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Cooking Light The Complete Quick Cook: A Practical Guide to Smart, Fast Home Cooking
Cooking Light The Complete Quick Cook is the most comprehensive quick cookbook delivering everything consumers need in one place for cooking flavorful and satisfying timesaving meals. But Cooking Light The Complete Quick Cook is more than just a recipe collection of quick and easy recipes--it also gives home cooks all the tips and strategies on how to shop, organize their kitchen, and cook in a smart, efficient, and fun way at home. From shopping tips to menu planning and pantry, freezer, and refrigerator stocking guides to all the gotta-have tools and gadgets, authors Mark Scarbrough and Bruce Weinstein share with readers their expertise, insights, and tips. Cooking Light The Complete Quick Cook is the ultimate fast grocery, kitchen, and cooking resource.
Created with the time-pressed cook in mind, Cooking Light The Complete Quick Cook is about tasty, good-for-you food, made quickly and easily. With this cookbook in hand, readers will be armed with strategic ways to cook smarter, make the most of their precious time, and--best of all--ensure readers' efforts deliver incredibly delightful dishes day after day. Readers will find simple procedures, realistic quick prep times, and useful kitchen tips. Unlike the competition, every recipe has a short ingredient list and straightforward, easy-to-follow instructions along with ingredient information and tips on preparation, cooking, and storage.
Features
Created with the time-pressed cook in mind, Cooking Light The Complete Quick Cook is about tasty, good-for-you food, made quickly and easily. With this cookbook in hand, readers will be armed with strategic ways to cook smarter, make the most of their precious time, and--best of all--ensure readers' efforts deliver incredibly delightful dishes day after day. Readers will find simple procedures, realistic quick prep times, and useful kitchen tips. Unlike the competition, every recipe has a short ingredient list and straightforward, easy-to-follow instructions along with ingredient information and tips on preparation, cooking, and storage.
Features
- GenresCookbooksNonfictionFood
352 pages, Hardcover
First published November 8, 2011
2 people are currently reading
39 people want to read
About the author
Bruce Weinstein
64 books22 followersBruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough are QVC favorites with five sell-out appearances. They've appeared on everything from the Today show to corporate-sponsored events, making ice cream, gelati, sherberts, and sorbets. They're also experts on the desserts that pair with these frozen treats, having written bestselling brownie and cookie books and all-purpose cookbooks with desserts aplenty and countless features for Fine Cooking, Eating Well, and The Washington Post. Their cooking podcast, Cooking with Bruce and Mark, is available on iTunes. They've written numerous cookbooks, including A la Mode and The Turbo Blender Dessert Revolution (11/1/16). They live in Connecticut.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 29, 2012
I loved this cookbook and ended up cooking 7 recipes, not including some of the salad dressing and marinades that I tried. The meals are separated into many sections. There are breakfast, lunch, dinner, stir-fry meals, casseroles, and much more. Not only does the book include recipes but there are little boxes that include tips and substitutions if you don't have ingredients on hand. It also includes an index.
Everyone looks for different things in a cookbook but I can only tell you the things that are important to me.
Pictures. I have to have tons of pictures. I will buy a cookbook because of the pictures alone. I like the pictures because they tell me if my end result was on the right track. And of course they make me hungry enough to want to cook something instead off nuking some pizza rolls (don't judge!)
This cookbook has at least one picture per page! It's absolutely wonderful. The food looks so amazing and I know instantly which recipes I would be interested in trying. In this aspect, this book is far above the rest.
Ingredients - Number. I don't like cooking recipes that have tons of ingredients because I increase the likelihood that I will forget to buy something or that I will forget to add it into my recipe (I forgot the cream cheese in a spinach dip recently and still ate it. True story.). Plus, tons of ingredients make me think that the recipe will be more expensive to make whether or not that's true.
I think the number of ingredients in these recipes are reasonable. There are usually about 10 ingredients but that will include salt, pepper, and cooking spray. For my lifestyle, I can usually do with fewer ingredients but you know...I'm just like that.
Ingredients - Common. I love to cook recipes where the ingredients are already in my house! How awesome is that! I love to cook, so it makes it easier for me to cook on every whim. This is especially handy when I'm studying corporations because it is the type of subject that makes you want to cut some onions. If I have to buy a new ingredient, I really want it to be something that I will use again.
