The Clay-Pot Cookbook Paperback – November 4, 2014

I have my grandmother's copy and I love it. A lot of Asian cookbooks suggest clay pot dishes. This cookbook is clear and simple to use with many original recipes I've seen nowhere else. This book was printed decades ago and covers dishes from around the world. The recipes hold up to the test of time in flavor, health and variety. This is not fatty, add a can of soup to everything, midwestern cooking from the 1970's. These recipes came out of a new movement forming in California that promoted the use of fresh, clean-tasting ingredients- principles being rediscovered today. The back cover sums up for who: Gourmet cooks, organic cooks, low-fat cooks, experimental cooks, amateur cooks!My favorites are the Monterrey Jack Rabbit, Beggar's Chicken, Garden Fresh Chicken Breast and the Herb Oatmeal Bread. The bread I found worked better in a clay bread pan (like from Pampered Chef) than a round clay pot. The Rabbit dish includes fresh herbs, brandy, dark beer, shallots, mushrooms and a touch of jack cheese. The bread recipe is the favorite among my very picky, all organic, vegetarian friends. The author's description was dead on: "This unusual loaf is worth every second at the 3 1/2 hours it takes from start to finish. Be sure you make enough of it as it will take on a cookie-like disappearing act. Be careful about the ingredients, especially the oatmeal; get a good one like John McCann's from Ireland, and spurn the instant." This was the first bread recipe I ever made from scratch! 6 herbs, pine nuts, sour cream & honey. Yum!Fish recipes are simple and tasty. I thought I was sick of plain old white fish until this book. The list of ingredients for most recipes are short. Often the entire meal is prepped and cooked in 30 to 45 minutes using two or three fresh herbs, a base of white wine, and a final ingredient to mix with the base leftover in the pot after cooking- such as sauteed mushrooms or sour cream and capers.

Haven’t used it yet, but wanted to get some use out of my ancient clay pot. Looking forward to several chicken recipes.

I recently started cooking in Clay or Terra Cotta cooking pots. I love the texture and the flavor and the reduced oils when I cook in this special handmade cookware (I buy them at Art Shows). I had invented several recipes when I was first trying out how to use them. I purchased this book and then read the reviews more completely. I was worried that I bought a book with "weird" or outdated liver recipes that so many commented on. Well, the book came today and WOW, am I glad I didn't read the reviews first. This book has so many recipes in it that I WILL use. There is a great Halibut with Mushroom sauce dish, Lasagna recipe, Beef Stroganoff, Paella, and so many that looked really good. Sure, there is a SECTION on liver but just skip "liver" if you don't want "liver". The book also says to substitute a different meat if you don't like that particular "meat". For instance, Red Snapper can be used instead of Tilapia and guides you not "diss" the recipe all together just because "liver" might turn your stomach. I would buy this in hardcover if you have discovered Clay/Terra Cotta cooking. I love to cook with my Terra Cotta cooking Pots. Love them!

If it's fast food you're after you probably won't need a clay cooker or this book. We've been using our Romertopf for 38-years, and this book for almost as long. Last night I made one last pass through our garden and gathered parsnips, carrots, leeks, and turnips. Inspired by a recipe from this wonderful collection I presoaked the clay pot, piled all the vegetables onto a corned beef brisket, added a cup of red wine, and put it all in a cold oven set at 450 degrees. The emerging smell and final taste were perfect. I can't wait to do it again. I think of this book as a necessary companion to clay pot cooking.

While this book will serve a new user adequately I was disappointed that there really isn't anything new about clay pot cooking. The technique of clay pot cooking is something any serious cook should try as it produces fantastic meals. I would have liked to see some newer uses with the use of spices and vegetables that tend to be overlooked.

One of the best books for clay pot cooking. There are so many good recipes in this little book; not just good but different. The dolmades recipe is the best one I have ever used, and is now our standard for cooking these little gems. I could review many of the recipes in this book but leave it at this; claypot cooking is a wonderful and easy way to cook, and this book packs in a good variety of dishes, something for everyone.

Book came in good condition. Unfortunately it is basically useless for me. Recipes are old fashioned and things I would not waste time preparing, let alone eat.

To be fair, there are recipes in the book that were appealing. However, there are an unusually high amount of recipes for dishes using tongue, kidneys, liver, and other unusual mainstays that I cannot imagine many people would find appealing or easy to find, especially the young bride that I purchased this cookbook for as an accompaniment of the clay pot as a wedding gift. I returned it and replaced this book with Dana Jacobi's Best of Clay Pot Cooking, which I've had and enjoyed for many years.Not completely terrible but if I'm going to spend $25 on a cookbook, I'd like it to contain more recipes that I'd actually want to eat and uses ingredients that are readily found in the store.