The Working Cook: Fast and Fresh Meals for Busy People

by Tara Duggan

Tara Duggan, winner of the James Beard Foundation Award and a regular columnist for the "San Francisco Chronicle" s award-winning food section, creates a practical cookbook with more than 100 healthy,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 097608807X
• ISBN13: 9780976088073
• Release Date: May 2006
• Publisher: San Francisco Chronicle
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 1.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 8.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Fantastic cookbook!

I have never been hooked on a cookbook like this one. Maybe it's because it's written for people like me -- people who have busy jobs but who love to cook and love to eat. The recipes are simple, ingredients easy to find, and it doesn't hurt that the book is stunningly beautiful. My seven year old son has love everything I've made so far - the fish steamed in ginger, the chicken with sweet potato fries, the Thai coconut milk soup, the lamb chops, the lemon chicken. The cookbook is also teaching me how better to use the ingredients I have on hand to whip things up, as well as inspiring me to delve into Asian and Mexican cooking. I'll be buying this for friends!

Best cookbook EVER!

I love to cook, so I have a ton of cookbooks. This one gets the most use. Not because the recipes are fast and easy, which they are, but that's not really a concern for me, as I don't mind spending hours whipping up elaborate dishes. This cookbook, unlike a majority of others (Rachel Ray, do you hear me?) comes with beautiful color photos of most of the food, along with detailed nutrition information. A recipe doesn't really tempt me without a color photo alongside it to show what the dish actually looks like. And since I watch my weight, I like to know exactly how many calories I'm eating. This is something most cookbooks don't provide, so the fact that The Working Cook provides it means this book gets a workout in my kitchen. I have made just about every recipe in this cookbook, as well as recipes from her Chronicle column. Everything, with the exception of the microwaved steamed halibut (microwaved fish? YUCK. Skip that one.) has been delicious. The Thai Red Curry has become a staple in our house (I could eat it every night), as have the steak and portobello mushrooms, many of the chicken dishes, the tabbuleh salad, etc. If you want a dependable, delicious, informative cookbook with color photos to tempt your appetite, this is the cookbook for you.

My new indispensable favorite

For those of us who are working and too tired to do much by the end of the day, this is the perfect cookbook. It's familiar fare but with exciting latino and asian accents here and there. It also has a raft of fast and furious menu staples, including pasta and chicken for day to day family fuel, and there are also some very nice special dishes for occasions.

Fast easy delicious recipes

We usually rely on Moosewood cookbooks and Jane Brody, but this has become one of our first go-to books when looking for a good, fast, easy recipe. The black bean soup, for example is super easy (all ingredients we keep around the house), and amazingly delicious. I ate that soup every day until it was gone. The three or four other recipes we've tried have also been easy and delicious (although sometimes we have to go out and buy a few special ingredients). Also, each recipe includes cooking time and nutrition info, and at the beginning of the book there's basic info like what foods and utensils are good to have around, and what do words like saute and simmer mean exactly, which would make it a great book for people who don't do much cooking yet. We like it so much we bought an extra copy to give as a gift.

Great Book-Easy Recipes!

This cookbook has very simple, and has "user friendly" recipes, that are healthy and nutritious. The stuffed chicken breast and spinach has become a staple in our household-