Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Cooking
by Sandra Lee
List Price:
Our Price: $3.64
You Save: $16.31 (82%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.09 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Sandra LeeEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-09-20
ISBN: 0696226855
Number of pages: 239
Publisher: Wiley
Product features:
- Paperback: 239 pages
- Publisher: Wiley; 2 edition (September 6, 2005)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0696226855
- Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
Book Reviews of Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Cooking
Book Review: Overhyped series, but bound to be of great help to befuddled newbie cooks
Summary: 3 Stars
Originally, I was going to open these comments with a quote from P.J. O'Rourke: "...the only reason you would cook this would be to convince your ex-wife (or parole officer) that you were trying to live like a human being." But that's not really fair (or true) and the material here is better than that quote implies.
It's obvious that "Semi-Homemade Cooking" is targeted at two large sections of the market: a) people who suffers from mental blinders in regards to cooking and b) people who simply have no mental energy to put together time consuming "from scratch" meals on a regular basis. In this regard, SHC does an excellent job of providing simple checklists of ingredients with brand names and precise amounts to produce dishes that may be relatively high in trans fats, sodium, sugar, high fructose corn syrup, MSG and other additives...but are still probably better for you (and cheaper) than anything you could get from the fast food drive-through.
I have to admit that until recently I was in category "A" above - I mentally blanked out over any dish or procedure more complicated than "reheat in microwave". I probably would have benefited greatly from the "Semi-Homemade" concepts. And ieven now, I would not turn my nose up if some friend gave me one or more of these volumes.
But now that I have a slightly higher level of education and training and motivation (which means that I watched some cooking shows, bought a few cookbooks and made some meals) I am struck by how falsely disingenous the promise of "Semi Homemade Cooking" really is. As countless shows and cookbooks have demonstrated repeatedly in episode after episode, cooking from scratch (or "semi scratch", heh) isn't really all that difficult once you get into the habit and know what you are doing. And in fact there are dozens of excellent cookbooks on the stand dedicated to the idea of easy, efficient, economical cooking from fresh ingredients with just a bit of help from the convenience foods that Sandra Lee relys so heavily on in her series. My current favorite in this mold would be the "Eating Well" series of cookbooks, Anderson's "How To Cook Without A Book" and Robin Miller's "Quick Dinners". I'm no one's idea of a substitute for Julia Child, but "Eating Well" lets me put excellent dinners with mostly fresh ingredients on the table from a standing start in less than 45 minutes, and Robin Miller lets me do it in less than 20. Heck, even Jacques Pepin himself ("Fast Food My Way") gets great food on my table - a four course dinner (with dessert) in 30-40 minutes.
Looking at the SHC recipes (and having tried three of the more ambitious ones) I have to say that shopping for the recommended brand names isn't all that easy or convenient.My local WalMart and SuperTarget simply didn't have many of the brand names for the spices or products in question, which negated one of the supposed advantages of Lee's format. I also noticed that it took nearly as much total time and effort to prepare and serve most of these dishes from convenience ingredients as it does to start them from scratch. There may indeed be a little time savings in there, but all these recipes saved me was a bit of chopping and peeling, and maybe a bit of marinating, browning or blanching here and there.
These are great looking books, with good professional layouts and accomplished food photography and a reasonably accessible recipe format.That's worth three stars out of five. And I am sure that many people will benefit from these books who would otherwise spend the evening meal with the Colonel or the Clown. But I can't see spending money on this series when it simply takes a bit of time and effort to learn to cook properly.
Summary of Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Cooking
- Recipes for every palate and mood?the Semi-Homemade way creates an inspiring pairing of fresh ingredients and packaged foods.
- Quick-to-the-table, delicious recipes to satisfy any culinary whim any time of the day. Delectable breakfast fare, light lunch bites, family-pleasing dinners, simple appetizers and snacks, sassy cocktails, and more.
- Most recipes prepared in 30 minutes or less.
- All-new bonus chapters on red-hot topics: slow cooker favorites, restaurant remakes, and kid?s cooking.
- Time-saving tips for shopping, prepping, leftover storage, and Sandra?s brand recommendations for success.
