Allrecipes Dinner Tonight (All Recipes)

Rating:
Summary: Good Source if you need to cook
Review: I have a very hard time evaluating this book objectively, as it represents the kind of Middle American cooking I try to avoid. Its style of cooking reminds me of the famous comparison of Elvis to the Beatles as being like Campbell's soup to an Andy Wharhol silk screen of Campbell's soup. The one is utilitarian, the other is making art out of something utilitarian. This is not a criticism of Elvis or Campbell's soup or even of these recipes. It is simply a characterization that is meant to bring out its role in the world of recipes in a concise and illuminating way.

The book is a collection of recipes reprinted from the allrecipes.com web site that touts itself as the world's number one cooking site. As this is a review of the book and not the web site, I will not dwell on this claim except to point out that this means the book which may serve as a close parallel to this volume is the Food Network cookbook published about 9 months ago.

To begin my evaluation, I read all of the twenty (20) recipes listed in the 'Recipe Hall of Fame' and I found all of the reasons I avoid this genre of recipe writing in my own cooking. The primary reasons I look elsewhere for recipes is:

Heavy use of packaged products such as soups, gravy mixes, cake mixes, and spice mixes.
References to packaged preparations are generic. No preferred brands or characterizations are cited.
Vague instructions. Interesting and important details such as best potato type to use are often left out.

Wrong instructions, such as directions to frequently move sautéed meats before achieving a good sear.
Where I know of a similar recipe published elsewhere, alternate recipe is always superior.
Recipes tend to be high on empty calories relative to culinary value delivered.
Ironically, the packaged products and the unsophisticated methods lead to results that are not simple on the mouth. By simple, I mean what Richard Olney means by simple. Characteristics of the basic ingredients are enhanced rather than obscured by the recipe.

These are all my own reactions to this style of recipe. I should clearly say that if one cooks often, but has no patience with browsing a large number of cookbooks, this book may offer an important source of inspiration. The book may be especially welcome if you are a devotee of the allrecipe.com web site.

In comparing this book to the Food Network cookbook, it is clear that the two are in a completely different class. The allrecipe.com authors are all amateur home cooks and the Food Network authors are all professional cooks. The Food Network offerings have been tested in a professional kitchen and they have been offered to other food professionals. This does mean the Food Network recipes are, on average, more difficult and more time consuming to realize, but the results are a lot closer to the art of Andy Wharhol than they are to something which has come out of a can from New Jersey.

This book is a great outlet for creative amateur home chefs. Their efforts are not unlike what I do as an amateur writer churning out reviews for free on Amazon.com because it provides the fun without the agony of locating a professional venue in a magazine, newspaper, or even a culinary web site.

My best suggestion to the fine people who search out books of this type are to consider some professionally written sources which may fit their culinary objectives. If you are in need of fast cooking, check out Rachael Ray's books. If you need diversity with an international cachet, try Patricia Wells' books on Provencal cooking. If you need variety and general guidance, try James Beard's American Cookery, Mark Bittman's 'How to Cook Everything', or 'The Joy of Cooking'. If you like these books because you contribute to allrecipes.com, then I say all the more power to you.

Average, easy, tasty recipes for the person who needs to cook.

Rating:
Summary: Finally quick dinners
Review: Usually the last thing on my mind is making dinner. This cookbook has everything I'm looking for; plus the recipes are quick, and really easy to make. I will definitely use this on a weekly basis. Thank you Allrecipes!