Customer Reviews

Great Good Food: Luscious Lower-Fat Cooking

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My copy of this cookbook is well-thumbed with pages folded down and notes written in the margins, testifying to its position as my favorite cookbook for well over five years. I entertain friends for dinner on average of once a week, and many of the recipes in this book have become consistent lower-fat favorites. The breakfast recipes are especially good. The German pancake, morning glory muffins, and raspberry muffins are winners. The all green fruit salad is great, the corn and black bean salad is a never-fail, and the recipe for "A Perfect Little Spanish Cake" is partly why my husband fell in love with me when I made it for him in a heart-shaped pan for Valentine's Day when we were dating! I would never part with this cookbook.

It turns out that this is the public relations member of the Silver Palate team, not the cook. The recipes read well and some turn out to be delicious, but you can't count on it. I, for one, don't have time to spend cooking from a book that I know gives me a fifty-fifty chance for a tasty result and that contains a number of errors. I gave my copy to Goodwill.

I was given this book as a gift in maybe 1994 but never had the counterspace to make its recipes on until I got married in 2000! Since then, my husband and I have often enjoyed meals from it. In a nutshell, it is a fabulous means of eating healthy but flavorfully and without a lot of fat! Some of its pros: with each recipe is given the calorie, fat, cholesterol, and carb content of it as well as how many people it serves; it offers an abundance of informative, health-conscious information on some of its pages (such as a section listing a variety of fruits and vegetables and the nutritional benefits of each one, as well as a section that defines and explains things about cholesterol, fat, sodium, etc. in relation to the body); on pages throughout, complete meal menus using recipes that complement each other well are suggested; the recipes are quaintly classified by seasons, holidays, and even by day and time of day--i.e., morning/breakfast, "Afternoon Tea", "Mother's Day Brunch", "Sunday Evening Dinner," etc. Recipes involve more prep time than your average cookbook recipe (like Betty Crocker, for instance), but that's because every single ingredient you use is FRESH! NO CANNED and NO FROZEN stuff. So, your body is guaranteed optimum taste and nutrition! I must add that my husband has never been big on vegetables; yet, whatever vegetable side I've made from this book so far, he has scarfed it down with a smile! I never truly enjoyed cooking until I started using this book. It revealed to me that I CAN make gourmet-tasting meals, and THAT by itself is a swell reward!

I was thrilled to find Great Good Food. I used to make everything out the of the Silver Palate cookbooks and New Basics. However, all of the recipes were so calorie-laden. So, now I make many of my old favorites only lighter (and better). I also apply her "lightening" methods to recipes from the original books. Rosso's grouping of the recipes by season is nothing new. The Silver Palate Good Times cookbook is also organized in this fashion, and it is rated one of the best cookbooks. Familiarize yourself with the index (very complete), and you will be more than satisfied. As for the ingredients not being readily available, if one does any kind of cooking, these are things that you already have, or needed an excuse to buy.

I need a book that will provide recipies that my kids will eat too. This book has these meals. The Chicken Pot Pie is great and diary free! The Every day Chicken is one of my weekly meals. Sure I haven't used a lot of the recipies, but if I can find two or three staples to my cooking fare then it's definately worth the price!

There isn't much wrong with this book. The artwork is interesting, the selection astounding and it makes for entertaining reading while planning a weekly menu or a celebration. I don't understand the complaints about not being able to find things, as the book has a wonderful index. The menus are well thought out and very diverse, making for some excellent themed meals if you so choose. However, the individual recipes stand very well on their own. Nothing disappoints and some of her recipes, such as Potato Leek soup, have become our favorites. This is probably my favorite cookbook when I'm looking for something new to make. You won't be disappointed, especially if you use the index...

I really like the recipes and my family enjoys the food I prepare using this book. The only problem I have found to date is the number of servings is not always correct. I love the recipe BIG BREAKFAST COOKIES but can not make 64 cookies as the recipe says. 24 is the max. if you follow directions.

I enjoy all the tidbits and information in this cookbook, but like other reviewers, find the layout annoying. I don't want to have to figure out that carrot soup could be a Winter dish or New Year's Eve brunch or for the Corn Threshing Party. I want soup in the soup section!

It has given me good ideas for entertaining, and I do like the caesar dressing and buttermilk turkey pasta salad. But cookbooks that have special recipies (the Great Good Blend, which is cottage cheese and buttermilk and strained yogurt or something)and then includes it in a majority of the subsequent recipies is obnoxious. If I don't have a pot of that on hand, I'm not going to whip one up just to make some low fat dressing.

But, I wouldn't give this cookbook away, and I've spent many an hour thumbing through it.

Yes, I know it's a cookbook, but I read it from cover to cover! The artwork is spectacular and adds to the beauty of this unique book. I loved the way she divided the chapters into seasons as I am a gardener and know exactly where to turn to in the summer to find my favorite fried green tomato recipe or the herbal vinegars and in the winter to find my favorite holiday recipes. The low-fat recipes are by no means boring or bland, but filled with herbs, spices and color. I enjoyed the beginning chapter where she gives you a list of items for the well-stocked pantry. This is one of the most simple, helpful cookbooks that I own. I often purchase copies as gifts for friends. It's great!

I looked forward to using this book after many happy explorations with The Silver Palate cook book. I found, however, that Ms. Rosso's recipes are very time-consuming and many of them have very long ingredient lists. It's a pity because I feel she is on the right track, trying to use fresh and essential flavors to create innovative and healthy dishes. I just don't think it needs to be as complicated as she makes it, nor should I feel as exhausted as I do when I cook from this book. I live in a major metropolitan area with ethnically diverse and yuppified food stores -- but even I have to make a trip to two to three supermarkets just to fulfill her recipe requirements!