Review: Pretty Darn Good
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 8, 2012
I like the fact that the title says flat-out that these are vintage recipes.  No claims about these being the most unique, mind-blowing, quickest and easiest recipes EVAR OMG!!11!!ELEVENTY-ONE!  (*cough*  Sorry about that.)The recipes are clear, very easy to read, and appear to be complete.  The instructions are compatible with my baking experience and I wouldn't hesitate to try any of them.  The Mud Hens, in particular, sound really interesting.Some of them are classics that I have seen variations of multiple times, and some are new to me.  Each recipe is on its own page (read on Kindle PC) and the formatting appears to be clean and consistent.  The last instruction on the bourbon cookies made me laugh out loud (and wonder what the story is behind it).I am not entirely sure how "vintage" I would consider a recipe using cake mix, but honestly - it's been around long enough that "Grandma" could well have used it.  Several of the recipes do, in fact, fit well with my association of that word, so I'm not going to worry about it.Why doesn't it get 5 stars?  Mainly because it doesn't have that unique, personalized touch.  I don't know anything about the author or why she selected these particular recipes, if she made them or if her grandmother did.  That's my standard for a 5-star cookbook review - good recipes, clear instructions, few errors, and a bit of personalization, something to make it stand out a bit.