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The Big Book of Casseroles: 250 Recipes for Serious Comfort Food

The Big Book of Casseroles: 250 Recipes for Serious Comfort Food

List Price: $19.95
Your Price: $13.57
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great recipes for the dedicated casserole enthusiast.
Review: Don't expect color photos here, but the dishes are quite simple to put together and contain a complexity in flavors which challenges the traditional image of the overcooked and under-flavored casserole result. From Beer Beef Stew with Parslied Buttermilk Dumplings to Baked Tandoori Chicken on Lentils, Big Book of Casseroles is filled with appeal.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Yummm
Review: I agree with other reviewers. I got this book a couple of days ago and made my first recipe tonight - chicken breasts in a tomato sauce w/black beans. I canvased my cabinets for ingredients, then found a recipe to use what I had on hand. It was a breeze to prep and would be great for a make-ahead dinner. Dish was v. flavorful - not your standard tomato sauce; and I like that the recipe is v. adaptable. Although some recipes have a lot of ingredients, it seems it's just a matter of tossing things into a pot. I look forward to working my way through all 250 recipes!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Cooks Book
Review: I borrowed this book from my local library and started marking the recipes I wanted to keep. It was about half the book! I decided to buy it instead. I cook with fresh, healthful ingredients - no canned soup in my pantry. This cook book has so many interesting recipes - I can't wait to try them all. I am a working mom, and need dinner to be on the table in 30 minutes or less during the week. This book has dishes for my cramped schedule during the week, and fancier recipes I can save for the weekend too. I can't wait for my very own copy to arrive. If you consider yourself a cook, you will be happy with this book.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A non-casserole cookbook
Review: I have been looking for good casserole cookbooks for some time, and was delighted to find so many 5 stars for this one. For me, it was far from a 5-star rating.

When I do a Tuna Noodle Casserole, I don't expect to start from scratch, cooking a white sauce, beforehand. Can of Mushroom Soup is a no-no in this book, as are other can quickies. This book is devoted to the concept of healthy from scratch--- which is okay. However, the author has completely lost the fact that for many cooks, not all canned goods are bad -- especially when they save time in getting family meals out on time.

My personal peeve: There are many Tex-Mex dishes in this book, which is fine. However, they are the Oregonian's version of what Tex-Mex is. Kidney beans abound, a Tex-Mex no-no. Black beans are also specified, which is okay. But pinto beans, the Tex-Mex favorite are completely missing.

In addition, although the author mentions several different grains in one paragraph, there is no variety in her recipies. Rice and pasta are all that you find, with an ocasional use of yellow corn meal.

Buy this book if you love one-pot dishes for serving. But beware--- you will be using several pots before you are through, preparing ingredients--- instead of the old-time use of cans or other ready-to go ingredients.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Incredible and easy
Review: I have made about a dozen dishes from this cookbook and have not found one that my family has put on the scrap heap. The seafood casseroles are fantastic. Best cookbook I've ever owned.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: When They're Good, They're Good, But When They're Bad...
Review: I have mixed feelings about this book ... some of the recipes are really great, like sweet and sour pork chops, and tangy baked shrimp. But there are some big-time duds in this book, which makes me wonder if all the recipes were really tested before the book went to press.

The directions give it away: in Gourmet Meatballs, you're supposed to make one-inch meatballs, put on a baking sheet and brown for ten minutes at 400 degrees. Then you're supposed to move the meatballs to a casserole, along with any drippings.

Drippings? On a baking sheet? Were they paying attention when they typed this one up? Why not put the meatballs in a casserole to begin with?

Anyway, after 10 minutes at 400 degrees, the meatballs, baking sheet or not, are done. Then why put them in a casserole and bake for another 40 minutes, along with a little beef broth?

This particular one gets the Martha Stewart Award For Recipes That Don't Work. This book is worth buying, but choose your dinner carefully.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Buy it for the TURKEY (or chicken) TETRAZZINE recipe!
Review: I have to admit that this book isn't exactly the type of "casserole" book I thought it would be either (as another reviewer stated regarding the non-use of canned soups etc) but I am still quite happy with it. The Turkey (or Chicken) Tetrazzine recipe is so creamy and delicious that I recommend buying it for that recipe alone! I have only tried one other recipe from the book so far and that was "Seafood Lasagna". It was sort of expensive to make and My Husband liked it and I did not. I thought it tasted too fishy BUT,I used canned crab meat instead of fresh and that could have been the reason for that. After scanning the rest of the recipes and ingred. lists, I do look forward to trying some of the other recipes in the book very soon.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: simply delicious
Review: I love this cookbook. The recipes are very easy to make with ingredients most of us have in the pantry. The only tools you need are a knife and casserole dish or dutch oven. While the book features comfort food for home or a friendly potluck, many of the recipes are fancy enough for special company. Very east to read -- each recipe gets its own page. One warning, though -- a number of the recipes feature cheese/sour cream, so it isn't exactly a low-calorie cookbook. For a recent potluck, I used the reduced fat cheese and sour cream, and no one who ate it could tell the difference.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: An unexpected find of a cookbook!!!
Review: I must admit that I was not expecting much from this book. However, I have been pleasantly suprised to say the least (these are not the boring 1975 style casseroles that our mothers served to us). The recipes I have made so far were so good, they could be served to company! Many of the recipes call for wine - which really brings the dish up to a whole new level. The recipes are easy, and for the most part uncomplicated. I have made both the Country Chicken Stew and the Chicken Italian - both FABULOUS! One note about the Country Chicken Stew- I suggest using the brown "crimini" style mushrooms, as they are so much better than the boring white generic supermarket mushrooms. (I made the stew both ways - and the brown muchrooms made it classier and soooo much better)

One comment on the Tuna Casserole - I have made it twice...very quick and easy. However, it is dry - so I recommend making it with twice the amount called for of the basic white sauce.

Overall - a verrrrrry nice book. It is an unexpected find!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Casseroles, huh?
Review: I thought I would be getting a cookbook that included easy recipes. You know the kind, where you put all the ingredients in the casserole and turn on the heat! Not so here, for many of the recipes. Many require you to cook various ingredients before you put them in the casserole to be baked. Extra work for busy people. I must say, though, that many of the recipes are tasty.....just not timely.

Additionally, several just did not work out, eventhough I followed the directions to a "T". Did they test all these recipes first? They tended to be short on moisture and long on dryness. That being said, there is enough good stuff in this book to recommend it.....just use your head. If it sounds like it will be dry, add more moisture to begin with!

Not a cookbook for beginners.


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