Diane Phillips, celebrated cookbook author, culinary school instructor, and brand spokesperson, presents a pantry full of helpful, timesaving suggestions in The Soup Mix Gourmet. Packed with over 375 recipes, the book uses soup mixes, starters, and pre-made condensed soups as key components for all of the dishes, making them easy and quick to prepare. But her recipes should surprise and delight even those who enjoy spending hours in the kitchen. The use of Lipton Savory Herb with Garlic makes a nice rub for a Holiday Standing Rib Roast, while Campbell's Condensed Cream of Chicken soup creates an appealing element when used in Chicken Piccata. Lipton Onion Soup is mixed with sour cream for a chip-and-dip staple; Top Ramen Salad is suggested for potluck dinners; and Beef and Onion Soup enlivens the standard pot roast. For every vegetable, pasta, meat, and marinade, there appears to be a soup mix destined to enhance it. With the time saved in this comprehensive and inventive book, the family and guests may slow down enough to actually enjoy a meal.

Reviewer: A reader from Minnesota, USA
The bulk of the jams in the book are simple and quick( relatively) to prepare.  The directions are easy to follow and written at the level any beginner cook could follow. Most of the ingredients are easy to find (and you'd have most on hand probably if you were making Jam anyway).
 

Reviewer: Brynda from FPO, AP (Okinawa, Japan)
I did find some of the recipes were a bit hard, but all in all, I had fun trying to make them all. I am not very good at it, but I have always wanted to learn what my Grandmother could do. I have since become pretty good at canning and jelly making. The recipes are very accurate ingredient wise, but make sure you read the directions before starting. It can get confusing. but if you read it twice it makes sense. I am in Japan right now, so haven't had a chance to try them all as I need some ingredients I can't get here. Buy this book...your family will love you for it, and it saves money! You no longer have to buy jelly for $3 at the grocery store.
 

How can pectin-deficient ingredients which normally rely on sugar for setting be adjusted for sugarless cooking? Diabetics in particular will find this an excellent guide to preparing preserves without sugar, or to using artificial sweeteners as substitutes. An excellent cookbook with an unusual premise.
 

Pickling isn't just dill pickles and sauerkraut (although both appear in this book). Pickling is also Spiced Whole Onions, Tomato Peach Salsa, Almond Stuffed Jalapeño, and more. In fact, pickling can stock a pantry with jars of tangy, sweet, or savory condiments that can make a 20-minute meal taste like a carefully crafted dinner. Pickling is preserving food in a vinegar or salt solution, which makes the product high-acid and reduces the processing required for long-term storage. No pressure canner is required; rather, the processed recipes in this book require only a hot-water bath averaging 15 to 20 minutes. Some are simply refrigerated or frozen. This is pickling for today's cooks. The recipes don't call for bushels of produce, dozens of jars, or a quarter- acre garden. A good grocery store or farmer's market will do. Nor do they presume a family of 12. Instead, all recipes are made in small batches for today's smaller households. The book does assume a love of creative cooking and a wide- changing interest in varied cuisines. In addition to the pickle recipes, there are also 12 recipes for dishes using the pickled products: Moroccan Chicken with Preserved Lemons, Grilled Tuna in Maui Marinade, Rosemary Olive Bread, and more.
 

Reviewer: William from Rochester, United States
This is fantastic! I've started canning just this year. I bought four canning books, and 90% of the canning I've done has been from this one. Super for small batches, but they're easily converted to larger ones. Fantastic for the home gardener--even if you have a small garden. There are great recipes for salsa, tomato sauces, pickles of all flavors, hot peppers, & jardinières.
 

Discover the fast, easy way to save and preserve fresh and healthy fruits, vegetables, and herbs with this indispensable guide. The Busy Person's Guide to Preserving Food is packed with time-saving tips and advice for freezing, canning, cold storage, and drying. Here is the most up-to-date information on preserving food in the shortest amount of time right at your fingertips. 

For the self-sufficient farmer or the urban weekend gardener, the third edition of Stocking Up is an invaluable addition to any kitchen. With detailed illustrations and easy-to-follow directions, this encyclopedic resource makes "stocking up" easy.  With more than 300 recipes for preservable foods -- from old standards like casseroles, fruit leather, and ice cream to new favorites such as sun-dried tomatoes, herb vinegars, and salt- and sugar-free versions of basic fare, Stocking Up covers everything for the home cook. Hundreds of charts and illustrations simplify preserving chores and choices for everyone interested in stocking up on wholesome, natural foods.
 

Bold, crunchy and good for us, today's hassle-free pickles, attest Chris Schlesinger, John Willoughby (co-authors of the bestselling The Thrill of the Grill) and Dan George (aka the Pickle Man), can add plenty of pizzazz to meals or serve as a flavorful snack all their own. In Quick Pickles: Easy Recipes with Big Flavor, they team up to reminisce about their lifelong love of pickles and share recipes and pickling lore that reflect cooking traditions from all over the world. From El Salvadoran Pineapple-Pickled Cabbage, a featured favorite at Schlesinger's East Coast Grill in Cambridge, Mass., to Pickled Peaches in the Style of India, their clear recipes and eager commentary will tempt even the most ornery of taste buds.

Reviewer: A reader from Los Angeles
This book is full of easy to follow recipes that taste wonderful and look beautiful. Basic, easy to understand instructions on canning, labeling and gift wrapping are included on the first few pages. Most of the recipes are for slightly different than your average preserves (You won't be finding the Pineapple-Orange marmalade on your supermarket shelves!). Recipes for pickles, syrups, mustards and liquors are included along with jams, jellies, marmalades and other preserves.

Lip Smackin' Jams and Jellies is a collection of the best recipes for jams, jellies, marmalades, butters, curds, conserves and preserves--plus a few great breads to spread them on. With the help of chef Sharon Reiss and photographer Colin McGuire, the Butlers lay out the ingredients, tips, instructions and images of country favorites like Celia's Sour Cherry Jam, Cider House Apple Butter and Old-Time Grape Jelly. These recipes and the fun format in which they are presented will bring out the true country in any cook. The absolute best farm recipes of America's heartland are the perfect foundation for any cook--beginner or expert--to recapture that inherent joy of down-home cooking. This series not only gives the "Blue Ribbon Best" recipes, but information about equipment and ingredients and many helpful tips.

The art of preserving--brought right up-to-date! Sweet or tangy, to spread on bread, eat on the side, or spice up a dish: these 250 recipes for preserves of every description shrug off the gingham-clad image traditionally associated with jam making. From fresh and fruity conserves to sweet and sour chutney, they'll all add zing to a meal. Along with definitions of every variation--including fruit cheese, mincemeat, glacéd fruit, and vegetables in oil--there are "watch points" that warn you about common mistakes and help assure your preserve will come out just right. And, there are a range of delicious recipes in which preserves figure as the main ingredient. Just imagine biting into a yummy tangerine marmalade soufflé for dessert, or the taste of warm duck salad with blackberry dressing. Ordinary sausages and potatoes become out of this world when paired with plum and red onion confit. The pictures on every page will simply make your mouth water!
 

More than condiments but not exactly side dishes, the combinations of fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices featured in this book are the very definition of flavor when eaten by themselves, and add a jolt of taste that can dress up any main course. Here are 40 inventive, easy-to-make recipes ranging from the familiar to the exotic. Full-color photos.

Reviewer: Rosemary from Los Gatos, CA

Besides including a fine selection of recipes, there are also sections which discuss ingredients in detail and specific techniques. For instance, the Fresh Ginger-Spice Cookies includes a reference that will tell you how professional chefs form the dough logs that don't contain air bubbles. Following the recipe for Lemon Meringue Pie there are two pages of information about meringue.   Some cookbooks includes lots or pretty pictures and not a lot of content. This is not one of them. While there are some lovely pictures in this book (like the Chocolate Raspberry Cake), some of the pictures are to show you things that would be hard to explain in text (the different stages of beating egg whites). If the choice was between more pictures or more recipes/information, then I believe they made the right choice.  This would be an excellent book for anyone who's really serious about baking -- either a new baker just starting or an experienced baker who wants to expand their knowledge.

