Amazon.com Review
Simplicity as an art form creates the intrigue and attraction of
Healthy 1-2-3, a nutritional cookbook that utilizes only three ingredients per recipe. Award-winning chef and author Rozanne Gold continues her 1-2-3 series with this "Healthy" entry, made with the calorie-conscious cook or host in mind.
Though three ingredients quickly can be construed as a restriction, Gold cleverly maneuvers around her own concept, all the while abetting her healthy cause. If, for example, she has a recipe featuring a particular vegetable, she uses that vegetable's own broth to create the sauce for the dish. The Roasted Asparagus and Orange Salad with Asparagus "Fettuccine" uses a fresh orange vinaigrette (tossed with roasted asparagus) and a fettuccine that is not pasta, but rather actually shaved asparagus stocks.
Gold also gives nutrition lessons throughout--teaching that all foods groups have an important place in a balanced, nutritional diet. Even foods that are high in fat and calories, such as Brie cheese, contain important nutrients that the body needs, even though they've been stricken from many diet plans.
The recipe selection addresses the full range of potential users, from the average hungry guest to the most assiduous, observant vegan. For example, the beverage combination of watermelon, pineapple juice, and fresh mint for a Watermelon Splash is simple in both preparation and the expectation of the pallet, while Immune Tea, made of kombu, shiitake mushrooms, and fresh cilantro, will probably be a stretch for the average American tastes. The quality of food photography and bold colors of this book add an extra flair to the healthy recipes. --Teresa Simanton
From Publishers Weekly
Gold has made her culinary mark with sophisticated dishes that use only three ingredients (Recipes 1-2-3, Entertaining 1-2-3). In her latest book, she combines the 1-2-3 principle with a more nutrition-conscious approach. Readers should be under no illusions: 1-2-3 isn't fast and easy; despite the abbreviated ingredient list (salt, pepper and water don't count), many of the ingredients, such as candied violets, Japanese kombu and pomegranate molasses, aren't exactly standard cupboard fare, and few of the recipes can be made inexpensively. Gold's technique does offer concentrated, balanced flavors, elegant in their restraint. But how healthy are these tasty new trios? According to Gold (who details her own struggles to lose weight), olive oil, butter, cheese, eggs, sugar and even chocolate can all be eaten "as part of" an overall balanced diet. For example, a dish like the silken Carrot Soup with Ginger Essence might use heavy cream, but only one-third cup, divided among six servings. All of which sounds perfectly sensible, but Gold's most eye-catching recipes like Smoked Salmon with Wasabi Cream, Potted Leeks and Corned Beef in Riesling, Scalloped Cheese Potatoes, and Cinnamon-chocolate Ciambella aren't slimming by any measure. (Apr.)Forecast: Gold's devotees will likely snap this book up instantaneously. However, while bookstore browsers unfamiliar with the author may be lured by the book's title, upon opening it they may find it less inspiring than they had hoped, dampening prospective sales.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
