"With more than a dozen cookbooks to her credit (not to mention classes and newspaper/magazine articles and columns), Canadian Murray is, nonetheless, not necessarily a household name in the U.S. If this is the introduction to her oeuvre, rest assured: the foodstuffs featured definitely reflect Murray's farm upbringing and her predilection towards easy, breezy dishes. "Comfort" is her word of choice, meaning familiar, quick to make, yet with a soupcon of novelty. No, not a lot of canned foods or prepackaged mixes are listed in these more than 200 dishes; rather, preference is given to fresh, uncomplicated materials that also serve to create low-calorie meals. A cranberry Waldorf salad eschews apples for pears and recommends lower-fat mayonnaise and sour cream. Her version of colcannon includes low-fat yogurt and only one tablespoon of butter. And fried chicken becomes far less fatty with the use of an oven and a cornflake-milk type batter. Color photographs are scattered throughout, as are her knowledge-sharing sidebars.
Almost a substitute for The Joy of Cooking."
— Booklist

"An easy going classic for the home cook."
— Dean Tudor, food and wine reviewer