Quick & Easy Books - Page 16

The Newlywed Cookbook

Robin Miller

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

For a more intimate present, you may want to try . . . 4 out of 5 stars.
8 of 24 people found this review helpful.

I am an avid, but amateur chef and am getting married in Fall 05. I've looked at a number of bride-groom cookbooks. So far, my favorite is NOT ON LOVE ALONE by Jessie Carry Saunders. It has a friendlier, more intimate tone than any of the others -- it feels like something written by a bride for other brides.

It has a friendly, appealing feel, like the author is in the kitchen with you, telling you stories about the recipes as she teaches you how to make them. Also, it's just a higher quality book -- it's a hard cover, the pages are nice and thick, and the watercolor illustrations on every page make the book seem like something you could display on your coffee table as easily as you could use it in the kitchen.

If you want a good cookbook, any of the various newlywed cookbooks will work fine. If you want an excellent present for a wedding or a bridal shower, my recommendation is NOT ON LOVE ALONE.

Editorial Review:

With simple recipes that will impress every new husband, wife or in-law, newlywed couples now can actually use their new kitchen accessories instead of ordering take-out for every meal.
More than 200 original recipes, easy-to-follow instructions and personal advice on navigating the kitchen. From planning intimate, candlelit meals to hosting the first sit-down dinner party, this collection will turn any novice into a gourmet.

Includes such special features as:
-- A simple guide to common cookware
-- Terminology and spice indexes
-- Preparation and cooking times
-- Tricks and tips from the stovetop to the dining room table
-- Suggestions for “special occasion” meals, including the one-year anniversary dinner and when in-laws come to visit

American Heart Association One-Dish Meals: Over 200 All-New, All-in-One Recipes

American Heart Association

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Juggling work, school, family, and home seems to be the norm in today’s hurried world. Many of us often grab a quick bite and keep on moving, sidelining healthful eating habits and nutrition. How wonderful it would be to wind down after a long, hard day with a wholesome, home-cooked meal. Now, the American Heart Association, America’s most trusted authority on heart-healthy living and diet, presents a brand-new cookbook that can help. One-Dish Meals is designed for the millions of health-conscious Americans who are always on the go.

The more than 200 simple and tasty one-dish recipes offer sensible, convenient alternatives to fatty fast food and high-sodium frozen dinners. The American Heart Association once again proves that healthful, satisfying meals needn’t mean sacrificing great flavors or precious time. Many of these delicious dinners practically cook themselves. And forget about washing a sinkful of dishes, because almost every recipe here cooks in just one pot—so dinner is easy to make and quick to clean up.

Arranged by category—meat, poultry, seafood, or vegetarian—each recipe includes nutrients essential for heart-healthy living. You’ll find everything from weeknight dinners to special-occasion favorites—from stews, meat loaf, and pot roasts to cassoulets, enchiladas, and even a tagine. All you need is one dish and this cookbook, and in no time at all, you’ll have a healthful, home-cooked meal.

Happy Days with the Naked Chef

Jamie Oliver

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Jamie Oliver's Happy Days with the Naked Chef is in the same mold as his bestselling cookbooks, The Naked Chef and The Naked Chef Takes Off: recipes for simple, comforting food. This time, however, he has some interesting additions from his travels to Australia, New Zealand, America, and Japan. There are three new ideas in Happy Days with the Naked Chef. Oliver has included a chapter on "Comfort Food"--the kind of cooking Nigel Slater and Nigella Lawson specialize in. There are recipes for British favorites like Toad in the Hole, Fish Finger Buttie, and Sticky Sausage Bap with Melted Cheese and Brown Sauce. In his "Quick Fixes" chapter, Oliver has selected dishes where saving time and minimal washing up are the key ingredients. These include a Steak Sarnie and Chicken Breast Baked in a Bag with Mushrooms, Butter, White Wine, and Thyme. He has also included a "Kids Club" chapter, which offers inspiration for parents trying to get their children excited about food. The new additions don't dominate the book as the remaining two-thirds contain Oliver's standard Italian-style fare: simple salads, fish, meat, vegetables, breads, and desserts. Don't miss the excellent recipe for Medallions of Beef with Morels and Marsala and Crème Fraîche Sauce. Oliver has also been traveling and you'll find recipes with bok choy, soy sauce, and ginger popping up here and there--delicious! --Elizabeth Murgatroyd, Amazon.co.uk

Betty Crocker's Easy Slow Cooker Dinners: Delicious Dinners the Whole Family Will Love (Betty Crocker)

Betty Crocker Editors

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Great book 4 out of 5 stars.
6 of 8 people found this review helpful.

I like this book, being new to the crock pot scene I didnt have any real recipies and this book allowed me to try new things and start making great food.
My only qualm would be that it has a good amount of recipies that are out of the box and too different for my taste. The good recipies make up for it though.

Good book, nice pictures 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

A lot of new good ideas. I mostly look for recipes on the internet but it's hard to find new ideas there, you have to know what you're looking for. This book has several really neat ones, layered several course dinners such as herbed chicken, sweet potatoes and stuffing which was a really big hit and so easy to do.

Editorial Review:

Dinner ready and waiting when you want it - it's all possible with your slow cooker and Betty Crocker! Betty Crocker's Easy Slow Cooker Dinners gives you 50 slow cooker dinners recipes -- from succulent meats and fantastic poultry, to simmering one-pot meals including vegetarian options, as well as heartwarming soups and stews. Plus, you'll find tips and techniques for the best way to use a slow cooker - including extra-special shortcuts, cleaning hints, how to lock in flavors, and other finishing techniques to make every dinner look as good as it tastes.

The Spaghetti Sauce Gourmet: 160 Recipes from Four Kinds of Sauce

David Joachim

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Easy Variety 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This book, in spite of the 2 star review another reviewer gave it, is actually quite useful. I'm no novice in the kitchen, far from it, yet I found recipes in this book to be generally quick, easy, and tasty. And in contrast to many other cookbooks, it doesn't focus on one 'type' of regional cooking - rather, it gives a pretty varied choice, which is helpful, especially if you sometimes feel tired of cooking the same old things. I highly recommend this book.

Editorial Review:

With full-color photos and a fun package, this book is the ideal gift book for the creative cook.

The Cake Mix Doctor meets Everyday Italian! In this book, best-selling author David Joachim presents 170 creative recipes for easy dinners that start with bottled pasta sauce, like pesto, alfredo, and clam sauce in addition to plain old marinara. Everybody gets tired of pasta sauce on pasta, but we eat it because it-s easy. David will show you how to use jarred sauce in innovative ways to create dishes that look complicated but are really a snap to make. With all the new gourmet pasta sauces available at every grocery store, it's easy to make sophisticated food that goes way beyond lasagna and baked ziti.

With full-color photos and a fun package, this book is the ideal gift book for the creative cook.

Simple & Delicious Cookbook: 260 Quick, Easy Recipes Ready in 10, 20, or 30 Minutes

Taste of Home

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Rachel Ray, Eat Your Heart Out 4 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

I've been a "Taste of Home" devotee for awhile now, because I love their down-home, user submitted, easy and practical recipes and cooking tips. I got this book on a whim from Wal*Mart, even though the "30 Minute Meals" cookbook isn't really my "thing." I don't need a cookbook filled with 242 different ways to prepare "Cream of" soup. But I put my faith in the ToH folks and gave it a shot.

This book contains a wide variety of interesting, easy to prepare, inexpensive meals, while still maintaining that home-cooked feel that, I think ToH is famous for. I'm glad there is finally a book out there that shows one can be an at-home chef using mostly scratch ingredients, without investing hours to get food on the table. While there are recipes that do call for insta-items (a few with canned soups, processed cheese, or pie crusts), by and large this is a collection of how to assemble a variety of ingredients (most of which you probably have in the house already) into a great meal, with a modicum of effort and without huge expense. In the short time I've had it, this book has become something of a Bible, allowing me to prepare meals for my household despite working an evening shift (and thus trying to pack a whole day in the daylight hours before going to work).