- Wine suggestions to create delicious dining occasions every day.
- Beautiful photo of every recipe.
Does the thought of cooking from scratch make you panic? Do you stand in front of your supermarket's canned vegetables display frozen with indecision? Is your fridge filled with takeout containers, and your oven used for storage? If you answered these questions with an emphatic "Yes," Sandra Lee's Semi-Homemade Cooking might be the cookbook for you.
There are plenty of excellent quick-and-easy cookbooks out there, but this book feels like a cross between a giant advertisement and one of those free recipe books you get with mail-in proofs of purchase. Every ingredient that can possibly be branded is labeled as such. Lee's Salad Chinois is made with Swanson premium chunk chicken breast, Kikkoman soy sauce, McCormick ground ginger, Hellman's or Best Foods mayonnaise, La Choy chow mein noodles, Fresh Express prepared green salad, Chun King chow mein vegetables, and Dole mandarin orange segments. Gnocchi Dippers are whipped up with Alessi gnocchi, Bertolli olive oil, and, believe it or not, Kraft Velveeta cheese. The Malibu Rum Cake includes Malibu Rum, Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe yellow cake mix, and Jell-O vanilla instant pudding. And not only does Lee dictate brand names, she chimes in with advice on music and wine selections, as well. One can only hope that Wolfgang Puck wrote the introduction to this book without ever seeing it. --Leora Y. Bloom
Culinary Arts & Techniques Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Culinary Arts & Techniques Books
Semi-Homemade Money-Saving Slow-Cooking: 128 Quick-to-Cook Mealsby Sandra Lee
Wiley; Published: 2009-10-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.93
Price in other shops:
New Classic Family Dinnersby Mark Peel
Wiley; Published: 2009-09-28; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.99
Price in other shops:
Garde Manger, Study Guide: The Art and Craft of the Cold Kitchenby The Culinary Institute of America
Wiley; Published: 2008-01-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.14
Price in other shops:
Haley's Hintsby Graham Haley, Rosemary Haley
NAL Trade; Published: 2004-01-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.00
Price in other shops:
Cooking Essentials for the New Professional ChefVan Nostrand Reinhold; Published: 1996-09; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $69.00
The Bride and Groom's First Cookbookby Abigail Kirsch
Doubleday; Published: 1996-01-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $1.75
Price in other shops:
Anheuser-Busch Cookbook: Great Food, Great Beerby Editors of Sunset Books
Oxmoor House; Published: 2007-12-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.99
Price in other shops:
In the Green Kitchen: Techniques to Learn by Heartby Alice Waters
Clarkson Potter; Published: 2010-04-06; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.98
Price in other shops:
Betty Crocker's New Choices For Two (Betty Crocker Home Library)by Betty Crocker Editors
Betty Crocker; Published: 1995-09-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.62
Price in other shops:
Discovering Foodby Helen Kowtaluk
Bennett & Mcknight Pub Co; Published: 1982-07; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $20.29
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Money Saving Mealsby Sandra Lee
Wiley; Published: 2008-09-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.98
Price in other shops:
Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade 20-Minute Meals 2by Sandra Lee
Wiley; Published: 2006-10-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.75
Price in other shops:
Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Slow Cooker Recipesby Sandra Lee
Wiley; Published: 2006-10-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.77
Price in other shops:
Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Weeknight Wonders: 139 Easy Fast Fix Dishesby Sandra Lee
Wiley; Published: 2009-10-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.97
Price in other shops:
Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Gatheringsby Sandra Lee
Wiley; Published: 2006-11-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.64
Price in other shops:
Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Fast-Fix Family Favoritesby Sandra Lee
Wiley; Published: 2008-09-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.94
Price in other shops:
Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Dessertsby Sandra Lee
Wiley; Published: 2005-09-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.48
Price in other shops:
Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Cooking 3by Sandra Lee
Wiley; Published: 2007-11-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.49
Price in other shops:
Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Cooking 2by Sandra Lee
Meredith Books; Published: 2005-09-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.87
Price in other shops:
Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade 20-minute Mealsby Sandra Lee
Meredith Books; Published: 2006-10-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.56
Price in other shops: