The I Love to Cook Book: Rediscovering the Joy of Cooking for Family and Friends [Hardcover]

Lauren Groveman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 20, 2004

Caramelized onions in three-cheese French onion soup . . . delectably sticky barbecued chicken . . . homemade linguine tangled in cream sauce with peas and shrimp . . . chocolate chocolate-chip brownies, swirled with sweetened cream cheese . . . These are the delights of truly exceptional home cooking that fill The I Love to Cook Book.

For Lauren Groveman, busy mother, cooking teacher, and television host, cooking for loved ones is a celebration of the warmth that is the heart of family life. And in this irresistible kitchen companion, she invites you to rediscover the pleasures and rewards of the whole cooking process. She shares crowd-pleasing ideas for everything from a Tuesday-night dinner to a showstopping special-occasion meal, including breakfast dishes, cocktail nibbles, main-dish salads, soups, and stews, irresistible breads and unforgettable desserts. Satisfying dishes include Stuffed Mushrooms alla Bolognese, Pan-Fried Lemon Sole with Herbed Tartar Sauce, Grilled Chicken Pesto Topped with Marinated Tomatoes, and Devil’s Food Cupcakes with Meringue Icing. To make time in the kitchen more productive, Lauren includes notes on advance preparation for every recipe. In addition, an invaluable chapter on creating a "Homemade Pantry" explains how to make and stock such staples as "Killer" Marinara Sauce, Fajitas Seasoning, fruit-scented butters, and Assorted Muffin Mix.

Groveman's skill as a cooking teacher and warm enthusiasm as a nurturing mom shine through in each and every meticulously written recipe, designed to inspire anyone looking to make their house a home. Vibrantly illustrated by full-color photographs throughout, The I Love to Cook Book brings the joy of cooking back into the modern kitchen.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this celebration of home cooking, the host of public television's Home Cooking with Lauren Groveman strikes just the right tone. Enthusiastic but never cloying or condescending, she speaks to the novice without alienating the more experienced home cook. Written in narrative style, rather than a brief, numbered list of instructions, every recipe begins with a personal note and continues with detailed descriptions of each step of the process, giving readers the feeling of being guided by an experienced teacher who really cares that they get it right. Pantry basicsâ€"targeted to busy peopleâ€"include practical suggestions, such as using a single dry mix to make buttermilk pancakes, cupcakes or layer cakes. The Best Barbecued Chicken builds on pantry basics, incorporating The Best Barbecue Sauce and Garlic Confit oil, ingredients that can also be used to flavor meat, fish, poultry, salad dressings and grilled vegetables. The chapter on cocktail snacks offers a mix of the elegant (e.g., the "Quartet of Recipes Starring Chewy Dates" stuffed or wrapped with cheese, prosciutto or nuts) and old-fashioned (e.g., Refried Beans and Crinkle Potato Chips). And cooks seeking a challenge will appreciate Groveman's clear and detailed directions as they learn to make their own pasta for Fettuccine alla Panna with Poached Shrimp and Green Peas, knead the dough for Six-Strand Braided Challah or mix up some Mixed-Nut Butter Crunch Toffee.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

LAUREN GROVEMAN is the host of public television's Home Cooking with Lauren Groveman, which was nominated for a James Beard award, and of the radio show Food, Family and Home "Matters," winner of the James Beard award. She has been featured in Food & Wine, Fine Cooking, Better Homes and Gardens, and Bon Appétit, and has appeared on CBS This Morning and Today. She lives in Larchmont, New York.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter (April 20, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0609610872
• ISBN-13: 978-0609610879
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #160,751 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Love To Cook with this Cookbook!, January 31, 2005

By 

SM (Maryland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The I Love to Cook Book: Rediscovering the Joy of Cooking for Family and Friends (Hardcover)

I bought this wonderful cookbook about a month ago.

As the child of a single working mother family meals were rare. Later when I became a wife and mother of three sons I always longed to create memorable everyday meals, bake homemade breads and generally become a good cook. I spent a small fortune on cookbooks and cooking magazines trying to find a way to make my dream come true. I wanted to cook delicious meals my family liked to eat and find a system that would allow me to cook fresh food daily.

I visited Ms. Groveman's website after I read a quote from her in a magazine. I soon found myself swept up in her message. Finally here was someone who was saying all the things I wanted to hear; families need to eat together, it is vital! Creating a nurturing atmosphere through cooking for your family and friends benefits you and them in immeasurable ways! I had to know more so I purchased her book.

She is saying yes get in that kitchen! You can do it! This book and her website provide a perfect blueprint for anyone wanting to start cooking or for those who want a stellar recipe collection to add to their repertoire . I am a beginner yet I have found her cookbook to have it all; salads, special dishes, family style dishes and the best fancy and casual nibbles you will ever try!

I started with the pantry staples. These are mixes, spice blends and sauces that go along with many different recipes and they make cooking so delicious and incredibly easy! First I made the Scone/Biscuit mix, Pancake/Cake mix, Cornbread mix and the Muffin mix, then I made the spice blends.

Now making Baking Powder Biscuits or Skillet Cornbread on a weeknight is as easy if not easier than using a prepackaged mix, but the taste of these homemade mixes is unrivaled. I am already scraping the bottom of my biscuit mix ( I have three growing boys and a husband!). Oh, and the Banana Bread made with the muffin mix is sublime!

I first made the Buttermilk Pancakes and they looked exactly like the photo. I was hooked! I then made Perfect Roast Chicken (believe me it's perfect!;the recipe uses a spice blend) , Fajitas (also uses a spice blend), Pigs in A Quilt (with three boys I have already made this twice!). With each recipe I followed I was turning out incredible results. Not only did it taste great it also looked great! I couldn't believe it!

Then came the day I decided to make the Challah! Lauren suggests that this should be the first yeast bread you attempt. Well, when you see the photo of this beauty in the book you can see why I might be a bit intimidated-especially considering the fact that I had dozens of failed yeast bread attempts in the past. I read Lauren's bread notes (available on the website and in her first book) and set out to make the Challah. Well, on my first attempt I pulled the most beautiful loaf of bread out of the oven. I could not believe I made this! Armed with this success I then tried the Country White Bread- again success! Delicious! My kids helped me knead the dough for the country white. They did such a good job, we had a great time!
There is no fancy equipment needed to make bread with Lauren, no not even a yeast thermometer!

My children and husband are just lapping all of this attention and love up and I am feeling so great and it is not all about the food. It is about me providing the kind of home life I have always wanted to have. I want my children to know the stability that I never knew as a child and feeding them delicious meals at regular meal times has started to show my kids that life can be predictable and that they are worth every bit of effort it takes to produce great meals and pleasant meal times.

It has not been hard or terribly expensive to start this process. In fact I have taken more pleasure and joy in the past few weeks- with trips to the market and the store buying containers and a few bits and pieces for the kitchen-than I can ever remember. Now I have a mission! This cookbook and Ms. Groveman's website have been my guide. I feel I am starting to succeed in making my dreams come true and all of the guilt I used to have about meal times or lack thereof has dissipated. All of my new found success has not been limited to the kitchen. I now see my new found confidence and my family's contentedness spilling over into other areas of our lives!

As I write this review my kitchen is filled with vegetables and ingredients to make the Butternut Squash Soup with Chicken and Peas for lunch and the Loaded with Vegetables Lasagne for tomorrow night's dinner (with the Crusty Italian Bread from Lauren's first book, I had to get both!) I can only count the days until Spring when I can introduce my children to our farm stands and markets. I am already planning on finding the U-pick places and my husband is going to help me to grow fresh herbs! Life is so sweet!

This cookbook is fabulous! I am going to purchase a copy for my sister!

Very Highly Recommended!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Scrumptious home cooking, June 24, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The I Love to Cook Book: Rediscovering the Joy of Cooking for Family and Friends (Hardcover)

This cookbook goes beyond great recipes -- really great, I should add: the scones are to die for, and the butternut squash soup the best I have tasted, and she even shows an easy way to make your own flour tortillas! -- with helpful tips and charming stories. Groveman's love of cooking is infectious. This is a book that you will use for everyday dinners as well as special occasions.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I LOVE the I Love to Cook Book!!, May 13, 2004

By 

"vptara" (Bethlehem, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The I Love to Cook Book: Rediscovering the Joy of Cooking for Family and Friends (Hardcover)

What a beautiful book! It is filled with an inspiring passion for cooking and sharing that passion with the people we love. A concept this world is sorely in need of these days. I have given this book as gifts to all of my friends and they love it. It is filled with great recipes and practical ideas as well as words of wisdom and inspiration. I have tried several of the recipes and gotten rave reviews. I have been cooking since I was ten years old and although I'm not professionally trained, anyone who knows me would say that cooking and loving is what I do best. It is a pleasure to have Lauren's book validate those qualities and encourage others to bring celebrations of warmth to those we love.

Please take note Bruce the Retiree who Cooks for Two--you seemed to have missed the point of the book. Cooking is an art--creative, warm, loving and meant to be shared. It is sad that you missed the point. It would have been ideal, for someone who is retired and has the time, to pass the beauty of cooking on to our younger generation. Lauren Groveman has been involved in getting a kitchen built in young women's prisons and has taken the time to teach and inspire the young women to cook and thus to care for their families. Her book reflects her kindness and sincere desire to share her talents with everyone. The book is a treasure--I highly recommend it and wish I could give it a double five stars.