Wolfgang Puck Makes It Easy: Delicious Recipes for Your Home Kitchen

by Wolfgang Puck, Martha Rose Shulman, Ron Manville (Photographer)

Wolfgang Puck Makes It Easy is a groundbreaking cookbook in which Wolfgang Puck shares his creativity and genius so that anyone can prepare these wonderful recipes. Every element of the book aims to make it incredibly easy to create great food of the highest quality and creativity, as only Wolfgang Puck can do. In addition to more than 100 recipes, the book features numerous cooking tips as well as advice on how to select the freshest ingredients, how to adapt recipes to the season, using the right cookware, and menu and wine selections.
He is creator of some of the world's greatest restaurants such as Spago and Postrio. He is known for the fast-growing Wolfgang Puck Express, a line of cooking accessories, television appearances on the Food Network, and a line of soups and pizzas. He is author of five previous cookbooks. Wolfgang Puck is one of the most visible names and faces in the food business.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Nonfiction, Reference

306 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2004

Reviews

[Sarah]

This one is a little bit snobby for my taste, but I tried Wolfgang's recipe for pepper steak with cherry sauce (or something like that) and it was awesome.

[Kelly]

Many of these recipes looked delicious and used ingredients that you would have on hand. I plan to try some of these recipes this week.

[Trent]

Been using this book since 2007 when we got it as a wedding guest gift from my wife’s brother while in Hawaii. Curried Chicken Satay with Fresh Mint Soy Vinaigrette is the best recipe of the bunch and we make it a few times a year!

[Liquidlasagna]

not fond of the pressure cooker recipes

[Kimberly Ann]

This book is easy to read (meaning I can see the print without pushing my nose to the page), but I'm not going to agree that the recipes are "Easy", because making pasta from scratch is not easy and the recipes use more than a few ingredients. So, I'm thinking he's trying to make his less complicated recipes available to the general public.

There are colored photos for each recipe, there are "Wolfgang's Easy Tips" for each recipe as well, and a small blurb about each dish above the recipe.

Contents are: Acknowledgements; Introduction; Breakfast, brunch, & breads; Appetizers, Soups & salads; Panini on the indoor grill; Pasta & pizza; Main Dishes; Side dishes & sauces; Desserts; Appendix; and Index.

Breakfast, brunch, & breads: Southwestern strata w/ sausage; Pistachio crusted vanilla French toast; Eggs in cocotte w/ smoke salmon & horseradish cream; Chocolate & orange swirl muffins; Brioche; and Fresh berry compote.

Appetizers, Soups & salads: Roasted crostini w/ assorted toppings; Artichokes stuffed w/ fresh herbs, breadcrumbs, & parmesan (this is NOT easy); Potato pancakes w/ smoked sturgeon; Roasted squash soup; Rich mussel soup; Asian steak salad; Five dressings for five salads; and Panko crusted scallops w/ cilantro mint vinaigrette.

Panini on the indoor grill: Grilled shrimp blt panini w/ shallot cream sauceGrilled steak panini; Fontina & broccoli rabe panini w/ sun dried tomatoes; and BBQ turkey & green chili quesadilla.

Pasta & pizza: Basic pasta dough (so not happening @ my house); Pasta w/ wild mushrooms, corn & bell peppers; Tagliatelle w/ pancetta, shrimp & roasted tomatoes; Fettuccine Alfredo w/ mascarpone cream suce; Pappardelle w/ braised duck legs (oh YUM); Making a pizza; Roasted garlic & wild mushroom pizza (Again Yum); Pizza w/ sausage, fennel & peppers; and Pizza w/ prosciutto & arugula.

Main Dishes: Roasted salmon fillets w/ red wine sauce & mashed potatoes (not easy); Sauteed shrimp w/ chardonnay dijon cream sauce (I make this w/ out the dijon); Pan seared ahi tuna w/ wasabi cream sauce; Pan roasted chicken w/ lemon & whole grain mustard; Buttermilk marinated pan friend chicken breasts; Roast prime rib of beef w/ garlic herb crust; Asian style pork hotpot w/ squash & eggplant; Ground beef & pork chipotle chili w/ kidney beans; and Wine braised brisket of beef w/ carmelized pearl onions & dried apricots.

Side dishes & sauces: Asparagus w/ brown buttered breadcrumbs; Sauteed squash ribbons; Fresh mushroom sauce; Mayonnaise; and red wine shallot sauce.

Desserts: Old fashioned ginger spiced cookies; My Mother's linzer cookies; Banana spring rolls w/ two dipping sauces (I think this is disgusting, but Rachel Ray makes this as well....); Granny Smith apple pie w/ cheddar cheese crust; meringue nests w/ lemon curd, chocolate mousse, or ice cream; Lemon curd; Warm strawberries w/ baked meringues & vanilla ice cream; Pink & white baked Alaska (Not easy); and Ginger creme brulee.

It (mostly) all sounds good, but it is NOT "Easy"... well for Wolfgang is is, but unless you are an accomplished cook, much of it is not. Personally, I would not buy this book ($34.99), but I would borrow it from the Library.

[Cari]

Super pleased with both recipes from this cookbook. I would make both again!

[Mona]

Wolfgang Puck did not disappoint me in this cookbook. Although many reviewers found fault with the complexity of some of the recipes in the book, I didn't think they were bad. I found many recipes that I intend to give a try. I'll let you know if the cookbook and its recipes live up to Puck's reputation.

[Cynthia Caprise]

Wolfgang Puck

It's rare that I see a cookbook with a few recipes using a pressure cooker. I'm excited to try some of these. I also want to try my hand at some of the yeast bread recipes. I did, however find this book heavy with dessert recipes.