Customer Reviews

Make It Fast, Cook It Slow: The Big Book of Everyday Slow Cooking

5 star:		(87)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I stumbled across Stephanie's cooking blog and ordered myself her book for Christmas (as a gift from my husband!) I was really excited about trying out her recipes--and especially thought it was cool that she writes a verdict after many of the recipes stating her opinion. I found her writing to be witty and appreciated her sense of humor. On Christmas day I scoured through the book, selecting some recipes to try--I chose recipes based off of my taste preferences as well as her positive reviews of them.

I tried the Brown Sugar Chicken (pg. 244) which she raves about. My family ate it, but didn't particularly enjoy it. It was very sweet (which she says it is)--but there wasn't really any depth of flavor (maybe it needed a couple bay leaves or some other herbs?) it tasted just like sugary chicken. I realize that taste is very subjective and many people may enjoy this dish, we however did not.

Next up I tried the Breakfast Risotto (pg. 48). She also raves about this dish. I will agree that the aroma was delectable. The spices were a very good combination, my complaint was that the texture was goopy. I made the recipe exactly as printed and I also got a little curdling (from the 2% milk???) which looked unappealing. This dish may actually work out if cooked on the stove top, but I don't think the recipe fared well in the crock pot.

Then I decided to try out the Hot and Spicy Artichoke Dip (pg. 30) to bring to a New Year's Eve party. Again, her verdict on the recipe is very positive. I made the recipe exactly as printed (there's only 4 ingredients!)--when it was done and I give it a taste it was BLAND. Blah. I attempted to salvage the dip by adding some black pepper, Worcestershire sauce and garlic. But it still wasn't right, way too thick and still a little bitter tasting. Well, we take it to the party anyways (maybe it's just us who thinks it tastes gross?)--and at the end of the party (30-40 people in attendance), the dip has barely been touched. It really was not good. At this point the recipes are 0 for 3. I decide to check out her blog to see what others thought of this particular recipe. To my annoyance her rave review written in the book was not the same as the one written on her blog. The review written in her book is actually in reference to the artichoke dip sold at Costco, NOT the one I just made. I felt that this is incredibly misleading, which is why I am only rating the book 2 stars.

The only recipe which has been a "keeper" for me is the Salsa Chicken and Black Bean Soup (pg. 206) It's very very good (didn't add the mushrooms and didn't thicken it).

IN SUMMARY:
If you purchase this book, know that you are purchasing a book full of recipes which have been TRIED by the author. I do not believe that the author fine-tuned/tweaked/perfected the recipes. Not all of the recipes have a verdict, and I wonder if those are even worth making since the author didn't rave about them. There are a whole lot of recipes and I am sure there are some "keepers" amongst them that will make it into your meal rotation. If you have the patience and resources to test out the various recipes then this is a book for you. If you are like me (a busy wife and mother of 3 young children) and are looking for good recipes without all the trial and error, then this is probably not the book for you (seeing as only 1 out of the 4 I tried was a "keeper"). And if you are on the fence, check out her blog, try a few recipes for yourself and see how you like them before making the purchase.

I wanted to love this cookbook. I'd read Stephanie's blog and had tried a couple of her recipes. In retrospect, they weren't great enough to remake, so I should have realized that her wonderful writing style didn't equate to culinary ability.

Other reviewers have mentioned that the recipes are really rough--they definitely are for me. Every single one I've tried has been off--cooking time, spices, consistency. I've used our crock pot quite a bit over the years, and usually things turn out if I follow the directions in the recipe. Stephanie's directions, even if followed exactly, don't necessarily mean I'll have something edible for dinner. When I get a recipe from a cookbook, I'd like to think it's been tested at least a couple of times and produced consistently good results. Things I've tried:

Broccoli Casserole (p. 81)--watery, bland, my son (who loves broccoli and cheese) wouldn't touch it
Beans and Rice (p. 121)--bland, nothing special--the crockpot kindof zaps the flavor I get on the stovetop with a similar dish
Taco Soup (p. 135)--one of her favorite recipes, but when I tried it last week, my husband asked, "Isn't this the same not-so-good soup you tried off her website last year?" Oh yeah. We love Mexican food, but the mesh of flavors just is not good.
Apple, Cheddar, and Turkey Meatballs (p. 238)--This one I cooked on high, and everything that touched the sides of my crock burned even though it was well within the time frame she'd specified. Pretty sure she didn't test her recipes for low _and_ high settings. I did appreciate that they were gluten-free meatballs, but we didn't even like the middle ones that weren't burnt.
Applesauce Chicken (p. 239)--This is not that good, and it is not tender. It's just blah. And her "verdict" makes me think her kids agreed.
Brown Sugar Chicken (p. 244)--she promised that this was amazing. It was tender, but nothing special, and awfully sweet.
Eggplant "Parmesan" with Feta (p. 282)--I love eggplant parmesan, and this just failed to deliver. The breading doesn't stay since you don't fry the eggplant or anything, and it just becomes a gloppy mess.
Applesauce (p. 384)--This technically works, but it doesn't make very much at all, and it's way faster (and more fragrant) on the stovetop. I know you can walk away from the crockpot, but it didn't seem worth it with how much it made.
Yogurt (p. 59)--My first batch was a failure, then I went back and read comments on her website that helped the next two batches turn out. Her recipe isn't failsafe, and though I'll be making yogurt in my crockpot from now on, it's the comments of her readers that made it a keeper, not her cookbook.

I'm hesitant to try more of the recipes because I really don't think she's a good cook! I have several gluten-free friends that I was hoping to give this book to, but I won't. The people giving her 5 star reviews seem as impressed with her writing and personality as I was, but I wonder how many will be disappointed when they actually try the recipes. Stephanie seems like a great person on her blog, but maybe she should write restaurant reviews or something else that plays more to her strengths.

If you're looking at buying this cookbook, I strongly suggest trying some of the recipes on her website first.

I've been following Stephanie's blog for longer than I can remember and have had this book pre-ordered for longer than I can remember. :-)

I have made the Pumpkin Spice Latte, more than one fondue, and the Moroccan Lentil Soup, just to name a few. They were all extremely tasty, and I have been waiting so long for this cookbook to come out so I can browse through the recipes in print rather than online.

Stephanie's wit and her willingness to try anything are what initially drew me in, and I was concerned that maybe the book wouldn't replicate her recipes and style completely. However, I am happy to say that everything in the book lives up to my highest expectations. I am now going to order multiple copies to give as Christmas gifts because out of the several slow cooker cookbooks I have, this one outshines them all. It's honestly the only one you'll ever need.

Plus, you've really gotta try the Lentil Soup. My husband and I love it so much I've made it several times and have been waiting on the fall weather to make it again. It's time! :-)

Buy this book, and I promise, you really won't regret it!

Update on March 19, 2010: More recipes to try: Brown Sugar Chicken; Chicken Parmesan; Turkey Breast with Onion, Butter, and White Wine; Chicken and Brown Rice Casserole

Also, I bought 8 additional copies of this book and gave them to friends as gifts. So far, each friend has come back to me and told me how much they love this book. They especially recommend the Chicken Parmesan, the Chicken and Brown Rice Casserole, and the Moroccan Lentil Soup. Happy Cooking!!

I've never been a "crock-pot" person, although I've always liked the idea of crock-pots - leaving a whole meal in the crock in the morning and returning to a complete meal in the evening - so easy, so good, so convenient. The problem, though, was that my family is not big on stews, which is what I thought crock-pots were for, so I left my crock-pot in a drawer and that is as far as the relationship has gone. Those days are over.

Stphanie O'Dea has taught me that my crockpot is not my mother's crock-pot anymore. The crock-pot can be used used to make a traditional beef stew, yes, as described on page 211, but the crock-pot can also be used to make delicious soups, meats, side dishes, appetizers, dips, and desserts. The woman has a recipe for making banana bread in the crock-pot for goodness sake! All kinds of ideas are whirling around in my head. I can use the crockpot to prepare a new, sexy appetizer for the holidays, like the buffalo chicken dip described on page 25, instead of the same old stuff. I can use the crockpot to impress my friends with the delicious and fragrant chai tea latte like the one described on page 8 at the next Bunco meeting. I can also use the crockpot to help my children create caramel apples and look like the coolest mom ever! The sky is the limit with this book. It even has a recipe for recycling old candles to make new ones. Yes, I said candles, in the crock-pot!

Excited, yet? There's more. There are 454 pages of easy to understand recipes with easy ingredients in this book and they all look delicious. There is also a description on most recipes that the author calls "the verdict" where she tell us how each recipe went over with her family, including the specific verdict of her young children - invaluable information for a mom who who can not afford to waste time or money on a recipe her family won't eat.

This book was so well put together it inspired me immediately to put it to use. I've been through every page and while I started to dog-ear the pages of recipes I found interesting, I quickly stopped because I would have dog-eared the whole book! Last night, I made my first crock-pot dish in 15 years. I prepared Horseradish Scalloped Potatoes, p.95. They were delicious, just like the author's verdict said. Amazing. Cooking this fall/winter is going to be a lot more fun and a lot more satisfying!

The author writes in a very delightful and witty manner. And it certainly opened up my eyes to the possibilities of what COULD be done in a crock pot, IF only there was a good recipe. I have tried at least 6 recipes, so far, and 2 of them were inedible. Three of them were just blah. And the one that we actually enjoyed was a recipe I tweaked when I realized how flavorless it was going to be if I didn't assist the recipe a bit. I would pass on this book unless you enjoy the challenge of doctoring bad or blah recipes.

I agree with the reviews that complain about blandness and no depth of flavor. I've tried three recipes, and while one turned out good (though my husband didn't care much for it), one was far too spicy with no support from the other ingredients, and the other was all bland.

Maybe the author has different tastes than we do, but the execution seems very uneven. I'm not experienced enough as a cook to know what to add or subtract to make something better, and I don't have time to experiment (which is why I own a slow cooker.) I need a foolproof cookbook that's going to give me successful meals with good flavor off the bat.

I know I'm in the minority, but I don't care for most of the recipes in this book. I have 5 little kids and we're gluten free, so this cookbook appealed to me immensely. I put the book on my wish list for Christmas before trying any recipes. I tried 3 different recipes off her blog, they weren't very good, so I was going to remove it from my list. However, my MIL bought it for me, so I thought I'd give more recipes a try. I assumed that the recipes in the cookbook would be tweaked and perfected. I have tried at least 15 recipes (from various categories) and I've liked 3. Three! The Broccoli Cheese soup is awesome, there was a Chicken with Cream Cheese that was really good, and the Granola was great after I altered the recipe a bit. That's it though. There are a few recipes that I made some notes on, b/c I could try to improve them, but I feel like I've wasted a lot of time and money for pretty poor dinners. My husbands a good sport, but after last night's failure (Mexican Breakfast Casserole, that she 'just loved') he said, "Is this a recipe from that cookbook that we haven't liked any of?" Guess I'll shelve it and find something else. Too bad - it had great potential!

I did an extensive amount of research on crockpot cookbooks before I chose this one. I didn't want one that focused heavily on "cream of . . ." soups or heavily processed foods. With several food allergies and sensitivities to worry about as well, I also needed one that included basic ingredients but had great variety at the same time.

This book fits the bill--beyond my expectations. I love it because:
1. The recipes were all tested on the author's family (dad, and two kids--3 and 6), and she's honest about when her kids DIDN'T like the recipe--a plus.
2. She uses mostly healthy ingredients and cooks from basic ingredients.
3. Her youngest daughter is gluten free, so all of the recipes are gluten free or can be. That means there are many easily adapted recipes to be friendly to our family's allergies and sensitivities (no dairy, corn, gluten, nuts)--not all, but many.
4. A great variety of types of recipes, including some basics like bread, yogurt, rice, desserts that I can use as reference for my own recipes.

So, thank you, thank you. This cookbook fills a great gap in crockpot cookbooks!

I have tried many of Stephanie O'Dea's recipes and they have been a life saver the past few months. Some of them need extra seasoning and she often calls for way more liquid than necessary, especially for soups, but most of the dishes we've tried have been great. Other reviewers have said many of these recipes would be better or the same in the oven. I agree with this but as a SAHM with two small kids it works better for me to get dinner ready early in the day. I'm not sure how well many of the chicken dishes would work for families with two working parents (or people who are outside the home all day) because the chicken gets overcooked, crumbly, and dry if left to cook too long. This could be my crock pot but I have found almost every one of these recipes cooks in a shorter time than she indicates and other than soups things tend to get dry and burn on the warm setting. I generally start my dinners around noon and often have to turn off the crock pot by 4:00 if I'm making a chicken dish. And I almost always start with frozen chicken.

We do not eat red meat or pork so I can't say if the same thing happens.

The main reason I'm giving this book only three stars is the recipes are *exactly the same ones on her website* (minus the flops). When I added the book to my wishlist I figured there would be some overlap but didn't expect there to be no new content. As much as I like Stephanie O'Dea and don't mind supporting her I don't understand why you would sell a book with the same content you are giving away for free. If you have internet access at home there is no reason to purchase this book.

EDIT:
I have read many reviews of the particular Crock Pot I own and there are complaints about it cooking too fast. It appears the problem is my machine rather than the recipes. I have learned to work around it as I don't work during the day so it's not a problem.

What I'd also like to say is how Stephanie O'Dea has changed the way I use my slow cooker. While this is more a "get dinner on the table" cookbook rather than one for serious chefs she has inspired me to cook in a whole new way.

I made three totally different recipes from the book, the white chili, salmon with dill, and meatballs.

The salmon was a complete disaster. I had to throw away 2 lbs of salmon and the spinach, which the salmon was placed. The spinach had changed to a light green color and both items had zero flavor. I cooked the salmon for 2 hours, as the recipe suggest, but the salmon was still raw. By that point though, the spinach was totally wilted....

The white chili was okay, but didn't have a ton of flavor. My kids refused to eat it after a taste test.

The meatballs were as hard as a rock....which I was really surprised at since it was sitting in the cranberry sauce for so many hours. But, I followed the recipe and the meatballs were simply way overcooked. The family also rejected this dish.

I'm wary of trying my fourth recipe, we'll see.....