I've looked at other Martha Stewart cookbooks, including the classic "Entertaining," and think that, for the money, this is the best Martha cookbook on the market. It offers a wide variety and hits on all the favorites from both her show and magazine.

While I wouldn't necessarily recommend this as the only cookbook to have in your kitchen, it does have a great mix of old-fashioned classics--those contributed by Martha's mom are my favorite (I'm addicted to her meatloaf)--and meals which can "wow" company, both with taste and presentation.

Alongside the classics--"The Joy of Cooking" and/or "The New Joy of Cooking," the "Betty Crocker Cookbook," the "Fannie Farmer Cookbook" and/or a Cook's Illustrated title (either "The Best Recipe" or the "Cook's Bible")--the voluminous and comprehensive "Martha Stewart Living Cookbook" will round out a perfectly balanced recipe collection for anyone who enjoys cooking, or just wants to be able to put together a smart looking meal now and again.

24 of 26 found the following review helpful:

This is a nice collection.  Nov 15, 2000
By Beverly Tucker "pepper"
I have to disagree with another reviewer here. Every recipe I have tried by M. Stewart and her staff has always turned out well. This book is a nice collection of the recipes from the TV series. I made her mom's meatloaf, it was easy and my family thought it was very good. For Martha skeptics, check this book out of the library first, as I did, then purchase it once you find out what a good cookbook it is!

23 of 25 found the following review helpful:

Impress your dinner guests and family  Dec 10, 2000

I purchased this book being a fan of Martha's TV show, but afraid that the recipes may be too complex and time-consuming for me (a 20-year old beginning homemaker). I was also expecting that many dishes would call for extra trips to the grocery store for exotic ingredients I would rarely have on hand. As it turns out, most of the recipes can be prepared with a few staple pantry items and really don't take much time at all. However, for those of you who want a few unique, impressive dishes to add to your dinner party menu, you'll find those in this book as well. The book is also appealing to the eye and looks great on any bookshelf or in the kitchen. For the beginner or the family's favorite cook, this book will be used over and over and it's recipes will become favorites not only of yours but of the others who taste them. By using this cookbook alone, I have improved my cooking and baking skills more than I thought possible in a month. I highly reccomend this cookbook for anyone.

23 of 27 found the following review helpful:

AT LAST  Oct 12, 2000

I have been hoping for years for a cookbook that would include all the "101" recipes which are all excellent! This is a wonderful book and I had to give it five stars in spite of my one complaint: The print is soooooo small! I would gladly have paid more for a larger book with larger print.

9 of 9 found the following review helpful:

Disappointed  Dec 10, 2000
By Amie Longstaff
I was very anxious when my book came in the mail. However, after reading through it I was disappointed. There are very few pictures. I am one who likes to see what the finished product is supposed to look like. There were no recipes for quiche (what I was searching for). And, I found some of the recipes hard to follow. I have several Martha Stewart cookbooks and have been impressed with all the others. This one is going to go on a shelf as a decoration. I won't get much use out of it. For a book that was supposed to be a compilation of years of recipes I found that Martha must really love dates and figs. My family is a cheesecake family and the 4 recipes for cheesecake that were offered were just not good enough.

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