Tante Marie's Cookbook sits on our kitchen counter as a constant checkpoint, no matter where we get recipes from. I always use it as a cross-reference against other books. I'll open a recipe in the Silver Palate, but I'll check Mary's techniques for cooking that kind of meat, fish or vegetable. When I incorporate her suggestions, it always comes out better - and I understand more thoroughly the principle behind the recipes. So this is a cookbook that will enhance every other cookbook you own.

We are passionate cooks, but this book has taught us what we've never been able to do before -- cook without a recipe. In fact, at the beginning of every chapter Mary tells you how to select the discussed meat, fish or vegetable, what cooking methods are best for it, and how to cook it without a recipe. Mary straddles the difficult divide of providing a resource that teaches the experienced cook but is accessible enough to the beginner. In fact, if you own only one cookbook, this is the one to get.

In addition to wonderful recipes, tricks, techniques and the how-tos that change okay to fabulous, this book is filled with great anecdotes and recipes from some of the Bay Area's best restaurants. All made accessible by Tante Marie herself, patiently explaining the difficult, offering alternatives for when you can't find some exotic ingredients, but firmly telling you when you simply can't compromise. (Mary declares "seared tuna has no place in Salad Nicoise!")

We have a new vocabulary in our kitchen: "What does Mary say?" and "Mary says. . ." I promise you, if you let Tante Marie guide you, you'll never eat another so-so meal at home.

15 of 15 found the following review helpful:

A Great Must Have Cookook  May 06, 2003

I love a cookbook like this! As a good cook who is completely self taught, I love how easy this is to use and how enjoyable it is to read. The recipes I tried are well written and delicious.

This book is laid out really well. The "Contents" lists each food section in red and all the recipes that follow with page number in black. This makes it easy to find what you want to cook. Few cookbooks offer this helpful layout.

The recipes are explained well and easy to follow. Again, the 2 color format really helps make this cookbook user friendly.

I like how each chapter starts with an informative overview of the food and cooking techniques. It includes a paragragh called "The Big Problem". Here you'll get tips on what problems you could encounter and how to avoid them. Boy, is that a big help. Then the last paragraph is "How to Cook Without A Recipe". This is a great help so you can improvise and not be a slave to the recipes. Then all the recipes follow.

After each recipe are helpful tips and information that can only come from lots of experience. This is where a cooking instructor like the author really shares all her knowledge.
The recipes I tried were simply delicious and simple to follow.
Some recipes require more work but they are still easy to do. The instuctions are so well written it makes it fun to cook.
This is a "MUST HAVE" book!

13 of 13 found the following review helpful:

A Genuine Learning Experience  Sep 09, 2005
By Ralph White
I selected five recipes more or less randomly from the book and made them in preparation for this review. Over the course of a couple of months I made the roasted almonds, paella, boned leg of lamb with tapenade stuffing, vegetable charlotte, and tiramisu. Normally I take recipes as guidance (which Ms. Risley recommends), but for this exercise I followed them as closely as possible (except that I used blanched almonds, and I barbecued the lamb). I loved all of the dishes and my guests did, too. My learning curve was very steep, and I extended my culinary technique considerably. For instance, I'd never considered butterflying a leg of lamb before. Now? No problem! Ms. Risley composes her chapters and recipes very like Julia Child, by which I mean that she interposes considerable guidance on culinary technique among her recipes. It works for Julia and it works for Mary, too. I have one regular houseguest who now pulls this book from the bookshelf in the kitchen and requests me to make anything from it. I figure there are enough excellent recipes in this book to make me look good for years to come.

10 of 10 found the following review helpful:

A wonderful cooking experience  Jun 23, 2003
By gman
A wonderful cooking experience was had by all for myself and family. For some extra fun, my family and I sometimes decide to pick out a cookbook and make a meal entirely from that book. Using this cookbook we all picked out one recipe apiece to try out to make a full dinner. Our experence ranged from fairly competent and experienced to the true novice in the kitchen. We made our different courses and the at the end we were very happy with the results. We all agreed that the recipes were well thought out and easy to follow with excellent intstructions and sidebars to answer just about all of our questions. They were practical and informative with the net result being a pleasureable cooking experience for us. Being from the San Francisco area, we are exposed to many wonderful foods and restaurants which I think have increased our appreciation of well prepared foods. We think this cookbook will be enjoyable for all who use it. Chin chin!

16 of 18 found the following review helpful:

Wonderful gift  Jul 11, 2003
By Peggy Vincent "author and reader"
I bought this cookbook on a caterer's recommendation as a high school gift for a young man who is living with my family and hopes to become a chef. It was perfecto! I'm grateful he leaves it in my kitchen so I can make use of it, too. I've been cooking for 40 years, but I learned many new tricks and absorbed into my DNA several new recipes from just leafing thru these pages while sipping a latte in the morning.
A must-buy for the serious but casual cook.

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