Get Cooking: 150 Simple Recipes to Get You Started in the Kitchen by Mollie Katzen

Get Cooking: 150 Simple Recipes to Get You Started in the Kitchen Reviews

• 
  Ivonne Rovira

  Get Cooking accomplishes an almost impossible feat: to break down cooking into its simplest components and appeal to complete novices while still providing something for grizzled cooking veterans. This is the best book I’ve ever seen for newbies, making recommendations on knives, bowls, everything you need to furnish an adequate kitchen. But longtime cooks will find lots of simple but creative recipes.
  
  Mollie Katzen, author of the seminal
  The Moosewood Cookbook: Recipes from Moosewood Restaurant, Ithaca, New York, really scored with this fabulous cookbook. Highly recommended.
  
• 
  reading is my hustle

  This is a beginner's cookbook but there is something in it for everyone. Most importantly, the recipes are affordable and I do not have to make special trips to different stores to find the ingredients.
  
  So often lately, trying new recipes means spending extra money, and with three growing children, we need to watch our food budget. I also like its size, organization, and selection of recipes- nothing fussy: just good, nutritious food.
  
  Crowd-pleaser food, if you will.
• 
  Tattered Cover Book Store

  Jackie says:
  
  I'm one of those people who can read a cookbook just as avidly as any novel, and "Get Cooking" is quite a read. It's designed for the beginning cook, complete with pages of what gear a kitchen needs, from knives to storage. There is even a lengthy section--with plenty of pictures--of how to chop vegetables, which would have seemed odd to me if I hadn't just had to teach a young man I know that yes, you DO need to peel a yellow onion before you slice it. Then begins the 150 simple recipes to make some cooking basics like soups and mashed potatoes. She starts with the absolute basics, then lists add ins and other ideas for a bit more flair, still keeping it as simple as possible. Which I LOVED. I've read through her "Moosewood" books and often been frustrated by their complicated instructions or exotic ingredients. There is very little of that here, and it's confined to the "get creative" sections of each recipe. This book is accessible to everyone, with enough tips and twists on recipes to keep a seasoned cook interested. Heck, her version of Waldorf Salad actually sounds GOOD, which is a minor miracle in my pot-luck scarred opinion. This would make a great first cookbook for a person just starting out on their own, or a great addition to anyone's bulging cookbook shelves.
• 
  Elaine Gardner

  I often judge a cookbook by how many of the recipes that I want to duplicate. In this case, the number was up to about 75%. This book has officially moved from the borrow column to the purchase column. It is not a gourmet cookbook but rather a resource to make your cooking more interesting and get you out of the "what am I going to make tonight" rut.
• 
  Rebecca

  Pictures of recipes? Yes.
  Commentary on recipes? Yes.
  Nutrition facts? No.
  Recipe Style? Modern American.
  Any keepers? No.
  
  Nothing groundbreaking here, but a lot of recipes you're probably familiar with already. On the plus side, a lot of the recipes are fairly short, which is a bonus for me. There is also a good assortment of vegetarian options.
• 
  Gaby

  Get Cooking takes the beginner through all the steps, clearly and briefly, from how to study a recipe to make sure that you have all the ingredients and tools and to understand the whole process of preparing the food to getting it on the table on time.
  
  Each chapter begins with the essential facts about the type of food, the tools and ingredients that you will most often use, and even an assessment when the inexpensive or moderately priced tools and ingredients will suffice and the times when the added expense is worthwhile.
  
  Katzen describes the cuisine as "'Big Tent,' accommodating a broad base of tastes and needs, vegetarian, meat-loving and everything in between." Most of the dishes are familiar - the items that you'd find at a party, picnic, or enjoy at home. We've made the teriyaki chicken thighs and the poached salmon - which were both easy and tasty! I am eager to try the recipes for carmelized balsamic-red onion soup with cheese-topped croutons, linguini with clam sauce, linguine with spinach and peas, green pea and feta quiche, and deeply roasted cauliflower.
  The three bean salad, mac and cheese, spaghetti with meatballs, pasta with tuna, white beans, and artichoke hearts, chinese-style peanut noodles, chocolate-chip mint cookies and intensely chocolate brownies are sure to become regulars at our home.
  
  Get Cooking would be excellent for someone just learning to cook - it gives you the essentials of cooking in simple steps and offers tasty rewards for your effort.
  
