A fantastic complement to their blog. The recipe intros read like conversations with a friend, and the recipes themselves are meals you could make for any occasion. I love that there are lists of add-in options so you can use whatever you have at home.

Elegant recipes made easy or easy recipes dressed up to be elegant? Either way you can't go wrong when you pick up this book for some dinner inspiration. Packed with beautiful food images and written in a supportive "you can do this" tone, The Modern Proper is the cookbook you need to re-invigorate that over-rotated dinner menu.

An all-around cookbook, there's something for everybody. Eggs, check. Chicken, check. Pork & beef, check. Seafood, check. Ooh even meatless recipes, check! I'm going to try the Saucy Grilled Cheese with Asparagus, yes you read that right. Also included: meatballs and soup. Would be a good gift for your loved ones who likes to endlessly expand their cookbook collection.

This is a beautifully illustrated cookbook, which is one of its best qualities. Unfortunately, my ARC would not show on my iPad and only showed me faded and empty pages for most of it, so I am unable to publicly review it. What I was able to view looked interesting with a diverse number of real food recipes. I was disappointed to see no nutritional information on the recipes. Best suited for those without food allergies or special diets like keto, low-salt, etc.

This cookbook was excellent! The photos are bright and delicious looking, the recipes are easy to read and the ingredients are easy to source. I made three recipes from this book: the pan-fried polenta with tomatoes and burrata, the skillet pepperoni pizza with blistered tomatoes, and the crispy pork lettuce wraps. All three were quality recipes that were quick to make and very delicious.

My only question is: what makes this book different than the thousand other "easy weeknight dinner" books? I was frustrated by the fact that all of these recipes seem to be different versions of the same recipes that I have seen in numerous cookbooks of this type over the years. Now that's not the author's fault of course, but it did make me wonder what the added value of a cookbook like this would be on my shelf. I think, if I was someone who did not already own 40+ cookbooks then I would really like this one -- it's easy to use, easy to read, didn't make me feel intimidated in the kitchen. But for an experienced home cook I think this book would feel a little redundant. I'm not sure I would buy this book for myself, but I would probably buy it for someone who is moving into their first apartment.

Thank you to NetGalley & Simon Element for giving me a preview of this cookbook. This cookbook carries through the beauty & elegance of "The Modern Proper" recipe website. I thoroughly love how easy to comprehend all of the recipes in this book are! I'm moving in with my boyfriend soon, and will definitely be referencing these recipes to cook together after a long day of work. I truly appreciated the "Meatless" section as well, which I feel isn't usually featured in regular cookbooks that aren't advertised as vegan or vegetarian—everyone should try to cook a meatless meal now and again & I appreciate all of the thought that went into curating these recipes. The photography in the book is mouth watering & makes me so excited to get in the kitchen. All in all, this recipe book is a total staple piece for your kitchen (who doesn't love a recipe for "Clean-Out-The-Pantry Pasta!?) & a must-read!

Visually, Holly Erickson and Natalie Mortimer’s The Modern Proper is stunning. If what you really like about cookbooks is looking at the pretty pictures, get this cookbook. That’s a valid reason to buy a cookbook. If, however, you want a cookbook that helps you put delicious dinners on the table on a weeknight, this one is a maybe.

But first, full disclosure. The publisher sent me three chapters out of eight, so I can’t give an opinion of the whole book, only on Meatless, Pork and Beef, and Soup. I haven’t read the introduction, the section labeled essentials, or Things for Dipping, Spreading, and Dressing which appears to have some of the recipes you are supposed to incorporate into other recipes, like the Romesco Sauce and the Everything Bagel Seasoning.

There are things I like very much about the cookbook. Every recipe has a tag at the top to let you know if it’s gluten free, dairy free, kid friendly, etc. I really like that most of the recipes in the sections given to me incorporate vegetables. That’s important for a book aiming to make getting dinner on the table on a weeknight easier. And I appreciated the unapologetic use of convenience short cuts like canned beans and jarred sauce. And I really appreciated that there was a section on meatless meals that were not labeled as “sides.”

Where things fell flat for me were the actual recipes I tried.

From the Meatless section, I made the Spicy Unstuffed Pasta Shells with Roasted Garlic and Chèvre. I am not supposed to eat dairy, but I love chèvre and I decided to use slightly less cheese than the recipe called for. This was my favorite of the recipes I made. It was tasty and reasonably easy. I don’t have a problem with the recipe calling for roasted garlic. Where it gets weird is the discussion about how easy it is to buy roasted garlic at the olive bar at the grocery store. Two things about that. I haven’t seen an olive bar at a grocery store since March 2020 (when Covid-19 was elevated to pandemic status). I don’t recall seeing roasted garlic at any olive bar at any grocery store before the pandemic. I saw pickled garlic, but pickled garlic and roasted garlic are very different things. While there are no directions for roasting garlic in the recipe, how to roast garlic is explained in a recipe for Creamy Broccoli Soup with Roasted Garlic. I had roasted garlic on hand, because I love roasted garlic. If the authors didn’t rely on an ingredient that isn’t readily available, I would give this recipe an A.

The next recipe I tried gets a solid B. Everything Bagel Sausage Fried Rice is a great idea, but the rice is under seasoned making the whole dish bland. I used a standard smoked sausage, which is pretty salty, and since I didn’t have access to the authors’ recipe for Everything Bagel seasoning, I used HEB’s Bagel Not Included seasoning. It has salt in it, but I don’t know how it compares to the recipe in the finished cookbook. Fried rice is great, but there is a reason that other fried rice recipes add soy sauce to the rice while it’s cooking. Cooked rice, especially the days old, leftover rice the recipe calls for, is bland. If the rice isn’t seasoned properly, it doesn’t matter that the sausage is flavorful. Unless you like bland food. And if you do, that’s fine and you will probably like this dish better than I did.

