The Compleat I Hate to Cook Book

Rating:
Summary: EASY FAST DELICIOUS
Review: All of the things you want in a recipe, AND this book is funny!
I bought this a few months ago and hadn't used it since I HATE TO COOK! Picked it up to make pork chops (for the first time in my life) They were fast, simple, and tasted fantastic. The directions are easy the ingredients are things that you have. It almost made cooking a pleasure and a joy. I recommend this book for everyone who hates to cook but loves to eat and can't eat out all the time.

Rating:
Summary: A Tribute To The Non Cook
Review: Here's a woman after my own heart: she hates to cook and is unashamed to admit this. The manner in which Miss Bracken admits is rife with humour and finesse ~ plus she tosses into the bargain 180 quick, easy, housewife tested recipes (this book was published in the '60s ~ 1960 to be exact) that anyone can make, even those hostile toward kitchen environs. Miss Bracken's wit is peppery (note the food connotation), vinegary (ditto), and her prose is salted (!) through with references to classic literature, tidbits of common sense advice, and slams at 'pop' psychology (as hilarious then as it remains today). Here's a sampling of (some of) what you're in for with this read: 'The Leftover, or Every Family Needs a Dog'; 'Spuds and Other Starches, or Ballast is a Girl's Best Friend'; 'Potluck Supper, or How to Bring Water For the Lemonade'; 'Luncheon for the Girls, or Wait Until You Taste Maybelle's Peanut Butter Aspic'. In between the pages of these chapters you'll find recipes for such tasties as: 'Skid Road Stroganoff', 'Sub Gum Yuk', 'Oddment', 'Old Faithful', and, appropo for the era, 'Beetniks' (a nifty way of fixing shredded pickled red beets). If you catch a whiff of the droll and acerbic, you are quite correct. Peg Bracken is a jewel. Very popular in the Sixties and Seventies, she also published an Appendix to 'The I Hate To Cook Book', plus several other books including 'The I Hate To Housekeep Book', 'A Window Over the Sink', 'I Try To Behave Myself' (etiquette), 'But I Wouldn't Have Missed It For The World' (travel), and 'On Getting Old For The First Time'. In all of these, she never misses a beat, her timing is impeccable. The sort of woman you'd love to have for a friend or neighbour, especially when one runs out of sugar and can't find the car keys. I highly recommend you begin your Bracken odyssey with this book, and see where it leads you. Enhanced by Hilary Knight's warm and witty line drawings.

Rating:
Summary: A Tribute To The Non Cook
Review: Here's a woman after my own heart: she hates to cook and is unashamed to admit this. The manner in which Miss Bracken admits is rife with humour and finesse ~ plus she tosses into the bargain 180 quick, easy, housewife tested recipes (this book was published in the '60s ~ 1960 to be exact) that anyone can make, even those hostile toward kitchen environs. Miss Bracken's wit is peppery (note the food connotation), vinegary (ditto), and her prose is salted (!) through with references to classic literature, tidbits of common sense advice, and slams at 'pop' psychology (as hilarious then as it remains today). Here's a sampling of (some of) what you're in for with this read: 'The Leftover, or Every Family Needs a Dog'; 'Spuds and Other Starches, or Ballast is a Girl's Best Friend'; 'Potluck Supper, or How to Bring Water For the Lemonade'; 'Luncheon for the Girls, or Wait Until You Taste Maybelle's Peanut Butter Aspic'. In between the pages of these chapters you'll find recipes for such tasties as: 'Skid Road Stroganoff', 'Sub Gum Yuk', 'Oddment', 'Old Faithful', and, appropo for the era, 'Beetniks' (a nifty way of fixing shredded pickled red beets). If you catch a whiff of the droll and acerbic, you are quite correct. Peg Bracken is a jewel. Very popular in the Sixties and Seventies, she also published an Appendix to 'The I Hate To Cook Book', plus several other books including 'The I Hate To Housekeep Book', 'A Window Over the Sink', 'I Try To Behave Myself' (etiquette), 'But I Wouldn't Have Missed It For The World' (travel), and 'On Getting Old For The First Time'. In all of these, she never misses a beat, her timing is impeccable. The sort of woman you'd love to have for a friend or neighbour, especially when one runs out of sugar and can't find the car keys. I highly recommend you begin your Bracken odyssey with this book, and see where it leads you. Enhanced by Hilary Knight's warm and witty line drawings.

Rating:
Summary: Still Faithful to Old Faithful
Review: How can you not love Peg Bracken? The wisdom she serves up is covered in a flaky, funny shell (probably one pre-mixed from the frozen section). I thought this book might be a little out of date, since it was written over 30 years ago -- but it's as helpful and entertaining today as it was then. My only question is, why haven't the rest of Braken's books been reissued? Time for a whole new group of readers to discover her timelessness!

Rating:
Summary: A cookbook for those with more good humor than time.
Review: Peg Bracken's book is for those of us who look at Martha Stewartand want to bang our heads against the wall. Most of the recipes create simple, "normal" food, in relatively small amounts of time. Her advice is funny and straightforward. The book is a pleasure to read, as well as to cook from. I've had luck with all but one of the recipes I've tried -- the one that "failed" came out okay, but my tastebuds gave it a bad grade. The best of the lot are "Sweep Steak." "Innocent Chicken," and "Boeuf and Oeufplant," but there are still more that I'd like to try out. This book is especially helpful for people just starting to keep house on their own; Peg Bracken's insights help keep a light perspective on the entire domestic endeavor.

Rating:
Summary: What would I do without it?
Review: The holidays are over, and once more--as it has been for the last 40 years--Lasagna Casserole was the star of my Christmas Eve buffet. I have the edition where Bracken writes, "Light a cigarette and stare sullenly while the ingredients simmer"--which seems to have been edited out of the later versions. I can't imagine life without this book. The caesar salad dressing, the chilly night chili, the salad with olives and cauliflower--they have been the background beat for my adult life. I am buying the "compleat" so I can have all the pages in order--and retire my old paperback editions to an appropriate shrine. Viva Peg Bracken!

Rating:
Summary: Do you hate to cook? Or wish you didn't?
Review: This book is for you! Easy recipes, snappy wit, and all the preparation you need to invite the in-laws over for Christmas dinner - even if your mother-in-law is Martha Stewart.

Rating:
Summary: Simple recipes and funny!
Review: This book was a joy to read. I used to wake up my husband laughing and when he'd ask what I was reading and I'd say "a cook book", he'd doubt my sanity. I remember especially "slug-a-bed stew". It's great fun for all cooks, and most of all - lazy ones - like me!

Rating:
Summary: Hilarious and informative!
Review: This is a great book - it is fun to read and contains loads of simple, quick recipes that almost anyone could put together. It is honest and funny, urges the reader not to buy anything unless they really like it, and points out that soup out of the can is often just as tasty as canned soup that you "doctor up" with added herbs or whatever. There are recipes for every conceivable category of food! Really humorous!

Rating:
Summary: This book is a must for all reluctant cooks!
Review: This is cook book that is worth having. It's easy to follow, and FUN to read. The recipies use products that are easy to understand, and they taste good! An excellent recipe is the "Chilly night Chili" which is easy and fast. I especially enjoy this book as I am not a person who enjoys spending a lot of time in the kitchen unless there is a party there. This book is helpful in all cooking situations: parties, everyday meals even leftovers. It's also very funny!