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High Flavor, Low Labor: Reinventing Weeknight Cooking
REAL FOOD. REAL LIFE. REAL FLAVOR.
Forever short on time, Associated Press food editor J. M. Hirsch is a master of kitchen shortcuts; his favorite, letting high-flavor ingredients do the heavy lifting, was the inspiration for this collection of nearly 150 boldly delicious recipes. Because nobody has time to make a bland meal.
His approach to cooking is Foods that taste great going into the pot need less work from you to taste great when they come out. He shows busy cooks how to use ingredients with intense flavor to make the meals they want in the time they have.
The recipes are easy and the flavors are robust. Try Four-Cheese Baked Gnocchi, Pork Chops with Red Wine Cranberry Sauce, Red Curry Beef, Sweet-and-Savory BBQ Chicken, Chili Balsamic Marinated Sirloin with Fettuccine and Sun-Dried Tomatoes, and Bacon, Beans, and Beer Chili. There’s even dessert, with Balsamic Chocolate Cookie Ice Cream and Grilled Cinnamon-Sugar Breadsticks.
Forever short on time, Associated Press food editor J. M. Hirsch is a master of kitchen shortcuts; his favorite, letting high-flavor ingredients do the heavy lifting, was the inspiration for this collection of nearly 150 boldly delicious recipes. Because nobody has time to make a bland meal.
His approach to cooking is Foods that taste great going into the pot need less work from you to taste great when they come out. He shows busy cooks how to use ingredients with intense flavor to make the meals they want in the time they have.
The recipes are easy and the flavors are robust. Try Four-Cheese Baked Gnocchi, Pork Chops with Red Wine Cranberry Sauce, Red Curry Beef, Sweet-and-Savory BBQ Chicken, Chili Balsamic Marinated Sirloin with Fettuccine and Sun-Dried Tomatoes, and Bacon, Beans, and Beer Chili. There’s even dessert, with Balsamic Chocolate Cookie Ice Cream and Grilled Cinnamon-Sugar Breadsticks.
288 pages, Paperback
First published September 7, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
September 6, 2016
This is a great weeknight cookbook. His concept is that if you use high flavor ingredients, you don't need complicated preparations. He includes cooking and prep times, and I found the prep times to be accurate. The standout chapters for me were the appetizers, sides, soups and desserts. The sundried tomato soup was great, and there are some very creative deserts (a no cook berry grape pie). I also liked that most of his deserts weren't too sweet.
He includes a lot of pasta recipes; the main courses are family friendly but the flavored aren't diluted for kids. He uses prosciutto a lot (which is fine with me!); nutritional information isn't included but you can sort of figure out what's heavy. Nutritional information would have added a 5th star here.
This is a great book to add to my busy family's heavy rotation.
He includes a lot of pasta recipes; the main courses are family friendly but the flavored aren't diluted for kids. He uses prosciutto a lot (which is fine with me!); nutritional information isn't included but you can sort of figure out what's heavy. Nutritional information would have added a 5th star here.
This is a great book to add to my busy family's heavy rotation.
August 23, 2025
Great if your answer to dinner is cook meat and add a side. The recipes are low labor, but not particularly healthy.
March 13, 2018
I really loved the recipes in here. They were quick but tasty. The pictures with him and his son were cute and inspiring for me to get my daughter with me in the kitchen, learning how to use a knife (which apparently he did with his son at age 2...ha). My only whine (and why it's 4 stars instead of 5) is there's no nutritional info, which is handy for me to know. My favorite was the Middle Eastern Beef with apples and coucous. My house smelled amazing!!!
March 4, 2025
Solid, easy recipes with good seasonings. I plan to try many of them. Still, several recipes were not for me - mostly due to the use of smoked paprika, eggplant or figs, which I realize are personal dislikes of mine and have no bearing on the quality of the recipe if you like these ingredients. There are some good punched up basics in here, along with clever ways to simplify normally complicated recipes. His writing is entertaining and straight forward. You can tell he isn’t a fussy cook and he offers numerous ways to adapt recipes to your own liking.
PS: this is not a cookbook for kids, but mentions when his son likes a certain recipe and includes a few tips, like early knife skills, for kids. This makes me think these are good recipes to use to introduce kids to new flavors rather than the same old ranch/hummus/chicken nugget fare kids usually eat. Then again, if I had grown up with a chef for a parent I’m sure I would have been eating unique foods starting as a toddler and therefore the ingredients are just part of the every day routine. “Yay, dad’s making Chimichuri tonight and tomorrow we are having North African chicken! My favorite!”
