I received Food 52’s A New Way To Dinner in a very timely manner just days before Thanksgiving. This book definitely has a few tips I might follow through in preparing food ahead of time if need be. The book offers ‘a new way to dinner’ in a methodology unique to the coauthors to fit their busy schedules. It has several convenient grocery shopping lists for a week’s menu broken into daily meal plans along with strategies and other helpful tips dealing with time management. It brings a variety of recipes from main course all the way to desserts. The target audience for this particular cookbook would be the busy working mother or a busy bachelorette who likes to eat gourmet quality meals done in a jiffy with some components prepared ahead of time during weekends.
The depictions look delectable and the recipes simple to follow.
Some ingredients in other recipes (not the one showcased above) are not what you would find in a common household. The closest specialty store happens to be about close to an hour away. I don’t mind going out of my way to grab some unique ingredients once in awhile to whip something special but I cannot see this way to dinner as sustainable for me in the long run and even more so for households who are yet to convert to wholesome eating; I’m talking about leafy greens and produce-heavy diets which in reality is actually more expensive compared to frozen heat and serve dinners or store-bought hot and ready rotisserie chicken with baked potatoes.
The coauthors have recipes sectioned for seasonally appropriate preparations. It is in a refreshing format with quick and short narratives alongside their recipes. I like the photography specifically the table settings. They look inviting enough for me to wish I could teleport myself right into the setting if that were possible into
Amanda’s Summer…
and into Meryl’s Winter. This setting reminds me of a get-together at some French countryside.
The book is well crafted with a tactile texture on the hardcover’s cream colored spine. Its pages are not glossy but in matte finish which somewhat dulls the beautiful images a little. It has smyth sewn binding that is guaranteed to last for years to come. I am a stay at home mother of two and although things do get busy around here sometimes, I’m not busy enough to have to cook in bulk during the weekends to serve for an entire week simply because of time constraints. While I don’t see myself frequently using this book, I am pleased to have this as an addition to my cookbook collection.
[This is my unadulterated review for a complimentary copy of the aforementioned book which I received from Blogging For Books]