The Busy Mom's Cookbook: 100 Recipes for Quick, Delicious, Home-Cooked Meals [Hardcover]

Antonia Lofaso (Author)

Book Description

Release date: August 2, 2012

Bravo’s Top Chef All-Star and Los Angeles executive chef serves up more than 100 quick and easy family recipes that she developed as a hardworking single mom.

America’s 26 million working moms face the challenge of getting a delicious home-cooked dinner on the table. For Antonia Lofaso, the issue hits especially close to home, because she holds down multiple jobs—in the food world, no less. She continues to participate in activities and appearances for Bravo and Top Chef while serving as executive chef of Black Market Liquor Bar. Through it all, she has developed a fantastic repertoire of meals that keep families bonded—quick, nourishing, hearty fare that soothes the soul.

Showcasing Lofaso’s top picks, The Busy Mom’s Cookbook includes breakfast favorites ranging from pancakes to the world’s best blueberry muffins, and easy but satisfying dinners such as Beef Stroganoff with Creamy Pappardelle and Fish Tacos with Corn Tomatillo Salad. She even tackles the brown-bag lunch with choices that the other kids will envy, including BBQ Chicken Pita Pocket and Turkey-and-Swiss Panini.

The Busy Mom’s Cookbook is the first book to bring star-quality culinary expertise to the specific needs of busy parents. Laced with memories and lessons from Lofaso’s own experience as a working mom, this cookbook speaks from the heart with inspiring, real-world wisdom and plenty of lighthearted humor to encourage every reader to savor the rewards of making mealtime memorable.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Antonia was a contestant I was always happy to see on Top Chef, when judging—or simply watching at home. As a judge, I was relieved to see her as I knew that, if nothing else, I'd be eating well that day. One of the strongest competitors and best cooks ever to appear on the long running series. Smart, no nonsense, wise—and a reliably terrific chef. She grounded the seasons on which she appeared with smart decision making, soulful flavors, and the kind of leadership qualities others would be wise to emulate.  It's about time she wrote a book."
—Anthony Bourdain, bestselling author of Kitchen Confidential

“Antonia has combined Top Chef tasty with busy-mom easy to make incredibly delicious and approachable recipes. Schedule-juggling supermom or not, anyone with a busy schedule and a desire for quick homemade goodness will find themselves returning to this cookbook time and time again.”
–Carla Hall, Top Chef fan favorite and co-host of ABC’s The Chew

“Antonia is a friend, but also an undisputed creative chef. Many moms will enjoy the quick, delicious and accessible recipes, but more important they can teach their kids about food and the importance of the bonding and memories that can happen when you share food around a table as a family—just the way Antonia grew up in her family. A must not only for moms, but for any home cook!”
–Hubert Keller, chef & owner, Fleur de Lys

About the Author

A graduate of the French Culinary Institute, Antonia Lofaso has was most influenced by her time cooking at Spago before becoming executive chef at Foxtail and now Black Market Liquor Bar in Los Angeles, where she lives with her eleven-year-old daughter. She appeared on the fourth season of Bravo’s Top Chef and returned as a fan favorite and finalist on Top Chef All-Stars.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Avery (August 2, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 158333470X
• ISBN-13: 978-1583334706
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #340,397 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Tasty meals ; lacking photos August 8, 2012

By JL

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I received this book today and was really looking forward to it. The recipes sound delicious and overall I want to try most of them. The one disappointment is I typically enjoy a cookbook due to beautiful photos and this book lacks photographs. There are two small sections with a handful of pics of finished dishes. I find pictures not only add to the aesthetic of a cookbook, but also help to show how a completed dish should look. I think that is my only complaint. The recipes all sound yummy and straightforward. You will enjoy this book if you are a top chef fan and are looking for delicious family meals.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent and friendly August 25, 2012

By Busy Mama

Format:Hardcover

Although there are no pictures, I found the recipes to be easy to use and the dishes didn't require a lot of time making. Well worth the price.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars No photos! August 18, 2012

By PennyRose

Format:Kindle Edition

I was so excited about the release of this cookbook that I kept checking for the big day for months prior to its release. And, to be fair, the recipes sound tasty and probably work very well - Ms Lofaso has a fab track record after all.

But for me, the best and most useful cookbooks are the whole package, including mouthwatering photos of the recipes so you can work up an appetite while looking for mealtime inspiration. As the eponymous busy mum, part of saving time when I look for new recipes to try out on my family is the photo shortcut to tickle my taste buds rather than having to read through the recipe first to see whether I might find it scrumptious. I returned the book.