Good Food, Good Life: 130 Simple Recipes You'll Love to Make and Eat: A Cookbook Hardcover – March 10, 2015

This is a beautiful book in many ways. The construction of the book is lovely with a cloth bound spine and heavy matte pages. The photography is gorgeous. The recipes are classic Curtis as he draws from different cuisines. He has such an ability to bring the exotic and the familiar together. I find myself inspired to cook over and over again. I own all of the Curtis Stone cookbooks. Curtis infuses a bit of himself personally into each one. It's like having a small glimpse as to where he is in his life at that time. This book shows Cuttis as a happy family man and it is an unexpected delight to share a little of the joy conveyed on the pages of this book.

Love the recipes. The photographic illustrations are amazing. Curtis is an amazing chef… his love of cooking and food is evident throughout the book.

Curtis Stone is no stranger to viewers of Food Network —the Australian native has earned his place among the network’s popular chef hosts. This collection of recipes has a lot of hits and a few misses — I’m probably interested in making about 60-70% of them — so while it’s a nice collection, it’s not likely to be my all-time favorite.A few of the ingredients are available only in larger cities. Lyle’s Golden Syrup is an example — I couldn’t find it in my smallish town supermarkets, and there’s no substitute available — ordering online is an option, but not one I’m willing to pursue for a 10-minute recipe for lime granita. Thankfully, there aren’t too many of these obstacles.Many of the recipes evidence a distinct Asian influence (Thai, especially), with chiles, lemongrass, fish sauce, and various curries used in simple preparations. There’s a good mix of vegetarian, meat, poultry, and fish dishes, so essentially something for everyone.My usual practice is to make three recipes from each cookbook I review, and I followed that practice here.1. Roasted Salmon and Beets with Herb VinaigretteEntire dinners put together and baked on a baking sheet are in style these days and for good reason: they’re incredibly easy to make and clean up is a breeze since there’s only one pan.This salmon and beet entree is a good example of this. Start with thinly-sliced beets — roasted for about 20 minutes, then add a skinless salmon fillet topped with loads of fresh chopped chives, parsley and tarragon and roast for another 15 minutes. Serve with a mixed green salad dressed with a vinaigrette using the same herbs used in the baked salmon, and you have a winning dinner, easy to prepare (the recipe says 35 minutes and that’s almost exactly what I spent on this).I had golden beets from my latest CSA delivery, and a salmon fillet in my freezer, so choosing this recipe as one of my three was a no-brainer. A keeper, for sure, and suitable for casual weeknight dinners as well as for company.2. Veggie Flatbread Sandwich with Feta-Yogurt SpreadI usually have plain Greek yogurt and naan on hand. I use Greek yogurt in place of mayonnaise in things like chicken salad, and naan is so versatile: i used it often for pizza crust (it’s the perfect size for a single serving) and for sandwiches. It’s readily available in my small-town supermarket, too, so I just buy a few packages and toss them into the freezer.This light and fresh veggie sandwich is PERFECT for warm summer days. You combine the yogurt with some crumbled feta cheese to make a spread for the naan. Cucumber, red onion, avocado, tomato — all thinly sliced — layered onto the naan, topped with a lemon zest and an herb dressing, folded, cut — heaven! Light but filling. My CSA delivered the cucumber, onion, lemon and tomato; I just had to purchase the feta cheese. Dinner in about 15 minutes. Yum!3. Rum Pound Cake with Lime GlazeI don’t make cakes very often — they always seem to be a lot of trouble. But I saw this recipe and decided to give it a try. This is a fairly classic pound cake, made with buttermilk with the addition of rum. The glaze is lime zest, lime juice, rum, and powdered sugar — the perfect accompaniment to the cake. I made my cake in a 9” x 5” loaf pan — it easily served 12 neighbors at a neighborhood get-together. Easy to make: mix and bake, then top with glaze. I’ll make this one again for sure.So there it is — 3 recipes, all winners. There are clearly some hits in here — and they’re different from the usual “meat and potatoes” simple recipes I often see. So … 4 stars (I like it).

Not quite what I was expecting. There’s definitely some decent recipes in there, but several that are very basic and/or I just didn’t care for. There’s a huge lack of photos for recipes. There’s a lot of photos of table cloths and doilies and empty plates… I really want to see how to present a dish after I cook it. I love Curtis Stone and I love his recipes, but this wasn’t my favorite cookbook.

Another stupendous cookbook from Curtis Stone! I want to make everything and I'm working my way through it. The Buttered Buns are simple and delicious - my husband ate the entire pan! The Romanesco with Tarragon Vinaigrette is wonderful, Grilled Curried Vegetables are awesome ... and the list goes on. I keep looking for more books by Stone - I hope he keeps it up. And, hey, he and his little family are gorgeous. It's all good.

Revamped rating....vendor did make it right....

I read about Curtis Stone and this book in the Washington Post a couple of months ago -- my response wasn't the usual "This looks tasty, maybe I should make it sometime" but a surprising "This all looks *awesome* and I'd like to make it NOW." I don't buy a lot of cookbooks anymore, but I went right online and bought the book, and haven't looked back. Great food, great photos, rave reviews from friends and family.

NOT AT ALL WHAT I HOPED FOR. THE REVIEW SAID RECIPES ANYONE CAN MAKE. N0T ONLY DO SOME (MOST) OF THE RECIPES CONTAIN UNCOMMON INGREDIANTS SOME OF THEM I'VE NEVER HEARD OF. YES IT IS FILLED WITH PRETTY PICTURE AND HIS FAMILY IS BEAUTIFUL BUT I THOUGHT I WAS BUYING A COOKBOOK ! I LOVE HIS COOKWEAR BUT NOT HIS COOKBOOK.