The Carefree Cook (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In The Carefree Cook veteran food writer Rick Rogers confronts the problem of fixing good food fast. He's not alone in this preoccupation, as other, similarly themed cookbooks attest. If The Carefree Cook offers little novel to increase kitchen ease (which may be a tall order indeed), it nonetheless provides 150 tasty, simple enough recipes for everyday meal-making. Some of these, from a broad range of menu options that includes vegetarian main courses, are standouts. Dishes such as Roasted Clams with Peppers and Spicy Sausages, Grilled Chicken Breasts with Orange Jerk Marinade, and Santa Fe Corn Pudding with Year-Round Salsa are real keepers. Desserts, including Pear Pandowdy with Ginger and Five Spices and Peanut Butter and Jelly Pie, are attractively homey and non-taxing. Rogers also provides useful ingredient asides--on the "new" intensely flavored chocolates, for example--and preliminary instructions that will help readers better organize their kitchen lives. Recipes that take 30 minutes or so to prepare are so indicated. With color photos sure to get cooks cooking. --Arthur Boehm

From Publishers Weekly

In addition to writing more than 20 books (including Barbecues 101), Rodgers is also a cooking instructor. His first lesson here is that one chef's idea of carefree is another's definition of complex. Semantics aside, this is a well-rounded collection of unusual recipes that are challenging to the palate and hassle-free to those who are advanced enough in the kitchen to own a sieve and a sifter. He also throws in some neat hints, like how to sharpen a knife using a ceramic coffee cup, and includes a list of "Million-Dollar Flavors" to always keep handy (blue cheese, ginger and eight other taste boosters). Catfish en Papillote with Gingered Tomato Sauce is easier than it sounds with the fish, tomato and just a handful of seasonings wrapped tight in foil and baked for 15 minutes. There are also upscale variations on several bachelor pad favorites: Pork Chops in Creamy Mushroom Sauce replaces the canned soup with sherry, sour cream and shiitake mushrooms. Spaghetti is either topped with Pork Meatballs, with uncharacteristic pine nuts and currants, or else stirred up in a peculiar concoction of Cool Tomato Sauce, Green Olives and Goat Cheese. For Warm Blackberry Pie Sundaes, one can use crumbled shortbread cookies as the foundation for the warmed fruit and vanilla ice cream. Black Forest Chocolate Pudding is rife with dried cherries and kirsch. Best not to think about the constant whisking of milk over medium heat till it boils and the five hours it takes the pudding to chill. For Rodgers, carefree is merely a state of mind.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Broadway; 1 edition (October 14, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767914635
• ISBN-13: 978-0767914635
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 8.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #439,550 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love it, November 24, 2003

By	Seattlejo "Book Babe" (Seattle) - See all my reviews

In preparation for working with Rick at a local bookfest I went searching for his new book. Immediatly I was struck by how basic but gourmet these recipes were. We're talking after work fair, something you can make for dinner any night of the week. What we're not talking about is cream of soup casserole plop.

So far I've made 2 recipes from the copy of the book I purchased. I'm looking forward to trying more. The recipes were the pork souvlaki and the viennese noodles. The pork was easy, and using the broiler fooled my family into thinking it came off the grill. The Viennese noodles are not light fare but talk about an indulgent dish.

Next on the horizon, bacon and guacamole sandwhiches...

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New Category of Cooking: Carefree, September 28, 2004

By	rodboomboom (Dearborn, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

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Rogers is a prolific cookbook writer, having over twenty already! They range from basic, Christmas 101 to the exotic Kaffeehaus Desserts from Vienna.

This one has unique theme of carefree. Rogers explains that it's not using five ingredients, or cooking in less than 30 minutes or such, but great cooking using fantastic flavors with minimum effort. He relates that when chefs gather to eat they don't shave truffles or elaborate desserts, but rather lavish on well prepared food with maximum flavor and minimum prep. The intro is worth reading about this philosophy.

The recipes which flow from this concept are that: flavor packed and minimize the effort. The likes of "Pork Chops in Creamy Mushroom Sauce"; "Double Baked Potatoes with Goat Cheese and Cremini Mushrooms"; "mangoes Foster"; "Tuscan Roasted Spareribs."

What especially would be good for many home cooks is his writing on knife selection and skills, prep helps and aids throughout. There is some color shots, and the writing is exceptional as all Rogers' works are.

This would make great gift for wedding or just for someone who likes to cook or would like to cook better.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My "Go To" Cookbook, January 12, 2007

By	Kerry L. Kerr (Fort Scott, KS USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Carefree Cook (Hardcover)

I have worn out my first copy of this cookbook, and can't begin to count how many copies I've given as gifts. I love to cook, but as a busy mom, often don't have time for complicated recipes. This cookbook has gourmet meals that are not difficult to pull off, and they are delicious! Plus he gives great advice, you can see how his years as a teacher have paid off in his writing.

We especially love the barbecued pork chops, lemon rosemary shrimp, chicken pan bagnat, and pork souvlaki...but there are so many other wonderful recipes in here, you will go back to it again and again. Whenever we have people over for dinner, I always serve at least one of Rick Rodges' recipes. He ROCKS!