Customer Reviews

Lettuce in Your Kitchen: Flavorful And Unexpected Main-Dish Salads And Dressings

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this book in hopes of having a real tool for eating better. So many cookbooks have a few ho-hum salad recipes here and there, and some of the other salad cookbooks I've seen have recipes that are just too elaborate for everyday cooking. This book has a broad range of interesting and tasty salads that are easy to make. You will never get bored, and your friends and guests won't either. The dressing part of each recipe makes a large amount so that you can have extra to use later (I always make half of the dressing recipe, toss the salad with just a few tablespoons, and still have a lot left over). So if you can only muster the energy to throw some lettuce in a bowl some night, you will have great leftover dressing to toss it with. Since I've been using this book, I have stopped buying bottled dressing and have even started growing my own salad greens.

This book is wonderful. The recipes go a long ways towards helping with our ongoing effort to improve our eating habits and watch our weight, while still enjoying good food. Every salad I have made has been excellent. There is a large variety - side salads and main dish salads, substitutions are easily accomodated, and the author even has suggestions for alternative uses for left over dressing. One of my most used cookbooks.

After borrowing this book from the library...I can't wait to go home to try out the recipes...wasn't disappointed. Now I plan to order 3 copies of this book. One to keep, one for my sister and another for my brother.. all of whom are watching our diets.

Whoever thought you could say that about a salad? But they do. They rock! For a niche cookbook, this one has a lot of variety in flavors. Each recipe gives lettuce alternatives, which is helpful if you live in an area that doesn't carry a large selection of lettuces. Some of the combinations are quiet unique, such as one concoction of watermelon, red onion and vinegar - sounds a little kooky, but once you taste it, it all makes perfect sense. This is a great book to try interesting and healthy new salad combinations. I hope you enjoy it.

Found this book at the library, and have to own it! Includes useful charts so you can substitute available greens for those called for in the recipe. Eat your greens, they are good for you, and with this book you can make them delicious!

The authors of Lettuce in Your Kitchen are far better known for their grilling cookbooks than for the vegetable plate. That's a darned shame, because this cookbook is an excellent resource for those of us who want to add something more to the meal than a standard greens-and-vinegarette.

Let me point out one omission that may make a difference to you: to Schlesinger and Willoughby, a salad encompasses some sort of greens, even if it's only as a garnish. As a result, you won't find a whole chapter of pasta salads or a dozen potato salads. That's fine with me, but you should be clear about what to expect.

What you SHOULD expect are clearly written recipes for salads that you probably wouldn't have invented by yourself. The book is organized by simple salads; salads for the perfect tomato; vegetable salads; salads with meat and fish; main course salads; salads with exotic flavors; fancy salads; and salads for a crowd. It's prefaced by an extrememly useful section in which the various greens are identified (with line drawings -- not quite as useful as a photo but it works), and categories that help you discover that, should your market be out of spinach, you can use baby chard or baby beet greens instead. The book has only a few photos, but they're enough for inspiration.

But what about their recipes? I've tried two with excellent success, and I have a list of additional salads to try. My "starter salad" for Thanksgiving was watercress salad with plums and scallions and a hoisin-based dressing. (Most of the dressings are more than you need, and the authors suggest that, say, the hoisin dressing is a good dip for veggies or with roast chicken.) Every plate was cleaned off, even the token non-foodie (he was instructed that he could NOT bring his own Budweiser to the meal). I also truly enjoyed the salad of Boston lettuce, mango, cucumber and avocado, served with a creamy orange-spice dressing. It was no harder to put toghether than the mundane green salad you'd bring to a buffet, and far more tasty!

Naturally, you can get less exotic (escarole with bacon, eggs, and potatoes) or far more so (arugula with lobster and pancetta with a smooth avocado dressing).

But they all have one thing in common: they're VERY easy to put together. And, if you buy the ingredients in season and avoid the handful of expensive items (Mesclun with grilled fois gras, pears, and maui onion with port wine dressing?), it'll be a snap to pull together a meaningful meal with very little effort.

I'm sold on this book. I think you'll like it, too.

Who would have thought this small book on greens, salads and dressings would be indespensible? But it is! Do these authors ever go wrong? Every single cookbook of theirs', which I have read, is far and away the best on its respecive subject.

I bought this book to replace a copy that mysteriously disappeared (someone obviously liked it too much!). The recipes truly are flavorful and unexpected and have helped me lose weight, end salad-boredom, tempt people who "never" eat salad, and earn a reputation as a super salad chef. Whether you need a refreshing main course for a hot summer day, or just some extra veggies in your diet, this book offers more ideas than you can imagine!

This is a great salad book. I never thougt certain ingredients would taste so good with leafy greens. I highly recommend.

I haven't tried all the recipes in this book but the ones I've done have been very well received, particularly the main-course salads in hot summer weather. Clearly written recipes, very tasty- enough that I can overlook the, umm, slightly corny name of the book