Make It Fast, Cook It Slow: The Big Book of Everyday Slow Cooking Author: Visit Amazon's Stephanie O'Dea Page | Language: English | ISBN:
1401310044 | Format: PDF
Make It Fast, Cook It Slow: The Big Book of Everyday Slow Cooking Description
About the Author
Stephanie O'Dea's first book, Totally Together: An Organizational Journal for the Busy Household, will be published by Running Press in March 2009. Throughout 2008, O'Dea developed a following of over 20,000 daily readers on her blog, "A Year of CrockPotting" (crockpot365.blogspot.com). O'Dea has a background in child development and psychology, and holds a degree in English Literature from San Francisco State University. She currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and two daughters.
- Paperback: 464 pages
- Publisher: Hyperion; Original edition (October 13, 2009)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1401310044
- ISBN-13: 978-1401310042
- Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 7.9 x 1.2 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
I stumbled across Stephanie's cooking blog and ordered myself her book for Christmas (as a gift from my husband!) I was really excited about trying out her recipes--and especially thought it was cool that she writes a verdict after many of the recipes stating her opinion. I found her writing to be witty and appreciated her sense of humor. On Christmas day I scoured through the book, selecting some recipes to try--I chose recipes based off of my taste preferences as well as her positive reviews of them.
I tried the Brown Sugar Chicken (pg. 244) which she raves about. My family ate it, but didn't particularly enjoy it. It was very sweet (which she says it is)--but there wasn't really any depth of flavor (maybe it needed a couple bay leaves or some other herbs?) it tasted just like sugary chicken. I realize that taste is very subjective and many people may enjoy this dish, we however did not.
Next up I tried the Breakfast Risotto (pg. 48). She also raves about this dish. I will agree that the aroma was delectable. The spices were a very good combination, my complaint was that the texture was goopy. I made the recipe exactly as printed and I also got a little curdling (from the 2% milk???) which looked unappealing. This dish may actually work out if cooked on the stove top, but I don't think the recipe fared well in the crock pot.
Then I decided to try out the Hot and Spicy Artichoke Dip (pg. 30) to bring to a New Year's Eve party. Again, her verdict on the recipe is very positive. I made the recipe exactly as printed (there's only 4 ingredients!)--when it was done and I give it a taste it was BLAND. Blah. I attempted to salvage the dip by adding some black pepper, Worcestershire sauce and garlic.
I wanted to love this cookbook. I'd read Stephanie's blog and had tried a couple of her recipes. In retrospect, they weren't great enough to remake, so I should have realized that her wonderful writing style didn't equate to culinary ability.
Other reviewers have mentioned that the recipes are really rough--they definitely are for me. Every single one I've tried has been off--cooking time, spices, consistency. I've used our crock pot quite a bit over the years, and usually things turn out if I follow the directions in the recipe. Stephanie's directions, even if followed exactly, don't necessarily mean I'll have something edible for dinner. When I get a recipe from a cookbook, I'd like to think it's been tested at least a couple of times and produced consistently good results. Things I've tried:
Broccoli Casserole (p. 81)--watery, bland, my son (who loves broccoli and cheese) wouldn't touch it
Beans and Rice (p. 121)--bland, nothing special--the crockpot kindof zaps the flavor I get on the stovetop with a similar dish
Taco Soup (p. 135)--one of her favorite recipes, but when I tried it last week, my husband asked, "Isn't this the same not-so-good soup you tried off her website last year?" Oh yeah. We love Mexican food, but the mesh of flavors just is not good.
Apple, Cheddar, and Turkey Meatballs (p. 238)--This one I cooked on high, and everything that touched the sides of my crock burned even though it was well within the time frame she'd specified. Pretty sure she didn't test her recipes for low _and_ high settings. I did appreciate that they were gluten-free meatballs, but we didn't even like the middle ones that weren't burnt.
Applesauce Chicken (p. 239)--This is not that good, and it is not tender. It's just blah.
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