The New Vegetarian Epicure: Menus--With 325 All-New Recipes--For Family and Friends: A Cookbook

My brother bought this book, for me and I absoulutely love it! I love how it's separated into seasons. I have't made a recipe from it that I don't like. I liked it so much I bought one for a co-worker for Christmas.

I love, love, love this cookbook. I'm a sucker for any cookbook that has a whole menu for a dinner, and the entire book is set up that way. It has easy soup dinners to dinner parties. The food comes out delicious - I'm planning on making the tomato risotto for dinner tonight. There's a picnic menu that we take to the beach. While I wouldn't consider it light fare, it's not heavy with cheeses and creams. I feel most of the recipes are based on grains and veggies. A few reviewers have flipped out about the spit-roasted turkey included in the book. It is the ONLY reference to meat and is included as side to her Thanksgiving meal, which is entirely vegetarian otherwise. There are 325 vegetarian recipes and one reference to turkey. So if that bothers you, you might not want to get this cookbook. But, if you're like me, and dabble in a range of cooking, it's a great book. A few other reviewers complained about the difficulty of obtaining ingredients. Notably, much of her cooking does seem inspired by California's wonderful produce. I envy their farmer's markets as a New Englander, but the only ingredient I've never been able to find is nopalitos, and she suggests substituting green beans if you can't find them. I actually find most of the ingredients more easily than I might for recipes based in soy substitutions, like tofu, seitan, or tempeh. This cookbook calls for none of those things. So if you like whole foods with a fresh flavor, this is a great cookbook.

I have owned this book for years and have found it to be inspirational and accessible. The recipes are very good - some are easy for either weeknights or a casual weekend and others are more time-consuming for either a special dinner or when you just feel inspired. I like that she broke the book into menus - it's nice to see how a full course meal will go together. Of course, if you don't have the time you can always cherry pick what you do want to make. She does have one small section on how to roast a turkey but I don't see it as an issue. She, and we, live in a diverse world. She happens to have some meat eaters in her family and she accommodates them. Vegetarianism is great but it is still important to be understanding of other peoples' life choices. In this situation, I think it is thoughtful that she gave her husband the opportunity to contribute his prized turkey recipe. It's what makes this book a little more genuine.

This is a great cookbook full of flavorful dishes, arranged by season. Visit your local farmer's market then treat yourself to some "fancy" dishes.

Having received this book as a gift in the last week, I would like to lay to rest the idea that there is a spread on how to carve a turkey -- there isn't. There are three pages at the end of the book which explain how to spit roast a turkey. However, these pages weren't written by Anna Thomas, rather they were written by her husband. And the logic to his argument is reasonable -- in a household that is diverse, someone might want or need to know how to integrate a turkey into an otherwise vegetarian menu at Thanksgiving. The other recipes, however, far outweigh the slightly disconcerting presence of the turkey at the end. Many fascinating presentations -- from yummy corn tamales to an interesting frittata supper -- there's something here for everyone. One of the useful features of this cookbook is the menu format -- solving the oft time dilemma of what to serve with X. The recipes are mostly designed to serve between 6 and 10 people. Perhaps a bit much for some of us, but leftovers are a wonderful thing.The other really nice feature is the "What do kids eat?" section, which reminds us that we all went through strange food periods when we were kids and it's often easier to go with the flow than to fight.All in all this is a wonderful cookbook with clear instructions and a good sense of balance. I'll be cooking happily from it for years to come.

I simply love this cookbook. As an occasional vegetarian, it's a thrill to find a source for elegant, delicious food. Thomas' recipes deliver all that she promises in her nicely written text, and everything I have cooked from this book has been luscious, from fresh tomato risotto to roasted winter vegetables. It's easy to forget that's there no meat in menus so beguiling and satisfying. I also like Thomas' emphasis on seasonal fresh ingredients, and the balance she strikes by presenting recipes you can do on a weeknight without compromising on quality. Finally, I was pleased by her decision to organize the book around menus. Although you don't have to cook the courses as she suggests them, I have tried it and found that the dishes blend beautifully, and that they don't all demand attention or the same piece of kitchen gear at the same time--one person working alone in the kitchen can reasonably produce the full menu without too much angst. A gem for cooks and eaters of all persuasions.