I love to read cookbooks, and I credit Jane Brody for that! My mother gave me this book years ago when I was trying to eat healthier and it worked. The information on nutrition in the beginning of the book is excellent and I have referred to it again and again. When I got married to a man who would almost rather eat dirt than eat "healthy" food, I won him over with recipes from this book. Now my kids love them, too. I can't say enough good things about Jane Brody - I also have her "Good Food Gourmet" - another triumph and a staple in my kitchen.

I first bought this book about 12 years ago and together with Brody's subsequent book, Good Food Gourmet, it is the very core of my cooking repetoire. My mother was truly a gourmet cook, so I know great food. Brody's recipes easily combine excellent taste with nutritional value. There is no loss of flavor or meal satisfaction here!! In fact, I find that other meals are too heavy and actually prefer to eat a home-cooked Brody meal over most other versions. I particularly like her contributions to ethnic food, and my favorites are Lemon Chicken with Bulgar, Vegetable Lasagna, and Hot and Sour Soup.

I have been feeling guilty about replacing my paperbook books, which are literally in tatters, with the relatively expensive hardcover versions. Yet in reading prior reviews, other people have done exactly that! How many other cookbooks actually require replacement anyway?

Having Jane Brody's cookbooks is like being a member of an elite club. Once you own them, you realize that you know more than most people. Brody is a master. Do not miss out on this and other fine books by Brody.

Three years ago I decided to get healthy: change the way I eat, exercise, live. Jane Brody's Good Food Book was given to me as a gift and has been part of my life ever since. Her recipes are delicious. She uses lots of herbs and substitutes bad stuff in traditional recipes with good stuff. It's real cooking for real life.

I was surprised to see this classic cookbook so far down the popularity list. Checking our kitchen bookcase, where I keep the dozen or so cookbooks I use most often, I found that the copyright date on my hardback was 1981. Well, twenty-two years later, I no longer refer to it weekly because I have learned so much of it by heart, but I certainly use it monthly, and still find it invaluable.

More 60-Minute Gourmet, like its companion volume 60-Minute Gourmet, is a collection of weekly "60-Minute Gourmet" columns published in the New York Times during the 1970s and early 1980s. The recipes comprise a wide variety of cuisines and are uniformly quick and uniformly light (a handful of recipes call for heavy cream, but it can almost always be dispensed with). The ingredients and techniques still work well today - perhaps not the "cutting edge" dishes and presentations one might expect from, say, a Roy Yamaguchi, but mastering the 60-Minute Gourmet recipes will make you capable of cooking almost anything. Consider these as high-quality building blocks for creating your own brand of gourmet cuisine at home.

Keep an eye peeled for the late M. Franey's out-of-print volumes as well. They, too, remain fresh and tasty.

I obtained this book by a fortunate accident - I use it constantly as a reference and, sometimes when I just need to read an interesting anecdote written by somebody who loves not only food, but all that surrounds it.

Pierre Franey does not talk down to his reader, but he does teach.

One of my favorite passages from his book is: "When I have been asked over the years the most basic thing an aspiring cook could be taught, the answer is almost invariable. If you learn a few baic techniques of cookery, the rest is applied logic. If you can make a basic mayonnaise, for example, you can make a sauce remoulade or a sauce tartare with the simple additions of a few ingredients such as choped anchovy, capers, pickles and so on."

I depend on Pierre, not only for his skill as a teacher, but just as much so for his ability to inspire.

I highly recommend this book for the busy professional who desires to make their house a home.

Why oh why is this timeless cookbook out of print? The fish recipes are uncomplicated yet sophisticated - likely to be found in trendy restaurants today (although the book was written in 1986). We take our "Seafood Cookbook" with us on vacations knowing that the ingredients will be available in most stores and that we won't have to give up hours of "beach time" preparing a fresh and delicious seafood dinner.

I did not grow up eating fish, but love seafood now. I was at a loss as to how to prepare restaurant-quality recipes at home. I found this book on my mother's bookshelf, she gave it to me, and now am buying it as a gift for friends who like to cook but do not have a source for nearly foolproof seafood methodology. An enormous variety of seafood is included; interesting ingredients are used; recipes are easily adapted to no-added-fat cooking. Most recipes can be accomplished in a half hour on a work night. All look nice on the platter and plate. You cannot go wrong with Pierre Franey!

I love this book, and I'm about to order one for my daughter. I've used the book for over five years and have tried about half the recipes. All are consistently good and are quick and fairly simple.

Within the pages of 'Cooking in America' a lot of time and work was put into this excellent book filled with a wide variety of meals from the simple to complex recipes developed over our American history.

