Quick Food: Gourmet Recipes in Just 30 Minutes

by Annette Forrest and Jenny Fanshaw

Book Overview

Chock-full of brilliant ideas for gourmet food that can be prepared in less than 30 minutes; this cookbook will appeal to busy cooks who want to spend less time in the kitchen while still preparing... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0762109815
• Release Date: February 2009
• Publisher: Readers Digest
• Length: 704 Pages
• Weight: 3.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.8" x 0.5" x 6.5"

Customer Reviews

Reviewing: "Quick Food: Gourmet Recipes in Just 30 Minutes"

At over 700 pages, this recently released paperback cookbook from Reader's Digest boasts at containing over 300 recipes blending home style cooking and ethnic cuisine. Most are listed as easy to make and all are supposed to be made within thirty minutes. Fresh ingredients, not canned or frozen, is paramount here in most recipes with something available to serve the most finicky eater. After a brief introduction, Chapter One opens with "Snacks and Starters" featuring "Smoked Salmon Dip" (Pages 18-19), "Sausage and Tabbouleh Wraps" (Page 28-29) and "Tuna Pastry Pies" (Pages 36-37) among others. With each recipe, the directions and ingredients are on the left page with a full page color picture on the right. Separate preparation and cooking times are listed which combined add up to thirty minutes, along with portion size and cooking difficulty level. Extra tips are few and far between because most info is included in the straightforward directions. Chapter Two is on "Salads" and starts on pages 88 and 89 with "Smoked Chicken And Avocado Salad." That is quickly followed by the "Arugula, Pancetta, And Tomato Salad" (Pages 90-91) and "Italian Sausage, Artichoke, And Asparagus Salad "(Pages 92-93) and many more. While many of the recipes in this chapter are labeled as "Level 1" meaning they are the simplest to make, they involve cooking meats and or vegetables first and then adding them to a salad. Therefore, if you like your salad relatively plain and simple, most of these recipes won't work for you. Beans and nuts also pay a prominent role in many of these salads as well. "Thai Tofu And Mushroom Soup" kicks off the "Soup" section starting on page 150. A hearty "Tomato, Vegetable And Bean Soup" (Page 158-159) and a "Hot And Sour Chicken Soup" (Pages 174-175) follow among many others. Chapter Four is on "Pasta." Of course, spaghetti is in here but this time it is as "Spaghetti With Mint, Garlic, And Olives," (Pages 196-197) or "Spaghetti With Peas, Crisp Bacon, And Parmesan" (Pages 198-199) or "Spaghetti With Butter And Sage Bread Crumbs" (Pages 200-201) and several other variations. Recipes for fettuccine, angel hair pasta, penne, macaroni, and others are included. "Noodles" is the theme of the next chapter with "Chicken Udon Noodle Soup" (pages 270-271), "Chile And Lime Shrimp Noodle Salad" (Pages 276-277) and "Warm Black Bean Lamb And Rice Noodle Salad" (Pages 280-281) among others. Many of the recipes here could have been included in the salad section. If you are really into noodles, you will love this section because they seem to have the topic well covered. Chapter Six begins on page 318 with "Grains." Risotto is the main ingredient here though there are a few rice recipes such as "Rice With Herb Pesto And Feta" (pages 352-353) and "Brown Rice Salad" (Pages 354-355). A noted earlier, there are recipes in this Chapter such as "Tuna Couscous Salad" (Pages 364-365) which easily could have appeared in the salads chapter section instead of

Looooooove this book!

I was unsure whether to buy or not this book - I thought maybe "just another cookbook to dust on my book shelves"... However, I decided to give it a shot and was not disappointed. The book includes plenty of very practical and day-to -day recipes that you can prepare with ingredients right out of your pantry or refrigerator. No special trips to the supermarket for these recipes!!! I've been preparing one recipe every week and they all have turned out delicious!