An accomplished cook and cookbook author, Sally Sampson is also the mother of two school-age children and the veteran of countless bake sales. She knows what makes the perfect bake sale recipe: It's got to be portable, easy to prepare, attractive under less than perfect conditions, and it's got to taste fabulous. In The Bake Sale Cookbook: Quintessential American Desserts, every recipe -  cookies, bars, cakes, baby cakes and cupcakes, pies, quick breads, muffins, coffee cakes, even Lemonade Three Ways -- meets these demanding criteria. 

Did your child tell you at 8 P.M. she needed a contribution for the third grade fund-raiser the next morning? Try one of the variations on classic Crisp Rice Treats or Seven-Layer Bars. Baking for a more sophisticated community event? Gretchen Taylor's Three-Layer Mint Brownies, Buttermilk-Glazed Apple Cake Studded with Coconut and Walnuts, or Ginger Pear Pie will sell out in no time. Are you contributing dessert for a potluck dinner this weekend? Bring a Banana Cake with Dark Chocolate Ganache or Black Chocolate Cake with Caramel Icing and there won't be any leftovers.   With ideas on how to adapt recipes for specific holidays and kids' birthday parties and essential information about transporting, serving, and displaying your precious baked cargo, The Bake Sale Cookbook is a taste-tempting and essential collection of all-American desserts.

Reviewer: Julie from Evanston, IL
I loved Nancy Baggett's book; I am a professional chef and cooking teacher myself and I've made probably fifteen recipes from this book, several of which I've used in classes during the holiday season. Particularly delicious were the Black-Bottom Mini Brownie Cups, Iced Cranberry-White Chocolate Drop Cookies, Ginger-Spice Crinkles, and the Coconut-Banana Chews (to which I added 2 tablespoons of cocoa with the dry ingredients-yum). I've given many copies of the book as gifts this year and will continue to do so. I found the book to be well-researched and user-friendly. The pictures (by photographer Alan Richardson) are gorgeous.

Think Caramel Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting, Strawberry Banana Muffins, Lemon Meringue Pie, and Sour Cream Coffee Cake. These old-fashioned comfort sweets are among those that Jennifer Appel turns out at her Buttercup Bake Shop. And while The Buttercup Bake Shop Cookbook evokes lazy afternoons in small towns, white picket fences, well-worn aprons, and warm fruit pies cooling on the window sill, the Buttercup Bake Shop is actually in Manhattan. Appel has included 80 bakery favorites in this little gem of a book, and the recipes are easy to follow and easy to make, and read like a list of favorite American desserts: Rice Krispies Treats, Gingersnaps, Old-Fashioned Buttermilk Pie, Glazed Pumpkin Squares, and Rice Pudding. Keep this wonderful cookbook in the kitchen, close at hand, so that with just a moment's notice you can whip up a special sweet something that'll make everyone smile.

Reviewer: Midwest Book Review  from Oregon, WI
In Cake Magic, expert cake baker Jill Snider has compiled an impressive and mouth-watering collection of outstanding recipes for cakes, bars, squares, and more. From Lemon Tote Cake, Apricot Hazelnut Torte, Pumpkin Cheesecake; Apple Nut Coffee Cakes; and Brazil Nut Fruitcake; to White Chocolate Macadamia Oatmeal Cookies; Applesauce Loaf; Triple Chocolate Bundt Cake; Lime Daiquiri Cake; and Peach Cobbler, Cake Magic recipes are showcased with clear and easy-to-follow instructions. Whether a novice in the kitchen or an experienced family cook, Cake Magic will be the cookbook of choice when planning deserts for all manner of family meals and celebratory events.

Reviewer: A reader from Alexandria, VA
I've spent many hours just looking at the PICTURES of the cakes! I've had this book for about 2 weeks and am getting ready to make my third cake.   There is a wide variety of cakes to choose from and some are very simple, while some can get to be very involved, but I've found the end result to be worth it! The directions are clear and easy to follow, but sometimes call for ingredients not often "on hand," i.e.., German chocolate. The index is thorough, so it is easy to find an appropriate recipe using the cake mix you have on hand. The cakes in this book will definitely garner a WOW whenever made for company. This is a great book to add to your collection, or to give as a gift for someone with your sweet tooth. Be warned, you WILL gain weight if you buy this book!