Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Many other reviewers have listed the recipes contained herein. Most are pretty lengthy in process. Few could be assembled in less than an hour. This book is beautiful to look at with an ample number of lush photographs. It promotes almost-lost traditions of baking homemade bread, cheese and pickles as well as making marshmallows from scrach, which taste and feel significantly different than those found in the plastic bags.
Who will love this book: Moderns and "country" cooks who enjoy the process of cooking and the time spent with family will love the ideas, photographs and suggestions. The pictures are reminiscent of a rustic style home in the country with a family featured throughout working together on the recipes. Whether most children would eat some of these recipes largely depends on your family. The food has an appeal as it is all "from scratch" and relies on whole foods and real ingredients to a large extent, however whole foods are not necessarily low-fat or whole grain. If you're opposed to packages mixes and the like, this is your style.
Who will not like this book: The health-conscious, whole-grain oriented, anti-sugar, modern, in a hurry to get dinner on the table, stressed-out mom with picky eaters. The recipes are a mix of old school and ethnic-flare, which is nice. However, if your kids are the mac 'n' cheese or pizza type, they will not eat most of these. Also, meal prep is way too long and the emphasis is on taking time to enjoy the preparation, rather than a quick meal, which is what the majority of moms I know are concerned about. The proverbial "soccer mom" will enjoy the pictures and never use the recipes. Also, most bread recipes rely on white flour and sugar is used without reservation. I'm concerned about my kids feasting on copious amounts of these ingredients for medically sound reasons and cannot in good conscience make most of these. Also, the meat recipes and cheese recipes are neither low in fats nor cholesterol and do not lend well to conversions of that type.
All that said, the book is beautiful to look at and to read. It is strongly reminiscent of generations past but may not translate well to modern cooks or activity-centered families. As with most cookbooks in the Williams-Sonoma line, this is created for people who enjoy the process of cooking and don't mind spending time to do so. If you are one of them, enjoy!
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Williams-Sonoma Family Meals: Creating Traditions in the KitchenFor Maria Helm Sinskey—author, award-winning chef, and mother—one of the best ways to spend time with family and friends is to gather in the kitchen to cook. Whether tossing a salad of lettuces fresh from the garden, or filling the house with the scent of Banana–Brown Sugar Muffins and hearty Braised Beef Stew, Maria and her family show you how effortless it is to have fun in the kitchen. Filled with delicious, easy to prepare, made-from-scratch recipes such as Fresh Rosemary Focaccia, Corn Fritters with Lime, Chicken-Coconut Curry, and Baked Butterscotch Puddings, Family Meals is written for people of all ages. Maria's experience with her own children and those of friends and family prove that when kids help select ingredients and join in the fun of meal preparation, they're more eager to eat what they've cooked, and revel in their culinary triumphs at the table. Family Meals is much more than just a collection of recipes. Each chapter sparks curiosity about where food comes from and how the foods we love are made through culinary projects such as curing bacon, smoking salmon, and making homemade ricotta cheese. This book is sure to become a staple in your kitchen, and will launch the small to the tall on a delicious culinary journey filled with fresh, wholesome, seasonal meals that are a joy to create and satisfying to eat.
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