Help! My Apartment Has a Kitchen Cookbook: 100 + Great Recipes with Foolproof Instructions [Paperback]

Nancy Mills (Author), Kevin Mills (Author), Richard A. Goldberg (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 2006

"My mom had the idea for this cookbook. I think she figured that if she could teach a kitchen illiterate like me to cook, there was no one who couldn't learn." -- Kevin Mills

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"I had always known of the existence of the kitchen," begins Kevin Mills. "It was the room with the fridge in it. As for cooking, it was somebody else's problem. It was Mom's." When Mills went to college, however, it became his problem as well. After extensive phone coaching from Mom, he learned enough rudimentary recipes to keep from starving. And now you can learn them as well, along with a handful of not-so-rudimentary ones. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

When Kevin Mills moved into his first apartment, he soon realized he couldn't live on just take-out food alone, so he called his mother, Nancy. She taught him to cook, and now the two of them have put together a collection of easy recipes (actually, they're graded?most are Very Easy or Easy, a few are Not So Easy) for inexperienced cooks, along with lots of "Mom tips" and "Mom warnings." (Because Kevin's girlfriend is a vegetarian, more than half the recipes are vegetarian.) Less ambitious than either Elaine Corn's Now You're Cooking (LJ 10/15/94) or Lora Brody's The Kitchen Survival Guide (LJ 5/15/92), and with a more scattershot approach, this should nonetheless appeal to recent graduates and others cooking for themselves for the first time.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (May 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618711759
• ISBN-13: 978-0618711758
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 8.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #299,264 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm soooo lazy and I do it., March 20, 1999

By 

Graham Campbell ([e-mail]) (Poughkeepsie, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Help! My Apartment Has a Kitchen Cookbook: 100+ Great Recipes with Foolproof Instructions (Paperback)

When I was reading the instructions on how to make a grilled cheese, this was a clear sign to me as to the effectiveness of a book like this. Simply put, I'm am the laziest college student ever, except for my housemate who eats hot dogs raw because the microwave is too tough. So, this book is wonderfully simple and fun to read. I'm not ashamed to use this cookbook and I can make meals that are fun and lead to more experimentation in the kitchen. Thanks Kevin and Mom.

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Cooking for dummies -- but not foolproof., December 12, 2003

By 

Timothy Read (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Help! My Apartment Has a Kitchen Cookbook: 100+ Great Recipes with Foolproof Instructions (Paperback)

When I first moved into my apartment in college, this book is one my Mom got for me. She bought it as a joke, but it was a good idea to get my confidence up in the kitchen.

Most of the recipes are fairly easy to do, although some can be a little more challenging. If you're looking to make something quick and don't want to slave over a stove all night, there are all kinds of great quick recipes in there.

However, one major complaint I have is that it seems like many recipes call for an unbelievable amount of oil if you follow the directions to the letter. In some cases, like pancakes, this isn't a problem. In other cases, though, it can really make things tricky, or just plain disgusting.

If you're just starting out in the kitchen, though, you can get a feel for some basics and build your confidence. Just keep your eyes open and you'll get a better feel of how to tweak these recipies for the better -- and before long you'll graduate to "regular" cookbooks.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Even fearless cooks will appreiate this guides' wisdom, April 9, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Help! My Apartment Has a Kitchen Cookbook: 100+ Great Recipes with Foolproof Instructions (Paperback)

Kevin Mills and his Mom have put together a cookbook that is entertaining and useful. Although this cookbook is aimed at beginners, the recipes are creative and tasteful. This book gets beyond the ho-hu basic meals (ie chili, scrambled eggs, and hambergers) and moves onto more challengeing and palet pleasing recipes. Kevin's girlfriend is a vegetarian, and so he has included recipes that satisfy both of them. Recipes are rated from "Very Easy" to "Difficult". The sage wisdom displayed by Kevin's Mom is invaluable.

I recommend this book for any beginner, hesitant cook, or unique cookbook collector!