Expert Advice Books - Page 2

The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The New Classics

Martha Stewart Living Magazine

Amazon Price: $23.10 List Price: $35.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Cookbook - Model: 100038 Amazon Marketplace: 86 new & used starting at $3.77

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> General
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> General AAS
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Expert Advice -> Martha Stewart

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Good reference but some pesky problems 4 out of 5 stars.
6 of 7 people found this review helpful.

As others have noted, the index in this book contains entries for both this book, in black ink, and for The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The Original Classics in blue. Well, since this book has a blue cover, you would (as least I did, and continue to) think the blue ink entries are for the blue-covered book. Not so. The index is pretty good; much better than my old stand-by, the New Cook Book (Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbooks). Many index entries have useful "see also" entries.

There are a few (often just a few per section) helpful black and white photos, and some gorgeous color photos of some recipes. Like other reviews, I've noted some easy and some quite difficult recipes. The print on the pages extends into the gutter (the margin in the binding of the book) too much; when the book is open on the kitchen counter, part of the print is curved down into the binding a bit, making it a little less easy to read.

Editorial Review:

Boasting over 1,000 delicious and beautifully presented recipes gathered from the pages of Martha's flagship magazine, this massive resource is a must-have reference for home cooks who want gourmet options for every occasion.

Martha Stewart's Hors d'Oeuvres Handbook

Martha Stewart

Amazon Price: $24.75 List Price: $37.50 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Clarkson Potter Amazon Marketplace: 101 new & used starting at $7.08

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Baking -> General
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Baking -> General AAS
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Meals -> Appetizers

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 77 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

With Martha Stewart's Hors d'Oeuvres Handbook, Stewart, along with Martha Stewart Living food editor Susan Spungen and photographer Dana Gallagher, has created not just a handbook but a dream book. The first 225 pages consist entirely of beautifully photographed, exquisite nibbles, tastes, and bites--and the following 270 pages give you the recipes and instructions to re-create them at home. Pink and orange ribbons bound into the book allow you to easily mark photos and recipes. Only Martha and her staff would come up with something so beautiful and practical.

You can browse the photos for inspiration, or dive right into one of the chapters, all organized by presentation, such as "Layered and Stacked"; "Wrapped, Rolled, Filled, Folded and Stuffed"; "Skewered and Threaded"; "Bites and Pieces"; and "Sips and Drinks," just to name a few. Having a few friends over for cocktails before the show? How about Crispy Asparagus Straws, a delicious combo of asparagus wrapped in prosciutto and phyllo and sprinkled with Parmesan? The sophisticated flavors belie the ease of preparation. Have a little more time to prepare? The Jicama and Green Papaya Summer Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce are tasty and beautiful.

As gorgeous as this cookbook is, don't dismiss it as coffee-table cooking--several helpful photos show technique as well as finished product, and Martha's tips and notes are sprinkled throughout the text. For example, a lengthy sidebar on purchasing and preparing shrimp shares how to buy shrimp (the high quality of flash-frozen shrimp these days makes it perfectly acceptable), how to cook it (use kosher salt in your cooking water), and how best to peel and devein the little treasures. Similarly, reading the note on preparing phyllo will encourage even a novice cook to try her hand at Phyllo Triangles with Feta and Spinach or Curried Walnut Chicken. If you're planning a party and need fabulous finger food, you needn't look any further than Martha Stewart's Hors d'Oeuvres Handbook. --Rebecca A. Staffel

The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The Original Classics

Martha Stewart Living Magazine

Amazon Price: $23.10 List Price: $35.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Cookbook - Model: 100039 Amazon Marketplace: 77 new & used starting at $8.68

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> General
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> General AAS
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Expert Advice -> Martha Stewart

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

excellent cookbook 5 out of 5 stars.
49 of 52 people found this review helpful.

A really great cookbook--not too complicated, but not dumbed down. A decent variety for an MS book None of the recipes are TOO exotic, but foods from a variety of cultures are here. Granted it's mostly American/European, but there's a fair number of Latin and Asian foods and a bit of others as well.

If anything, I'd like to see more in the Meats chapter. Poultry chapter, breakfast chapter, and all the baking chapters are particularly strong. Some nice hints here and there--like how to make a paper clip into a cherry pitter.

NOT a comprehensive cookbook--don't think this will replace your JOY of COOKING book! But, this is my new GO-TO for cooking for company, or a bit more fancy weekday meal.

One interesting thing about this and Great Food Fast is that you see a lot of the graduated/advanced versions of simple dishes from GFF in MSLC! Examples: tortilla pie and pork tenderloin with mustard sauce are represented in both, with a longer ingredient list in this book. The tortilla pie gets cornmeal crusted chicken and other stuff added, and the sauce for the pork is more sophisticated--and includes blackberries! Blackberries and dijon are an EXCELLEND combo, BTW. So, I suppose this is a good book to graduate to if you're a beginner and are ready to move past simpler stuff.

I consider myself a fairly advanced HOME cook, and though there's not much in this book that stretches my abilities, it's a welcome addition to my large collection--I just think when you do something Martha's way, you're doing it in a correct, classy way! (I say that because I love her baking handbook)

I recommend this book highly.

