Although we want to enjoy healthy meals, we’re captives to a workaholic culture increasingly sustained by starchy, sugary, calorie-laden convenience foods. For the most part, we have neither time nor energy to shop, cook, sit down, eat, enjoy and clean up.
Maybe that’s why there is a spate of new books eager to prove we can work, cook, eat and enjoy with minimal muss and fuss. They promise to come to our rescue with names like “Seriously Simple,” “Fix It Fast,” “Almost From Scratch,” “The Dinner Doctor” and “Half-Scratch Magic.”
The Berkley Publishing Group recently released the latest in its “Half-Baked Gourmet” series: “Family Suppers” and “Pasta.” If you already own predecessors “Party Food” and “Desserts,” you have some inkling of what’s in store. For those of you who don’t, take a hint from their catchphrase: “partly homemade, totally delicious.”
The new books demonstrate how best to capitalize on the fact that you don’t have to make your own pesto anymore, nor do you have to roast the chicken to feed the family.
With anchovy paste in a tube, you no longer have to open a tin to get two skinny fish fillets.
Tomato paste in a tube eliminates the need to open a can to get a tablespoon. Onions and bell peppers come frozen and already chopped.
Perfectly respectable beef, chicken and vegetable stocks mean no more simmering and straining bones. Just open and pour.
Celebrity chefs’ high-gloss, 10-pound tomes are lovely to look at but impossible for most home cooks to use, except for special occasions – and who has the time or the budget, anyway?
Beyond managing time is the challenge of managing money. The October issue of Budget Living lists tips for trimming the monthly grocery bill of $261 by one-third without scrimping on quality: If you don’t already, buy store brands; make a list and stick to it.
National studies reveal 60 percent of Americans ages 18-44 are either too busy or too tired to put anything beyond the bare minimum of effort and energy into dinner.
Smart food marketers responded by stocking grocery-store shelves and freezers with cooking aids. Packaged and processed stuff appeared with high sodium, preservative and sugar content. It made meal preparation quicker and easier, but not necessarily healthier.
Out of the food Dark Ages rode the health patrol, cautioning against the dangers of too much sugar, too much sodium and too many preservatives. Eat natural, they said. Buy more fruit. Eat organic and preferably locally grown produce. Spend a little extra on hormone-free beef and chickens. Steer clear of packaged foods loaded with sugar, artificial coloring and additives.
These recently published cookbooks respond, pointing toward a trend of making cooking less stressful and more healthful, especially for working families.
“Half-Baked Gourmet: Family Suppers,” by Mary Jane Henderson, and “Half-Baked Gourmet: Pasta,” by Jean Galton (Berkley Publishing Group, $15.95 each).
The “Half-Baked” books are practical from more than one standpoint. For one thing, the easel-back format enables the book to stand on the countertop so the recipe is facing you. No pages to turn; with few exceptions, ingredients and instructions are on one page. A recipe might list five to 10 ingredients, but there are rarely more than three steps. Prep and cook times rarely take more than 30 minutes.
“Take a Tin of Tuna,” by Joie Warner (Chronicle Books Paperback, $19.95).
Among the 65 recipes are some mighty fine ideas, from the familiar tuna casserole tooted up from the days of canned mushroom soup with cracker crumbs on top, to a tuna tetrazzini worthy of candlelight and flowers. In between, salads and sandwiches elevate tuna packed in water to something other than a desperate stab at dinner. Discover a new world of uses among recipes for crostini, tapenade, wontons, a terrine, a soufflé and tuna cakes with lime, fresh chives and parsley. Charlie did not die in vain.
“Almost From Scratch,” by Andrew Schloss (Simon & Schuster, $25).
A book that boasts 600 recipes designed for the “new convenience cuisine” will either scare you to death or send you rushing to the cookbook section of the nearest bookstore. Rush. Schloss has refined dish after dish to its essence. Beef stewed with 30 cloves of garlic is browned, seasoned, simmered and uncovered an hour later, ready to serve. Recipes are so abbreviated that in most instances there are two to a page. No mystery, no trickery: just rock-solid ingredients and ease of preparation recipes that whisper, “Come aboard; anyone can do this.”
“The Dinner Doctor,” by Anne Byrn (Workman Paperback, $14.95).
Byrn, the author also known as the Cake Mix Doctor, lists dozens of simple, clever recipes including 15 ways to slice, sliver, chop or shred a roasted deli chicken and another 15 ways to doctor a Caesar salad kit. She does it again and again, page after page, making you wonder “Why didn’t I think of that?” Simple. You didn’t have time. Mercifully, she did.
“Seriously Simple,” by Diane Rossen Worthington (Chronicle Books $24.95).
Worthington’s book proves you can serve divine meals with streamlined preparation techniques and minimal steps. The cover photograph alone is enough to make you want to eat the book. Instead, go to Page 87 to find the Scallops with Balsamic Syrup recipe for six. The one-step recipe for potato-yam pancakes is as winsome an accompaniment for breakfast as for brisket. Especially helpful are the menu suggestions at the back of the book and tips for adapting a recipe to make it your own.
“Don’t Panic – Dinner’s in the Freezer,” by Susie Martinez, Vanda Howell and Bonnie Garcia (Meredith, $19.95).
Make it in advance, freeze it and take it out the day you want to eat it. It beats the heck out of loading up on prepackaged meals with half the flavor and substance. You can freeze dips, muffins and meats. The authors give details for getting organized, planning the meals, then freezing them safely.
“Fix It Fast,” edited for Pillsbury (Wiley, $19.95).
A collection of recipes that can go from start to finish in 25 minutes or less. Crossword Puzzle Soup, for example, requires Italian sausage, canned tomato-basil soup, frozen green beans, uncooked alphabet pasta and Parmesan. Steak with lemon-chive butter is ready in the time it takes to cook the zucchini that accompanies it.
“Half-Scratch Magic,” by Linda West Eckhardt and Katherine West DeFoyd (Clarkson Potter Paperback, $17.95).
This one weighs in on a French bistro meal – chicken made with packaged carved chicken breast, Dijon mustard and white wine; a 20-minute meatloaf; and several desserts whipped up with cake mix and fresh fruit. With a few touches of exotica, such as pistachios or macadamias, you’ve got a sexy dessert, plus, you’ve saved money and energy without breaking a sweat.
“Mom’s Best One-Dish Suppers,” by Andrea Chesman (Storey, $10.95).
If you’ve ever wondered what happened to such culinary fixtures as Chicken Divan (credited with introducing broccoli, long an Italian favorite, to mainstream America), the answer is: nothing. It’s here. So is King Ranch casserole; a skillet version of Shepherd’s Pie; Jambalaya; and its Spanish cousin, Paella. In addition the authors have included enough stick-to-the-ribs soups to get you through the winter.
“Semi-Homemade Cooking 2,” by Sandra Lee (Meredith Books, $19.95).
Loaded with obvious promos for companies that presumably sponsor or underwrite her Food Network show, it might be a turnoff for some, but this book is worth having if you want to explore Italian, Mexican, Asian or Indian flavors without the full-speed-ahead authenticity that often turns off time-
stressed cooks. The killer in this book is the Lemon Mascarpone Panna Cotta.
Staff writer Ellen Sweets can be reached at 303-820-1284 or esweets@denverpost.com.
