Cooking with All Things Trader Joe's (Hardcover)

by Deana Gunn (Author), Wona Miniati (Author) "Trader Joe's is one of the fastest growing grocery chains in the nation as well as one of the most fun food shopping experiences around..." (more)
Key Phrases: crushed garlic, organic black beans, toasted sesame oil, Trader Joe, Organic Free Range Chicken Broth, Just Chicken (more...)

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 Description
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.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Brown Bag Publishing, LLC (May 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0979938414
• ISBN-13: 978-0979938412
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,169 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 37 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 the 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.

The book is paperback -- I was a little disappointed at first when I found out it was a paperback, but the cover is pretty thick for a paperback and it's less bulky, so an ok compromise I guess. The pages are pretty thick, and best of all, the pages stay open on the page you are looking at.

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!

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cookbook for the rest of us, January 3, 2008

By	Serge Dubovitsky (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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

This book works even for cooking "non-experts" like myself. You can go to Trader Joe's and get exactly what the recipe calls for. You don't have to guess if whatever the local grocery story has will work as a substitute for whatever ingredient recipe calls for.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful and easy to follow cookbook, January 2, 2008

By	H. Ryan (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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

This is the perfect cookbook for someone who shops a lot at Trader Joe's. I can't believe TJ's doesn't carry it, because it promotes purchasing their products. I've cooked a lot of the dishes in this cookbook already and they are so easy and delicious. They have easy to follow recipes with simple ingredients, and short preparation or cooking time. There are nice colored photos of each of the dishes which I like a lot in cookbooks. I've bought a few copies for friends who love it, making great gifts!