Editorial Review:

This compendium of Martha's original recipes has been a source of inspiration for home cooks the world over. Repackaged and redesigned, this volume includes all the timeless classics, plus a new introduction from Martha, updated color photography and indispensable nutritional information.

Serge With Confidence

Nancy Zieman

Amazon Price: $15.63 List Price: $22.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Krause Publications Amazon Marketplace: 41 new & used starting at $11.98

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Crafts & Hobbies -> Needlepoint
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Crafts & Hobbies -> Quilts & Quilting
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Crafts & Hobbies -> Sewing

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Serging book 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This book is highly recommended and Amazon had a better price than the author's website.

Serger 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I am so glad I bought this book. As easy as it seems I am taking lessons with my serger and with the help of this book I will be well on my way with good instruction. This will be my serging bible. Thanks Stephie

Helpful but specific for Baby Lock. 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This is a nice addition to the serger workbook by Baby Lock. Most of the projects I would not do because they are dated but the fundamental techniques are helpful to those new to serging.

Editorial Review:

Timesaving techniques are a big part of today's hobbies, and in this beginner's guide to serging author Nancy Zieman demonstrates the essential skills to quickly and easily create stunning fashions, accessories and home decor projects. This book gives sewers: Solid skills for operating multi-threaded, multi-needled sergers and completing sewing projects more quickly than with regular sewing machines; guidelines to serging tools and terms; 20 projects to enhance the home and wardrobe; and confidence to tackle more complex techniques and projects. "Serge With Confidence" empowers sewers to tackle a new skill, and seek out projects to challenge themselves.

Tricia Guild Pattern: Using Pattern to Create Sophisticated, Show-stopping Interiors

Tricia Guild, Elspeth Thompson

Amazon Price: $26.40 List Price: $40.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Rizzoli Amazon Marketplace: 35 new & used starting at $24.49

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Expert Advice -> Tricia Guild
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Interior Design -> Decorating
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Interior Design -> Professional Reference

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Tricia Guild is known for her bold fabric, wallpaper designs, and an extraordinary sense of color and pattern. Following the success of her books on color, she now shares her skills with patterns. The book draws on historical and global patterns. Woven or printed or embroidered, patterns inspire Tricia Guild as she uncovers their origins and explores the exotic. Any pattern can be appropriate for the right room—European checks and stripes, Asian silks and damasks, the Caribbean's vibrant ethnic prints, as well as contemporary abstract and geometric patterns. The book is divided into style sections: floral, painterly, geometric, classics, silks, and tropical. The author draws on examples from her own designs to demonstrate the impact pattern has on the energy and mood of a room and how to use pattern with confidence. Included at the end are colorboards with hints and tips for designing. With stunning, original photography and a text rich in insights from the designer's own experience, this is a must-have compendium for anyone interested in contemporary interior design.

Perennial All-Stars: The 150 Best Perennials for Great-Looking, Trouble-Free Gardens

Jeff Cox

Amazon Price: $11.53 List Price: $16.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Rodale Books Amazon Marketplace: 39 new & used starting at $3.87

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Expert Advice -> Jeff Cox
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Gardening & Horticulture -> Flowers -> Perennials
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Gardening & Horticulture -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 28 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Jeff Cox provides the information new gardeners want in Perennial All-Stars: how to produce a garden full of healthy, attractive, low-maintenance plants. Cox, the enthusiastic host of HGTV's &Grow It!, has selected 150 perennials, both flowers and grasses, that grow well in North American climates. Each double-page plant entry tells how and where to grow the plant, how to propagate it, and a list of ideal planting partners. In addition, each entry displays a quick-glance sidebar that includes ideal hardiness zones, blooming season, size, color, light and soil requirements, and a substantial list of plant sources (detailed in the back of the book). Cox further assists the beginning garden planner with useful groupings: "Fragrant All-Stars," "Deer-Resistant All- Stars," "All-Stars for Full Shade," "All-Stars 4 Feet or Taller," and so forth. It's in no way intended to replace a complete plant encyclopedia, but novices will be happy with the excellent selection and informative, friendly format of Perennial All-Stars. --Barrie Trinkle

Shabby Chic

Rachel Ashwell

Amazon Price: $23.10 List Price: $35.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Regan Books Amazon Marketplace: 148 new & used starting at $2.32

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> General
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> General AAS
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Crafts & Hobbies -> Decorating

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 42 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Valuable flea market finds...
A peeling, antioue vanity in muted sea green...
An elegant, cracked chandelier...
An enormous, slipcovered sofa with deep, cushions...

Comfort, the beauty of imperfections, the allure of time-worn objects, and the appeal of simple practical living: these are the cornerstones of what has come to be known as the Shabby Chic style. Like the cozy familiarity of a well-worn pair of faded jeans, the dilapidated elegance of an Italian viIla, or the worn grandeur of faded velvets and mismatched floral china handed down from your grandmother's attic, the Shabby Chic style is a revived appreciation for what is used, well-loved, and worn. It is a respect for natural evolution and a regard for what is easy and sensible.

