Of my 200+ cookbooks, this is my favourite. I've given up on folding page corners over to mark recipes, because most every page got folded over.

I would attempt to give it six stars, if there were more photographs, and they were facing their actual recipes, but you can't have everything in life.

In the meantime, I'll make do with this book. On one page, she will challenge you to make your own potsticker wrappers, and you really should try to if you want to know what heights potstickers can ascend to, but on the next page, she will feed you sublimely-easy soul-food pierogies.

Not a book for a rookie cook, and do not try to make any of the recipes for the first time when guests are arriving shortly, but she details just what parts of a recipe can be made ahead, and exactly how far ahead. Most recipes come with extensive "cook's notes" giving advice and alternate versions of the recipe. Take a practice run at a recipe first, then make it for real and watch your reputation just soar.

Even the index works well, unusual in a cookbook.

Favourite recipes from this book? There wouldn't be space. Just allow me to quote from the endpapers of the previous edition (which I am passing on as soon as this edition gets to me):

"Nicole Routhier shows how the simple pancake can be transformed into a Norwegian lefse, Russian blintz, French crepe, Mexican burrito, Chinese mu-shu.

"She lets us sample 'Ladies in a Sarong,' peppery little meatballs dressed in Asian flat noodles and dressed again in lettuce leaves, before moving on to coulibiac, a sumptuous salmon pie with Russian roots and a French accent, and then serves up turon, a sweet tropical strudel from the table of the Phillipine merienda. Through it all, we never forget the essential secrets of a velvety brioche, a feathery puff pastry, the flakiest phyllo, and the silkiest of pastas.

"'Cooking Under Wraps' goes beyond delicious pastry coverings to explore crackling salt crusts, seamy beds of banana leaf, crispy rice-papers, juicy cabbage rolls, an much more."

I have just no idea what arc this Vietnamese/French woman could have possibly followed through life to allow her such mastery over so many absolutely distinct cuisines. I can always find picky little problems with a cookbook, like I sometimes have to turn pages while covered in dough, but that would be picayune of me here.

I am jealous of her skill, both in cooking, and writing about it.

This book is most excellent! The recipes are very easy to follow, and it was a lot easier than I expected to use.

I have have used it on a number of occasions and have recieved raves on the Morrocan Chicken Pie...

I make many of these recipes over & over. The chicken and mint salad is outstanding even without the chicken. An excellent nuoc cham. Another favorite is Vietnamese-style scrambled eggs. Yum, yum, yum.

I found this book to be enjoyable to read because the author is actually telling a story... to you. The book is written in the first person and it has an easy prose that i found very engaging and entertaining. The content does hit on many subjects just as life does and will hit home in a lot of cases. Great book.

This book has beautiful photographs and the instructions are well written enough so that both the novice and the expert will appreciate it. Those Vietnamese people who would like to learn more about their own culture and cooking will also be delighted with this book. Every one of the recipes I have cooked in this book have come out wonderful! The book also includes a list of what stores have the Vietnamese ingredients and an index explaining the various ingredients.

I love this book and recommend it to everyone who inquires about Vietnamese cooking. The recipes are authentic and easy to follow; the pictures are beautiful and helpful; and the stories behind the recipe are insightful. The only drawback is there is no table of contents for the name of the recipe -- just the main category like appetizer, soup, etc.

I am Vietnamese and love to eat Vietnamese food. I tried several recipes from this book and they turned out great. I highly recommend this book to whoever wants to learn about Vietnamese cooking. The instructions is very easy to follow. The only disappointment that I have is that there is no "Bu'n bo` Hue^'" recipe in this book.:=(

Many new and unusual ways on preparing fruit, from the common to the exotic. Dishes range from savory to sweet, main dish to desert. The format is easy to read and work from.

I fell in love with Nicole Routhier's book about three years ago, and I've been cooking from it ever since. I really enjoy using fruit in main dish recipes, and had never before been exposed to some of the ideas she presents. Some of my tried-and-true favorites are Curried Chicken Salad with Rice, Roasted Pork Chops with Grape Sauce (unbelievable!), Cracked Wheat Salad with Grapes and Pecans, Banana Muffins, Coconut Chicken, and Scallop Curry with Thai Flavors--the best ever!!--in which I followed her suggestion for substituting chicken. That's the thing; sometimes she does incorporate hard-to-find fruit (and other ingredients) in her recipes, but she always suggests substitutions that are totally accessible, like apples, bananas, and lime zest instead of Kaffir lime leaves, which I have yet to find in Arkansas. I highly recommend this book if you're into slightly sweetened entrees, and if you're trying to increase your three to five servings a day. Oh, and check out the chapter devoted to ice creams and sorbets. I bought a new ice cream maker because of it.

This book is an excellent reference on different recipes using fruits of different types and especially the "regulars" with which many of you are familiar! Many of the recipes use fruits in different settings than compotes, pies, or cobblers... Although she has some very GOOD recipes there as well! A must-have for any cook's collection! -ed-