Glorious One-Pot Meals
by Elizabeth Yarnell
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Book Reviews of Glorious One-Pot Meals
Book Review: Not your mother's crock-pot recipe!
Summary: 5 Stars
I received this cookbook as a gift from a family member who lives in Denver, where the author lives. I guess that is where this method is most popular, but I wouldn't be surprised if it starts spreading like wildfire. As the mother of a very active toddler, I know first-hand how tough it is to get a healthy, tasty, and not-the-same-as-always meal on the table. I've had this cookbook for several months now and have tried many different recipes. I always add my own flair depending on what I have in the fridge and pantry, and that is the beauty of this method... you can make up your own meals without having to do special shopping but once (I highly recommend getting olive oil spray (Trader Joe's has a good one)to liberally coat your pot -- I do that and do not experience any of the burning that a few others have mentioned in their reviews).
I've hopped back onto amazon to buy a few more copies because I can't find them out here in LA yet (hopefully the specialty cooking stores will start to catch on) and I have a birthday and a wedding to attend next month for other busy busy friends who like good food but don't have time to cook often. I just finished reading some of the reviews and thought that I would respond to a few of the negative comments. First, I think it is very important to use a good pot. I use a 2-quart enamel coated cast iron pot -- just like the book suggests. I think if you use just cast iron that isn't enamel coated or if you use stainless steel, you may end up having problems. Also, not all ovens are the same!!! I have a semi-brand-new oven that I've been cooking these meals in, but I then brought my pot and cookbook over to a friend's to show her how it works and the meal (the same meal I've made several times at home) was dried out! She pulled out her oven thermometer and tested her oven, and lo and behold it was hotter than it should have been. I checked the book's website and the author states: "If your oven runs too hot you may find that your veggies are too soft and your meat is dried out."
There are outside factors to consider when using these recipes.. the pot and the oven... once you get those all squared away, it should be smooth sailing... as it was for me!
Book Review: Oven Magic
Summary: 5 Stars
This cooking method is magic to me, since reason tells me it shouldn't work. Raw rice or pasta, fresh meat and vegetable, all baked together with a little liquid and seasoning, at too high a temp for too long. Not only does it work, the end result is amazingly good. Vegetables were my biggest surprise. They lightly share flavors but maintain their own texture and taste. The method somehow amps up the natural flavor of vegetables. It produced the sweetest acorn squash I've ever eaten. I began trying vegetables I don't usually care for, like turnips, with great results.
I also use plain, un-enameled cast iron. Ran across the book on Amazon and it sounded interesting. The only problem was the purchase of a small, enameled cast iron pan. If I bought the pan, I couldn't afford anything to go in it. I emailed Yarnell and asked if plain cast iron would work. She said it would, so I gave it a try. I ordered a Lodge Logic Serving Pot with Iron Cover, along with the book, and it's worked fine. This is a little 2-qt pre-seasoned dutch oven. I do have to reduce cooking times slightly, 5 to 10 minutes, probably because the pot is thicker and heavier than an enameled version.
Lodge sells this pot as pre-seasoned, but it did require a little initial work. I followed a foodie friend's advice and boiled a pot of water in it to remove any residue. Then I sprayed it with cooking spray and gave it one round of seasoning in the oven, using the company's seasoning method. This gave me the kind of cast iron finish that usually requires 3 or 4 rounds in the oven. I also give it a light coat of cooking spray after each use.
An oven thermometer was crucial for testing. I had no idea what my oven did at those high temps. Turned out to be about 5 degrees off, so I make the adjustment when I set the oven. About those blast furnace temps... I live in a hot, humid climate with a gas oven that heats the house like crazy, so I use this method from October to May. Seasonal, but a long season. Can't wait for cooler weather to play with the technique again. It's been a big hit at my table.
Book Review: Quick & Easy for America
Summary: 3 Stars
First the annoying: "Glorious One-Pot Meal" is trademarked and be prepared to see this phrase repeated endlessly throughout the book. Hucksterism, indeed, but at least she's not promoting guns here. The recipes are advertised as low-fat and healthy--and by the low American standards of fast food and frozen dinners this is a reasonable claim. But if one is already beyond the simplistic mainstream nutritional mantra (no trans-fat = healthy, etc.), there isn't much to impress here. If one, however, is transitioning from a diet of junk, then there are no serious objections.
Book design and organization: spiral bound, which makes using the book in one's kitchen a lot easier; more should be produced this way, I think. It has three main sections of recipes, one hearty (and wintry), one spicy and "ethnic," and one herbed and "light." And then there are sections on the basic dutch oven techniques and on ingredient lists for shopping.
And although organic produce and foodstuffs have become mainstream, the quality of ingredients is mentioned only briefly in passing. Ease is the emphasis in this cookbook, so the author seems not to want to tax the reader's and cook's mind with any complexities. Fair enough.
The recipes themselves will no doubt satisfy the palates and stomachs of many, as well as their "fast-paced" lifestyles. And the recipes, as the author repeatedly notes, with helpful suggestions, can be adapted depending on taste and availability of ingredients. I for one have adapted the recipes I've tried with positive results. The pretentions and chutzpah of her trademark and patent aside, the basic idea of one-pot cooking has stood the test of time and the enameled dutch or french ovens (Le Creuset & Staub, to name two standouts) can be put to good use with many of the recipes here. In the end, the book provides some ideas and encouragement, yet for those with some cooking and nutrition knowledge little more. Purchase or pass over with this in mind.
Book Review: Glorious One Pot Meals
Summary: 5 Stars
Living in Denver, I became familiar with Elizabeth Yarnell when she started teaching classes at a local cooking school. Working 70 hours a week I didn't have time to cook especially if it required pre-planning, much preparation or effort. Her simple patented cooking process was the answer - one pot, healthy ingredients, pop it in the oven and dinner was ready in 45 minutes. Elizabeth recently returned to my nutrition classroom for another great demonstration with teenagers and she again had them eating eggplant and asking for more. A past diet of junk food and a diagnosis with MS have resulted in Elizabeth becoming a certified natural health professional and caring deeply about how America is eating. Glorious One Pot Meals is a realistic, contemporary, economical, healthy and delicious cookbook to have on the shelf. One does not even have to thaw out the food first to prepare these meals. A perfect gift for the college student avoiding the "Freshman 15" weight gain as they can fix these recipes in a toaster over; the busy single who can barely get to the grocery store; the fast-track family on the move; or even the retiree or senior citizen tired of cooking. A great solution for American's lifestyle and desire to eat healthy. So fun, so easy, so yummy! Peggy Harrison - Centennial COBook Review: Healthy, easy-to-prepare food!
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had this cookbook for a few weeks now, and my husband and I have loved each of the recipes I have made! Each one has turned out to be delicious, and all of them are very easy to prepare.
In fact, one of the best parts of this cookbook is that there is no need to pre-cook any of the ingredients, making clean-up a breeze. After making several recipes from this book, I usually end up only having to wash a cutting board, a knife, and maybe a bowl that I used to mix up the ingredients, besides, of course, the Dutch oven itself.
I ended up ordering an inexpensive Lodge 6-quart Dutch oven from Amazon for just under $50 so I could double the recipes, and it has also worked great and is very easy to clean.
I also want to add that I'm a vegetarian, and this book has a lot of recipes in it for us veggies. All of the recipes are also very healthy and nutritious. The only downside of the cookbook is that the author doesn't list nutritional information for each recipe. I'm hoping that she'll provide that information in any other cookbooks that she puts out -- and I'm definitely hoping that she writes more!
All in all, this is a great book with delicious, healthy, clean-eating recipes!