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Most quick-recipe collections promise a lot but deliver very little. Bland, uninspired dishes may be fast, but will you make them again? And clever gimmicks sound great, but in reality, they rarely make sense. The team at America's Test Kitchen has created more than 200 easy-to-make 30-minute recipes that guarantee impressive results with a minimum of effort.
With our test kitchen know-how (and relentless testing) we found ways to make naturally fast dishes faster, and traditionally slow-cooked dinners a weeknight option. But one thing we never did was settle on shortcuts that shortchanged flavor. Some compromises simply aren't worth making.
No matter the path taken, every recipe in this book is foolproof, full-flavores and fast. And they come with our promise to you: Recipes that work. Every time.
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The Best Simple Recipes
The Best Simple Recipes
Most quick-recipe collections promise a lot but deliver very little. Bland, uninspired dishes may be fast, but will you make them again? And clever gimmicks sound great, but in reality, they rarely make sense. The team at America's Test Kitchen has created more than 200 easy-to-make 30-minute recipes that guarantee impressive results with a minimum of effort. With our test kitchen know-how (and relentless testing) we found ways to make naturally fast dishes faster, and traditionally slow-cooked dinners a weeknight option. But one thing we never did was settle on shortcuts that shortchanged flavor. Some compromises simply aren't worth making.
No matter the path taken, every recipe in this book is foolproof, full-flavores and fast. And they come with our promise to you: Recipes that work. Every time.
Hassle-free, contemporary cooking.,
As a “seasoned” cook, I’ve been down most of the cooking routes: from the French classics, to one-hour gourmet, to complex vegetarian, to severe, healthy cooking by the docs. Now, I lean to this cookbook’s style: simple, tasty, fresh and light — somewhere between poached quenelles and fried tofu. This is a good grouping of contemporary recipes with zip, often with international flair (oriental, Mexican, etc.). Some recipes are updated twists on old faves like Tuna Melt but with artichokes; BLT salad using mayo-smeared croutons; vegetarian chili with corn; Southwestern salmon cakes. Others take classics but ditch the complex and daunting preparation– like switching paper-thin potato slices for a potato chip mix or skipping the fish-steaming by laying salmon atop the asparagus, or using rotisserie chicken for a flavorful- but quick-chicken soup. Some clever ideas that work! The book has some surprising ingredient combos like kielbasa with potato leek soup. I appreciate the explanatory notes on the thoughtful but concise hows and whys of the recipes, and am impressed with the recommendations of brand name grocery items that they have tested. It’s instructive without being pedantic or fussy. For those of us who like to see the cook in action, there are selected photos of some of the techniques and I picked up a few new ones. This is the kind of cookbook you can actually USE everyday, without resorting to the dumbed-down or goofy ones, or those with exotic hard-to-find ingredients or lengthy preparation. It reflects how we cook these days, and I plan to use it often.
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LikeDislikeGood cookbook, with a caviat,
I am a fan of America’s Test Kitchen’s (ATK’s) cookbooks. They follow a consistent format and the recipes tend to be reliable and reproducible. Our family tends to go in several directions at once so the idea of easy to prepare, quick meals has a lot of appeal. I was anxious to see how this cookbook measures up. In summary, it’s a good cookbook but it makes some assumptions about the kitchen in which it is being used.
I have used other cookbooks that tout collections of recipes that can be prepared from start to finish in 30 minutes (in particular Rachael Ray’s numerous offerings). My experience is that when a recipe is supposed to be prepared in 30 minutes or less, I usually finish up closer to 45 minutes. Perhaps someone who is more organized and motivated can accomplish this but I cannot. Regardless, every recipe I have tried from this book takes me less than an hour to put together and serve, which is still very much in line with reasonable as far as I am concerned.
One thing that is special about ATK cookbooks is the inclusion of the quick tips, brand comparisons and helpful suggestions that appear on almost every page. This book includes those same helps, and personally I find them interesting and useful.
Although not every recipe in the book comes with a nice picture, many of them (more than half, actually) do. This is always a helpful tool when deciding on what to make for a meal – eye appeal of a dish goes a long way to making a dish more likely to be tried, generally speaking. Also, each recipe is written to be clear and easy to follow and the results are consistent.
There is one main flaw with this cookbook. Many of the recipes call for uncommon ingredients that are not present in the average kitchen. It is important to keep this is mind when deciding on a dish as one ingredient from the dish can be a deal-breaker, no matter how appealing the dish looks in the picture.
This is a good cookbook, filled with good ideas for people who do not have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen. The helpful extras make this a good reference tool, too. Though there are some recipes that call for odd ingredients that many do not keep on hand, this cookbook is still a worthwhile addition to any collection where fast and easy cooking rules the day.
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LikeDislikePros and Cons,
This cookbook was written by America’s Test Kitchen, a favorite cooking resource of mine. I expected to *love* this book but I ended on finding it only good.
Pros:
appealing and updated recipes
attractive pictures
every person that came to my house picked up this book and coveted it, it has tremendous reader appeal
great sidebar commentary on various products and cooking tips, which is something you have to love The Test Kitchen for
Cons:
standard cons, of not suitable for hard kitchen use, the pages don’t lie flat
there is not a picture of each recipe
the two recipes I tried were a little time consuming and only tasted “meh” for my effort
I was torn between “I like it” and “it’s OK” settling on “OK” because I did not think the recipes that I tried were all that simple. If you just want to read this, I say I loved reading it. Cooking from it, not so much.
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