[.ca] The Martha Stewart Cookbook: Collected Recipes for Every Day (ISBN 0517703351)

From Amazon.com:
With more than 1,600 recipes, there's something for every palate in this handsomely-designed and sturdy cookbook by the author of 11 best-selling books on cooking, entertaining, gardening and home improvement.

The Martha Stewart Cookbook: Collected Recipes for Every Day:
This is best cookbook!!! The recipes are easy and taste great. I love that most of the ingredients needed, I ususally have in my pantry.

A Staple for Every Kitchen:
I cook many times a week, sometimes everyday. Whenever I need a solid, tested and correct recipe, I definitely turn to this cookbook. I am also a collector of cookbooks and believe me this is one you need on your shelf. I have tried basic and complicated items and all have been wonderful. If you need pictures this is not the cookbook for you.

Caveat Emptor:
I am an amateur pastry chef and enjoy making all sorts of desserts from cookies to my Croatian grandmother's strudel--the dough stretches the length of my table! I bought this book through a remainder house (which sells off overstocks) because it contained some recipes that I hadn't come across before. I've given it two stars because it's beautifully designed and somewhat inspiring--though the pantry recommendations are crazy for anyone with a reasonable budget. Let's face it, vanilla beans are too expensive. I was sadly disappointed in the creme fraiche recipe. My husband is British and I was looking forward to pleasing him with this condiment that is unavailable in American stores. But it never thickened as Martha promises. (It was disgusting, actually!) I thought this was just a one-off faulty recipe, but then I made her Chocolate Architecture Pie for a party. I should have known better than to try an untested Martha Stewart recipe before a party. Superficially her description is seductive (as are most of her descriptions, and even herself), but the recipe is insane. The laws of physics dictate that you cannot fold 7 beaten egg whites into 24 ounces of melted chocolate mixed with 5 egg yolks. It's like trying to fold satin into brick. I had to leaven the filling with 8 oz. of whipped cream. It tasted good in the end (in fact, some of my male guests called it "orgasmic"), but it was a modified version, and it was not "architectural." Simply, it was not what Martha promised--which, I gather from press I've read about her, is characteristic of Martha. She promises a lot but delivers only superficially, and then blames you for getting it wrong. If you're a reader of fine cookery books, you will comprehend that she's not devoted to cooking, she's devoted to her own image. Really retrograde for women, in my opinion. If you want to bake good pastries, for example, try an author who's truly dedicated to good food, provides dependable recipes, and gives liberal credit to those who have inspired him and given him recipes, such as Bernard Clayton's The Complete Book of Pastry.

Awesome!!!!!!!:
I use this book almost exclusively....despite Martha's latest shinanagins. I call it the "Bible". I rely on this cookbook! Please do not buy anything else. She makes every recipe simple and small, easy to follow. This cookbook makes the amateur into a pro!!!!!!!!

A Great All-Purpose Cookbook:
If you love to cook, you should own at least one of Martha's big cookbooks. This volume has something for absolutely everyone.