The New Vegetarian Epicure: Menus--with 325 all-new ... (ISBN 0679765883)

Amazon.com Review:
In the 70s, The Vegetarian Epicure set the table for the counterculture. It earnestly introduced a generation of youth to now commonplace ethnic foods like polenta and to the philosophy of good food. Thomas' new book, packed with all new recipes, still resonates with the earnest enthusiasm of an amateur but in the best sense of the word. She is eager to share with readers her love of good food, ethnic flavors and the pleasure of cooking for friends and family. Places like Provence, Italy, Mexico and southern California, where Thomas lives, often provide inspiration for her recipes along with her Polish roots. Sweet illustrations evoke her philosophical and culinary roots.

NOT a vegetarian cookbook!:
Don't be fooled by the title of this cookbook, it's not a vegetarian cookbook at all - unless of course you consider TURKEY to be a vegetable! The author mentions something to the effect of "..... even vegetarians enjoy the turkey ....." It wouldn't bother me if she had said something about "even vegetarians ate the food although it contained cheese or eggs" (that's fine as some vegetarians do eat cheese and eggs) but to say that vegetarians would eat turkey is totally ignorant. I'd suggest the author needs to look up the definition of "vegetarian" before writing a cookbook for vegetarians. This cookbook is just a glorified "mostly vegetable cookbook". It's definitely not suitable for vegetarians of any persuasian. Spend your money on something that's REALLY vegetarian - like "Vegan Planet" by Robin Robertson or "Very Vegetarian" by Jannequin Bennett, or "Passionate Vegetarian" by Crescent Dragonwagon. Note that the first 2 books are vegan and the 3rd book contains eggs and cheese, but easily adaptable if you're vegan. Amazon sells all three books.

Doesn't properly belong with the vegetarian cookbooks:
Unfortunately this book does not live up to the standard set by the original Vegetarian Epicure; the ingredients suggested are sometimes difficult or impossible to obtain without access to specialty food stores, and not inexpensive when they can be found. Prep times are lengthy and sometimes require what appears to be the use of every pot in the house; perhaps Ms. Thomas's target audience has become those familiar from her primary career as a film producer, who can pay someone else to do the washing up? While I commend Ms. Thomas's husband's desire to be accommodating to guests, presumably those accepting an invitation to dinner at the home of someone who has made a reputation by publishing cookbooks aimed at vegetarians would not be expecting to be served turkey? Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone would be a better -- and more accurately marketed -- investment.

NOT A VEGETARIAN BOOK!!!:
Vegetarians DO NOT eat turkeys or eat gelatin. There is a wealth of other great vegetarian cookbooks out there. Don't bother with this one.

BEST COOKBOOK EVER:
This is the cookbook I rely on to deliver the goods - every single time. I return to it over and over again, always with gratifying results. I can't even count the number of times friends have asked me for the recipes from this classic. My all-time favorite.

Challenging, yet worthwhile recipes:
When we lived in rural Ohio, this book received little use...too many of the ingredients were not available. Now that we live in California, I use this book more frequently. Many of the recipes are complicated...the author takes few shortcuts, yet I have never been disappointed with anything I have cooked from this book. Everything is very flavorful. Yes...in the Thanksgiving menu the author includes her husband's turkey recipe, in the spirit of being inclusive at family feasts. While I do not plan on using it, I see no reason to dismiss the book outright because of one recipe out of several hundred.