Editorial Reviews:
Book Description
More than 650,000 copies later, this big, visually appetizing cookbook remains a home chef's favorite. More than 5,000 exciting photographs and 1,400 recipes cover every meal, from lunchtime sandwiches to lavish dinners. And, all the dishes--appetizers, soups, omelettes, pastas, meat and poultry entrees, breads, sauces, desserts--have been triple-tested by Good Housekeeping for infallibility, ease, good taste and value. Includes loads of techniques, time-saving tips, and complete menus for entertaining.
Customer Reviews:
Review #1: Great Basic Cookbook
2007-01-26 
This is a terrific cookbook for both the beginner and more experienced cook. There is a photo of every recipe and beautilful illustrations throughout the book. Some of my family's favorite recipes have come from this book and Good Housekeeping is a name you can always count on for quality.
Review #2: Disappointed
2007-01-10 
Many years ago I received a Good Housekeeping Cookbook as a gift. It was practically my bible for cooking. In the interim I lost it, so decided to get a new Good Housekeeping book. Big Mistake! Very few recipes, and the ones in the book were uninteresting.
Review #3: Worst cookbook in my kitchen
2006-12-07 
I've had this cookbook for years. I don't turn to it. I don't trust it. This cookbook has no credibility. At best, the recipes are pretty bland and boring. But usually, they're fatally flawed.
This book is not for someone who wants to learn how to cook. It's got all the sections you'd hope to see... some on equipment, some on technique. But those sections are sparse. They'll show you a bunch of knives, but not tell you what knives work well in what situations, or what knives you need. The cookbook has pictures of every dish, but the pictures are low quality and have bad color so you can't really trust the pictures.
But it's the recipes that are the real downfall. It talks about bullion cubes or cooking wine without explaining that they are convenient, but not good when you have time and want flavor. It gives that standard cooking temps for food, but doesn't mention you need to pull the food off the heat early or the food will be overcooked until the very end of the book in the microwave section. Recipes will say "cook until done" without ever explaining how you should be checking how fried eggs, for example, are cooking.
With this cookbook, you won't learn the best ways to cook eggs. You won't learn what "divan" means, even though there are a bunch of recipes divan here. It'll show you what different herbs and spices look like, but won't do well at helping you learn what goes well when. If you make all the recipes, take notes, and remember what didn't work, you'll learn a lot, but you'll have alot of poor recipes in the process.
Cookwise will teach you more about the fundamentals of cooking. William's Sonoma books have better pictures and better recipes. The Cook's Bible and Cook's Illustrated will teach you more about recipe variations and how to find recipes which work reliably. Saveur will give you better traditional food from across the globe.
This book will help you prop up a chair with a short leg. Beyond that, it's not worth much.
Review #4: My whole family envies my cookbook!
2006-12-05
I managed to find this cookbook for a few dollars at a book fair. What an incredible find it was. Every single recipe has a full-color illustration, which is very important to me so I can compare my finished product and see if I did it right! There are recipes that will suit everyone, from very simple to challenging. It's really a fantastic book, and everything I've made using it has turned out incredibly delicious.
Review #5: if you must have one cookbook...
2006-06-01
i bought mine in 1994 and have had a few cookbooks to include Betty Crocker and Better Homes and Gardens, but ALWAYS come back to this one. when i give gifts this one comes up often because it is SO detailed with the actual dishes, the ingredients, utensils, and pots, pans and whatsnot.
do NOT wait for the movie, get this book. |
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