The Short-Cut Cook : Make Simple Meals with Surprisingly Little Effort

Pepin, Jacques

ISBN 10: 0688094481 / ISBN 13: 9780688094485

Published by HarperCollins Publishers, 1990

About this Item

Pages intact with possible writing/highlighting. Binding strong with minor wear. Dust jackets/supplements may not be included. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good.

Seller Inventory # 5827104-6

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Short-Cut Cook : Make Simple Meals with Surprisingly Little Effort
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Publication Date: 1990
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0688094481
• ISBN 13: 9780688094485
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st.
• Condition: Very Good
• Weight: 1.402 pounds

About this title

Synopsis

The world-famous master chef introduces 250 recipes for easy-to-fix dishes that take only minutes to prepare, including a variety of one-pot meals and multipurpose dishes and menus, with tips on using leftovers

Reviews

Master chef Pepin ( La Technique ), multiple IACP/Tastemaker Award recipient, has built a considerable reputation on his teaching of classic culinary skills. Forthwith he takes a new approach. Billed as a celebration of "a cuisine that is rewarding without being demanding," this book may shock his fans. Staples here come from cans, bottles, freezer cases and packages; some recipes are eerily reminiscent of back-of-the-box concoctions--borscht made with canned beets; a split pita bread butttered and sprinkled with Parmesan before a run into the toaster oven. Regardless, Pepin achieves his aim: to cook with minimal effort while providing zesty meals. Some recipes call for costly fresh ingredients (lobster, veal chops). More affordable yet still adventurous are black bean hummus with smoked oysters and sour cream, a salad of sardines augmented with ripe tomatoes, and Bartlett pears baked in puff pastry shells. "If something tastes good, it doesn't matter whether it is 'authentic' or prepared 'correctly'--what works, works," Pepin declares. All the same, the audience of working parents who most need fast meals may balk at paying $20 for a cookbook when equally simple-to-fix recipes can indeed be found on the backs of bottles, cans and jars for a song. Author tour.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

When Pepin is not creating elaborate recipes like those in his masterful The Art of Cooking ( LJ 10/15/87), he makes simple, but not unsophisticated, dishes like Garlic Salad or Braised Short Ribs in Red Wine. Most of these recipes are quickly prepared or can be made in advance (a few are based on convenience foods--it's somehow disheartening to find that his daughter's favorite cake is frosted with instant pudding and whipped cream); and he includes many imaginative, time-saving tips. With his usual flair, Pepin has come up with dishes undemanding enough to suit the busiest cook, elegant enough for company.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.