The hundreds of lavish photographs in this book invite you inside the unique world of Shabby Chic. Rachel Ashwell, founder of theShabby Chic home decor stores, for the first time provides her invaluable and much-sought-after advice on how to re-create Shabby Chic style in your own home. With engaging text and easy-to- follow instructions, Rachel details the Shabby Chic basics in a way that will put even the most apprehensive or novice decorators at ease. From flowers to fabrics to lighting, Rachel illuminates all of the elements essential to this unpretentious yet truly exquisite style.

A behind-the-scenes look at a flea market lets readers in on Rachel's personal secrets of how to cull hidden treasures from flea market trash--an old trunk, its paint peeling around the edges, can be given new life as a coffee table, while a chipped white iron salvage piece becomes the perfect frame for a vintage mirror. This book tells you not only how to restore these pieces but how to find the perfect place for them in your home. Gorgeous color photographs and accompanying text reveal how this relaxed look works with a variety of different styles, from Victorian to Mediterranean to contemporary.

Good Things for Organizing (Good Things with Martha Stewart Living)

Martha Stewart Living Magazine

Amazon Price: $14.96 List Price: $22.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Clarkson Potter Amazon Marketplace: 41 new & used starting at $4.68

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> General
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> General AAS
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Expert Advice -> Martha Stewart

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 36 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Who wouldn't like their living space to be more organized? Tapping into the popularity of the "Good Things" column in Martha Stewart Living, Good Things for Organizing provides practical, efficient, and pretty solutions for organizing just about everything, from spools of thread and the silverware drawer to your entire wardrobe and home office.

It is a law of nature: stuff accumulates. Good Things for Organizing shows how to live with stuff comfortably and creatively. In chapters organized room by room, Good Things for Organizing offers a wide range of ingenious ways to tame the clutter, from the basement to the garden shed.

With sections such as "Cleamng Up the Countertop" in the kitchen chapter, "Linen Closet 10" in the closet chapter, and "Organizing Correspondence" in the home office chapter, the editors of Martha Stewart Living have tested all of the possibilities and have created perfect solutions to the most frustrating organizing problems. Included are projects for every level of commitment, from tidying the junk drawer to building the right shelves to display a beloved collection.

Jerry Baker's Giant Book of Garden Solutions: 1,954 Natural Remedies to Handle Your Toughest Garden Problems (Jerry Baker's Good Gardening series)

Jerry Baker

Amazon Price: $10.17 List Price: $14.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: American Master Products, Inc. Amazon Marketplace: 39 new & used starting at $9.20

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Expert Advice -> Jerry Baker
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Gardening & Horticulture -> Reference
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Gardening & Horticulture -> Techniques -> Organic

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

This one has it all. 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

If you have a problem in your garden , this book will solve it. You would be surprised what you can do with products you have sitting around in the cabinet and fridge.

She raves over it and got another as a gift 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I gave one of these to my gardener mother who liked it so much she asked me to order another for her to give to my gardener brother! Since I'm the non-gardener in the family I can't report on why the book is so helpful, but I understand it offered solutions for some special problems that could not be found elsewhere.

Editorial Review:

Common household products and down-home ingenuity are combined to combat frustrating garden problems in this indispensable handbook for both green thumbs and novice gardeners. Organized by garden area, 1,954 easy-to-use homemade remedy recipes—containing items such as beer, baby shampoo, and ammonia—instruct gardeners how to turn puny plants, wretched roots, and tired trees into gorgeous garden specimens without the use of store-bought chemical alternatives. Quick fixes are offered for fighting fungus with pantyhose, defeating botanical disease with peppermint, and bug-proofing vegetables with mustard and cloves; and obstacles such as heavy rains, nutritional plant deficiencies, and gardening on sloped areas are also discussed.

Power Sewing Step-by-Step

Sandra Betzina

Amazon Price: $16.47 List Price: $24.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Taunton Amazon Marketplace: 50 new & used starting at $10.73

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Fashion -> General
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Fashion -> General AAS
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Crafts & Hobbies -> Fashion

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 24 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Good reference for sewing upscale clothing 4 out of 5 stars.
11 of 11 people found this review helpful.

This is a good book if you are an intermediate or advanced sewer looking for ways to create designer quality garments at home. The photography in this book is amazing, and is great for ideas. Power Sewing is very much geared towards mimicking upscale clothing that lasts a lifetime. Some of the techniques are good for everyday clothing, but in general if you want to follow her techniques and suggestions be prepared to spend some time and money. Many of her suggestions require using expensive materials that can be difficult to find locally.

For beginners, I suggest any of the Easy Guide to Sewing books published by Taunton. They are easier for a beginner to follow, and really go into "why", not just "how". Power Sewing is more of a manual for more experienced sewers looking to solve sewing problems.

Editorial Review:

Sandra Betzina not only demystifies the making of beautiful garments that fit ... she inspires a love of sewing itself. A contemporary classic, Power Sewing is clearly written with detailed photos; it guides the reader through every facet of garment construction with ease.