CAN OPENER GOURMET, THE: MORE THAN 200 QUICK AND DELICIOUS RECIPES USING INGREDIENTS FROM YOUR PANTRY [Plastic Comb]

Laura Karr (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 4, 2002

ow many times have we thought to ourselves, 'I'd love to cook a great meal, but who has the time?' Laura Karr understands this universal dilemma and has discovered a great way to cook up our favorite dishes in half the time, and often for half the price, using the convenience of foods from cans and jars. Reminding us that canned food is nutritious, preservative-free, and available year round, Karr shares over 175 of her coveted family recipes, including Curried Chicken and Artichoke Salad, Fettuccine with Pumpkin Cream Sauce, and Turkey Tetrazzini-all delicious and all prepared quickly, with the flip of a lid!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The Can Opener Gourmet relies on a simple premise: canned food is convenient, cheap and underutilized. Who knew that a credible beef stroganoff could be made with little more than the contents of three cans? Or that a decent ginger-carrot soup could be concocted without whole carrots? The stroganoff uses canned roast beef, and the soup relies on-no kidding-four jars of carrot baby food. While her recipes are inarguably quick and easy, Karr's reliance on powdered spices, tinned meats and bottled juices can become a little unnerving. Really, how hard is it to slice a piece of chicken? Fresh ingredients are often almost as convenient as canned, and their taste is incomparably better. Karr's prose is chatty and generous, and her use of shortcuts is ingenuous, but in the end her bookmight remind readers of a slightly dotty aunt who's been saving the same piece of tinfoil for five years-and whose dinner invitations they often decline.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Laura Karr learned the basics of cooking by helping her family cater weddings. Her skills were further advanced when her grandmother accepted a position as head chef at a Northern California college. After completing her B.A., Laura pursued her love of writing through her work at several magazines and ad agencies. Now she combines her two passions in her first book. She lives in Lakewood, California.

Product Details

• Plastic Comb: 288 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion (September 4, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786887494
• ISBN-13: 978-0786887491
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 7.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #270,549 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

110 of 111 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A handy, unique book for cooks., October 21, 2002

By 

Diamond Dove (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: CAN OPENER GOURMET, THE: MORE THAN 200 QUICK AND DELICIOUS RECIPES USING INGREDIENTS FROM YOUR PANTRY (Plastic Comb)

Cookbook people fall into three categories: Those who buy them as gifts for others, those who buy them for themselves to use, and those who buy them strictly to read. With the exception of the latter, home cooks will be well-pleased with Laura Karr's unique and quirky Can-Opener Gourmet, which I recently received as a gift.

I think the Publisher's Weekly review, above, misses the point of Karr's book, which is written strictly for the use of canned and packaged foods. It is a time-saver for busy people designed to enhance their quick-cooked meals, not to suggest that canned ingredients are inherently better than fresh. Further, it must have been written by someone with little experience in an actual kitchen, or else they wouldn't have asked such a question as "how hard is it to slice a piece of chicken?" Hello? It's not the slicing-you also have to go to the market and buy the chicken, clean it, and cook it before the slicing occurs. That is Karr's point in saying canned chicken is less time- and labor-intensive than fresh (and indistinguishable in many recipes-I use it all the time).

I found TCOG's premise both interesting and fun. The recipes are simple and easy to follow, and the three I've tried so far turned out great. The only problem I found was that there are more basic recipes included than there need to be. Like many recipe books, this one feels padded toward the end. I think the cookbook reading crowd would have appreciated fewer recipes and more informative chat. But that's a minor quibble.

The thing most casual cooks will have the hardest time with is the use of baby food in several recipes. Logically this makes no sense, as baby food is, as Karr points out, about the safest, most pure food product available. Logic has little to do with the palette, however, so users might be tempted to make their own purées if they can't get past the idea of using Gerber's-but again, that kind of defeats the purpose of the book. As for myself, the fewer times I have to whip out the food processor, the better-after all, strained carrots is strained carrots.

Overall, I'd give The Can-Opener Gourmet 4.5 stars, and recommend it as an excellent holiday gift for adventurous friends and family members who cook.

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's so easy and healthy!!!!, January 27, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: CAN OPENER GOURMET, THE: MORE THAN 200 QUICK AND DELICIOUS RECIPES USING INGREDIENTS FROM YOUR PANTRY (Plastic Comb)

I am a serious health nut, and after trying out the recipes in this book, I shortened the time it takes to cook meals for my family by half. Laura Karr's recipes taught me to replace high-caloric mixes and hard-to-find seasonal produce with, of all things, jazzed-up baby food! For those of us who enjoy delicious, seasonal dishes but have a hard time finding ingredients or aren't willing to pay $4 for an artichoke when canned hearts costs a dollar, this book is a lifesaver!
My grandmother LOVES the book- I gave her a copy for her birthday and she swears by it- she doesn't have to go to the grocery store as often and she ends up saving lots of money.
Next time you are at the grocery store- go to the canned food section- you will be amazed at what foods come canned- and the have NO PRESERVATIVES. I even learned that there is very little pesticide residue in canned foods!

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I can finally cook dinner every night!, August 17, 2004

By 

Busy Mom from Michigan (Brighton, MI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: CAN OPENER GOURMET, THE: MORE THAN 200 QUICK AND DELICIOUS RECIPES USING INGREDIENTS FROM YOUR PANTRY (Plastic Comb)

I saw this book featured on a Food Network show and thought "this is for me!" It was certainly worth a try. I am busy mom of 3, and dinner just never ends up being a priority. Cooking is not my thing, and making time for shopping and food prep is tough for me. The recipes from this book are simple and most come right out of the pantry... saving me the trouble of cleaning out my fridge of all the spoiled veggies from meals I never got to make. And you'd never know that the entire meal came out of cans/boxes/jars from the pantry.
I made the easy fudge recipe and took it to a party where it was a big hit (and SUPER quick to make).
Not everyone has the same issues I do in the kitchen, and I know many other moms who make elaborate meals for the families every night. This books is not for them. But I love this cookbook, it's like it was made especially for me!