Completed Books

April 16-June 16: Around My French Table by Dorie GreenspanIt's a keeper! I adore this cookbook. Go buy it. Now.
Completed recipes:91
Loved it:26
Liked it:41
Indifferent/Just Okay:14
Disliked:7
Hated it: 3



June 6-June 16: The America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook
Tossed. The decent recipes were freebies (cookies, smoothies, etc). Entrees were bland, at best, and inedible, at worst. Compared to recipes in other cookbooks, the nutrition stats of these recipes aren't impressive, and they taste a whole lot worse.
Completed recipes: 11
Loved it: 2                 Disliked: 0
Liked it: 3                  Hated it: 2
Just Okay: 4


June 16-July 16: Giada at Home: Family Recipes from Italy and California
It's a keeper! Nothing mind-blowing, but these are good, easy recipes. Perfect for a college grad with few pans, because they rely heavily on a grill pan.
Completed recipes: 24
Loved it: 6
Liked it: 11
Just Okay: 4
Disliked: 2
Hated it: 1
 
July 27-August 16: The Best International Recipe
Tossed. Results are okay, but unmemorable and flat. I doubt that anyone who loves a certain international dish would taste this version and say, "Oooh, that's the BEST!" I'd only make 2 out of 18 dishes again, so I'm getting rid of the book.
Completed recipes: 18
Loved it: 1
Liked it: 10
Just Okay: 5
Disliked: 1
Hated it: 1

August 16-August 26: So Easy: Luscious, Healthy Recipes for Every Meal of the Week
Tossed. So Easy is so boring.
Completed recipes: 14
Loved it: 2
Liked it: 3
Just Okay: 6
Disliked: 1
Hated it: 2
Charlie Approved: 3

 August 30-September 21: Hawai'i Cuisine
It's a keeper. This book has some technical difficulties, but there are some really delicious recipes in here.
Completed recipes: 14
Loved it: 4
Liked it: 5
Just Okay: 3
Disliked: 1
Hated it: 1
Charlie Approved: 1
 
 September 22-October 14: 365: No Repeats
Tossed. Awful layout. Mediocre meals.
Completed recipes: 10
Loved it: 1
Liked it: 2
Just Okay: 5
Disliked: 0
Hated it: 2
Charlie Approved: 0

 October 14-November 14: The Family Meal
For me, it's a keeper. The meals were reliably good and easy to make. Too many recipes use cuts or types of meat/fish/spices that I don't have access to. Look through this one carefully before buying, lest you be disappointed.
Completed recipes: 17
Loved it: 5
Liked it: 8
Just Okay: 4
Disliked: 0
Hated it: 0
Charlie Approved: 3


 November 15-December 15: Perfect Vegetables
It's a keeper! Lots of unique recipes with many variations for any vegetable you can think of.
Completed recipes: 21
Loved it: 6
Liked it: 5
Just Okay: 6
Disliked: 1
Hated it:3
Charlie Approved: 2

 December 16-January 16: The Food You Crave
 It's a keeper! Healthy food that tastes good. Sold!
Completed recipes: 26
Loved it: 6
Liked it: 11
Just Okay: 6
Disliked: 2
Hated it: 1
Charlie Approved: 6

Ready for Dessert by David Lebovitz
It's a keeper! I couldn't be a bigger fan of this book. The stats speak for themselves. Unique flavor combinations using fine ingredients. If you love to bake, buy this book. 
Completed recipes: 29
Loved it: 11
Liked it: 14
Just Okay: 3
Disliked: 0
Hated it: 1

 January 16-February 16: How to Eat by Nigella Lawson
It's a keeper! The recipes just work, dude. 
Completed recipes: 21
Loved it: 10
Liked it: 6
Just Okay: 4
Disliked: 1
Hated it: 0
Charlie Approved: 2


 Indian Cooking by Madhur Jaffrey
It's a keeper! This book demystified Indian cooking for me. It's slow food, but it's not hard, once you have all the spices. I continue to use this book regularly, any time I need an Indian fix.
Completed Recipes: 17
Loved it: 7
Liked it: 7
Just Okay: 2
Disliked: 1
Hated it: 0


Baking with Julia by Julia Child and Dorie Greenspan
Tossed it. This book is being baked through by the Tuesdays with Dorie cookbook club. Everyone else seems to have fantastic results. Barely anything worked for me. I don't mind spending a lot of time and ingredients on a recipe when I have delicious food at the end of it, but that was not usually the case here. I did make a few more recipes than are counted here, b/c I hadn't blogged about them.
Completed Recipes: 7
Loved it:
Liked it: 2
Just Okay:
Disliked: 3
Hated it:2

Nigella Kitchen by Nigella Lawson
Keep! Keep! Keep! By far, one of my most-used books, and one of the few books that I seem to cook the same recipes from over and over and return to to try new recipes. Reliable, easy, and delicious. Nigella has my heart forever.
Completed Recipes: 13 (though that's not an accurate showing. I cooked an additional 30 recipes from this book during my blogging hiatus.)
Loved it: 3
Liked it: 5
Just Okay: 2
Disliked: 2
Hated it: 1

Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook
It's a keeper. I've made the Beef & Bean Chili and the Oven Fries several times. The recipes aren't mind-blowing, but it's good to have on hand for decent healthy recipes that use a lot of vegetables. I was expecting worse results, so liking the recipes as much as I did was a nice surprise.
Completed Recipes: 19
Loved it: 2
Liked it: 5
Just Okay: 8
Disliked: 2
Hated it: 2

 Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi
It's a conflicted keeper. What's good was GREAT, and what was bad was totally disgusting. Unreliable recipes, way too much salt and harissa paste. I just don't think Ottolenghi and I share the same taste in food. Still, there are many dishes I want to try.
Completed recipes: 14
Loved it: 3
Liked it: 3
Just Okay: 3
Disliked: 4
Hated it: 1

 Meatless, by Martha Stewart
It's a keeper, but not a must-buy. Some nice ways to prepare veg differently than you may normally, but there were a lot of duds.
Completed recipes: 18
Loved it: 2
Liked it: 8
Just Okay: 4
Disliked: 1
Hated it: 3


 Rome, by Williams-Sonoma
A hesitant keeper. Only buy if you're really interested in beautiful photos of Rome and info about how and what Romans eat. 192 pages, only 50 recipes, some uninteresting. I did find at least 4 new family favorites, though.
Completed Recipes: 13
Loved it: 3
Liked it: 4
Just Okay: 5
Disliked: 0
Hated it: 1

 The Epicurious Cookbook, by Tanya Steel & The Editors of Epicurious
It's a keeper! Lots of options, lots of styles of cooking and types of food. The vast majority of recipes I tried turned out well, and I'm still not tired of the book after 18 recipes.
Completed Recipes: 18
Loved it: 4
Liked it: 9
Just Okay: 4
Disliked: 1
Hated it: 0

 Feast, by Nigella Lawson. Keeping it, but with reservations. A few good meals, but lots of unreliable ones. I wouldn't run out and buy it if I were you.
Completed Recipes: 16
Loved It: 7
Liked It: 4
Just Okay: 0
Disliked: 4
Hated it: 1

  
 
My Calabria, by Rosetta Constantino. A KEEPER. This book is rock-solid. Beautiful to read, and the recipes are precise and delicious. The eggplant meatballs are worth the price of the book.
Completed Recipes: 13
Loved it: 6
Liked it: 5
Just Okay: 1
Disliked: 0
Hated It: 1

 The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays, by Ree Drummond. A keeper. The recipes aren't revolutionary, but they are cozy, comfortable food, and overwhelmingly turned out well.
Completed Recipes: 17

Loved it: 7
Liked it: 8
Just Okay: 0
Disliked: 1
Hated it: 1


The Food52 Cookbook, by Amanda Hesser & Merrill Stubbs. A keeper.
Completed Recipes: 13

Loved it: 3
Liked it: 6
Just Okay: 1
Disliked: 1
Hated it: 2



Nom Nom Paleo
by Michelle Tam
Completed Recipes: 12

Loved it: 0
Liked it: 5
Just Okay: 3
Disliked: 3
Hated it:1