by Rachael Ray
Quick versions of old stand-bys and future favorites, all of which can be
prepared in half an hour or less
Reviewed by: Jennifer Santiago
About Jennifer Santiago
30 Minute Meals is the companion book to the Food Network show of the same
name.
Host/author Rachael Ray is not trained as a chef; rather, she honed her
skills
under the tutelage of her Sicilian mother and Cajun dad. This eclectic
background is reflected in her delicious and creative culinary creations.
Although the meals can be prepared in 30 minutes or less, they don't
scrimp on
taste-- or ingredients. Although the recipes are clearly written and
easy to
follow, it's recommended that the reader have at least a working knowledge
of
cooking and a well-stocked pantry.
The spunky Ray writes just as she speaks, frequently approximating
measurements,
(recipes often call for "a few good glugs of olive oil," or "half a
palmful of
cayenne pepper") or throwing in colorful colloquialisms like "let it hang
out in
the pan." The book leads off with Top 10 lists, including "Top 10 Meals
with
Fewer Than 10 Ingredients," then breaks down the table of contents into
"30
Minute Pastas," "Salads and Other Green Stuff," "30 Minute Comfort Foods."
"Great Gatherings," and Ray's specialty, "Make Your Own Take-Out."
Among the highly recommended, tried-and-true recipes are "You Won't Be
Single
For Long Vodka Cream Sauce," "Macho Mix and Mach Enchiladas" and
"Jambalika:
Quick Jambalaya."
With chatty conversation bubbles on nearly every page, the reader will
learn fun
and interesting food facts and pick up time-saving prep tips while making
quick
and satisfying meals sure to please a wide range of palettes. Although
Ray's
Sicilian family clearly has had the strongest influence on her cooking,
her
concoctions span from Thailand to India to America's heartland for
classics like
cheeseburgers and chicken noodle soup. Ray even serves up a hearty
helping of
vegetarian entrees appealing enough to tempt the most hardcore carnivores.
This cookbook is highly recommended for home cooks looking for a quicker
way to
make favorite dishes or add creative new meals to their repertoire.
Overall, a
tasty addition to any kitchen bookshelf.
Click here to buy this book, or read more about it at Amazon.com: 30 Minute Meals
Copyright © by Jennifer Santiago, 2002
Reviewed by Jennifer Santiago:
-- The Lovely Bones - by Alice Sebold
-- 30 Minute Meals - by Rachael Ray
-- Raising Blaze - by Debra Ginsberg
-- Backpack - by Emily Barr
-- You Are Not a Stranger Here - by Adam Haslett
-- Bookends - by Jane Green
-- A Confederacy of Dunces - by John Kennedy Toole
-- Ash Wednesday - by Ethan Hawke
-- All Saints' Day - by Brent Benoit
-- The Stepford Wives - by Ira Levin
-- The Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human Mating - by David M. Buss
-- Literary New Orleans
- by Judy Long (Editor)
-- The Sopranos Family Cookbook
- by Allen Rucker; Recipes by Michele Scicolone
-- Atonement
- by Ian McEwan
-- The Crimson Petal and the White
- by Michel Faber
-- Midnight Bayou
- by Nora Roberts
-- The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
- by Ann Brashares
-- The Zygote Chronicles
- by Suzanne Finnamore
-- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- by J.K. Rowling
Home
-------
All the Reviews