Semi-Homemade Cooking: Quick, Marvelous Meals and Nothing Is Made from Scratch

Rating:
Summary: Not at all good
Review: This book is filled with recipes using brand-name adulterated products that contain large amounts of additives, preservatives, artificial flavors, colors, trans-fats, bland flavors and also cost a lot more then scratch foods.
If you believe boiling potatoes, using fresh vegetables or measuring flour unthinkable, by all means this book is right up your alley....

Rating:
Summary: What a find!
Review: This book is wonderful. The recipies are so easy & everything I've made has come out perfectly. There is a simple and delicious salmon recipe that I've made several times already - and the desserts are absolutely fabulous. Every single recipe has a photo with it, which I must have in a cookbook. I'm always looking for shortcuts in the kitchen, especially during the week - but I still like to cook for my family. I want more Semi-Homemade!

Rating:
Summary: User Friendly with thoughtful extras
Review: This is one of the most user friendly cookbooks I have found. The photos are large and lavish and show the food close up. There is a lot of space so I can make notes right on the page. I do a lot of improvising, adding things and occasionally substituting so I can write my changes beside the recipe instead of paper-clipping a note, which invariably gets lost. This is very helpful when I'm remaking the recipe. And I like that the book is divided into meals so I can turn directly to the chapter for the meal I am planning -- breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, snacks, etc. Even the brand names are helpful. If I like another brand I just use it instead. The recipes come out fantastic and the book makes fixing them easy. Just what I need.

Rating:
Summary: Not a practical book
Review: This oversized book does not lie flat unless you are using a recipe from the center pages. I tried cans and a rolling pin to weigh down the pages and nothing worked. The money spent on the endless photographs (do we really need to see a photo of empty cd boxes?)and the pre paid reply postcard ... would have been better spent on a smaller hard covered book that would be easier for home cooks to use....


Rating:
Summary: Semi- additive Cooking
Review: Very disappointing The recipes are filled with unhealthy ingredients .The concept is great but the nutritional benefits are not there-- so it isnt a quick fix for me.
Hard to imagine Wolfgang endorsing such a book

Rating:
Summary: Isn't this what cooking is all about !
Review: When I bought this cookbook, I was so excited about just sitting and reading it. It teaches you how to mix together a variety of simple items sold in every grocery store and have everything come out tasting like a gormet meal that you could only get in an...restaurant. Upon preparing some of the recipes, even my most serious critic, grandma, was pleasantly surprised and delighted! I feel so good too about knowing exacly what kind of brands to buy because the recipes of the brand name items themselves can make the difference on how things will taste. Sandra Lee has found the perfect mix of the right combinations. I'm sure that's why everyhting tastes the way it should. Every recipe is like a piece of Artwork. This book makes me look good to all my friends nad family. YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Help for the holidays
Review: With the holidays coming, I knew I would have even less time and even more to do than usual so when I saw this book I knew it was just what I needed. Some of the recipes are fairly basic, like the lasagna, but there are other more exotic dishes that I can't wait to try, the shangra la lobster being one. I tested some of the appetizer and dessert recipes for holiday parties and they were easy easy easy and looked and tasted amazing. This is a terrific resource for the holidays and all year.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful time saving cookbook
Review: Work, meetings, the gym, errands -- where in the blue blazes would I find time to cook a home-cooked meal? This book not only makes it semi-possible, it makes it totally easy. The dishes I have tried were incredible and just as simple as the cover said. The only thing I would suggest is that maybe salads or side dishes could be suggested to go with each entree. This would save even more time for busy cooks. But that really does not detract from what is a wonderful time saving cookbook.