The Classic Encyclopedia of World Recipes: Over 450 Traditional Recipes from the World's Best-Loved Cuisines Shown Step by Step in Over 1500 Photograp

I love this cookbook. My son gave it to me as a Christmas gift, and he doubled the gift by buying one for himself. The book is divided into countries and respective recipes from that country. I decided to cook through the book, one dish from each country, and then repeat the process. Every dish I've made has gotten an A+ from my husband and me. I then tell my son what I fixed and our response. This is definitely an exciting adventure! If you want to get away from the boredom of a fixed routine of the same old dishes, this book is for you. I love all the pictures because I know what the dish should look like. My biggest dilemma is choosing the next dish. It's fantastic eating dishes that other cultures relish. Buy one today and enlarge your world!

This is one of my favorite cookbooks (another one of my favorites is an appetizer, etc. cookbook, also by the same publishers, and even has some of the same pictures/ recipes). Its not affiliated with any food network chef or anything (and i LOVE the food network, so don't get be wrong), but it has consistently wonderful recipes, with pictures for each recipe, and even pictures for some of the different steps. Even though some people say a recipebook doesnt need to have pictures, it adds SO MUCH and makes it much more valuable, in my opinion. After all, you eat first with your eyes. I've never tried a recipe I didnt like, and if you do end up getting this cookbook, make sure to try the Japanese Chicken Cakes with Teriyaki Sauce (p. 82). I make these whenever I can, and my friends LOVE them too. I highly suggest this cookbook.