The recipe offerings are diverse, and the sections are simple and straightforward, making assembling a menu a breeze. The first section is an "entrée a day" style layout, with an entrée recipe designed for 5 days worth of dinners over a 12-week period. The idea is you either choose an entrée from that section, or follow the menu as given, then jump to the extensive "Soups and Sandwiches" or "Salads and Sides" section to pick your sides, and viola. However, this book also contains the obligatory "Desserts" section, as well as a surprisingly large "Breakfast" section. You can really plan your menu from breakfast to dinner using this book. Most of these recipes (except for the "Desserts" section, only because many require freezing) are marked that they can be prepared in 10, 20, or 30 minutes, and for the first time in a cookbook of this nature, I really think the time estimations are really representative of what the average cook could do in a reasonable amount of time. And while this is by no means a "healthy eating" cookbook, the recipes included are I think very reasonable for the average diet, not being excessively salty, fatty, or otherwise including nutritionally disastrous suggestions.

Some of these recipes, I'm sure, people have seen before in ToH's magazines or calendars. Just a random sampling of recipes while flipping through the book... Creamed turkey over potatoes, chicken Wellington, crispy crouton salad, lemon strawberry tarts, cookie pizza a la mode, Tex Mex turkey burgers, snap peas and ham alfredo, French toast supreme, roast beef BLT, chicken stuffed tomatoes, turkey wild rice salad, cheesy wild rice soup, Swiss turkey tenderloin strips... How yummy!!!

For the price, this book is a great investment, ideal for working families, or people who want to cook something good without investing hours at the endeavor. Give it a shot... I know you'll love it!

The only reason I give this book 4 instead of 5 stars is because I've never been a fan of the cookbooks that are bound as this one is. With conventional paperback binding, I find that books like this flop closed easily, or when creased, lead the pages to fall out. I also wish there were more entrees in the book. While there are quite a number, there seems like dispurportionally few compared to the number of breakfasts, salads, and desserts there are.

Quick & Easy Korean Cooking for Everyone (Quick & Easy (Japan Publications))

Ji Sook Choe, Yukiko Moriyama

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Not what I expected. . . 3 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I was somewhat disappointed in this book as I was hoping to get more cooked recipes (especially for Korean Beef) and these are cold/raw recipes. It would have been nice if there was more of a description of the contents.

I do admit it has great pictures and might be a good book--just not what I was looking for. . .

Great book! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This is a great book that introduce you to Korean cooking. The recepies are easy to follow, even though you are not that used to cook Korean food. The last section with kitchen techniques and traditions in Korea is nice. All in all, I can recommend it.

Excellent publication for beginning cooks... 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This whole series of books is so well illustrated and written that anyone can follow them. As a culinary student and personal chef I love the fact that there is a picture of what everything is suppose to look like along the way. If you are wanting to cook and try some authentic tasting Korean cuisine this is a great book to start with. Even my Korean friends from church approved at our last dinner together. I am hoping to collect more in the series. The format and food are both excellent!!!

Editorial Review:

This book will enable anyone to start cooking Korean cuisine, even beginners.

Quick Vegetarian Pleasures: More than 175 Fast, Delicious, and Healthy Meatless Recipes

Jeanne Lemlin

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 27 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Delicious recipes, but not very healthy 4 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I've used a number of recipes from this cookbook and have been mostly pleased. There are some nice deviations from the typical ingredients, including a few vegetables and grains I hadn't used before. The green bean and red pepper dish has become a staple in my home, and some of the other recipes inspired me to try different casserole dishes. Overall, I think it's a nice addition to my little cookbook collection.

However, most of the recipes in this book are very high in calories and fat. The author uses a LOT of butter and cheese--practically every recipe calls for a tablespoon or more of butter and mounds of cheese. Yes, you can cut back on these high fat additions and substitute oil in some places, but overall I would not call these recipes particularly healthy. I use most of the recipes only occasionally because of this.

a lot a great recipes 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This is a great book for someone who is not necessarily a strict vegetarian, but would like to try eating more vegetables.

Editorial Review:

More than 175 quick, wholesome, nutritious, and delicious recipes to be enjoyed by vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike.

Even More Top Secret Recipes: More Amazing Kitchen Clones of America's Favorite Brand-Name Foods

Todd Wilbur

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Fun and interesting, but I got mixed results 4 out of 5 stars.
24 of 25 people found this review helpful.

If the poor condition of the library copy is any indication, Even More Top Secret Recipes is a very popular book!

Todd Wilbur has a number of books, and it can be a little confusing sorting them out. There are three "Top Secret Recipes" books, Top Secret Recipes, More Top Secret Recipes (this book) and Even More Top Secret Recipes. These books focus on what Wilbur calls "convenience foods." That is, most packaged sweets and fast food. He also has a book Top Secret Restaurant Recipes, in which he attempts to duplicate the foods of mostly casual dining restaurants like Chili's and Applebee's. He also has a book solely on drinks.

Wilbur explains in the Introduction of More Top Secret Recipes that these are not the actual recipes used by restaurants, and he did not obtain them through bribery, theft other illegal or illicit means. He starts with the ingredient list on packages of food and modifies the relative amounts, or with fast food, tries to identify the ingredients by taste. He admits that the real producers of these foods often use custom ingredients unavailable to the consumer, and that the goal was to match the texture and flavor of the food, and appearance is secondary.

So why try to clone commercially-available food? In both More Top Secret Recipes and Even More Top Secret Recipes, the author mentions availability. Some of the foods are regional, and you may not get them where you live. In the introduction to More Top Secret Recipes, he gives a list of reasons including low cost and curiosity. I'm not so sure about the cost argument, since I have to sacrifice two boxes of Macaroni and Cheese to make half a box of Cheese Nips, but the curiosity is what applied to me. I just wanted to know, "Can I really duplicate these commercial foods at home?"

This book contains 88 recipes, a big increase over the 37 of the previous book. The recipes clone the likes of McDonald's, Nabisco, Carl's Jr. and Taco Bell. Every recipe includes a history of the food item, something alone which makes this book valuable, and a dimensioned engineering graphic of the product. Even More Top Secret Recipes includes an interesting introduction discussing the fast food industry, and gives some tips on creating the clones. The recipes make as much use as possible of premade food and mixes. For example, most candy bars are coated with melted chocolate chips, so you will not find that you have to crush cocoa beans, or perform any such low-level task.

From this book, so far, I attempted to make Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies, (I AM a Girl Scout after all. Really. My wife signed me up. It was a surprise to me, too!) and Nabisco Cheese Nips. The thin mints turned out pretty good. The flavor and texture were pretty close. The only problem is that the chocolate was a little thick. Applying it to a desired thickness is difficult. Also, the chocolate remained quite soft. A little more experimentation with cookie thickness and baking time and temperature might make the centers a little more consistent, too. The Cheese Nips are made using the cheese packets from Kraft Macaroni and Cheese (Cheese and Macaroni?). They turned out crispy, and although bright orange like the real thing before baking, turned out grayish-tan when done. Although crispy, they weren't light and bubbly like the real thing, but were more like crispy cookies. They needed to be cheesier. They tasted like the flour and shortening. They weren't bad, though, and my wife liked them, but they weren't much like Cheese Nips. A lot of recipes would benefit from the use of rolling pin rings to establish uniform dough thickness.

I also had mixed results with the recipes from More Top Secret Recipes. You can read my amazingly similar review on that book for more details.

Using this book was fun and informative. I've had mixed results using these books. In short, have fun, but don't expect miracles with every recipe.

The Quick and Natural Macrobiotic Cookbook

Aveline Kushi, Wendy Esko

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Great Cook Book 5 out of 5 stars.
40 of 40 people found this review helpful.

While some of the meals take more than an hour there are some that take as little as 20 min. I like the varity of the recipes and helpful hints and instructions with pictures. I would highly recommend this book.

Quick but not quick enough!! 4 out of 5 stars.
31 of 32 people found this review helpful.

this book is great except the evening meal takes 1 hr+ & a book is needed for people who can't do that!!

simple; helpful and supportive 4 out of 5 stars.
18 of 18 people found this review helpful.

A simple, helpful and very direct cook book. Especially helpful to those of us who either forgot the principles or are beginning anew. This book does make it easier.

Editorial Review:

"Anyone watching his or her weight can profit by using these 150 recipes and 30 menus.... Foodstuffs blend old and new tastes, ...each recipe includes nutritional and exchange information."