LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this one!! Even people who can't cook, can use this one!! It has EVERYTHING in it, including which knife is which, to definitions of directions, to how to store food, etc. Fantastic!!
This actually isn't a review of the cookbook, though I'm sure it's a good one. I love the Taste of Home family of magazines and just discovered our library has them. I'm going to use this entry to keep track of the ones I've read (and subscribed to) so far. If you enjoy cooking and trying new recipes, you need to read these magazines - great resource.
Healthy Cooking (previously was Light & Tasty) April 2008 - May 2009
Light & Tasty (was renamed to Healthy Cooking) Feb/Mar 2007 June 2007 - Jan 2008
Simple & Delicious Jan - April 2007 July - Oct 2007 Feb - April 2008
I decided to put cookbooks on my list because I think it's one of the harder things to get recommendations for - plus, I love to cook - so would encourage my other friends to do the same.
Taste of Home is actually a magazine where readers send in their recipes, which are then judged, and the best ones are printed up and shipped out. The cookbook is a collection of both the basic recipes everyone needs (i.e. hard-boiled egg, mashed potatoes, etc.) and then the super delicious home-formulated recipes from the magazine. There is a section of the book called "Light and Tasty", which I believe is from the low-cal version of the Taste of Home magazine called "Light and Tasty" but it's only a small section compared to the rest of the book. This is GREAT for entertaining and contains the best recipe for cranberry scones I've ever used. I also like that the recipes are organized by ingredient, alphabetically (i.e. in the vegetable section, recipes featuring brussel sprouts are before recipes featuring carrots). HIGHLY recommended for hard-core cookers who like to impress people with their culinary skills. A lot of the recipes are also fairly easy to make and there aren't many with too exotic ingredients.
This is one of the best cookbooks I have ever read......I will try at least a dozen of the recipes in this book....some of the deserts are over the top fattening with over 500 calories per serving......so of course I will need to pass them up....but some(even main course) are lighted up and look and sound great. Clear concise directions with many photos. Includes calorie, fat, sugar etc counts.