The Art of Low-Calorie Cooking [Hardcover]

Sally Schneider (Author), Maria Robledo (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1990

A book of visually appealing, low calorie recipes. It includes 125 recipes from smoked salmon tartare, cassoulet, radicchio, orange and grilled onion salad, espresso creme brulee and prune and Armagnac ice cream. Calorie fat and sodium counts are included with each recipe. Whenever possible, variations on a recipe are given as well, with calorie counts, to broaden the possibilities of the recipes and the range of the book. This book is also a source of ideas for entertaining and special occasions as well as for daily meals.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Food & Wine columnist and New York City caterer Schneider has crafted a low-calorie cookbook that, in her own words, "is more about cooking creatively than it is about dieting, more about pleasure than denial." The author makes suggestions for a "new wave" of cooking techniques based on coaxing every bit of flavor from high-quality ingredients, many of which would never appear in a dieter's pantry. From a low-calorie version of cassoulet to a ragout of duck legs, a clove- and pepper-cured roast pork, warm cherries with zabaglione, and espresso creme brulee, recipes will surprise and delight weight-watchers who have long forsaken such ingredients as butter, sour cream and salt. Schneider has even devised a method for curing at home a lower-calorie pork-loin prosciutto--to most dieters but a distant pleasure. Another surprise, and a counterpoint to Schneider's elegant formality, are Robledo's warm, casually styled photographs. While many ingredients called for will be unavailable outside of the world's great cities, serious cooks will find the book's radical ideas inspiring.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Stewart Tabori & Chang; 1ST edition (October 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556701578
• ISBN-13: 978-1556701573
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.7 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #668,592 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars lousy title, fabulous cookbook, May 13, 2000

By 

R. McGrath "dr deb and dr bob" (apple valley, ny) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Art of Low-Calorie Cooking (Paperback)

I am an avid cookbook collector and cook, and I am not kidding when I say that this is one of my most often used and enjoyed cookbooks. It was given to me by a dear friend, I would never have bought a low-calorie cookbook on my own. This is not a great low-calorie cookbook, it is a great cookbook, period.

There are wonderful recipes for a home smoked salmon, a great Irish Soda Bread, and a few brilliant ideas for duck that have become favorites in my house.

I love her general approach to eating. She does not promote the use of "diet" ingredients like margarine or artificial sweeteners, but encourages judicious use of the real thing. She has tested the recipes carefully to determine just how much of the "fattening" ingredients are necessary to make a dish, like cassoulet, for example, taste good without the outrageous amount of fat that is usual for that dish. She also provides nutritional info for each recipe.

My only concern about this book is that the only readers who are likely to look at it (because of the title) are dieters, and that's a shame because it's likely to be appealing to a much broader readership is they only knew to check it out!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars you'll never cook the same again, January 13, 2002

By 

"fechefwannabe" (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Art of Low-Calorie Cooking (Paperback)

I too would've never bought this book based on the title. Lucky me, a friend gave it as a present. Ok, favorite recipe: the roast chicken with a pierced lemon in its cavity is so tasty, I dare you pass up on the skin! I make it all the time. Oh, and it works with a small orange just as well. Then there's the polenta recipes, and the chicken pot pie...

God bless this woman because she loves food and finds ways to prepare delicious food that's healthy. She's experimented plenty in order to deliver flavorful recipes for dishes that are low in fat, sodium and calories. I think anyone who loves food and cooking should own this book. And anyone who's on a restricted diet should definitely try this cookbok.

Finally, I have to say that I think Maria Robledo is the best food photographer in the business. It's impossible to look at her pictures and not feel like making and/or eating the food in them. It's no wonder that they've teamed up again. Bravo to both women on an excellent cookbook!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book, but get her newer one instead, May 3, 2007

By 

Stepone (TX) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Art of Low-Calorie Cooking (Hardcover)

The other reviews are on target: this book is full of great food that never feels like "diet" food. I would recommend Sally Schneider's work to anyone who loves to cook, especially to tackle "project" cooking, but is looking for tricks for cutting fat and calories.

That being said, I was a little disappointed when I received this book. I already owned the much larger, more recent "A New Way to Cook," and most of the recipes in this volume (especially the best ones) are repeated in that one.

Not to say these aren't great, but A New Way to Cook is a far superior book: vast collection of recipes with tips on changing them by taste and availability of ingredients, plus a huge chapter on sauces, techniques, marinades and the like, etc.

So between the 2, I would definitely recommend A New Way to Cook.

As for this book, I've enjoyed the cajun meat loaf, though I usually modify just a little (eg., add green peppers back in) and the greens and rice. I tried the soda bread, and maybe I made mistakes, but it came out heavy and dry. Reminded me of that scene from About a Boy where he hits the duck with the loaf of bread.