The Millennium Cookbook: Extraordinary Vegetarian Cuisine

I had the pleasure of eating at Millennium and that was a whole experience, of course, but the food really was something special all by itself. Even before getting to eat there I had been using this cook book for special occasions. Although the full recipes are complex, many are modular and have components that are not too hard to make, and certainly still worth the effort even on their own. Something that's just a drizzle in one recipe might be good enough that you'd want to make a whole bottle of it and keep it around as a sauce. You get the idea. Also the cashew cream recipe in this book is the best I've ever come across.

Vegan or carnivore, people are impressed with and love food prepared from these recipes. Sophisticated and complex, the dishes cover the globe in style. When I first bought this book I became frustrated, being unused to saucing my dishes and not having both blender and food processor. The time consuming procedures and multiplicity of steps were daunting and it sat on my shelf for a year. I went back to it when I started entertaining and, renovation of my kitchen complete, found that I could indeed handle the recipes. Some of the dishes are out of my range either because I don't have the means for smoking food or because in my rural Mid-Atlantic community there is not a farmer's market with the types of produce that San Francisco enjoys. I am, however, all about the culinary philosophy that undergirds this book, and many of the recipes have been fantastic. It is apparent that it was written in a restaurant kitchen but nevertheless it makes for superb holiday or entertaining meals. Big hits have been the Latin-style Torte with Plantains and Tofu, the Filo-Wrapped Spring Rolls, the Hot and Sour Soup (which is Vietnamese in style), and the Pureed Root Vegetables.

I am amazed by this book. My wife raved about the restaurant, and brought back the book for me when she returned from vacation. You never miss the dairy. You never miss the meat. And the recipes are constructed so that even a borderline-feeb like myself can come off looking like the Royal Chef. Favorites are the Vegan Paella with Garlic Tofu Aeoli, and the carrot/parsnip soups -- you make carrot soup and parsnip soup separately, pour them in the bowl simulatanously with two ladles. The soups don't mix, they look like an orange and white yin/yang. Then you drizzle the cashew cream sauce on top and it looks like you're the guy who invented the onion. Wonderful.

The layout of the book was lovely and crisp -- nice photos,roomy margins for notes. The recipes are delicious and since there are few fancy vegan cookbook collections out there, vegans will LOVE it! For entertaining or more elaborate menus it's a real treat! For the average cook or the average palate -- it's going to be hit or miss. I would not suggest this book to a new vegetarian or a non-vegetarian trying to incoporate a few vegetarian meals a week into their diet. For them I'd point to 1,001 Low-Fat Vegetarian Recipes by Sue Spitler or The McDougall Quick & Easy Cookbook by Mary McDougall, John A., M.D. McDougall Most of the recipes in Millenium rely heavily on fresh, quality ingredients and herbs and spices that will be difficult to find in a "regular" grocery. If they are there, they might not be fresh, because they don't sell as often in a regular store and this will affect the resulting dish. Ingredients that sit on the shelf gathering dust and losing flavor, particularly herbs and spices that these recipes rely on, are NOT going to yield tasty results. While vegans/vegetarians with experience shopping at other places will have no problem, the average person will be a little puzzled as to where to find shiitake, miso, tofu, anise, fennel, nutritional yeast, Rice Dream, etc. The busy person will also not have time to deal with making these recipes -- they require more effort, skill, time. Those with more experience will find the recipes easy to follow, those who work primarly from cans, pre-made mixes, and 5 or less ingredients might find the recipes daunting and they might find cooking gourmet fare from scratch a challenge. While the rewards are delicious, this isn't the cookbook I'd head to on a tiring Monday night after work! The recipes are also generous with 6-8 servings -- in my 2 person family, it's too much food for us. You can expect to have to adjust the numbers if you are a small family. Overall I think it was a wonderful book, and a welcome addition to my collection. I'd still put it towards the "advanced" end of the spectrum though.

