The Epicurious Cookbook: More Than 250 of Our Best-Loved Four-Fork Recipes for Weeknights, Weekends & Special Occasions

I guess we could expect nothing less from Tanya Steel and the Epicurious staff. Plenty of photos, wonderful “cooks notes”. Healthy and interesting use of spices which elevates the recipes. This makes everything taste so much better. No difficult and complex recipes or hard to find ingredients. Just delicious mainstream and doable recipes. This is a collectible and everyday use cookbook. Dive in and enjoy.

I'm a huge fan of the Epicurious website. I've been using it since 2004 when I first married, and I've often wondered why Epicurious had not compiled a cookbook showcasing their best recipes. Epicurious was originally a database of recipes from Bon Appetit magazine and Gourmet magazine but has expanded to include a lot of other culinary talent. The recipes are ranked by users from 1 to 4 forks, based on the percentage of users who would make the recipe again. This little book is a compilation of more than 250 of their 4 fork (read: highest ranked) recipes.The book is organized seasonally into 4 chapters: spring, summer, fall, and winter. Each season is then subdivided into the following sections: breakfast; starters; mains; sides; sandwiches and breads; desserts. I like the seasonal organization but I think I would have preferred the book organized exclusively by the listed subdivisions. I find it easier to navigate a cookbook when all breakfasts are categorized together, all cakes are categorized together, etc., instead of cakes being organized into sping or fall menus. The recipes have a special tag on them to indicate when a reader submitted recipes is being featured.The book is around four hundred pages and is a flat spined paperback. It needs a cookbook stand or some other aid to stay open on its own. The photography in the book is certainly eye-catching and pretty much guarentees that you will give in to a nine pm random urge to run to the market and purchase the ingredients for double chocolate layer cake (page 385). There is not a photograph for each finished recipe but there is a very generous number of photographs.In case I wasn't clear, this is a compilation of greatest recipes--not new material. I love having a volume of their finest four fork recipes at my fingertips. I don't think I've ever had a four fork recipe from Epicurious fail me. This volume includes everything from Tom Colicchio's thanksgiving turkey to Vermont maple bread pudding with walnut praline. Some of my favorite recipes from the Epicurious website that have been featured include salmon cakes with lemon yogurt sauce,cinnamon crumble apple pie, and mahogany chicken.Each recipes has a small headnote to introduce the recipe or make a note about the authorship. There are frequent sidebars helpfully telling you when it is appropriate to make the recipe ahead (a real time saver during the holiday season!). Many recipes have a small blurb with an Epicurious user quote describing their success with the recipe (I could personally do without this).I think this book is long overdue. I was ready for a huge hardcover twice this size and will happily purchase it when it is released as I have a feeling Epicurious will find other opportunities to publish cookbooks after this one. I would actually give this book 4.5 stars if given the option. It is a terrific book with just a few flaws. I am going to put this book on my shortlist as a possible present for newlyweds this holiday season.

This is, in a very real sense, a populist cookbook. As the Editor, Tanya Steel, says at the outset ". . .our enormous global family of passionate cooks are the real authors of this cookbook." Steel and other editors had their choice of 180,000 recipes appearing on the Epicurious web site (epicurious.com). Some were by major chefs (e.g., Tom Colicchio) and others by ordinary folks sharing their recipes. Those going to the web site can rate recipes; this book features highly rated recipes. 250 of these were selected for inclusion in this volume (replete with nice photographs of some the dishes).The book is, rather idiosyncratically, organized by season (I have a handful of cookbooks organized like this, but I am not sure that I understand the concept) and by type of recipe (breakfast, starters, mains, sides, sandwiches and breads, and desserts).Some examples, to illustrate. Spring: Thai cabbage salad, Caprese pizza, Pan-seared ribeye steaks (featuring--yum--porcini mushrooms and rosemary run); Black bean and tomato quinoa (I am trying to increase my set of quinoa recipes that taste good).Summer: Shrimp bisque; Faux arrabbiata with penne (my son really likes Arrabbiata sauce, so this caught my attention--and it's easy to make, so that my son will benefit from my having acquired this cookbook!); Quick paella; Greek salad with orzo and black-eyed peas; Crispy pancetta, burrata, and tomato sandwiches.Fall: Open faced bacon and egg sandwiches; Spicy mac and cheese with pancetta (and, oh boy, is this a tasty tidbit of comfort food!);Pasta fagiola (the recipe looks better than the one that I have used in the past); Tom Colicchio's herb-butter turkey.Winter: Egg burritos; Warm tofu with spicy garlic sauce (I am also looking for tasty Tofu dishes); Fish and chips; Spicy orange tilapia (sriracha sauce adds a spicy component); Kale and potato puree; Grilled cheese sandwich with onion jam, taleggio, and escarole).Boy, this is an interesting work and I am looking forward to continuing experimenting with these recipes! A genuine populist cookbook, harvesting the ideas of so many different people. . . .

Sectioning it into seasons then resectioning it into sub categories does not make for an easy book to follow. That alone loses 2 stars because the recipes are now a mess. Yes, a mess. Too many cross referencing is obnoxious. If you are going to coordinate into breakfast lunch and dinner do that and then make recommendations within the listing of seasonality.

I returned this book

Loved the cookbook, but the kindle formatis annoying and not conducive to browsing.

This book is my "go to" for almost everything I want to make. I have not made anything from this book that has not been at least very good. Many things are excellent. I have bought this book for all of my nephews and nieces when they have moved out on their own.

I love Epicurious and I love this book. The recipes are fun, exciting, and a bit exotic. The ingredients are obtainable in most supermarkets. I enjoy just going through the book and reading the recipes and reviews from people from around the world. The recipes I've tried have been delicious...this goes into regular rotation.

It delivers the goods - it's a good resource for ideas and inspiration. It's a shame that there weren't more pictures to bring the meals alive. I'm glad we got it nonetheless.