Customer Reviews

Cooking among friends: Meal planning and preparation delightfully simplified

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Bottom Line: This book is for freezer meals in quantity (6, 12, 18 meals). This is NOT "dump chicken". These are entrees from scratch that won't kill you with difficulty. Lots of good ideas on organizing your food exchange group. Worth it, even if you're just cooking for your own freezer.

The long version:

I bought the Cooking Among Friends cookbook several months ago when Becki and Mary spoke at our MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group. Our small group of 7 ladies decided to start a CAF group. We've been cooking and exchanging now for 8 months.

The premise of Cooking Among Friends is to form a group of somewhat like-minded cooks/eaters. You each choose a recipe or two, then cook it at home, making a quantity of 6, 12, or 18 entrees. Then you get together with your friends and each person takes home one each of the other entrees. For a few hours' cooking, you get 10 or 12 different meals, which lasts most of us about a month.

Our group used the survey and information in the back of the book to get started. We really couldn't have done it without that info. It included questions about food preferences, how much you want to spend, etc. It helps you to think about aspects you might not otherwise consider when choosing a group to exchange meals with.

We began with the recipes from the cookbook. In our group, we each choose two different entrees to prepare for an exchange. The recipes were all tested by Mary and Becki. One aspect our group really liked was that the recipes do not contain condensed soups, taco mixes, etc. Pretty much everything is from scratch (there are a few exceptions, but very few). Nor are they all casseroles! All of the recipes are laid out in 6-, 12- and 18- portion quantities.

We just began by preparing foods that looked good or interesting. Most are very good. A few we could do without. It's just a matter of preference, as with any cook book. For most recipes, though our group likes them, we agree could use either more wine or more garlic.

As families with preschoolers, we all feed the kids our choices and nobody's gone hungry yet. Some are more appropriate for adult palates, so we serve those for adult guests.

After a while, you can branch out and begin trying your own tried-and-true recipes for exchanges. We've gotten to this stage, but about half of the things we cook are still from the CAF cook book.

Regarding skill level, we have one gal who (admittedly) doesn't know the difference among anchovies, avocados and artichokes, and she has managed just fine. I myself hadn't cooked from scratch a lot before CAF, but it's darn fulfilling to make that white sauce!

If you are not involved in a food exchange group, but are simply cooking for your own freezer, I would still recommend this book. As I mentioned above, there are almost no casseroles, a very few pre-made seasoning mixes called for, and I can't think of any recipes with condensed soups (though there may be one or two). It's almost entirely from scratch, but doesn't require tons of work. You could cut a recipe in half, and still have 3 delicious meals in the freezer.

Some of our group's favorites: Chicken Gyro Kits, Baked French Toast, Coq au Vin, Meatballs with various sauces, and (one of my favorites) Chicken in Phyllo. Most recipes are the "main" food for a meal then you choose a side, like the pasta, or rice. There are also soups, and some appetizers and cookies.

We've found an additional advantage to the food exchanges. If the recipe stretches a little further, you can give the extra portions to a family that needs a little boost, like those with new babies, surgery, etc.

This book is worth the price tag. Also worth mentioning - I have the comb-bound version.

As stay at home mom of two children ages 5 and 3 I need time. I haven't started with a group of other cooks yet, but I've benefited with saving time and offering my family something they usually like. This book is one I pull off the shelf regularly for ideas and information on how to make other recipes in greater quantities. I have made quite a few of the recipes in this book and they all have been whole family pleasers. Some are a bit rich for me, but my children and husband like them that way. I have adapted some of the recipes to be lower in fat. In fact, the information in the book is laid out so well that other recipes can easily be used and all can be adapted to make smaller amounts of meals.