The last recipe I tried gets a D minus. I had some really nice homemade chicken stock in the freezer so I decided to try one of the chicken soup recipes. The Turmeric Chicken Noodle Soup sounded the most appealing. I like turmeric and noodles. The initial step of sautéing green onions, cilantro stems and ginger as the flavor base looked delicious. I don’t know if I had incredibly potent turmeric or if there’s a typo in the recipe, but that was too much turmeric. By the time I got to the bottom of my bowl, everything tasted like turmeric. It was different textures of turmeric flavored things. Someday, I’m going to make that soup again, but I’m going to use much much less turmeric, because I still like chicken soup, noodles, and turmeric. Next time I hope to taste some of the ginger and garlic.

If you already like recipes from The Modern Proper website, you will probably like this cookbook. If you are unfamiliar with the site, as I was, maybe try some recipes from the site before buying the book. Again, if you like cookbooks for their pictures (valid), this would be a great cookbook.

I’m still waiting for someone to write a cookbook for busy weeknights that excites me.

I received selection of The Modern Proper in advance from Simon Element via NetGalley. My opinions are my own and voluntarily given.

This cookbooks is phenomenal and I have already pre-ordered it! Highly highly recommend! The recipes are so accessible and the photos are stunning.

Thank you to Simon Element and NetGalley for an Advanced Readers Copy of this cookbook.

The Modern Proper is a cookbook for busy people who still like to eat well. I only received a partial copy of this book to review, but from what I read, the recipes look fairly easy to make but seem very tasty. I’m particularly interested in the Detroit style pizza that you can make in a cast iron pan. There are a lot of vegetarian recipes to appeal to both vegetarians and people who would like to eat meat free sometimes. I’m curious to read the finished product to see the rest of the recipes!

I love cook books that have a variety options for everyone, and this one does. The instructions are very clear and the photo's are very accurate. I've only made two items so far and they were fantastic.

This book looks like it's going to be huge, and I LOVE thick cook books.
There are several sections from meatless to meatballs. An entire section on just meatballs. What's not to love there?
The pictures are beautiful and it appears to be formatted well. I really enjoyed the couple of recipes titled "clean out the fridge" and "clean out the pantry" as I often do just that before shopping for groceries again.
In the sampling that I was able to view, most of the ingredients would be easy to find which is a plus for when you like in the middle of no where like I do. While I love to make a fancy meal on occasion, it can be difficult for me to source uncommon ingredients.
Nothing seemed really odd or off the wall either. Lots of basic that most people would enjoy unless they were super picky eaters. A lot of fresh ingredients too which is a big plus with me.
Overall, I'm adding it to my "need to buy" list.

Easy dinners is the name of the game these days, and this is exactly what I need rn. Easy to follow recipes, great photos, and incredible sounding meals that I’m gonna try out soon.

This was a great cookbook and very visually pleasing! I enjoyed the spin on classic meals and earmarked some recipes to try! Love how each recipe has its own image, it definitely makes a difference! The recipes look delicious and this would make a great housewarming gift!

The Modern Proper cookbook is a book for the way I want to eat and cook. The food is simple yet elegant; easy enough for family weeknight dinners, but special enough to use for gatherings. I'm a fan of The Modern Proper's blog and instagram feed; I find myself constantly saving and pinning their recipes. It will be nice to have this collection of favorites in book form. For vegetarians and meat-lovers alike - this will be a great addition to everyone's cookbook library.

Thank you to Simon Element and NetGalley for this ARC.

I love this Instagram page so I was so excited to get an ARC of the cookbook. All of the recipes are hearty, healthy, and interesting. It’s comfort food with a slightly fancy twist. All of the recipes are easy and what I’ve cooked so far has been delicious. Can’t wait to dive into more of these recipes.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Modern Proper.

I received only a portion of the cookbook but what I was able to read sounded delicious.

The recipes all had enticing titles, I loved that they all included the use of fresh herbs and spices, and don't look difficult to make, even for a lousy cook like me.

I was surprised (and pleased) to see how well the photos came up on my Kindle. Usually, the photos are cut off or small, but not in this case; the photos looked beautiful and mouth watering.

I'll definitely be trying out some of these recipes...at least, the easy ones first.

In this cookbook it is categorized by meats that you use for the recipes. They are simple to follow recipes that are easy to make. The art and color is beautiful. This book is definitely one that needs to be added to your kitchen cookbook collection.

A wonderful collection of hearty and delicious recipes. Holly and Natalie are a great modern cooking duo that I think young and old patrons will enjoy all the same - whether you're already familiar with them or not (p.s. I'm already a fan!) Looking forward to sharing their work with more at home chefs - beginner and beyond.

Looks like I only got half of the book but the recipes that I was able to see looked amazing! The photos are mouthwatering! I can't wait to try some of these recipes. This is an incredible cookbook full of delicious recipes. I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

This cookbook left me feeling excited to get into the kitchen and cook something! The recipes are realistic and super tasty sounding…an entire section with just meatballs?! Yes please! I did find the prep times to be a little….optimistic but overall the recipes seemed like things I could absolutely make for my household. The blurbs before the recipes were also also charming and fun to read and I learned a few techniques.

Thank you to Net Gallery and element publishing for some sample pages of this cookbook in exchange for my honest review.