  Publisher: HarperStudio (October 13, 2009), 288 pages.
  Review copy provided by the publisher.
• 
  Jackie

  I'm one of those people who can read a cookbook just as avidly as any novel, and "Get Cooking" is quite a read. It's designed for the beginning cook, complete with pages of what gear a kitchen needs, from knives to storage. There is even a lengthy section--with plenty of pictures--of how to chop vegetables, which would have seemed odd to me if I hadn't just had to teach a young man I know that yes, you DO need to peel a yellow onion before you slice it. Then begins the 150 simple recipes to make some cooking basics like soups and mashed potatoes. She starts with the absolute basics, then lists add ins and other ideas for a bit more flair, still keeping it as simple as possible. Which I LOVED. I've read through her "Moosewood" books and often been frustrated by their complicated instructions or exotic ingredients. There is very little of that here, and it's confined to the "get creative" sections of each recipe. This book is accessible to everyone, with enough tips and twists on recipes to keep a seasoned cook interested. Heck, her version of Waldorf Salad actually sounds GOOD, which is a minor miracle in my pot-luck scarred opinion. This would make a great first cookbook for a person just starting out on their own, or a great addition to anyone's bulging cookbook shelves.
• 
  kaity

  It's definitely geared towards beginners, but I like this cookbook for being down-to-earth and peppered with fresh ideas. Strikes me as a great gift for college students or newlyweds.
  
  I admit I was surprised to see Mollie Katzen call for canned tomatoes and frozen mango, and I appreciate how realistic these choices are, since it is both crazy expensive and ethically questionable to insist on fresh everything all the time. I also found the sidebars really useful, in which she gives a list of ideas to spice up a recipe & make it your own. They would sure help on days when I don't have the energy to be creative.
• 
  Diane Chaniewski

  I picked this up from the YA section of my library because I am really trying to learn how to cook. The only negative is in their vegetarian section. I love vegetarian food, but the options here (slim-pickings) sound disgusting...I mean who wants to eat: "chick-pea and mango curry"?
  
  
  I've done a few of the recipes (main entrees so far) and they're turned out well. Also wished that there was more of a dessert section, but, out of 150, many are well-chosen.
• 
  Selena

  This book really does have a lot of simple recipes, and a lot of different kinds (not just 300 ways to make pasta). What's even better, most of the recipes have a sidebar that tells you simple variations on the recipe (like "You an add such-and-such on step whatever" or "substitute y for x").
  
  My only complaint is that just about everything in this book is 4-6 servings. I wish they had some that could be prepared for someone living alone or with only one other person.
• 
  Angela Randall

  I was told I had won a copy of this from
  Glue. I was pretty pleased about this and I added it here — only, it never turned up and Glue never bothered to tell me that even though I'd won the book the prizes aren't honoured for winners outside the US. You'd think they'd skip the bit where they tell you that you've won, wouldn't you?
  
  
• 
  Katy

  Definitely a cookbook for beginners. I mean, the title should make that obvious, but I didn't think it would be quite so basic. For example, there is a recipe for baked potatoes. And one for mashed potatoes. I understand and appreciate what Katzen is doing with this book, but as far as beginner cookbooks go, this isn't one of the best I have read.
• 
  Cassandra

  I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn how to cook. The directions are detailed and clear. I also recommend this book to people who, like me, know how to cook but are looking for some classic recipes with creative variations. Everything I've made from this cookbook has turned out delicious! A go-to cookbook when I have run out of ideas for what to plan for dinner.
• 
  Tj Cioffe

  very useful cookbook; filled with relatively easy to make recipes. also has lots of "staple" recipes that many people will have enjoyed growing up. gives variations on each recipe so that you can make it a few different ways and experiment with the outcomes.
• 
  Josie

  I would LOVE to have this book on my personal shelves!! Instead I will just have to keep borrowing it from the library :P
  
  The recipes are all simple and look soo tasty! Though there is one that I think I may copy into my personal recipe book ... Cheesecake Bars ... mmmmmmmm ...... :)
  
  Enough said.
• 
  Jamie

  Basic recipes, but great for kick starting your cooking skills.
• 
  Cherie

  A- Great cookbook, really geared towards those who are just starting to cook. Some great recipes, some are vegetarian, and most are easy and yummy sounding.
• 
  Amy

  Most impressive! I already knew how to do a lot of what is described in this book, but this is an excellent primer for those who have little to no experience in the kitchen!
• 
  Wendy

  I'm giving this a conditional four stars. I haven't actually tried any of the recipes yet, but there are a ton that I'm going to scan to try at a future date. Looks very promising and easy.
• 
  Amanda

  This is probably the best and simpliest cookbook I have read yet! I can actually use more than half of the recipes, the ingredients are easy to com by and the recipes are a breeze to follow!
• 
  Huma Rashid

  I was underwhelmed by the recipes - some just seemed ... icky. Still, decent enough, I guess. But seriously, there are better 'beginner' cookbooks out there.
• 
  Laura

  Will purchase in hardcover when I get the chance. I borrowed from the library.
• 
  Tara

  Some good recipes (it looked like) and reasonably easy.
• 
  Kelly

  4 stars for this book based on the fact that all the recipes were very clear and all had pictures. However, I wasn't inspired by many of the recipes in this book so I settled for 3 stars.
• 
  Kim

  she makes you feel confident in creating good meals efficiently. really neat book.