Fine Cooking Annual, Volume 3: A Year of Great Recipes, Tips & Techniques Hardcover – Illustrated, November 4, 2008

I ordered the annual after receiving the magazines. This annual is fantastic in many ways:1) The articles are written so that you can prepare as you go along, with multiple ways to know you have the correct amounts: for example it will say 2 cups or 5 ears of corn2) They tell you exactly HOW to cut things (for those of us who don't know what julienne means)3) It gives precise times (ex: cook the pasta for 2 minutes)4) My husband now thinks I'm a pro b/c the recipes taste so good!5) I have learned to use different types of spices like Asian 5 spice or French Spice6) The recipes focus on making things easy, but not too easy to be bad for you (it's all fresh). (for those of us who grew up with mom making fresh)7) I made their thanksgiving meal and it was better than any thanksgiving I've had anywhere (brined turkey with beautiful aromatics)8) THe fine cooking series is upscale, but not too fancy as to be too hard to make or inaccessible ingredients for those living in major cities.DOWNSIDES:The only thing I can think of is that some ingredients utilized may not be available to those living in the countryside. My in-laws live in a remote area and I don't send her the recipes simply b/c I am not sure she has access to those ingredients.

First I would say it is my mistake not to have paid more attention to where this book is coming from. I am unfamiliar with the magazine, but have watched the FD show on PBS several times on tv. There is really no connection with the show, do not expect the level of experimentation in this book that is produced on the show. No relationship that I can see. This is however a fine basic book, and has easily followable recipes. I do question why virtually all the chicken recipes that are not whole chicken use only the breast???

I have been subscribing to Fine Cooking for years but my old issues are in storage. And the new publisher took down the website so no access to previous issues and the quality under them has decreased. So I reluctantly cancelled my subscription and bought 2 annual collections for previous favorite recipes.

Amazing quality and quantity (almost 400 pages!) for such a low price!The quality and ratio of photos to recipes is a huge plus. I am probably 4 - 6 times more likely to try a recipe if there a photo attached. Food is, among other things, a visual medium; give me something to drool over!The recipes sound and look so delicious, you would expect to find long ingredient lists, lots of prep time, and equipment that no one owns . . . .but it's just the opposite! Exquisitely easy to prepare dishes, simple but super tasty ingredients and combinations thereof, and very little prep time (there is no, "Find and kill two wild boars, in case the first one is tough!).Finally, and I know it's a small thing, but it really (really!) is helpful: the text is spaced at about 1.5 spaces, not single spaced. As a result, every line is easy to read, every recipe easy to scan for ingredients, equipment, prep order, etc. A huge plus that so many other cookbooks fail to incorporate!I will definitely be giving this cookbook as a housewarming and holiday gift!

I found this cookbook to be the best of all the cookbooks, and there are many, that I have owned. The recipes are unique by way of the use of herbs and spices and yet most of the ingredients are easily found locally. I do think, however, that this is probably not the cookbook for the person looking to just get a meal on the table in a hurry.

Every recipe turns out perfect

This cookbook just arrived and I am so excited by the recipes in it. I like fine cooking, but don't want to spend all day doing it. The recipes are very clear, nice pictures, and if there might be a question on an procedure or ingredient, there's an area that clarifies. I'm so pleased that I took the plunge and bought it.

I purchased both annuals (1 & 2). Though both are very good, the first one seems to have a greater variety of recipes to choose from. I've tried about 10 of the recipes so far from this one, and they've all been excellent & really easy to follow. Having something so easy come out looking truly gourmet is fantastic!

I was of the impression the book I ordered was Fine Cooking Volume 3. Fine Cooking Volume 1 arrived. I have owned a copy of Fine CookingVolume 1 for many years. There has been some misunderstanding. Due to the cost of returning the item I decided not to take action.On a positive note: The book was in "good" condition as described and it arrived in the suggested timeframe.