Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this title.
It was pretty, and I liked looking at the photos and recipes, but the title led me to believe it might be more . . . real life. I did not find most of the recipes very helpful for a midwestern small town mom.

I really enjoyed this cookbook. Some of the recipes are a little exotic for me but I like that it’s in simple terms. I enjoyed the recommended basic items list and I did purchase some of the things on Amazon as I was reading so I can be prepared. I look forward to trying the recipes.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

As a cookbook lover, this book is a must have! I’ve been following Lidey since she was working with Ina and I’m so happy and excited for her 1st cookbook! First let me say that the recipes all look amazing and appetizing and made with fresh ingredients.
The directions are clear and concise and I know that they have been tested multiple times. I love the format of the book with most recipes on one page with a beautiful photo of the finished product right next to it.
The little “story” or introduction to each recipe is a nice touch and makes it truly unique and memorable. I also like the make ahead and leftover or substitution suggestions.
If you’ve been cooking for years or whether you are just starting out, this is definitely a cookbook that you’ll want to have because the recipes are ones you can make everyday.
I’ll be choosing “Cooking in Real Life “ when it’s my turn to host Cookbook Club.
I’ve pre-ordered my copy and I’m looking forward to getting it.

I get a kick out of the fact that the author titled this book completely unironically. This is not my real life. 🙂 I did not work for Ina Garten and I certainly don’t live in the Hamptons. This is a great cookbook for high end, whole foods, somewhat pretentious recipes. There is a photo for every recipe, but no nutritional information. It should provide enough for gluten free and vegetarian readers, but not much for folks with other dietary needs like vegan or dairy free. I made note of a few recipes to try but for the most part they were a little too much for me (and the lack of nutritional information is generally a deal breaker for me). Still recommended, especially for foodies.

I read a temporary digital copy of this book for review.

This is not "Cooking in real life" because no one with a 9-5 job is going to be making these recipes. I can see myself attempting some of these for a special occasion or during a week I am on vacation from work. This is not "real life" food unless you have a personal chef.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Loved the breakfast and dessert section in this cookbook! Already made the chocolate Cherry cookies which are delicious! The other items seemed pretty out there in terms of taste and ingredients.

I received a copy of this eBook for a honest review from netGalley.

This cookbook made me hungry! So many good veggie recipes, drinks and appetizers. I want to own this book and make multiple recipes from it. The photographs are beautiful and showed off the food perfectly.

Cooking in Real Life is full of doable recipes with great instructions and mostly short lists of ingredients. There are a few that I’m eager to try: the chili salmon, cucumber salad, and flourless chocolate cake, The book is organized well with a section in the back for add-ons which i thought was a useful touch. The vegetable dishes section looked especially delectable.

I love a good cookbook and I am so thankful to Simon Element, Lidey Heuck, and Netgalley for granting me advanced access to this sweet delight before it hits shelves on March 12, 2024.

A gorgeous cookbook -- beautifully photographed, with extremely appealing recipes I can't wait to make for others. Looking forward to seeing this one on several "best cookbooks of the year" lists!

This is a fantastic cookbook! I can’t wait to sit down and cook through this. These recipes look easy, accessible, and delicious. I’ll be purchasing this for myself and also recommending this to my cookbook club in the library.

To be honest, I will read most anything that is endorsed by Ina Garten, because she is …Ina Garten and fabulous. This contains beautiful photographs, a full breadth of recipes, from cocktails to desserts, menu suggestions and even thoughts on what to do with leftovers. Most are reasonably easy to prepare with clear concise directions and easily accessible ingredients. Lidey has curated a wonderful book that would be a nice and very purposeful addition to anyones shelf. I have made recipes so far and yum! She learned so much from Ina and yet has created her own beautiful book. Kudos.

Cookbook by a former assistant to Ina Garten is packed with easy recipes for the home cook. Those who love Ina's cookbook will be familiar with the book's layout with full-page pictures of each dish. Except for one or two recipes, all ingredients are easily available to home cooks.

The title of this book is a bit of a misnomer - the only way the recipes in this book make sense for every day is if you, like the author, are the social media director for a famous chef and so have lots of time and access to highly specialized ingredients. One of the "easy" cocktails calls for a jalapeno simple syrup and very specific alcohol, while one appetizer calls for a specific brand of cheese from one particular farm and says no other cheese will work. The recipes have a definite high-end style to them, one that can be tasty but will make purists weep - a salsa is made of cherries and nectarines, garlic is grated instead of minced, chicken is cooked in champagne. Not recommended - if you really need a gift for someone who would only purchase chili crisp from Momofuku or thinks living in the Hudson Valley means limited grocery options, get them something by Ina Garten instead.

So many cookbooks published these days are extreme style over substance. They're beautiful to look at but the recipes aren't to the level that the production quality would lead you to believe. Cooking in Real Life is beautiful but I would say it's precisely where style meets substance, in the vein of Alison Roman's cookbooks.

When looking for a cookbook to add to my collection, I'm usually looking for it to satisfy two requirements: are the flavors in recipes complex enough to result in a meal that I will return to year in and year out, and are the recipes themselves reasonable enough in effort to justify spending my time making the meals. It's a difficult line to walk. I don't want cookbooks that lack flavor in exchange for simplicity in the way I might have when I was in my early twenties and learning to cook but I also live in an apartment with a tired, galley kitchen and I'm not going to make anything that takes over an hour of active cooking (save special occasions) or involve equipment and space that I simply don't have. I think Cooking in Real Life walks that line very well. The flavor profiles are complex and interesting but the techniques and equipment required are very reasonable. This book also managed to have a variety of recipes, ranging from oriented to hosting (with starters and cocktail pitchers) to easy weeknight dinners, which is something I don't always find cookbooks do well. Tips for leftovers included was a nice plus as well. I enjoyed the staple dressings and sauces section at the end too.

I think Cooking in Real Life did an excellent job of offering pairing suggestions that were not overly complicated and added lots of tips on how to scale up or down. The organization of the cookbook was very well thought out, something that makes or breaks a cookbooks from my perspective. It should be easy to flip to a recipe just by knowing what the recipe is--you definitely shouldn't need the index in a well organized cookbook. I enjoyed the tips and tricks in this book as well.

Altogether, Cooking in Real Life is a very well-balanced cookbook for those with cooking experience looking for developed flavors without a lot of hassle. This is a book I would gladly purchase and add to my collection.

Cooking in Real Life by Lidey Heuck delivers exactly what it promises to. This book is filled with accessible and intriguing staples and solutions for daily cooking. After browsing through the book I made a few recipes right away - that’s how easy they felt to turn around. The Taverna salad, a better take on the basic Greek salad that I often make, has been a staple in my house for the last few weeks!

The book is broken up into the following main sections:
Snack and Drinks
Salads and a Few Soups
Chicken, Beef, & Pork
Fish & Shellfish
Veggie Mains
On the Side
Desserts
Breakfast & Brunch
Dressings, Sauces, & Extras

The influence of Ina Garten is clear, but the authors perspective simultaneously shines through. This is the kind of cookbook that you get a ton of use of - perfect for any busy kitchen!

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon Element for the ARC - Cooking in Real Life is out 3/12/24.

Well written and beautifully photographed. A recommended purchase for collections where cookbooks are popular.

4.5 rounded down

I was quite impressed with this one! Gorgeous photos with every recipe, crisp and visually appealing layout, and a wide variety of recipes across a spectrum or types and flavor profiles. This is one of those cook books that just jives so well with my personal cooking preferences and tastes that I found myself bookmarking every other recipe! I will say that the title does feel misleading, because although many of these recipes do align with the way I personally like to cook IRL, that level of cooking is probably a bit beyond the effort the average person would put in for the everyday. Some of the recipes looks much more complex than they actually are, but there were a number of more special occasion meals, or meals that seem like they'd probably be more special occasion for most. Great cookbook for me personally, but if you're coming for real "every day" recipes, you may be disappointed.

I think I was expecting something different with this book. Cooking in Real Life means something completely different to me. A few recipes looked good but nothing I could easily make. It also seemed quite short.

This was a unique and different cookbook for me,not what I was expecting at all. I was very impressed. There are so many new recipes to try and the photographs make you wanna dive in. They were not what we are used to eating but we love trying something new. We enjoyed the Champagne chicken and the Peaches and Cream pie. We can’t wait to try more. Great detail in the recipe makes it easy to follow along and complete, even for a novice like me. Your going to enjoy this book.