I have this cookbook in my possession. It has not really stood out for me as being anything special. I have consulted it occassionally and the recipes are not my cup of tea.

I feel like I'm missing out.

Next week I plan to sell my copy on ebay, as I feel it is taking up space in my bookshelf where a cookbook that better inspires me can go.

Several of you have raved and are looking for it. Well, I have it and it's yours if you want to bid on ebay for it.

My copy has fallen apart and I still use it. So many of the recipes have become holiday favorites that are requested year in and year out. Have you tried the recipe for RICE GRETE, the best rice pudding on the planet?

I HAVE OWNED THIS COOKBOOK FOR ABOUT 20+ YEARS AND HAVE USED IT CONTINUOUSLY FOR AS LONG A TIME. WHEN I WENT THROUGH MY DIVORCE, LUCKILY I WAS ALLOWED TO KEEP THE BOOK IN MY POSSESSION, BUT I HAVE TRIED TO BUY A COPY FOR MY EX-WIFE WITH NO SUCCESS. SHE REALLY LIKES IT TOO. THE RECIPE FOR THE LEG OF LAMB IS A RECIPE OF WHICH IS A THOUSAND YEAR OLD FROM MESOPOTAMIA AND IT IS AWESOME. FINGER LICKING GOOD. THE BHUNA GHOST RECIPE IS ALSO AWESOME.

I have had this for 20+ years and I rank it my #1 favorite cookbook tied with Cook's Illustrated "Best Recipe". The recipes are truly simple, easy, fast, & delicious. And elegant.

These are not "low cal" recipes but are so packed with flavor that you could pair the main meat or seafood dishes which will probably include cream & butter, with low-cal, low-fat sides.

This is a very instructive book & is great for beginners, which I was when I first bought it. Basically each recipe calls for fresh, high-quality cut of fish/meat/poultry which is then cooked with several complementary herbs, spices, aromatic veges, & that's it.

I have found that this may not be the best everyday family type cookbook because the high quality may be expensive. But I think many of the recipes are transferable to other more available fish, etc.

This is the second time I am purchasing this book. My original book is falling apart and covered in food stains from so much use. I've shared recipes from this book with everyone. The recipes are easy and delicious. You will use this book often, buy two!

Really, you just can't go wrong. There are no 'vanity' recipes in here (you know the ones, with 87 ingredients and impossible-to-find spices), only simple and flawless dishes that have been proven over time to be winners. I first got this book on the recommendation of a professional chef, and was very suspicious that it would be completely beyond my meager abilities. I was pleased to discover that everything about this book is straightforward, and no matter what your cooking level is you CAN make EVERY SINGLE RECIPE even if you are a cooking novice. It's a little heavy on the cream in some recipes, so I recommend more for special occasions and weekends than every day cooking - although there are quite a few healthier recipes in there as well.

Favorite recipes? Chicken Scarpariello (took me all of 25 minutes, start to finish), Shell Steak in Vinager & Cream sauce (will impress big-time).

I have only prepared one dish that fell short of genius (winter vegetables - despite the selection of vegetables, a little bland). His desserts (the blueberry brioche brings restaurant quality into your kitchen) are wonderfully inventive. Photos accompany many of the recipes and each food section contains an index of dishes to follow. This is the first book I turn to when I am in the mood for a challenge that I know I can complete.

Although there are a few dishes at Daniel's which I wish were present in this book, this book contains recipes which are highly enjoyable both to make as well as to consume.

The recipes can be complicated at time, but they are well-depicted. The reader need not consult other cooking manuals for an explanation of ingredients or techniques or processes. The dishes, if well-followed, produce delectable results, even if the undertaking was somewhat grand. Though the binding of my copy of the book has fallen apart though excessive use, it is probably the only component of the book about whose quality I have doubts.

If you're rushing through meal preparation with one eye onthe clock, or if you're picking up greasy bags of fast foodon your way home, this book will give you, pun intended, foodfor thought. The astounding thing about Pierre Franey's account of growing up in rural France is the obssessive,hands-on, all-encompassing effort to make the best use ofavailable resources to produce wonderful meals. Don't missthe tale of rabbit hunting with a secret weapon -- a petferret, or the story about stealing the pear. This is sobittersweet, it's unforgettable. AND it has recipes!!!

As always, Franey's recipes are delicious. Everything we've cooked, so far, has been quite an enjoyable meal.

However, being a competent but by no means an expert cook, I find that I can't complete the recipes in 60 minutes!

For someone who followed Franey's New York Times column, you'll really enjoy this book!