The New Cook

This is an absolute must for beginners and veterans alike. The recipes are simple, most are quick and we still haven't found one we don't like. This was the first Donna Hay book I bought, and it wasn't the last...Illustrations are great, but most importantly, your results actually look like the photographs. I recommend this book to everyone. Most of the ingredients used are easy to find, wholesome and easy to work with.

a friend recommended i get this book. she's made many of the recipes in the book and absolutely loved them. when i first started looking through it i was a little hesitant to try the recipes because the ingredient and flavor combinations are so different from what one normally sees. but it turns out that they work! and really well. everything i've made from this cookbook has been delicious. as i've made more of the recipes, i've gotten better at substituting ingredients here and there based upon what i have. many of the recipes in the book are good for that, which i really appreciate (it means that i'll actually use the recipes rather than the cookbook gathering dust on the shelf, because i don't happen to have some random spice that the author insists is crucial for the dish). also, the vegetable recipes are REALLY good, and very far from your normal boring vegetable recipes! they are tasty and actually use vegetables that have some amount of nutritional value.a couple of recipes from the book that we've made already: the buttermilk pancakes are great, the salmon with chervil and roasted carrots and parsnips was astounding, the sweet potato (or was it yam?) pie with thyme, pumpkin gnocchi was excellent. i agree with the person who mentioned rieslings -- rieslings seem to go really well with a lot of food in this book.

I bought both The New Cook and Entertaining during the same month due to the interesting food pairings and fusion of different ethinic cooking styles. I have not been dissapointed. Most of the recipes are extremely simple to make yet real crowd pleasers! (I feel confident enought with this cookbook to make a recipe without taste-testing it first - not many cookbooks inspire me to do this!) I am an avid cook (mostly vegetarian, some seafood.) The variety and richness of the flavors in this book continually inpsire my desire to create in the kitchen, and i really enjoy just browsing through it to learn about interesting food pairings and unusual combinations. If you'd like a little food adventure, this one's for you!

I own many cookbooks -- and I cook. This is one of the cookbooks I turn to again and again when we need something new and different. I've tried many recipes: with some I improvise to fit what I have or what my family will eat and with others I use the recipe as a "concept" and add a little something. But, the dishes with VEGETABLES that my husband asks for most often come from this book (I never knew he liked roasted sweet potatoes). Even our son-in-law in Sweden asks for these recipes. (His current favorite is the spaghetti with grilled chicken and asparagus - changed to zucchini). I knew this was a great cookbook - but their endorsement seals it!

I own a lot of cookbooks, and this one is just fabulous! My spouse has a valid complaint about how long it takes me to make dinner, and with this cookbook fab food can be on the table in a half hour. Food good enough to serve to company, tasty, elegant, simple.