Rachael Ray

A gift from my mom and a fun cookbook, to boot. This is the only Rachael Ray cookbook that I currently own. I don't watch a lot of cooking shows on TV. It took awhile to learn she doesn't say "evooooo" like she spells it, she spells out E-V-O-O.

I have to take 30-minute-meals with a grain of salt (or a dash of EVOO). At my elevation - 8500 feet - the chicken is still clucking after only 30 minutes.

I know I've made a couple of these recipes but I didn't mark which ones. I never plan on having show more a dinner party where I cook the whole menu but this book is still a lot of fun to read. I'd like to go to a dinner party where the menu is:

A Get Away for Any Day Baja Blowout: Mussels in Mexican Beer, Heck of a Jicama Salad, and Chorizo and Shrimp Quesadillas with Smoky Guacamole. Or how about Thanksgiving for Everyday: Herb Smashed Potatoes with Goat Cheese, Turkey and Wild Mushroom Meatloaf Patties with Pan Gravy, and Green Beans with Lemon and Toasted Almonds.

Invite me over! show less

I'll admit it -- I love watching Rachel Ray's cooking shows, so when I spotted her new cookbook at the library I grabbed it to try. I'm glad I didn't buy my own copy. The cover plainly states that the majority of the recipes are simple enough to be made in under 30 minutes. Some are, admittedly, 60 minute "slow-it-down" meals, and some purport to be do-able in 15. If you're comfortable in the kitchen, you could probably manage most in the time allocated. But be sure to pre-read: don't count show more on having everything called for on hand unless your kitchen is very well stocked. I cook. My cupboard isn't stellar, but I do a fair amount of from-scratch cooking, so it's decently stocked with staples. I also live in a rural area: our grocery stores didn't have a number of the ingredients called for.

Bottom line: if you're a fan of hamburgers that take half a page of ingredients, you're located in an area with a good grocer; if you're good at reading recipes, making lists, and then scouring stores for esoteric ingredients, then this may be a good cookbook for you.

As for me, I'll continue to enjoy Rachel on TV, and maybe check out her cookbook before a trip to the city. show less

Rachael Ray is another of my favorite Food Network personalities and her new Rachael Ray's Big Orange Book doesn't disappoint. I've always laughed though at the concept of 30-minute meals because no matter how hard I try most things take me longer than that. However, I have gotten many great cooking ideas from Rachael over the years and have tried out many of the meal ideas I've gotten from her show and for the most part they are quite fast to prepare. I always marvel at how quickly things show more come together for her in the kitchen. I really like her bright personality and her quirky sayings like EVOO for extra virgin olive oil or sammies for a sandwich or better yet stoup for not quite a soup or stew-lol. She can always brighten my day with her big smile and laughter.

On to the cookbook-it is big and it is orange, reason being orange is Rachael's favorite color-it makes her feel inspired, curious and happy-the same words she uses to describe her love of food. The entire book is 360 pages and there are some great sections in this book including Burgers, Vegetarian, Meals for One, and the famous 30-Minute Meals to just name a few and this edition contains nearly 200 brand new 30-minute meals for us to try out. What I like about Rachael's recipes is that they are easy enough for the normal person to try and they don't take forever to put together. In addition, the recipes include ingredients I can buy at my local supermarket. The recipes are nicely laid out but I would have liked to see more pictures. For me, I always connect the pictures to the recipes and it makes them much more appealing.

I ventured to try more than a few recipes in this book but I'll only mention a few. One of my favorites is the Sweet 'n' "Sauer" Cabbage Soup. I love cabbage in anything. This recipe is an interesting combination of some of my favorite things like ham, cabbage, hash browns and beans to name a few of the ingredients. It was wonderful and the perfect meal to warm your belly on a cold day in Canada. I am not much of a beef eater but Rachael has a wonderful Salmon Burger in the Burger section that I love. Made with a salmon fillet and some yummy additions along with a great sauce to spread on I was in heaven. Salmon burgers are one of my favorite meals and I'm always looking for new ways to try them and I wasn't disappointed in this one.

There are many, many more recipes to try. I could on but this post would take forever then. You'll just have to get the book and try some out for yourself and come back and tell me if you liked any of them. This would make a wonderful Christmas gift for someone who loves Rachael Ray and loves to cook. Hey you could even throw in something like her GB bowls or pots and pans. You can check out here website here. There is plenty to browse through and enjoy. This great cookbook was released by Random House on November 4, 2008.

http://peekingbetweenthepages.blogspot.com/2008/12/book-review-rachael-rays-big-... show less

We're a family of two and we eat a vegetarian diet, but I found most of the recipes in this collection were easily modified if they called for meat, poultry or pork. One of our favorites, that we make at least once a week, is the Spaghetti with Zucchini and Garlic, YUM-O! Not all of the recipes we tried were hits, though. Part of the fun with any cookbook is getting to make meals together and finding a new favorite dish (or dishes).