Cooking Among Friends: Meal Planning & Preparation Delightfully Simplified is a cookbook designed to be used in a labor-saving fashion with a circle of friends. Gather a group, let each individual prepare a large quantity of one or two entrees, freeze it in meal-sized portions, and swap! Done with a food quantity and exchange frequency ideal for the group, this technique allows each individual to enjoy a wide variety of culinary selections with minimal time investment. Thus the recipes in Cooking Among Friends are not only flavorful, relatively simple to prepare, and described thoroughly to make cooking them easy for chefs of all skill and experience levels. The selections also focus upon entrees that are ideal for preparation in large quantities, and that can be frozen and swapped without losing their flavor. Size adjusters are provided so that one can tailor the precise quantity made to one's needs. An extensive introduction walks the reader through the basics of this time-saving cooking style, and recipes cover everything from Beef Burgundy to Chicken and Broccoli Loaf Kits, Vegetable Lasagna with a Red Sauce, Artichoke Squares, Buttermilk Pancake Mix and so more. An excellent, easy-to-use cookbook for the hectic twenty-first century.

UPDATE (2.5 yrs later!):
Okay, I came to Amazon.com today to write a review for this book, only to find out I had already written one 2 and a half years ago. I have a slightly different perspective this time around, although everything I said the first time still holds true.

I am now a stay-at-home-mom of THREE kids (three boys age 4 and under, I might add) and although it still takes me multiple hours to cook recipes from this book, I've now decided it's *worth it*.

I have been in a meal swap group for over two years now, and I've tried many "cook for the freezer" type cookbooks. I keep coming back to this one. I always know that cooking from this book will 1) take more time and 2) cost me more at the grocery store than other cookbooks, but again, the recipes are so good that they are worth it. There are no "cream of mushroom soup" recipes here. You dice the veggies rather than buy frozen (although I've substituted frozen before in a pinch, and they work just fine), you make your own sauces, and so on. THE TASTE IS THE REWARD. I've come to love this book so much that I keep coming back to it. Even to write a review nearly three years later.

My only two complaints are these:
1) the subtitle of the book should not be "meal planning and preparation delightfully simplified," because these meals are labor intensive, even if for a purpose. If the focus is on cooking from scratch, they should change the subtitle to: "Made from scratch meals delightfully simplified," so that potential buyers are forewarned!
2) why have these authors not created a sequel? I'd love more recipes like this :)
[...]

Original Review, October 2008:
I purchased this book because the recipes I previwed stood out as unique and tasty, unlike those in many other assemble-and-freeze cookbooks. Most of what I've made has indeed been good, and the instructions given on how to start a cooking group are helpful.

However, every recipe I've tried so far (Beef Pot Pies with Cheddar Cheese Crusts, Moroccan Chicken with Apricots and Almonds, African Peanut and Ginger Chicken) have taken HOURS to prepare. The Beef Pot Pie tasted good, but took days to get done because of all the steps involved (several hours to cook the beef roasts, cut apart the fat and dice into cubes, cut the vegetables, cook the filling, make the crusts from scratch, assemble, cover, and freeze...) I'm a stay-at-home mom of one baby, so I have some time during the day to cook during nap times, but the amount of labor and time that went into some of these recipes was ridiculous. I love to cook, and I've liked what I've eaten so far out of this book. But potential buyers should be aware of the time-intensity of many of these recipes.

One other complaint I have is that no nutritional information is given for any of the recipes, which I believe is a fault of any cookbook.

I highly recommend this book to everyone I meet. As a busy mother and wife, it is a life saver! I have been in two groups for the past 3 1/2 years and cannot imagine managing my life without Cooking Among Friends. The meals are great, the concept is wonderful, and it's quick and easy. Would you not love to have homeade, delicious meals for your family? The best part is you don't make them all yourself, but your freezer is full of variety on a moments notice. Have friends stopping by? Pull out an dinner, appetizer and/oror dessert from the freezer! Have a fun day outside planned...no time to cook...pull out a meal from your freezer! This book explains it all from A to Z and is very easy to follow. Your friends will thank you for asking them into your group. I'll never go back to preparing meals "the old way" again. You won't either! Get started today- you'll be so glad you did.

