The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper: Recipes, Stories, and Opinions from Public Radio's Award-Winning Food Show

I recently bought this book and have already made several of the recipes. They are simple, but soo yummy. I like the extra comments and hints that are added.

This cookbook is better than it sounded on the radio. The recipes are imaginative and quick, the food tips are informative and off-beat and the style is personal and breezy. I've enjoyed this new cookbook enough to buy extra copies for gifts.

I like, not love, The Splendid Table. I enjoy it when I happen to turn on the radio, but I don't market my calendar to ensure I catch the radio show.

On the other hand, I'm completely taken with this cookbook. It fills a specific niche: real non-shortcut cooking, with the awareness that you probably have to start dinner after you get home from work. The recipes are all chosen with that desire/limitation in mind, and give you an estimate of how long it'll take from start to finish.

There's a pretty wide range of ethnic flavors, from Italian pasta to Chinese stir fries, which can keep the supper table interesting. So far, I've made only one recipe, but it was a clear winner: tarragon chicken breasts with buttery leeks. It promised to be done in half an hour... which was really more like 45 minutes, but we spent less than ten minutes in the kitchen. Many recipes suggest improvisations, simple or complex; she suggests other herbs instead of the tarragon for that chicken recipe, but another recipe for pasta with butternut squash and greens extends to a fennel garlic roast. I have my eye on this recipe for corn chowder and on the tamarind-glazed pork chops.

Among the features I like in this cookbook (and wish others would adopt) is that the ingredient is in boldface. That is, "2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice" has the "lemon juice" in bold type, making it easy to scan through the ingredient list while you're composing a shopping list or cooking.

A more major component of the cookbook is the little essays that come from the radio show, such as the discovery that consuming different cheeses before bedtime affects the nature of your dreams, and an explanation of the seed savers' exchange. Plus, a "building your library" sidebar will recommend cookbooks that you probably want to explore. The result is an inordinately *readable* cookbook, not just one to grab when you're wondering what you can possibly feed the family.

How to Eat Supper is one of the most well written cookbooks ever. You can hear Lynn's voice throughout the book and the recipes are incredibly simple to make. I read this cover to cover in no time and have successfully made some of the recipes. I will treasure this book for a lifetime-it is one of the best cookbooks anyone will ever own. This is an especially great book for people who want to start cooking or for those who do already but need good direction. I have learned so much through her book and appreciate this cookbook so much! It was well worth the money!

If you like to eat and love to cook, this is the book for you.