The Gourmet Cookbook: More than 1000 recipes (2024)

one of my pet peeves is when i'm in a group of women and they start trying to out do each other with their lack of cooking ability. "I can't cook", "who has time to cook?","I can barely manage to heat up a box of macaroni and cheese without burning it", "I don't even know how to fry an egg anymore", "I'm such a cooking retard that I have to read the directions on microwave popcorn EVERYTIME". what?! when did it become cool to not be able to cook? These tend to be the same woman that pride themselves in their lack of interest in sex with theirs husbands and can recall for you (whether it is requested or not) the details of Survivor, American Idol, Lost, and America's Next Top Model and, ironically, any and every cooking show out there in great detail.
So, I'm not one of those woman. I mean i'm not a great cook but i enjoy it for the most part. If you new me in my high school maybe you were invited to one of Tricia and my naively (and successfully) hosted dinner parties where we served such ridiculous things as stuffed quail 12-14 people at once, if we met in college there was a good chance I made bagels for you at some point, if you knew me when i was first married you most likely had pizza with one of 5 different types of crust at my house at some point. But if you've met me within the past 2 or 3 years you've probably only had the misfortune to be slapped a glob of melted cheese between a tortilla and told to "help yourself" to whatever else you could find in my refrigerator.
when did this happen? when did i decide i, too couldn't cook or that it wasn't worth the effort? oh ya. right about the time i got divorced and decided i was a miserable failure at everything. I can even recall some self talk that led me to the conclusion that i shouldn't bother. the fact that i can't make up my own recipes or adjust recipes on a whim, seemed like clear enough evidence that melted cheese in a tortilla was all I was cut out for.
But then! holy sh*t! i look up at my kitchen bookshelf and remembered it was lined with these lovely books full of recipes, that it's OK if i can't make it up or adjust it and yes, I may be a little less than detail oriented and i might possibly skip or misread something here or there. I might accidentally use habenero's instead of jalepeno's (rendering the frijollas alla chara inedible) or i might put in 2 tablespoons of red pepper flakes instead of 2 teaspoons in the dry cooked beans (rendering it inedible) and it's true that I recently didn't check the lid on the pepper shaker at Sarah's and dumped an entire shaker of pepper in the barley mushroom soup (rendering it inedible) but still, I'm communing with my food again and I'm Loving it (inedible or not).
oh, ya and the book. THIS cookbook. it's awesome. I mean its all sunshiny yellow and happy looking and the recipes are yum-a-licious and while you might not have 5 days to make morrocan style preserved lemons for the Israeli Couscous with roasted Butternut Squash and Preserved lemons but there are sooooooooo many other recipes, EASY ones like the sesame peanut noodles. mmmmmmmmm!!!
So....who's coming for dinner? because I'M COOKING!

An interesting concept. . . . "Gourmet" magazine's "greatest hits" among recipes put together in a large compendium (recipes end on page 935). There is also a DVD that features the author's cooking techniques and some recipes. There are some nice features to this work, including "Tips and Techniques" (e.g., using salt and pepper, toasting spices, and handling chiles), a glossary (with a variety of chiles, fleur de sel, miso, truffle oil), and where to get certain ingredients and cooking supplies (e.g., where would you go to get buffalo or Thai basil?). But, of course, the heart of the book is its recipes.

The team involved in preparing this book had the following purpose and method (Page xii): "The concept was straightforward: we would look thro0ugh all the recipes we had ever published, select the best, and retest them. Then we would gather the cream of the crop into a book." I would note that some of these recipes are such that I will not try them (e.g., difficult cooking techniques or difficulty in finding key ingredients), but a large number of these are accessible to people who enjoy cooking their own meals. As such, this is a repository of recipes that are apt to be tastier and lusher than those from my beloved copy of "The Joy of Cooking." On the other hand, recipes are often more taxing on the amateur than are those in "Joy." As they say, a tradeoff. Nonetheless, many, many of these recipes are quite doable. . . .

The book is divided into a number of sections--Hors d'ouevres and first courses, Soups, Salads, Sandwiches and pizzas, Pasta (and noodles and dumplings), Grains and beans, Poultry, Beef (and weal and pork and lamb), Breads and crackers, Breakfast and brunch, Cookies (bars and confections), Cakes, Pies (tarts and pastries), Fruit desserts, Puddings (and custards, mousses, and soufflés), Frozen desserts and sweet sauces, Sauces and salsas, Relishes (and chutneys and pickles and preserves), and Basics. One of the nice things is the recognition in this volume of Americans' changing tastes. For instance, salsa is relatively recent in "Gourmet." By going over decades of recipes, one gets a sense of the changing nature of American tastes.

A word about "Basics," the past set of recipes in this work. Here, we see how to create the fundamental elements in cooking, such as stocks (chicken, beef, veal, fish, and vegetable), herbes de Provence (their recipe doesn't include lavender, but it would be easy enough to add), garam masala, and clarified butter (I have recently discovered how easy this is to make and what a difference it makes!).

There are so many worthy recipes that it makes little sense to try to enumerate some favorites or ones that I intend to make. However, perusing these makes it clear that while some will be challenging for the amateur cook, others are quite within the reach of such an audience--with the promise of some great tasting dishes!

Anyhow, a fine resource and one that I will be using in tandem with a precious few of my cookbooks that are workhorses in my kitchen library. . . .

I love this cookbook and have made quite a few things. Standouts are the Baked Cheddar Olives, Parmesan Walnut Salad in Endive Leaves, Cheddar and Garlic Twice-Baked Potatoes, Fettuccine Alfredo, Risotto Milanese, Butternut Squash, Sausage, and Walnut Lasagne, and Pork Chops with Sautéed Apples and Cider Cream Sauce.

This is a great cookbook - but THERE ARE NO PICTURES! I know they were probably trying to save money and all that, but what's a cookbook without the dream that you can create the beautiful art in front of you?

Not great if pictures are important to you in a cookbook, but the recipes have all been perfect. I've only made a couple of the main courses since most of them contain meat, but I've especially enjoyed the section on desserts.

Good book

This is my creative kitchen bible. Whenever I want an idea for a new or unusual ingredient, I always start here and there is usually something! I just adore opening the same book for recipes spanning the entire globe and all the incredible cuisines held within.

I want to write this on the day that I found out that Gourmet was going to close down. My only complaint about this cookbook is that the color they chose for the recipe titles is so hard to read that it really compromises the utility of the cookbook, but the recipes are outstanding, and this is a general cookbook that would be an excellent cookbook if you only had two or three--with the Joy of Cooking, and How to Cook Everything, as well as the Cook's Illustrated cookbook, you would be able to cook enough variety and be modern enough to manage. I think Ruth Reichl has made good cooking available to everyone, and she has spread the word about good food and good food preparation her while adult life--Gourmet was lucky to have her, and I am sad to see the magazine go down. This cookbook is full of recipes that are clearly a step up from the general cookbook of the past and represent what the magazine meant for the 60+ years of its existence.

Pretty much everything in here is a winner. Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything is sort of my go-to book for basics, Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone is my go-to for veggies, but this book is my go-to for awesomeness.

What a treasure this book is. Found many recipes and some of them are even kosher foods. Working at a bakery this cookbook has showed me new techniques in preparing my Zomick's Challah. There are variety of recipes taken from different cuisine - Mediterranean, Asian, African... and also French and Italian. Most of the recipes I've tried are good but not great, but it has so much to offer and I wouldn't be surprised if there are some extraordinary recipes in it. - Zomick's Challah

Still the book I reach for time and time again. I'm nowhere near an advanced cook, but I do love food and to make somewhat interesting food in the kitchen, so this is the perfect day to day resource. I normally like having photographs with my cookbooks for inspiration, but I honestly don't even miss it in this one. The recipes are so good (and so concisely yet enticingly written) that I don't even miss them. Well...not much, anyway.

Love it!!! Recipe's are clear with fabulous results. (Note: cookie and cake recipes are not as consistent but I have still given in 5 stars as the desert section is small and the remaining recipes more than make up for it.)

This is an exhaustive collection of recipes from the Gourmet archives. While there are countless basics there are also more elaborate recipes. Until I got my America's Test Kitchen cookbook, this was my go-to for everything. I have recently been consulting it again and it is truly a fantastic, all-around kitchen resource for the home chef. Best suited to those who enjoy creativity and labor in the kitchen.

Far more than an edited collection of recipes. From the guiding hand of Ruth Reichl and friends, plus helpful tips and educational background will make this a favorite and often used page turner.

This cookbook is excellent and I have made many of the recipes. One recipe I have made over 30 times I think is a basic but it’s sooo good. Pasta with Bolognese sauce. Mmmmm delicious

This book is really amazing.

This is my favorite cookbook. I know the light yellow print wasn't the best choice for the book, because it is hard to see, and some of the recipes can be intimidating. However, I'm an intermediate cook and I use this book all the time. The Pumpkin Apple Bread is awesome, and both my parents and in-laws love it. I gave loaves of it out for Christmas (very little money means baking presents instead of buying) and everyone raved, asking for the recipe. The Irish Soda bread was delicious in a unique way.

The Sweet Potato Latkes were okay, though not extra special.

The Mashed Potatoe recipes are great, and I'm glad they tell you to use a masher instead of an electric mixer. The book points out that using the mixer releases too much of the starch.

I wasn't fond of the Moussaka and Stuffed Grape Leaves, but that's because I found out I don't like eggplant or grape leaves. Not the book's fault.

What's great about this cookbook: The recipes can mostly be trusted to be top-of-the-line. Gourmet has a reputation to maintain, and Ruth Reichl is a good steward of that rep, while introducing innovation. The other great thing is that the recipes are precise. You never find any annoying reference to, say, "juice of one lemon," which is exactly the kind of thing that drives me insane (juice of one lemon can be one to three tablespoons, guys. Ingredients and techniques are precise. You can expect your version to turn out like theirs. Then you can go ahead and mess with the ingredients on your own. It's become one of my favorite cookbooks. Some stellar recipes: the green-bean tomato salad with pumkin seed-cilantro sauce, muhammara, lentil-bulgur salad, and the walnut-cranberry tart. Oh yeah, and the Moroccan preserved lemons. A jar of those keeps forever in the fridge and you can add them to all sorts of things. I like to add to lentil soup with a good deal of thyme.

For a cookbook enthusiast such as I am, this book is great fun to peruse. I took it out of the library and it weighs about 40 tons but it was worth lugging it home. Reichl, the editor (maybe former?) of Gourmet magazine writes entertainingly. I have read some of her previous books and enjoyed each one. In this hefty tome, she presents lots of interesting and well-researched recipes that have either stood the test of time or are made with now readily available and more exotic ingredients in a delicious way. My only complaint about this book is that the title of each recipe is printed in yellow on white pages and I had a devil of a time seeing them (I'm an old lady; I need things printed clearly). If you enjoy reading cookbooks, I think you'll love this one. Have someone else carry it home for you (LOL).

Another huge cookbook on my shelf at home, I received this from an event that I went to where I got to meet Ruth Reichl and get the book signed by her. It was definitely a great experience.

I've made some recipes in here which have come out to be delicious. Though, I do think the recipes are a little more difficult with ingredients that are harder to find. It's definitely not for a beginner cook.

There are great sections in the book where they discuss different cuts of meat and various different fruits and vegetables but overall, I think it's more for a medium to advanced level cook. I do like some of the occasional recipes that were submitted by readers, which are the easier recipes to make.

When people ask me to recommend a cookbook, I unequivocally blurt out, "The Gourmet Cookbook". Then I have to describe it. This isn't any gourmet cookbook, this is a compendium of recipes culled from sixty years of Gourmet magazine's finest. My copy is battered, wine-spattered, laced with flour and sugar, and covered with notes. Everything that I've cooked from this cookbook has been delicious. I'm curious about what the DVD offers (I bought mine when it was first published, sans DVD), but doubt that it's necessary. According to the editor, Ruth Reichl, "Our goal was to give you a book with every recipe you would ever want." With the exception of a recipe for chicken enchiladas (how, dear God, could they omit that?!? guess I'll use my old standby), they delivered exactly that.

While I occassionally go to this book for recipes none of the ones I've tried have any "wow" factor for me (and some recipes do not sound good "pecan pumpkin pie"?). The pizza crust is ok but really it's about the same taste as a very basic pizza dough that doesn't require you to only pull (not roll) out the dough. The sugar cookies are again ok but nothing that distinguishes them from another recipe. However, this book does have great tips included on the history of an item, how to do do things in the kitchen more efficiently or information on different varieties of veggies/fruits/flour/etc which are very helpful.

If you want a basic recipe to start from or compare to (before I make something new I always look at multiple recipes) then this is a good book.

I've never had one of these recipes fail - just make sure you follow Reichl's instructions to a tee (if she says, "it will look like it is not fully baked, but don't leave it in the oven" she means it - my one failure was a birthday cake that had that editorial comment with the recipe. I didn't believe her...if there's such a thing as bad birthday cake, this was it).

Cooking and prep times are accurate, and if you want to find out how to cook something, chances are good it's in here.

No photos...which can make it a little less fun - but the trade-off is fantastic recipes and lots of them. I use it so often that it will always live in my "currently reading" section.

This is a huge cookbook - there are hundreds of recipes. Remember when I said in an earlier review that I could generally tell if a recipe was going to work out? Well, this is one book that has consistently proved me wrong. I have tried a lot of these recipes and too many of them needed serious tweaking. Because of what it is trying to accomplish, I can't rate this book higher because a kitchen novice can't pick this up and work with it. Too bad Ruthie. It does have a happy yellow cover though and that's why I keep it in the collection.

Well, my copy didn't come with a DVD, but still I love it. This is my main "go to" book anymore. I believe in having several basic cookbooks in your culinary arsenal (Better Homes and Gardens, Joy of Cooking, Fanny Farmer, Betty Crocker), but this one leaves them all behind. I've yet to find a bad recipe in the bunch.

My only complaint is the color choice. Who ever thought the sunny yellow used on the cover ahould be used again as the title to each recipe was concerned more with color continuity then eye strain. It's really annoying.

I have been a fan of Ruth Reichl, editor of Gourmet Magazine, for some time, I've enjoyed her writing and considered her opinion of heavy weight in the culinary world. This is her cookbook. It is the latest version of Gourmet Magazine's favorite recipes. Its comprehensive, and full of very good food. The only complaint I've had is that their pancake recipe it terrible. Otherwise, amazing food....all throughout. Ruth knows what she's doing.

A fair to good cookbook. Many of the recipes are made to seem more complicated than they really are. Some ingredient snobbery is also present. I understand that not every walnut is a walnut, but I'm also not going to order vintage carpathian walnuts at like $100.00 per pound. Otherwise a nice introduction to the art. Although some of the recipes are too contrived (see Pho).

A fair to good cookbook.

My former boss gave me this as a Christmas present, and it's my go-to cookbook. I use it at least once a week. The basics are all here, from how to butterfly a chicken breast to how to make essential sauces. And the cakes . . . don't get me started on the cakes. It's comprehensive, easy to read, and essential.

This is a good basic cookbook although I've been disappointed in a few of the recipes - the banana bread being the only I can remember. This is a huge book - I see it as a basic along the lines of the Joy of Cooking. The layout is a little clumsy and there are no pictures. That said, I would recommend this book.

This is a good book for a chef--not for the culinary faint-of-heart. I find the recipe headings to be difficult to read, considering the fact they are in a light yellow. If you're looking for a comprensive cook-everything book, try Mark Bitman's 'How to Cook Everything.' However, Ruth Reichl's pancakes (from this book) are to die for...