This cookbook is cutting it close with that one. I certainly had to plan the recipes ahead of time and buy ingredients that I had never heard of and had no idea where to find. Luckily toward the end of my experience with this book, it worked out because the recipes used some of the same ingredients over and over. So I definitely got my money's worth as long as I stick with this cookbook. It's so easy to do that I certainly didn't mind in the end. Just an extra note, I had to find many seasonings and other ingredients at my local whole foods and central market. If I was back home, I would be out of luck because we have itty bitty grocery stores where it is hard to find normal food. So I'd be careful about that one.
Simplicity. I am lazy. That is all.
Oh and this is where this cookbook shines! All the recipes where so easy to follow and make. And the end results made me look like I was an experienced chef. Other people who have tasted the results give me much more credit in the kitchen than I deserve. This cookbook is really great for creating a fancy looking meal and impressing a special someone. Or a potential special someone. Or maybe your boss. The recipes are simple but the end result doesn't look like it at all!
Time. I'm studying for the bar. They lied and said I would be studying 8 hours a day. It's more like 15. I don't have time to talk to my mom, let alone cook meals that take an hour.
These are quick! I love it. The longest recipe took me 25 minutes and the shortest took me about 10 to prep. Baking/cooking time is usually 7-20 minutes. Longer if you forget about it in the oven. This was perfect for me. I think the Hubby thinks I slaved over a stove for 2 hours on our anniversary to make dinner. I'm pretty sure that I actually fixed everything while he was in the bathroom and then stuck it in the oven for 15 minutes. Hey I take credit even when I don't deserve it.
Taste. Yes, it must taste better than pizza rolls. This is not as easy as you might think. I LOVE pizza rolls.
Every recipe that I have tried has been amazing. There are not words to describe how much my world was rocked. I really don't want to move to a new cookbook. I've made some recipes like 6 times already. Yum-my!
Bonus Materials. Extras.
This book has a ton of helpful extras. If you don't know how to cook or feel a little uncomfortable jumping out there, I think this book is very helpful with that. I was most excited that it gave me a list of meals that I could make using one rotisserie chicken. Or recipes for creating marinades for any meat. I've also fallen in love with making my own homemade salad dressings because of this book. There are so many ideas and tips that don't go to one recipe or other but can be used with anything. I think I learned a lot about cooking from this book.
Overall, I think this cookbook is the queen of the cookbooks. I'm sold. Many of the recipes are online or have been in Cooking Light magazine so you can find them without buying the book. But the book is more than just a cookbook so I'd say it is worth the investment.
Everyone looks for different things in a cookbook but I can only tell you the things that are important to me.
Pictures. I have to have tons of pictures. I will buy a cookbook because of the pictures alone. I like the pictures because they tell me if my end result was on the right track. And of course they make me hungry enough to want to cook something instead off nuking some pizza rolls (don't judge!)
This cookbook has at least one picture per page! It's absolutely wonderful. The food looks so amazing and I know instantly which recipes I would be interested in trying. In this aspect, this book is far above the rest.
Ingredients - Number. I don't like cooking recipes that have tons of ingredients because I increase the likelihood that I will forget to buy something or that I will forget to add it into my recipe (I forgot the cream cheese in a spinach dip recently and still ate it. True story.). Plus, tons of ingredients make me think that the recipe will be more expensive to make whether or not that's true.
I think the number of ingredients in these recipes are reasonable. There are usually about 10 ingredients but that will include salt, pepper, and cooking spray. For my lifestyle, I can usually do with fewer ingredients but you know...I'm just like that.
Ingredients - Common. I love to cook recipes where the ingredients are already in my house! How awesome is that! I love to cook, so it makes it easier for me to cook on every whim. This is especially handy when I'm studying corporations because it is the type of subject that makes you want to cut some onions. If I have to buy a new ingredient, I really want it to be something that I will use again.
This cookbook is cutting it close with that one. I certainly had to plan the recipes ahead of time and buy ingredients that I had never heard of and had no idea where to find. Luckily toward the end of my experience with this book, it worked out because the recipes used some of the same ingredients over and over. So I definitely got my money's worth as long as I stick with this cookbook. It's so easy to do that I certainly didn't mind in the end. Just an extra note, I had to find many seasonings and other ingredients at my local whole foods and central market. If I was back home, I would be out of luck because we have itty bitty grocery stores where it is hard to find normal food. So I'd be careful about that one.
