-covered Vol. 2) secondhand at The Strand ages ago. I paid something like $12 apiece, and they've since proven themselves invaluable. Say what you will about her morals or her personality, Martha Stewart knows how to cook and she ran a tight ship at MSL. I'm sure their test kitchens rivaled DuPont's labs for method and precision. And while my own cooking style might generously be labeled "freestyle," I appreciate that level of attention to detail.
The very thorough and descriptive indexes are a large part of the reason these books make such excellent reference sources. If you have both, use the index in the second volume; it cross-references all of the recipes in the first.
No pictures, though, so not great for inspiration browsing
November 11, 2018
Not sure if it counts as reading from cover to cover, but I have gone through every page in this book and earmarked the recipes that I want to try/really love. :-)
November 25, 2018
Found some very good recipes in here. Not pictures with all recipes though. I liked the desserts.
December 27, 2024
I worship this woman (minus the insider trading)
November 24, 2011
2000, 2007
I do know how to cook, but I find basic American food to be too high in fat, salt, sugars and basically things that are bad for you. I also think a lot of it is pretty flat and tasteless. ( I love ethnic foods best) This book is pretty much European in flavor and technique, but I do have to watch the salt and fat content of the recipes. I do consider it a GO TO BOOK for basic cooking, if I am stumped for what to bring to a gathering or party this and the sister book NEW CLASSICS are the books I read. I reference it a lot. I consider it a great book to give to a new bride.
Yes I am using it for my THANKSGIVING TURKEY.
Nonnie,
http://nonniequiltingdreams.wordpress...
Nonnie's Quilting Dreams - Blog
http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/...
GOOD READS
http://nonniesquiltingdreams.podbean....
Nonnie's Quilting Dreams- Podcast
.
.
I do know how to cook, but I find basic American food to be too high in fat, salt, sugars and basically things that are bad for you. I also think a lot of it is pretty flat and tasteless. ( I love ethnic foods best) This book is pretty much European in flavor and technique, but I do have to watch the salt and fat content of the recipes. I do consider it a GO TO BOOK for basic cooking, if I am stumped for what to bring to a gathering or party this and the sister book NEW CLASSICS are the books I read. I reference it a lot. I consider it a great book to give to a new bride.
Yes I am using it for my THANKSGIVING TURKEY.
Nonnie,
http://nonniequiltingdreams.wordpress...
Nonnie's Quilting Dreams - Blog
http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/...
GOOD READS
http://nonniesquiltingdreams.podbean....
Nonnie's Quilting Dreams- Podcast
.
.
July 29, 2011
This is not as good as the New Classics cookbook that is the companion to this one--the indexes are cross-referenced (another organizational touch that is nice). The recipes here are a little more traditional and a little heavier. This book is also available on ebook, and right now one of the few, so nice that it is well done
August 13, 2007
This is the essential Martha cookbook. a great reference if you are cooking your first roast, soufle, anything that may intimidate.
December 24, 2007
Simple, plan, complete!
This is vol. 1 of 2
This is vol. 1 of 2
January 11, 2008
Lots of good recipes. Some are pretty demanding, but still lots of good stuff.
May 12, 2008
If you like her magazine, you will like her books. Very detailed. This book has an autographed bookplate and autographed picture of Martha Stewart.
May 12, 2008
If you like her magazine, you will like her books. Very detailed.
February 12, 2009
purchased at jellys in honolulu. lots more basic instructions to build up to fancy dancy cookery. our spanikopita came out like a dream and martha helped!!
May 8, 2009
the mac and cheese is AMAZING you guys. on the real, one of my favorite things to make, eat and serve.
Read
June 27, 2012Great all around cook book!
April 30, 2013
The first edition from 2000 was good; in fact, I use it a lot. But after looking through this edition, I returned it. Some of the best basic recipes were not in it.
November 6, 2016
Typical Martha but her techniques are usually flawless. Some interesting recipes. The technique for perfect hard-boiled eggs on p 63 works every time.
Want to read
December 12, 2014Martha Stewart is a beautiful cook. Her food is always delicious and reminds me of home. Some recipes difficult to acquire the ingredients however overall a good cook book
June 8, 2015
For north American cooks this is a comprehensive guide to cooking. But alas I don't live in the Northern Hemisphere.....
February 24, 2008
You can hate her if you want to, but I love this cookbook.
April 18, 2011
Martha Quality, but nothing that stands out as spectacular.
December 15, 2012
Not really how we eat, but the wine and black pepper poached pears are great!
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews