They had it at Costco for a couple of weeks for about $22.00. I haven't seen it there in the last two weeks, but I haven't looked as closely.
LOTS and LOTS of recipes. Not particularly clear recipes, but not bad either. If you have cooking experience, you'll be able to fill in the info on technique and time andyou won't have a problem with the recipes. Not for the beginner in my opinion.
The index is weak. I recommend making a list of recipes you like inside the front cover with page number, or adding them to the index in ink so you can find them later. I was trying to find the roasted red pepper cream sauce recipe which is attached to a bucatini pasta. I suppose it was indexed with the bucatini? Couldn't find it in the index at all. I did find it by hand search later and made a note up front in the book.
The recipes in their simplicity are actually kind of enlightening if you have the experience to read between the lines. I've become so used the handholding recipe writing popular in america that I began to close my mind somewhat to alterations. I made alterations, certainly, but the simplicity of these recipes really shows you how to make a cream sauce with most any additive for example. At least the simplicity struck me with that insight. It kind of freed my mind in a way.
Some odd terms. I hadn't ever heard of mache referred to as corn salad so I was confused about corn salad until last night when Martha Stewart's Hors D'oevres Handbook explained it to me. I was beginning to think it meant a canned corn product, but then I saw a recipe that called for canned corn so I figured I was wrong. I guess I still need SOME handholding.
It was worth the price to me. My budget is such that I would have been hesitant to pay the cover price, but now that I have it, I think the value is there for the cover price.
Phil