Simplicity. I am lazy. That is all.
Oh and this is where this cookbook shines! All the recipes where so easy to follow and make. And the end results made me look like I was an experienced chef. Other people who have tasted the results give me much more credit in the kitchen than I deserve. This cookbook is really great for creating a fancy looking meal and impressing a special someone. Or a potential special someone. Or maybe your boss. The recipes are simple but the end result doesn't look like it at all!
Time. I'm studying for the bar. They lied and said I would be studying 8 hours a day. It's more like 15. I don't have time to talk to my mom, let alone cook meals that take an hour.
These are quick! I love it. The longest recipe took me 25 minutes and the shortest took me about 10 to prep. Baking/cooking time is usually 7-20 minutes. Longer if you forget about it in the oven. This was perfect for me. I think the Hubby thinks I slaved over a stove for 2 hours on our anniversary to make dinner. I'm pretty sure that I actually fixed everything while he was in the bathroom and then stuck it in the oven for 15 minutes. Hey I take credit even when I don't deserve it.
Taste. Yes, it must taste better than pizza rolls. This is not as easy as you might think. I LOVE pizza rolls.
Every recipe that I have tried has been amazing. There are not words to describe how much my world was rocked. I really don't want to move to a new cookbook. I've made some recipes like 6 times already. Yum-my!
Bonus Materials. Extras.
This book has a ton of helpful extras. If you don't know how to cook or feel a little uncomfortable jumping out there, I think this book is very helpful with that. I was most excited that it gave me a list of meals that I could make using one rotisserie chicken. Or recipes for creating marinades for any meat. I've also fallen in love with making my own homemade salad dressings because of this book. There are so many ideas and tips that don't go to one recipe or other but can be used with anything. I think I learned a lot about cooking from this book.
Overall, I think this cookbook is the queen of the cookbooks. I'm sold. Many of the recipes are online or have been in Cooking Light magazine so you can find them without buying the book. But the book is more than just a cookbook so I'd say it is worth the investment.
August 7, 2019
My favorite summertime salad cookbook. Lots of great, easy recipes and ideas for busy families.
December 30, 2016
I got this cookbook for Christmas and can't wait to try out some of the recipes! I like that there are a lot of pictures and content beyond simply recipes, too, like tips for being more efficient in the kitchen and using common ingredients in versatile ways.
January 8, 2014
I love Cooking Light magazine, and of course I am interested in quick ways to get dinner on the table after working all day, but this book wasn't quite what I was hoping for.
Too many of the recipes in this book call for supermarket shortcuts (i.e., stopping by the deli/salad bar for ingredients, or getting a rotisserie chicken) to be useful. I happen to live in the boonies, NO supermarkets or take-out on my way home from work. Even if I want to cook QUICK, I have to have the ingredients ready at home.
And what do you consider "quick"? I like GOOD food, which means I am willing to spend a half hour to 45 minutes to make a main dish and a side. I got the impression that this book was geared more for those who typically yell at the microwave to hurry up.
Honestly, this book was just a bit too "quick" for me. For rural dwellers who know how to cook from scratch, but don't always want to, I'd recommend America's Test Kitchen's Best 30 Minute Recipe instead. On the other hand, if you don't like to cook at all, and have some good markets on the way home from work, this might be a good choice.
Too many of the recipes in this book call for supermarket shortcuts (i.e., stopping by the deli/salad bar for ingredients, or getting a rotisserie chicken) to be useful. I happen to live in the boonies, NO supermarkets or take-out on my way home from work. Even if I want to cook QUICK, I have to have the ingredients ready at home.
And what do you consider "quick"? I like GOOD food, which means I am willing to spend a half hour to 45 minutes to make a main dish and a side. I got the impression that this book was geared more for those who typically yell at the microwave to hurry up.
Honestly, this book was just a bit too "quick" for me. For rural dwellers who know how to cook from scratch, but don't always want to, I'd recommend America's Test Kitchen's Best 30 Minute Recipe instead. On the other hand, if you don't like to cook at all, and have some good markets on the way home from work, this might be a good choice.
March 4, 2012
Very pretty pictures but not many appealing recipes.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews