Customer Reviews

The I Love Trader Joe's Cookbook: 150 Delicious Recipes Using Only Foods from the World's Greatest Grocery Store

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I am a frequent shopper of Trader Joe's; and this gem of a cooking book has enticed me to explore deep into the crevasses of my "local Joe". Not only have the recipes encouraged me to try more TJ's products, Cherie Mercer Twohy has inspired me to try new flavors and combination's of foods with her wisdom from her "years" of shopping at Trader Joe's and as a professionally trained chef.

You will want to read this cook book from cover to cover. The introduction is FILLED with how to get the best from your Trader Joe's, and most of the recipes include tips and/or a personal comment and sometimes a bit of humor, "Dental floss works great for cutting the goat cheese--just make sure to use the plain version, not the minty-fresh."

If you shop at Trader Joe's, you are probably concerned with the quality of food you eat. With this book you get the quality of TJ's products included in recipes that will put smiles on the faces of your family and friends and build your confidence as a cook. Oh! And most of the recipes, from starters to entrée's and dessert, can be prepared and served in 45 minutes or less.

Cherie has also included recipes that are vegetarian and gluten free. I especially appreciate the Hoardables and Pantry Staples List at the end of the book, because I was one of the victims of TJ's amazing frozen Pie Crust becoming a seasonal item. Take my word, you won't be disappointed.

I have great affection for Trader Joe's (TJ's) grocery stores but unfortunately there are none in Colorado. Trips for business and pleasure usually include a stop at any local shops so my pantry can be restocked. Knowing my appreciation of TJ's wonderful products this book was a well thought out gift that I received this past Christmas.

The author deserves recognition for including over 150 recipes when the trend of cookbooks I've recently looked at is around 60 to 70. Granted, some of the recipes are quite brief - like Cherry Crostini with Pecorino Romano which only has four ingredients - one of which is a loaf of bread -- but most have a range of complexity from easy to somewhat advanced.

Recipes I've tested include Chile Crab Chowder, Roasted Mushroom Polenta Stacks, Turkey with Green Chile Sauce and Roasted Asparagus with Hazelnuts and Clementines. Without fail, the results were delicious and all are dishes I will definitely prepare again. The author is clearly quite accomplished. She succeeds at taking a basic idea and adding a unique slant taking the dish to a new level. Other reviewers spoke of taking a cooking class from her, and given what I've tested from her cookbook, I'd welcome the opportunity.

Most of the recipes do not require an exact match of a TJ's product in order to prepare the dish, but some do, or at least will require some manipulation of several products to reach an acceptable substitute -- for example the Roasted Red Pepper and Artichoke Tapenade or Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar.

The structure of the book is clear and logical -The inclusion of the amount of time required to prepare the recipe is very helpful and often left out of cookbooks. There is no nutritional information given, but that is usually the case. The pages are a reasonably slick paper that should permit any small spills and splashes to be quickly wiped up. A cookbook holder is necessary because, except for the middle section of the book, the binding doesn't stay open when laid on a countertop. The font size is overall quite readable and although I prefer all black for ease of use, the dark brown used for the recipe ingredients is still easy to see.

There is a definite lack of pictures of the dishes. I counted less than 30 photographs representing the more than 150 recipes contained in the book, and an annoying number of those pictures are of a single ingredient - like an avocado or a group of three tomatoes. Most of us know what tomatoes and avocados looks like, and would prefer to see a picture of a prepared dish. If each photo page was simply divided in quadrants, four different dishes (with captions) would permit the majority of the recipes to be illustrated with little additional expense to the publisher and significant benefit to the user. Cookbooks are tools used in the kitchen and should be designed as such. Usually the author has no control over the design decisions and publisher's budget -- but she does control the recipes - and they are terrific.

I shop regularly at Trader Joe's, even though it is nearly a half-hour drive for me when traffic is light, at times longer.
It doesn't matter, the trip is worth it because at the end I find so many things at Tj's that fit so well into my foodie life.
This cookbook has some wonderful recipes for the ingredients found at TJ's and many are easy and quick to make, especially when one has guests that drop in with no warning. Happens to me fairly often.
Many of the dishes are elegant enough to be served to special guests but require much less time than the traditional and the fact that they are labeled for people with restrictive diets, gluten-free, vegetarian and etc., is especially helpful.
The recipes are easy enough for the novice cook and yet won't disappoint the experienced cook because some of the combinations are inspired.
I'm a very adventurous cook with 50+ years of cooking experience and I found some things that had never occurred to me to put together.
I like making dishes from "scratch" but there are times when it is most desirable to be able to put a meal on the table without a lot of planning and prep and without having to spend a lot of time thinking about how to get more variety into everyday meals.
Cherie has certainly done an outstanding job on this book and I look forward to more from her pen (or computer) and hopefully in the not-too-distant future.
I am addicted to large purses and this book, while not a "pocket" size, fits nicely in my purse and allows me to consult it while shopping.
It is always consulted prior to my trip to TJ's and (as it is presently) amplified with many little Post-It sticky notes to make it easy to reference particular pages while in the store. (Or while sitting in my van prior to entering the store.)
Altogether, this is a very satisfying cookbook for the Trader Joe's fan and while one does not have to limit one's shopping to TJ's, just the fact that this cookbook provides an easily understood clue to some of the more "exotic" foods found at the store, is an enormous advantage for the novice shopper.
I recommend it for anyone who is new to the TJ's culture as well as to those who simply love TJ's and have been shopping there for years!

I often say that there's more I'd like to buy in a 2,000 square foot Trader Joe's than in your average 10,000 square foot supermarket. However, even with such wonderful ingredients, it's great to have this set of ideas for putting them to use. Cherie Mercer Twohy does a nice job of coming up with unique uses for some of the more exotic foods and also the prepared dishes. I also enjoyed the spread of international and ethnic cuisines.

I love Trader Joe's and I thought I would love this cookbook too. I tried quite a few recipes and didn't find anything I would cook again. No one in my family cared for them. For example, I love sweet potatoes and I love the Trader Joe's peach salsa, so I thought the recipe using those two ingredients would be great. It wasn't. The language could also be better adapted to home cooks - one recipe told me to use "chiffonaded basil." Maybe other people know what that is, but despite the fact that I cook a lot, I don't talk "chef" so I had to google that! A lot of the recipes use the same products over and over throughout, so if TJ's is out of stock that day or has discontinued something, you're out of luck. There were many recipes that I could not make for that reason.

In using the recipes, I found that they were difficult to read because there is a busy beige pattern printed behind every ingredient list of every recipe. It's a shame when readability is traded off for design - the book becomes really hard to use. There is also a lot of empty space throughout which would have been perfect for adding photos because there is only a handful of photos in the book as another reviewer pointed out.

It would have been great to see a little more adventure in exploring more of the great items TJ's carries rather than repeating the same ones throughout. Obviously the author has favorite products, but the great thing about TJ's is the huge diversity of products. I found myself wondering why 8 or 10 recipes use the same Corn and Chile Salsa over and over when TJ's has so many other great salsas or corn products. Or how the puff pastry and pie crust (both very high fat/calorie items - not for everyday eating) appear over and over.

I was initially impressed with the ingredients index in the back because I have a lot of favorite TJ ingredients, but then I realized that (like the book) it was good in concept but poorly executed. For example, if you want to use bacon, you would think you'd look under bacon. But it's not there. You have to know to look under "Niman Ranch Bacon..." Bacon shelved under N? I shop at TJ's every week, but like most people I don't know the obscure brand names well enough to find the index useful. And you'd think puff pastry would be under P, right? Nope. Puff pastry is under A for "Artisinal Puff Pastry." And when I finally figured it out, I was told that the puff pastry had been discontinued anyway. Just isn't intuitive and it was frustrating as I was trying to replan my menu in the store.

I wish I could be as enthusiastic, but many of the reviews here seem to be from students congratulating the author who is a cooking instructor. I personally didn't find the cookbook practical, convenient, or inspired.

If you are a huge Trader Joes shopper this is a really neat and fun cookbook. Can't wait to try all the cool new recipes!!!

This is such a fabulous cookbook. I love all of Trader Joe's products and Cherie did a magnificant job in putting the recipes together and making them so easy to understand and prepare. I am a big fan of her cooking school and have taken many of her Trader Joe classes, but always discover something new and different to prepare. This book just adds even more outstanding meals to prepare with Trade Joe's products. The gastronomic delights in this cookbook are sure to please everyone.

Trader Joe's is my hands-down favorite place to buy my groceries. I can never get myself to go anywhere else since the prices and variety are so great. Just when I thought I was getting a little stale on my weekly purchases, Cherie comes along with this outstanding cookbook creating gourmet meals using only ingredients from TJ's! Every dish I've tried so far has been out-of-this-world delicious. The variety in the cookbook is fantastic; from appetizers to pastas and fish and desserts, it covers all bases. I've gotten to the point where I carry it with me to decide what to make that night - all I have to do is stop by TJ's on my way home and grab all the ingredients. I can't say enough great things about this cookbook.

I was so excited when a friend told me about this cookbook. I previewed the inside pages on Amazon using the "Look Inside" feature, which makes it look like every recipe has a photo. Imagine my disappointment when I received the cookbook, and there were only a couple dozen photos. I only buy cookbooks with lots of photography, so I felt the preview posted here was misleading. The other complaint I have is that the book won't stay open; I think a hardcover would last longer in the kitchen.

The recipes do look good, though, and I love shopping at Trader Joe's, so I'm always looking for new recipe ideas. This book has some creative uses for products I like.

Pros: Good recipes, fun style of writing, nice design inside (if you can get past the tacky cover)
Cons: Very few photos, flimsy paperback may not last long in the kitchen

THE I LOVE TRADER JOE'S AROUND THE WORLD COOKBOOK:
More than 140 International Recipes Using Foods from the World's Greatest Grocery Store
BY Cherie Mercer Twohy

"Around the World" is taken seriously both by Trader Joe, himself, else he'd not be worthy of the name. Cherie Twohy emphasizes this with her book's fascinating Table of Contents divided into such worldly parts from "French Flair" and "Greek Idyll" to "African Adventure," "Island Flavors," "Invitation to India," "Eastern European" and "All American." Twohy makes it a point, however, to stress her book is "independently authorized and published and not affiliated or associated with Trader Joe's® Company. She is, however, a devoted fan of the Trader as is your reviewer who is unlucky enough to live in an area where the Trader isn't currently trading. Our loss.

In addition to authoring this and one other book about Trader Joe's, Twohy runs a cooking school in LaCanada, California ([...]). Her blog is: [...].

Here is a description of a few of the recipes in the book. Note that most of them take advantage of the interesting seasonings already in some of the TJ items used as ingredients in many of the recipes.

POTATO GRATIN WITH GOAT CHEESE: Calls for russet potatoes, broth, Trader Joe's Rainbow Pepper Blend pepper, goat cheese and thyme

MEATBALL MINESTRA: Merely broth, Trader Joe's Gourmet Chicken Meatballs with Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Basil and Provolone, arugula and Toscano Cheese with Black Pepper

STIFADO: Olive oil, beef stew meat, garlic, canned tomatoes, red wine, frozen pearl onions, orange zest and juice, thyme and cinnamon

GREEN BEANS WITH PEARS AND BACON: Broth, green beans, bacon, butter, red onion and a pear

MAMALIGA (ROMANIAN POLENTA WITH FETA): Simply Trader Joe's Organic Polenta, feta cheese and crème fraiche

SENEGALESE CHICKEN: Lemon juice, cider vinegar, grapeseed oil, onion, chicken breasts or thighs, thyme, jalapeno pepper and broth

RUZ BIL-LOZ WA BIL-TAMAR (RICE WITH ALMONDS AND DATES): Butter, almonds, dates, raisins and rice

EGGS POACHED IN TOMATO SAUCE: Olive oil, garlic, canned tomatoes, spinach, oregano, eggs and rice

MASALA LENTIL CHICKEN: Chicken thighs, curry powder, olive oil, red onion, Trader Joe's Masala Lentil Dip and broth

LETTUCE WRAP MEATBALLS: Shallot, green onion, garlic, jalapeno pepper, cilantro, ground turkey, soy sauce and brown sugar, garnishes of cucumber, carrots, basil leaves, Trader Joe's Sweet Chili Sauce and lettuce

GRILLED SWORDFISH WITH MANGO SALSA: Mango, jalapeno pepper, red onion, cilantro, lime juice, cayenne pepper, firm-fleshed fish and grapeseed oil

GAMBAS Y JAMON: Olive oil, butter, shrimp, garlic, ham and Trader Joe's Chili Pepper Hot Sauce or Jalapeno Pepper Hot sauce

ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH WITH PECANS, DRIED CHERRIES AND BLUE CHEESE: Squash, red onion, sage, olive oil, pecans, cherries and cheese

Most of the recipes in the book are gluten-free or can be modified so.
The book's appendix is especially interesting, because it contains a long list of the Trader's "Hoardables and Pantry Staples."

His stores are great, so's the TWO-BUCK CHUCK!