So what have you heard about the new Quick & Kosher cook

ra_mom

Thu, Oct 28 2010, 2:20 pm

I was ordering some stuff on Amazon, when I came across the new Quick & Kosher Meals in Minutes cookbook.
It doesn't look like it was released yet.
What have you heard about this cookbook? I can hardly wait to check it out.

Last edited by ra_mom on Thu, Oct 28 2010, 2:22 pm; edited 1 time in total

wispalover

Sun, Nov 21 2010, 8:26 am

Just received it. I honestly could NOT be more dissapointed. It is not my style AT ALL to criticise soemthing that someone else makes Parnassah from, but honestly this book is just product placement, from Kosher.com to Manishevitz to Natural and Kosher cheese to one other thing I cannot remember. If I had known this book was an ad for one product after another I would never ever have purchased it.

TzenaRena

Sun, Nov 21 2010, 8:42 am

do you think it's really ads? Wink

I think it's just brand names she knows most women are familiar with, so suggesting that type of food. But I also think it's not a real recipe if it doesn't teach you how to make a pastry dough for example, just tells you to buy the ready made.

It's not such a kuntz to put three ready made foods together and voila. And those kind of recipes are way more expensive. You have to be paid very well for your time to be worth so much more than your money.

But I love the presentation in Jamie's cookbooks, and simple and easy is great.

Quote:

she'd better not be including a recipe for peeled apples in this one

Hey that's how I learned how to cook! LOL

wispalover

Sun, Nov 21 2010, 11:43 am

Yes. It is definitately ads. She has a whole section at the back where she interviews specific people from those companies.

Why, for example, can't she say meat instead of prefacing it with 'meat from kosher.com is delicious, amazing etc..' We all know she works for Kosher.com. Why does she have to keep preaching about them in a cookbook we have paid good money for? It is, as I said, basically a different product placement on every page for the brands listed below.
Also, until I was in Monsey recently I had never ever heard of 'natural and kosher' cheese- if you were really looking for a brand most women use, wouldn't you go for Millers?! Wink

wispalover

Sun, Nov 21 2010, 11:52 am

Just as an example:

BBQ Pulled chicken Sandwiches:

"At kosher.com we have the perfect BBQ roasted chicken courtesy of Chap-a-Nosh, a family catering business that's been around almost as long as I have'

Is stuff like that really necessary?

Tova

Sun, Nov 21 2010, 1:31 pm

I was in the bookstore this morning and flipped through it and was disappointed to see, in the ingredients for the recipe for grilled veggie wraps "store bought grilled vegetables."

That being said, I have her first cookbook but this one looks like a very different style.

newmother

Sun, Nov 21 2010, 2:56 pm

Some bought it for me as a present and I was soo disappointed! my dh and I always leaf through new cookbooks together to flag things that we want to try. In the whole cookbook there were only 3 things we were even interested in! It is such a chavel since her last cookbook had a number of great recipes!

ra_mom

Sun, Nov 21 2010, 7:34 pm

I flipped through it at the Judaica store and was also very dissapointed to see the lay out, as well as the product endorsements.
I know that she funded her first cookbook partially through Osem and Hagafen endorsements. But somehow it was different. I basically skipped 3/4 of the soup section in her first book, because I don't use soup mix, and disregarded the wine suggestions on the bottom, but the rest of the book was really fabulous! (Even though I will admit that when it first came out I was very unimpressed by its simplicity and thought that it was most definately not my style. But after trying a few of her recipes that were listed online as a promotion, I changed my mind, bought the book, and never looked back.)
Now I'm not so sure about the new book. Sad

Although the lamb meatball pitas look phenomenal. I think I remember the measurements after flipping through the book, and I will definately try them.

wispalover

Sun, Nov 21 2010, 8:07 pm

ra_mom: The difference is (in my opinion) it wasn't as forced.. Not every page had some endorsement or another. This one- almost every single recipe is advocating for stuff I have never even seen- for example, who has seen 'natural and kosher' brand ricotta?? I know my local Kosher market doesnt carry it, and I dont think I even saw it in Rockland Kosher when I was there a few weeks ago...

The recipes are so focussed on finding stuff based around these items, that they leave little room for anything else. Another item that is pushed is Gefen constantly.

In her first book, she interviewed 'generic' people- a butcher/ a grocery manager etc. This book interviews Kosher.com, Royal Wines etc.

Maybe she should have taken the endorsements for the book and then given it away as free advertising for the company!

life'sgreat

Sun, Nov 21 2010, 8:14 pm

marsjanco wrote:

Natural & Kosher (is that the black and red?) is available in Rockland Kosher.

ra_mom

Sun, Nov 21 2010, 8:17 pm

marsjanco wrote:

I agree with you. All the way!

FYI, if I ever decide to buy the book, I will of course ignore the brand names like I always do in recipes, and just buy regular ricotta cheese when the recipe calls for it.

wispalover

Sun, Nov 21 2010, 9:17 pm

ra_mom wrote:

marsjanco wrote:

@ lifes great: yes- it is the black/red cheese. I have seen thios cheese too, but never ricotta cheese from this brand.

@ra_mom- I usually do just ignore it, but it was so blatant it drove me totally nuts.

@midwestMom: Can't wait to hear your thoughts!

Simple1

Sun, Nov 21 2010, 9:31 pm

It's funny that people are complaining about the simplicity of the recipes - because that is the point of them. It's for those who want quick meals. Some people don't have the patience to fuss with making dough from scratch. Personally, I get overwhelmed if I see an ingredient list that's more than 5-6 ingredience long and that's why I love her first book (I didn't see the 2nd book.) And none of my favorite recipes in there had any specific brand-names.