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Recipes: A Collection for the Modern Cook Hardcover – Illustrated, November 8, 2005

by Susan Spungen (Author), Martha Stewart (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 21 ratings
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Recipes. Cooking all comes down to the recipes -- those ingredient-by-ingredient, technique-by-technique, step-by-step instructions.

In Recipes, Susan Spungen, founding food editor and editorial director for food at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia for twelve years, presents her own easy, unfettered ideas for cooking simple food rich with freshness and flavors to share with family and friends.

Recipes is organized by technique, explaining why sautéing is great for two or four but when feeding a crowd braising is the better choice. "Prepare" focuses on the basics, from making a vinaigrette to roasting garlic and peppers. "Chop" includes not just salads, but gazpacho and a Provençal sandwich that requires knife skills. "Sauté" explains how to pan-sear fish and make a layered omelet. "Grill" shows proper techniques for cooking scallops, asparagus, and steak over an open fire. "Roast" offers the perfect roast chicken and a roasted squash salad. "Bake" features a variety of pizzas as well as mushrooms baked in parchment paper. "Simmer and Braise" coaxes the most flavors from soups and lamb shanks. Finally, there's "Indulge," a selection of desserts from simple brownies and peach melba to a fruit crisp and a rich chocolate cake.

Susan believes that one of the most pleasurable parts of a meal should be the making of it. Recipes encourages home cooks to become confident cooks.

Previous page
  1. Print length
    272 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    William Morrow Cookbooks
  4. Publication date
    November 8, 2005
  5. Dimensions
    10.1 x 8.42 x 1.08 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0060731249
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0060731243
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Susan Spungen, the founding food editor of Martha Stewart Living, knows her cooking. Recipes, her collection of 100-plus formulas for home cooking, is deceptively unassuming; cooks at all levels of skill and sophistication will find it a source of superior, easy dish making--and instruction. Arranged by cooking techniques, the recipes include basics and old favorites like Pan-Seared Striped Bass, Rosemary Focaccia, and Herb-Crusted Lamb, as well as reworkings and "newer" dishes like Peanut Noodles with Mango, Baby Back Ribs with Coffee BBQ Sauce, and Pancetta Chicken with Lemon Fries. A section on sweets offers the tempting likes of Saucepan Brownies, Caramel Apple Tart, and Lemon Curd Cheesecake. Spungen's accomplishment is to provide a well chosen collection that readers will turn to again and again. Her small volume is thus more useful than many of its larger cousins, which seem overdone by comparison. Spungen's stint at the magazine has also undoubtedly attuned her to the importance of the visual, and each recipe is accompanied by a color photo of the dish in all its simple glory. With a forward by the very Martha herself, the book deserves wide kitchen circulation. --Arthur Boehm

About the Author

Susan Spungen was the founding food editor and editorial director for food at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia from its launch in 1991 until 2003. She wrote a bimonthly column called "Easy Entertaining" for the magazine until June 2004, and helped launch MSO's first all-food title, Everyday Food. She is coauthor of the best-selling Martha Stewart's Hors d'Oeuvres Handbook. She lives in New York City.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ William Morrow Cookbooks; Illustrated edition (November 8, 2005)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0060731249
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0060731243
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.78 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 10.1 x 8.42 x 1.08 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 21 ratings

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  1. Susan Spungen

    Susan Spungen

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  2. Susan Spungen

    Susan Spungen

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    Susan Spungen is a cook, food stylist, recipe developer, and cookbook author. She was the Founding Food Editor at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia from its inception until 2003. She was the Culinary Consultant and Food Stylist on the feature films Julie & Julia, It’s Complicated, and Eat, Pray, Love. She is the author of Recipes: A Collection for the Modern Cook, What’s a Hostess to Do?, and Strawberries (A Short Stack Edition) and co-author of the best-selling Martha Stewart’s Hors d’Oeuvres Handbook. She lives in New York City and East Hampton, NY.

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
21 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Bill
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful cookbook
Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2022
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This cookbook is a wonderful addition to my library.
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munzin
5.0 out of 5 stars love the book
Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2021
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great ideas for innovative cooking in such a fun ways
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Karen R. Shoppell
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2016
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She has excellent recipes
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Cookie Weldon
5.0 out of 5 stars Refresh Your Receipe Collection
Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2006
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Many flavorful and some simple to prepare meals for the new or bored cook who needs some fresh ideas. She includes excellent versions and variations on classics, The directions for food preparation are clear and complete.
7 people found this helpful
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Maria T Warlow
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2014
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Excellent!
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B. Marold
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Essays on Familiar Recipes, Beautifully Packaged
Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2006
`RECIPES, a collection for the modern cook' by former `Martha Stewart Living' Editorial Director for food and entertaining, Susan Spungen is the answer to my question over what Miss Susan was doing with herself since her name disappeared from the `Martha Stewart Living' masthead. Miss Spungen was one of the very few `Martha Stewart' staffers who commonly appeared on `In Martha's Kitchen' when it ran on the Food Network before Ms. Martha went into the slammer. Since Ms. Spungen was obviously had talent in converting information about food into good magazine features, I expected her name to pop up somewheres. Well, here it is, as the author of a book with either the most unoriginal or the most clever of titles for a cookbook since Apicius.

Spungen was the very first person to hold the food / entertaining lead at `Martha Stewart Living', so it is reasonable to believe she had a lot to do in creating the style of the magazine article and book writing and design, especially as Ms. Spungen's first vocation was that of an artist and visual design student who was lured into the culinary world by part time jobs, leading to a pastry chef under Mark Strassman at Pino Luongo's `Coco Pazzo'.

