Cooking with All Things Trader Joe's [Hardcover]

Deana Gunn (Author), Wona Miniati (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2008

Love Trader Joe's? This new independent cookbook features recipes that use ingredients all from Trader Joe's. By combining Trader Joe's unique products with fresh ingredients, Deana and Wona create clever shortcuts to quick and easy gourmet meals that are delicious and exciting. The recipes in this book treat Trader Joe's like a "prep kitchen"--using the great selection of unique sauces, mixtures, and prepped items to make flavorful, natural, homemade food in a snap.

Many of the recipes are vegetarian or can easily be made vegetarian. Ethnic dishes like Saag Paneer Lasagna are scattered throughout, as well as classic comfort foods like Comfy Chicken Pot Pie. Crowd-pleasing recipes include Peanutty Sesame Noodles, Black Bean Soup, Macho Nacho, Seafood Paella, Curried Chicken Pitas, Wilted Spinach with Attitude, Honey I Ate the Chocolate Bread Pudding, and All Mixed Up Margaritas.

People who don't know how to cook or don't want to cook will appreciate the Bachelor Quickies section, featuring frozen and ready-to-heat selections that are matched to create complete and impressive menus.

With full-color photographs for every recipe, wine suggestions, humorous personal stories, and cooking tips sprinkled throughout, this collection is a must for any Trader Joe's fan.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Fans of Trader Joe's have been waiting a long time for a book like this." --Sacramento Bee

"Cooking With All Things Trader Joe's provides fast and easy dinner solutions for neophytes and kitchen veterans alike" -San Diego Union-Tribune

"The 'fusion cooking' in this collection makes it much easier to create sophisticated, fun, eclectic yet accessible meals. This is a delightful cookbook...The bottom line is that this collection is perfect for cooks who are short on time but want healthful meals that are long on taste" -Tucson Citizen

"Authors Deana Gunn and Wona Miniati deliver the goods -- in this case, all from Trader Joe's...The recipes are modern and sensible and include lots of substitution ideas, in case an item is no longer in stock or you simply feel like experimenting. I've already made three dishes, and they were all winners." -The Pioneer Press

"This cookbook is genius!" Sam Zien, TV host and author of Sam the Cooking Guy: Just a Bunch of Recipes (Back Cover)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Brown Bag Publishing, LLC; First Edition edition (May 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0979938414
• ISBN-13: 978-0979938412
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (83 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #413,763 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

63 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, January 2, 2008

By 

S. Chung (Bay Area, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cooking with All Things Trader Joe's (Paperback)

Overall, this is an excellent cookbook. I've had this cookbook for about one month, and so far I love it.

First off, let me say that this book is targeted to cooks who enjoy creating "gourmet" type meals. This book isn't for you if you're looking for dishes that might show up in a cafeteria. Even though there are recipes for common things like sandwiches and casseroles, they have their own gourmet twist. So for those people who like to serve creative dishes, this cookbook is made for them.

The theory behind the book is that Trader Joe's sells many unique sauces, pre-chopped veggies, and other "half-prepped" ingredients that would normally take a cook a significant amount of time to prepare on their own. So combining the "half-prepped" ingredients of Trader Joe's and the recipes in the cookbook, you can whip up gourmet meals in a fraction of the time it would take you otherwise.

All the recipes have a large color picture, a list of ingredients (sometimes with substitutes), clear instructions, and the estimated prep time (usually in the 20-30min range). I've tried a few of the quick recipes and they have been pretty straightforward so far. The cookbook includes appetizers, entres, desserts, and a "bachelor quickies" section at the end which is basically heating pre-cooked/frozen stuff from Trader Joe's and combining them into interesting meals.

Most of the dishes are very original and look/sound delicious. There were a few recipes that I had question marks about, but I guess I'll find out how good they are once I try them.

So overall, if you like the idea of cooking original "gourmet-like" meals in a fraction of the time, and you have access to a Trader Joe's, this book is very highly recommended. Happy cooking!

63 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars This book is not endorsed by Trader Joe's, October 26, 2008

By 

Bella Rue (Bellevue, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cooking with All Things Trader Joe's (Hardcover)

So I reviewed the book, and thought all the recipes were delish sounding and decided to buy. I shop at trader joes and I like upscale foods. The real problem I had was when I went shopping for the recipes. Most of the items were not stocked at trader joes, it was not fun, scratching off recipes since items in the recipe were no longer available. I even asked a store clerk for help, and I was informed that this book was not endorsed or approved by Trader Joe's and he also was aware of the problem with the book, in that ingredients were no longer available to complete the recipes. That was a bummer. I did come out with a few recipes, and managed to do some substitutions, but we will see if they turn out as well.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous cookbook, a winner!, October 29, 2008

By 

Reader Anastasia - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cooking with All Things Trader Joe's (Hardcover)

My local Trader Joe's demo chef told me about this book and I'm so grateful she did. I LOVE it! Let me say that I have over 40 cookbooks on my shelf, and this is the cookbook I have been reaching for over and over these past few months. The recipes have been easy and quick as promised, but they are also wonderfully delicious and impressive. Most of the recipes seem to take around 10-20 minutes to make. A few here and there take minutes to throw together but then require a longer baking time (like the lasagna or casserole dishes). I love those, because it doesn't take much time to throw together and then I can do something else while it bakes.
Despite my small obsession with cookbooks, it wasn't until this cookbook that I felt inspired to cook more. My husband keeps asking me to make the Notcho Ordinary Gazpacho soup and the Chicken Tortilla soup. I've tried at least 10 or 12 recipes and they've all been excellent and have become part of my regular cooking repertoire. I haven't run into any problems with discontinued items but I saw that another reviewer found a list of substitution suggestions on the author website.
Take my word for it. If you shop at Trader Joe's or if you're looking for a way to cook better at home, get this cookbook.