Food Made Fast: Slow Cooker

by Norman Kolpas, Chuck Williams (Editor), Bill Bettencourt (Photographer)

Designed for the busy home cook, Food Made Fast is the latest collectible series from Williams-Sonoma. Using a straightforward approach to everyday cooking, Food Made Fast is about delicious food, simply prepared, with easy-to-follow recipes and tips. Each book emphasizes keeping a well-stocked pantry, planning ahead, and using fresh ingredients as the keys to cooking delicious meals with a minimum of time and effort. Dedicated to a single subject - from Soup to Pasta to Weeknight - each volume makes it simple to plan, cook, and enjoy great-tasting food throughout the week. The recipes are both simple and inspired, making quick cooking a truly satisfying experience.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking

112 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2006

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasn't terribly impressed. There was only one recipe in the entire book I found worth making, mostly because it wasn't drenched in wine. And even it was not that great because it tasted overwhelmingly of vinegar. Just goes to show you can have a fancy cookbook, with a fancy company name on it, with fancy recipes and very few of them at that, and still not appeal to the average cook. The recipes called for too much hands on time as well. I don't want to cook the meal half-way through before I put it in my crock pot. The whole point of the crock pot is it saves time and does the cooking for you. I don't mind browning, but I don't have time for these recipes on a weekday.

One recipe called for patting all of the spice mixture into the meat, putting it in the slow cooker and then pouring the liquid over the meat. So the spices all go off the meat into the liquid to the sides of the meat. What was the point of patting it on the meat if you are just going to wash it off? That was the point where I began to question if the book was even written by someone who had ever used a slow cooker.

But the photography was gorgeous. The layout was well done. The cooking instructions were concise. And the ingredients list was laid out in a nice column on the side in bold, so it was very easy to see what you needed for the recipe. I have read a lot of cookbooks in my day and this one was well put together. That is why I am giving this book 2 stars.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some really good recipes I'll be trying.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found one good thing to try, otherwise not so much.

[Jennifer]

I inherited this from my grandmother's cookbook collection.

[Seashal Belldina · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all time fav cook books for crock pot cooking.

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book has beautiful pictures of the recipes. There is a bit more preparation required for some of the featured dishes than anticipated. The mole enchiladas, sauerbraten with red cabbage, and split pea soup with ham look really great. This recipe book had a nice variety of meat and vegetable recipes. It is divided into 15 minute hands on time, 30 minute hands on time and make more to store. It also has a nice reference section in the back.

I love using the crock pot, or slow cooker in the winter. This recipe book has a few new dishes I want try. Hope they will taste as good as the pictures look!

[Kelli C]

Yum is all I have to say. Williams Sonoma always uses great seasonings, so stock up at their store and make comfort food all winter! I'm excited to use this next winter to battle all of this ridiculous Utah snow!

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm obsessed with my slow cooker, and this book has some really terrific recipes. The Ribollita is amazing! The reason I'm only giving it 3 stars is because although it has some stellar recipes, many of the others don't appeal to me in the least. Worth it for those that do though!

[Karla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Try the Butternut Squash Soup. Very good.

[Catherine Woodman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series is very well produced and the recipes do tend to work out--just not especially imainative

[Shaun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moat slow cooker books have complicated prep, pre-cooking steps. This book is great for throw in the pot, let it cook type meals.