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This is a great instruction book for intermediate to advanced cooking techniques. There is a humongous amount of useful information presented and without cooking a single dish you can learn the subtleties of cooking. I like the fact that this book focuses on French techniques with an American flair due to Julia Child’s background. The wonderful pictures step you through difficult techniques like making meringue mushrooms for Bûche de Noël. Additionally, the book is set up so you have Master recipes/techniques with suggestions for variation. For example, Pâte à Génoise (aka Genoise cake batter) is a master recipe that sets the stage for a number of other cakes: The Santa Clara (a 3-layer cake with apricot filling and white mountain frosting), The Cambridge Cake (Genoise layer cake with mocha buttercream frosting, chocolate walls and bow), The Queen of Sheba (a chocolate almond cake), and of course roulades (including Bûche de Noël).

This cookbook is a great reference book for the solo cook. All the recipes are scaled for one and there is exceptional shopping advice and leftover suggestions specifically for single cooks. The recipes are what I would call “regular” - there’s nothing too fancy here but nothing gross (i.e. using lots of processed products) either. This book is kind of like the Joy of Cooking for single cooks.

This cookbook is among my top 5 favorite cookbooks. The vegetarian dishes presented are bold, flavorful, and complete. A huge variety of foods, all presented originally, are covered - from Indian to American to Thai. And while you may hit a recipe gone bad, this book is invaluable for the ideas and resources it provides. For example, sidebars throughout the book provide instructions for making mexican hot chocolate, reviews of vintage books, and other valuable information.

When I want to make cookies, this is the book I reach for. It has a tremendous selection of cookies; well organized by type (drop cookies, bar cookies, icebox cookies, rolled cookies, hand-formed cookies and et cetera) so you can easily find just the cookie you’re looking for. All directions given are very explicit so it’s nearly impossible to get bad results. All the recipes I’ve tried have turned out excellent and I don’t bother looking for cookie recipes elsewhere.