The layout of the book was lovely and crisp -- nice photos,roomy margins for notes. The recipes are delicious and since thereare few vegan cookbook collections out there, vegans will LOVE it! For entertaining or more elaborate menus it's a real treat!For the average cook or the average palate -- it's going to be hit or miss. I would not suggest this book to a new vegetarian or a non-vegetarian trying to incoporate a few vegetarian meals a week into their diet. For them I'd point to 1,001 Low-Fat Vegetarian Recipes by Sue Spitler or The McDougall Quick & Easy Cookbook by Mary McDougall, John A., M.D. McDougall Most of the recipes in Millenium rely heavily on fresh, quality ingredients and herbs and spices that will be difficult to find in a "regular" grocery. If they are there, they might not be fresh, because they don't sell as often in a regular store and this will affect the resulting dish. Ingredients that sit on the shelf gathering dust and losing flavor, particularly herbs and spices that these recipes rely on, are NOT going to yield tasty results.While vegans/vegetarians with experience shopping at other places will have no problem, the average person will be a little puzzled as to where to find shiitake, miso, tofu, anise, fennel, nutritional yeast, Rice Dream, etc.The busy person will also not have time to deal with making these recipes -- they require more effort, skill, time. Those with more experience will find the recipes easy to follow, those who work primarly from cans, pre-made mixes, and 5 or less ingredients might find the recipes daunting and they might find cooking gourmet fare from scratch a challenge.While the rewards are delicious, this isn't the cookbook I'd head to on a tiring Monday night after work!The recipes are also generous with 6-8 servings -- in my 2 person family, it's too much food for us. You can expect to have to adjust the numbers if you are a small family.Overall I think it was a wonderful book, and a welcome addition to my collection. I'd still put it towards the "advanced" end of the spectrum though.

Overall, this is one of the best cookbooks I own, and I make that claim as a former meat-eater and a recent most-of-the-time vegan. I have been using "The Millennium Cookbook" since February and have made roughly half of the recipes in the book, including nearly all of those for pasta and pizza. I use this book all the time. My husband--a sometimes meat-eater with an open mind and palate--says nearly always that our Millennium meals are "exquisite." I certainly concur. Here are some stand-outs, in our view:Appetizers: Roasted Tomato and White Bean Galettes; Plantain Torte; Grilled Portobellos with Herb-Tofu Aioli and Red Onion MarmaladeSalads: Oil-Free Caesar Dressing; Millennium Warm Spinach Salad; Curried Almond Dressing; Ruby Grapefruit, Avocado, and Pickled Red Onions with Baby Spinach and Grapefruit Mojo Dressing; Moroccan Eggplant SaladSoups: Yellow Split Pea Soup with Sage and Smoked Dulse Gremolata; Brazilian Black Bean Soup with Coffee and OrangePasta and Pizza: Pasta with White Wine-Marinated Tomatoes and Basil; Mushroom, Fennel, and Dill Cream Penne; Marinated Fig, Onion, and Black Olive Pizzas with Herb-Tofu Aioli; Caramelized Garlic and Smoked Portobello Pizzas; Tempeh Pizzas with Puttanesca SauceSides: Millennium Fat-Free Mashed PotatoesEntrees: Baked Madras-Glazed Tofu with Saffron Basmati Pilaf, Sauteed Vegetables, and Peach-Lime Chutney; Rosa Bianca Eggplant Torte with Smoked Onion Ratatouille and Flageolet-Sage Sauce; Seitan Piccata; Grilled Jerked Seitan with Coconut Mashed Yams; Spring Onion, Morel, Fresh Pea, and Lemon Thyme RisottoBrunch: Smoked Tempeh and Potato Sausages; Flaxseed-Apple-Battered French Toast with Warm Apple Compote; Millennium Oat and Walnut Pancakes with Blueberry-Orange SauceDesserts: Mocha Mud Slide; Mad Good Chocolate Cake; Pine Nut and Anise Cake; Brownies a la Mode; Chocolate-Almond Midnight; Meyer Lemon Bundt Cakes with Blackberry Sorbet and Meyer Lemon Sauce; Fig and Almond Tart with Red Wine and Pear CreamThe desserts are "to die for," especially the fat-free version of their brownies. Overall, the meals are delicious, filling, and very satisfying. We don't hesitate to accompany them with a good bottle of wine.Another plus is that with time, you get a feel for using fat substitutes (e.g., braised garlic, stewed prunes, and the amazing silken tofu) and can soon come up with your own novel creations.Readers should be aware that this book does have its drawbacks. While many of the recipes can be made easily and quickly (pasta and pizza, mostly), many others require considerable time and effort. Close inspection reveals that there are a certain number of errors (sometimes of omission, e.g., saffron-cream sauce that leaves out the saffron ..., or even lack of directions). It should be noted that these can be attributed ultimately to the editors and not to the authors. I'm sure the second edition will clear these up. I've also found that many of the recip