Off The Shelf: Cooking From the Pantry (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Donna Hay, Australia's bestselling cookbook author, understands our pain. The pain, that is, of producing delicious meals when time is tight and we really can't shop--again. Off the Shelf: Cooking from the Pantry presents a blueprint for from-scratch good eating that relies on a thoughtfully stocked larder, a few fresh ingredients, and truly streamlined recipes. The idea isn't new, of course, but Hay finds a better way with it, presenting recipes like Pasta with Pancetta and Peas; Lime, Beef, and Noodle Salad; and Green Olive and Baked Chicken that are truly quick and easy to do. First published in Australia, Off the Shelf arrives here in an edition meant to work for American cooks; if ingredient names, quantities, and some operations aren't always completely "translated" (one recipe calls for English spinach leaves) or given conventional American form, willing readers will still be able use it most productively.

Organized by ingredients and topics, the book offers buying advice throughout, regular recipes, and Short Order sections that distill formulas, such as those for Lemon and Basil Pilaf and Marinated Chickpea Salad, into get-the-drill-quickly paragraphs. Among the fuller-dress recipes, readers will surely want to try Beef and Caramelized Onion Couscous Salad, Crispy Spiced Thai Chicken, and Seared Salmon on Coconut Spinach, among others. Sweets, including Burnt Vanilla Creams and Chocolate Honey Snaps, are also delicious and easily accomplished. With truly useful tips (cut overlong cooked noodles to make them more manageable is one why-didn't-I-think-of-that example), an oversize bravura design, and color photos throughout, the book shows and tells how to cook with the greatest ease. --Arthur Boehm

Review

"No need to spend hours at the store. Find gastronomic bliss with no fuss, no muss, no bother." (New York Times )

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Ecco (October 24, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0066214483
• ISBN-13: 978-0066214481
• Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 8.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #62,441 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy, stylish cooking, October 31, 2001

By A Customer

This book is worthy of its predecessors. Like Donna Hay's 4 earlier books, this is a beautiful cookbook (the photography and food styling are gorgeous) filled with inventive and reliable recipes. The speciality of this book is that it provides recipes that can be made with just a few staples in the pantry. The asian chicken noodle soup is particularly wonderful.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Off The Shelf: Cooking From the Pantry, July 17, 2002

By	Zia Bhaisa (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Most of the recipes don't have more than 5-7 ingredients, mostly items from the pantry but there are always 2-3 fresh items that really make the difference. There are pictures for every single recipe, very useful for when you want to know what the dish should really look like. The gorgeous pictures alone are worth the price of the cookbook, wonderful to browse when you are trying to figure out what to cook. The only negative is that the recipes are not inherently low fat, but it's easy to substitute high fat cheeses etc with the low fat version. The interesting food combinations and easy easy preparations make this an awesome everyday cookbook.

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A GOOD, BASIC BOOK FOR THE NOVICE, December 13, 2001

By	Sandra D. Peters "Seagull Books" (Prince Edward Island, Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

If you are a basic sort of person who enjoys plain, down-to-Earth meals, and do not like to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, this book is for you. Not only does it suggest what basics to stock on your shelves, but the recipes turn out very well if fresh ingredients are used. One will not be caught off guard when unexpected guests arrive, if you follow the suggestions offered by Hay. I did, however, find the recipes were not quite as original as anticipated. Many are variations of recipes found in other similar cookbooks, particularly the Asian noodles; however, the recipes are still tasty and the book will be particularly valuable to those inexperienced in the kitchen.