Whenever I open a general `celebrity chef / author' cookbook with no more than about 120 recipes, I really expect something unique in order for me to distinguish it from the 100 or more other books I have reviewed with roughly the same description. What is it about these 120 recipes which make them better than all those other books' versions of many of the same dishes.

The tidbit I find here which sets it apart from many other books is the fact that many of the things I really respect about `Martha Stewart Living' cookbooks really come from Spungen's approach to culinary writing. Spungen says she likes to leave nothing to the imagination when it comes to describing a culinary technique in words and pictures. And, this approach is certainly one of the strongest aspects of the latest `Martha Stewart Handbook of Baking'. Every last little detail is conveyed in both words and pictures. But, does this little insight deserve laying out cash for this book?

Spungen's organizing concept for her `RECIPES' is much more than this simple title would let on. Her chapters are all organized around seven of the most basic kitchen techniques, which are `Prepare', `Chop', `Saute', `Grill', `Roast', `Bake' and `Simmer & Braise' plus a dessert chapter, `Indulge'. After this great notion, I think Ms. Spungen seems to loose her way a bit in saying these are recipes for the `modern cook'. For the `modern' cook, I would expect a heavy emphasis on either high nutrition and low weight gaining potential or quick recipes. But then, following one of these two strategies would lead her into competition with people who do this for a living. So, the modern concept is a rather weakly conceived `new comfort food' notion.

Looking at the recipes, one really gets the sense of Spungen's revisiting a lot of traditional and familiar recipes all done with a little twist, much the same way that a new artist may approach the `Lord of the Rings' characters in a new way on the yearly calendar inspired by Tolkien characters, which has been done regularly by many different artists over the last 40 or so years. We have, for example, a new take on string beans and tomatoes, which is a familiar recipe written up by Paula Wolfert, and which has been done over by everyone from Mark Bittman to Rachael Ray to Susan Spungen, and everyone in between. We also have a new version of the even more familiar Caprese salad of tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil, with the twist of making it with grilled tomatoes and warmed cheese.

Even the desserts all seem to have a familiar look about them. Peach Melba, cheesecake with lemon curd, and a rhubarb and strawberry crumble can be found in dozens of different books. In general, Ms. Spungen is not even overly fussy with her techniques. One great watershed in technique is whether or not you go for springform pans when you make cheesecake. My favorite culinary nerd, Alton Brown, and several very serious culinary writers warn against the springform pans, but many others use them with no excuses. Ms. Spungen uses the springform pan, but follows almost all the other cautions regarding cheesecake making, such as using a water bath and letting it rest in the fridge for several hours before attacking it with a knife.

While I found virtually all of Ms. Spungen's expositions on basics sound and fairly informative, they were mostly essays in the already known. The recipe for vinaigrette, for example, I think was done much better in a `Martha Stewart Living' Vinaigrettes 101 article, probably written by Ms. Spungen herself.

I rather like Susan's introduction on kitchen tools. There is nothing dramatic here, simply a fair amount of good advice on a nice, albeit not complete set of basics and gadgets. One of the book's strongest points is the fact that it is laid out very nicely.

This is the kind of book which is good for either people with very few cookbooks who need some good recipes by someone who explains things well, or people like me who happen to collect cookbooks and relish that one new idea or recipe which makes the whole book worthwhile.

This is a very good book. It has many nice twists, but they are mostly twists on familiar themes. I have already made several dishes from this book but I am most looking forward to the Provencal Layered Omelet on page 62!
14 people found this helpful
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Curious Epicure
5.0 out of 5 stars Everything I look for in a cookbook for every day as well as for casual entertaining.
Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2017
Of the several hundred cookbooks I owned (and many more that have found homes elsewhere), there are more usable recipes in this book than in over half of the books on my shelves and Kindle. It is one of my favorites.

Spungen's recipes are accessible, not terribly involved, made with ingredients that are easy to come by, written with clear instructions and yield flavorful results. In other words, this book is everything I look for in a cookbook. Most of the recipes are Spungen's takes on familiar standbys that either make them easier or take them to the next flavor level.

One of my husband's most requested recipes from this book is the "Provençal Layered Omelette" - which is actually three stacked omelettes, each with a different flavor profile that works beautifully with the other two.

This is a book for the home cooks who love to make good food for family and for friends with some fuss, but not too much. The recipes are reasonable enough for everyday and special enough for casual entertaining - a perfect mix.

I love this book.
2 people found this helpful
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A Reader
4.0 out of 5 stars It's a keeper, but ...get out your magnifying glass!
Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2006
This book has received quite a bit of high praise (NY Times gave it a glowing review) and it's easy to understand why: the book itself is beautiful and the recipes are fresh, really delicious and not too complicated. It is readily apparent that Ms Spungen was once an employee of Martha Stewart, as aside from Martha penning the book's forward, you can see the "MS Esthetic" throughout the book. This unfortunately includes a typeface that is really too small and it makes the book a tough read. I assume that I'm like most people in that I read a recipe carefully (OK, sort of carefully) before cooking and then refer back to it a dozen times on the fly while in the kitchen. (And no, I'm not yet of an age where I need reading glasses!) But having to stop and fumble around until I can read detracts from all the book has to offer. That said, this is one of those cookbooks that makes a terrific wedding shower gift or housewarming gift to someone in their first apartment: the recipes will become workhorses in anyone's repertoire, but while you're at it buy them a magnifying glass too.
19 people found this helpful
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