PS: this is not a cookbook for kids, but mentions when his son likes a certain recipe and includes a few tips, like early knife skills, for kids. This makes me think these are good recipes to use to introduce kids to new flavors rather than the same old ranch/hummus/chicken nugget fare kids usually eat. Then again, if I had grown up with a chef for a parent I’m sure I would have been eating unique foods starting as a toddler and therefore the ingredients are just part of the every day routine. “Yay, dad’s making Chimichuri tonight and tomorrow we are having North African chicken! My favorite!”
February 22, 2021
Cookbooks are what I read sometimes when I can't seem to get into anything else. And this one...it was okay.
There weren't any recipes that I absolutely had to try, but I did copy down a few as a baseline for maybe creating a dish...someday. Maybe. I'm not a huge cheese fan, but I get why he likes using so much (high flavor, low labor is literal here).
Not all the ingredients used are something I would call 'common' in all households. I don't have quinoa or couscous or sun dries tomatoes kicking around. The first two are easily substituted with other things (like rice). The third, I'd have to go actively seek out. As I said, I also don't like cheese so I have cheese like mozzarella or marble kicking about occasionally but that's about it.
If you like his general base of flavor items, you'll find the majority of this cookbook will be right up your alley. If you don't...well maybe some of the recipes will inspire you to cook a variation.
All in all, it's generally good, just didn't quite hit the mark for me.
There weren't any recipes that I absolutely had to try, but I did copy down a few as a baseline for maybe creating a dish...someday. Maybe. I'm not a huge cheese fan, but I get why he likes using so much (high flavor, low labor is literal here).
Not all the ingredients used are something I would call 'common' in all households. I don't have quinoa or couscous or sun dries tomatoes kicking around. The first two are easily substituted with other things (like rice). The third, I'd have to go actively seek out. As I said, I also don't like cheese so I have cheese like mozzarella or marble kicking about occasionally but that's about it.
If you like his general base of flavor items, you'll find the majority of this cookbook will be right up your alley. If you don't...well maybe some of the recipes will inspire you to cook a variation.
All in all, it's generally good, just didn't quite hit the mark for me.
November 29, 2018
Try the garlic-lime steak with avocado salsa! P. 74.
March 8, 2021
Some good recipes though a lot of them are probably a little too fancy for me.
July 17, 2022
Easy recipes with a few I want to try. The book gave me ideas that i would like to try with my own recipes.
January 27, 2011
I wonder if this is too good to be true...the premise is using high-flavor ingredients that need little done to them to be perfectly enjoyable, ergo a fast meal. Sounds perfect to me! I was dubious, but I'll be honest--once I opened it and started reading the recipes, I couldn't stop drooling. I know, embarrassing huh? But maybe well worth it. I borrowed (read: stole) quite a few recipes to try. I didn't want to rate this until I try them, but I doubt I'll remember later. So. For now the rating is based on the promise (and premise?) and the delicious APPEARANCE of the recipes.
Can't wait!
Can't wait!
January 10, 2011
This is seriously, next to 'The Joy of Cooking, the BEST cookbook I have ever bought. The recipes are true to the prep time, I've cooked 10 or 15 and only one I was like 'meh' about... the rest I would cook again. Seriously. It's awesome. And easy.
November 22, 2011
Pretty basic and uninspiring. I did find it humorous that someone who advocates buying natural and organic in one paragraph suggests buying jarred lemon juice in the next. The pictures were great, too bad the food wasn't.
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July 25, 2011LOVE this cookbook - give him a Food Network show!
August 8, 2016
Interesting
Of course I have not prepared any recipes from this book since I just purchased it. But the recipes look interesting.
Of course I have not prepared any recipes from this book since I just purchased it. But the recipes look interesting.
June 30, 2011
I hope the recipes are as good and easy (quick! 30 minutes) as they sound.
November 17, 2010
Great ideas easy cooking
June 28, 2012
Don't need it as a step by step sort of book but is great for inspiration.
February 20, 2016
Reasonable lists of ingredients
April 25, 2017
Great recipe
The recipes here are interesting and easy to manage. It's an easy read to.. You don't think about the photos but these are great.
The recipes here are interesting and easy to manage. It's an easy read to.. You don't think about the photos but these are great.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews