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Quick, easy, simple … these are the mantras of today’s
home cooks. Despite the need for food that’s fast,
people don’t necessarily want to succumb to fast food.
The home cook’s desire for great food that’s
nutritious, flavorful, and easily prepared has spawned
a whole category of readers who use food products such
as prewashed and chopped vegetables, jarred specialty
sauces, and store-bought roasted chickens. As
“convenience cuisine” rapidly becomes a household
term, cookbook authors are taking note and applying
their creativity in new and delicious ways in the
kitchen. As Andrew Schloss says in ALMOST FROM
SCRATCH, these foods are “not just convenient
facsimiles of finished dishes. They are high-powered
ingredients in their own right.”
In THE CONVENIENCE
COOK, Judith Finlayson shares 125 recipes for
appetizers through desserts that maximize the use of
time-saving foods from boxes, bottles, cans, and more.
Use the ubiquitous store-bought chicken to make 125
delicious meals from ROTISSERIE CHICKENS TO THE
RESCUE by Carla Fitzgerald Williams. And here’s a
winning combination: seven ingredients and 30 minutes
are all it takes to be on your way to great
Southwest-style meals from Kelley Coffeen in SIMPLY
7. In addition to making the best use of
available food products, remember that your appliances
can also do the work for you. Take the advice of
Stephanie Ashcraft and Janet Eyring in 101 THINGS
TO DO WITH A SLOW COOKER for a terrific collection
of “throw and go” favorites.
Use these great books for a fall feast that maximizes
flavor while minimizing effort! |
Appe"teasers"
"Links to whet your
appetite"
To learn more about our
featured cookbooks, visit the Web sites of this issue’s
participating publishers:
You can use your slow
cooker for everything from beverages to desserts. To buy
one, compare offerings at:
For a weekly review of
culinary products, go to:
Labor-saving appliances
for the kitchen are in abundance. To see which ones work
best, check out:
Many convenience foods are
available at your supermarket, but here are a few
resources for terrific off-the-shelf-and-onto-your-table
products:
Blue Plate Special
Convenience Cuisine
 Almost
From Scratch
600 Recipes for the New Convenience Cuisine
By Andrew Schloss
(Simon & Schuster, 2003; $25.00/hardcover; ISBN:
0-7432-2598-8)
Veteran cookbook author Andrew Schloss shows that home
cooks can thrive even amidst the most hectic life by using
high-quality prepared and prepackaged staples straight
from the grocery store.
A
plethora of recipes shows that convenience food isn’t only
delicious, it’s also widely diverse.
Try Sesame Ginger Hummus or Shrimp
Cakes Florentine. For a twist on autumn made edible,
wow your family and friends with a Stir-Fried
Caramelized Apple Pie.
To order this book,
click here.
 The
Convenience Cook
125 Best Recipes for Easy Homemade Meals Using
Time-Saving Foods from Boxes, Bottles, Cans & More
By Judith Finlayson
(Robert Rose, Inc., 2003; $19.95/trade paperback; ISBN:
0-7788-0073-3)
“Easy
Extras” and “Maximize Convenience” tips are insightful
aids offered by Judith Finlayson to help the home cook
make sensational meals using time-saving foods that help
jump-start the cooking process
−
whether
for a weekday meal or weekend entertaining. Use everyday
ingredients you have on hand to make 125 best recipes,
such as Mediterranean Potato Salad, Spinach
Frittata, or East-West Chili Pork. As Finlayson
shows, “time-pressed” need not translate to “flavorless.”
To order this book,
click here.
 Rotisserie
Chickens to the Rescue!
How to Use the Already-Roasted Chickens You
Purchase at the Market to Make More Than 125 Simple and
Delicious Meals
By Carla Fitzgerald Williams
(Hyperion, 2003; $14.95/trade paperback; ISBN:
0-7868-8804-0)
Here’s a way to make a delicious dinner that’s on time
using those wonderfully aromatic, hot-off-the-roasting
rack chickens now readily available in most grocery
stores. Using her innovative style, Carla Williams
transforms the simple chicken into sumptuous appetizers,
soups, casseroles, and more that focus on flexibility
without foregoing flavor.
Hoisin
Lettuce Rolls
are an easy and exotic-seeming start to a meal. Creamy
Wild Rice and Leek Soup serves up the earthy smell of
fall, and Greek Chicken Stew and Lickety-Split
Lasagna make exceptional dinner fare that’s superbly
simple yet fancy enough for company as well as family
friendly.
To order this book,
click here.
 Simply
7
Quick Southwest Recipes Just 7 Ingredients Away
By Kelley Cleary Coffeen
(Northland Publishing, 2003; $14.95/trade paperback; ISBN:
0-87358-842-8)
If you think you’re too busy to prepare great Southwestern
food, think again. FIESTA MEXICALI author Kelley
Coffeen has streamlined classic Southwest flavors in
SIMPLY 7 dishes such as Chile Corn Chowder and
Picante Pot Roast using high-quality prepared foods.
She capitalizes on her “7/30 cooking concept,” which is to
provide recipes with no more than seven ingredients that
can be made in about 30 minutes. Start your day off right
with Kelley’s delicious Pumpkin Pancakes!
To order this book,
click here.
 101
Things To Do With A Slow Cooker
By Stephanie Ashcraft and Janet Eyring
(Gibbs Smith, Publisher, 2003; $9.95/trade paperback;
ISBN: 1-58685-317-1)
Hop on board the slow-cooker craze for hassle-free cooking
that lets you throw a few ingredients into one pot, get on
with the business of life, and return to a kitchen filled
with the aroma of real home cooking. New York Times
best-selling author Stephanie Ashcraft (known as “Mrs.
101”) has teamed up with Janet Eyring to give readers
scrumptious food that’s simply prepared, such as Zesty
Minestrone, Simple Beef Stroganoff, or Whole
Cranberry Chicken. You can even use your slow cooker
for delicious desserts such as Carrot Cake!
To order this book,
click here.
Last Licks
Try the following recipes for great food without all the
fuss!
From Almost From Scratch
From
The Convenience Cook
From Rotisserie Chickens to the Rescue
From Simply
7
From 101 Things To Do With A Slow Cooker
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