The Complete Canadian Living Cookbook: 350 Inspired Recipes from Elizabeth Baird and the Kitchen Canadians Trust Most. Rev. ed.

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

“The only cookbook [you] really need” is the claim made in the
introduction of this book by Canadian Living food editor Elizabeth
Baird. Given the diverse range of cooking tastes in Canada and the
equally wide latitude of cooking ability, this sounds like a pretty bold
assertion. But after many hours of conscientious nitpicking, I’ve
concluded that Baird has pulled off exactly what she claims. There are
comfort foods that will remind you of Sunday night at Grandma’s table,
and there are exotic recipes that will make your taste buds feel as if
they are on a world cruise.

The text begins with a chapter on appetizers and ends with one on
preserves. In between are chapters on soups, salads, poultry, beef,
lamb, pork, fish, eggs, cheese, vegetarian dishes, pasta and pizza,
bread, cakes, desserts and pastry. The recipes in each chapter offer an
outstanding choice of dishes based on difficulty, cost, and taste. The
chapter on beef, for example, has recipes for Pan Seared Liver and
Onions, Best Burgers, Classic Pot Roast with Vegetables, Tender T-Bones,
and Meatloaf (Many Ways) for the traditional Canadian cook, along with
Ginger Soy Beef Kabobs, Korean Beef Short Ribs, Steak and Vegetable
Frajitas, and Strip Loin with Exotic Mushrooms and Shallots for the more
adventurous cook. Most recipes have little symbols at the top of the
page that inform the reader if the recipe is “quick,”
“budget-wise,” “make ahead,” and/or “freezable.”

All recipes are presented in easy-to-follow steps; most have at least
one sidebar that offers a quick “kitchen tip” or “substitution.”
The number of servings and nutritional information is listed at the
bottom of each page. An exhaustive index is included at the back. The
only obvious improvements would be more colour photos to show the
finished dishes and a spiral binding so that the book could lie open on
a kitchen counter. If your library has room for only one cookbook, this
is a very good choice.