The book is very well organized with easy to follow instructions. The resources chapter is great for people just starting out. I've been cooking freezer meals with friends for several years but am always interested in adding new meals. This book is definitely not for those that have young children. Some of the recipes are "Blue Cheese, Walnut, and Mushroom Stuffed Chicken" and "Pureed Carrots with Ginger". Now some of the meals are family friendly, but not enough for me to really use the book a lot. So if you're looking for some sophisticated freezer meals for adults, this is the book for you. If you are looking for kid and family friendly recipes I would recommend "Don't Panic - Dinner's in the Freezer" by Martinez, Howell, & Garcia and "The Freezer Cooking Manual from 30 Day Gourmet" by Slagle.

Cooking Among Friends has become the BEST way to cook for me, thanks to this wonderful book by Becky and Mary! Our group of four friends has been preparing meals according to their plan for the past 2 1/2 years and we love it. The book does a wonderful job of laying out the cooking plan and the recipes are delicious! (these are entrees you'd be proud to serve guests, unlike some of the recipes I've found in other freezer cookbooks) Having such a wide variety of homemade meals ready to go in the freezer is extremely satisfying as a Mom, and knowing that the meals were prepared for my family, by my friends is an extra bonus. Cooking Among Friends has changed meal time at our house. Treat yourself to this book, gather some friends and start cooking for each other! You won't be sorry.

This book is FABULOUS! For anyone thinking of starting a meal-swapping group, this book is for you. There are tips in the beginning to help you get started, and forms in the back to use in helping to determine dietary needs, choices, etc. My mommie's group found this really helpful in transitioning from playgroup meet-up to food swap, and the recipes are wonderful! I highly recommend this book to anyone starting out with frozen meals!

Upon the suggestion of a friend, this cookbook inspired us to create a cooking club for meal swapping. It is a great intro to freezing meals, and 6 of us have been doing a cooking club primarily based on this cookbook. We have prepared about 30 of the meals in this cookbook. Some are more labor intensive than others, and some are better than others. Now I am a freezing junkie, I am a stay at home mom with two small children and this makes my life so much easier. And, with the meal swapping, we are trying new meals we probably never would have thought to prepare ourselves, which makes it better because it expands our repertoire.

PROS:
- Great for beginners, easy to understand recipes. Most recipes are very good. We tend to salt/season them more than recipe calls for.
- Book is geared to preparing large quantities of a meal for swapping purposes, so don't get it if you are just interested in doing 1 at a time recipes.
- Another pro is that they use good quality ingredients and no canned soup stuff, etc.
- Also, some good recipes and not just casseroles. This can make some of them a little longer to prepare, but it is nice to know they are made with quality ingredients.
- If you are new to a cooking club, like we were - the tips on starting a cooking club are hugely valuable. They give very good insight on how to make sure your cooking club is successful, like starting with people who have the same tastes as you, rating the recipes, etc. We followed almost all their advice. So far, we've been going strong for 6 months!!

CONS:
- Each recipe has different quantities of ingredients, based on how many meals you are making this is GOOD... BUT... they give measurements for 6 meals, 12 meals, and 18 meals. This is annoying because it is very simple math for me to turn a 6 meal recipe into a 12 or 18 meal recipe. I would much prefer to see the book give measurements for 6 meals, 8 meals, and 10 meals. That way, it would be easy math to make anywhere from 4-20 meals with minimal math!

NIT-PICKING: I also think it is annoying that sometimes they say 6 cups of milk, or 6 cups of broth, or 6 cups of cheese when they could just give ounces that way we can easily do our marketing. I am constantly in the grocery store trying to convert recipe "cups" to the ounces. Or better yet, provide a grocery list with the ounces...

Overall this is a great book. It is well done and easy to understand. I am NOT a gourmet by any stretch of the imagination but this book has made me feel more confident, and has definitely changed my dinner mealtime preparation for the better.

I have to have photos in a cookbook so that was a big disappointment to me - I have several cookbooks devoted to once a month cooking and was primarily hoping to get all the details on setting up a cooking club with this book - I was disappointed on that end - only a brief portion of the book was devoted to that and you can get as much info from their website as was contained in the book