Gourmet Meals in Crappy Little Kitchens

Product Details

If you think gourmet meals in crappy little kitchens is an oxymoron, think again!

In her debut cookbook,Jennifer Schaertl tackles the myths about gourmet cooking (you don't need expensive cutlery and a gazillion ingredients!) and shows you how to make delectable meals despite the lack of counter space. Everything from appetizers and salads to soups and one-pot wonders to side dishes and entrees, and of course, dessert is included along with Jennifer's tried-and-true advice for working with limited space, appliances, cookware, and ingredients all on a limited budget.

More than 130 Crappy Little Kitchen (CLK) recipes await you inside, plus:

• Why a CLK can actually be an asset, not a liability
• The must-haves for every CLK pantry
• Crappy Kitchen Saboteurs: Pointless items that eat up small spaces
• How to enhance the functionality of your CLK space—emphasizing  the surprising attributes of working in a small kitchen, plus space-saving ideas that help expand space and utility, allowing for the creation of the most complex dishes
• How to double or triple the function of utensils to eliminate clutter and superfluous tools (toss your ungainly meat mallet and use your sauté pan as an effective meat tenderizer)
• Swap It Skills: Replacing hard-to-find, gourmet ingredients with everyday items without sacrificing taste
• How to cohabitate in Crappy Little Kitchens—Jennifer  tells readers how to share the tight space and avoid Crappy Little Casualties with chef-proven techniques she learned working in busy and cramped restaurant kitchens.
• Ways to create beautiful plating presentations with secretly guarded tricks of the trade
• Chefology: culinary terms and 'did you know this crap' facts to awe guests and increase one's culinary knowledge in fun and inspiring ways

Whether you have an apartment-size galley kitchen, dorm room, or oversized, but completely outdated kitchen, Gourmet Meals in Crappy Little Kitchens takes the stuffy out of gourmet and shows you how to love the kitchen you are in.

• ISBN13: 9780757313653
• Condition: New
• Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

Customer Reviews ::

GREAT TITLE, BUT.... - ireadabookaday - chicago IL
Great title, but the rest of the book does not quite live up to it.

The first thing anyone notices in a cookbook is the photos and design. The overall design is cheap looking, the color photos were some of the most unappetizing I've ever seen in a cookbook, and the green background does not make them any more attractive. The layout is cute, with a lot of little boxes and sidebars- it is a matter of personal preference whether you like this, or prefer a more clean and utilitarian layout.

The opening section, on what is useful and what is just a waste of space in a small kitchen, is fine, but nothing groundbreaking. Same for the list of useful ingredients. This information won't be a revelation to anyone who is beyond beginner level cooking.

Then, the recipes. The ones I've tried were fine, but nothing really special, and reading through the rest I don't feel inspired to try making more of them . Recipes presented as " gourmet" should be more interesting and special than these. They're fine, just not my idea of "gourmet".

So, this could be a nice gift item for someone just out on their own who knows nothing about cooking, but there is nothing here that really makes it stand out from other beginner cookbooks, and it is too basic for a more experienced cook. The small kitchen aspect is really not a major part of the book once past the information section and into the recipes.

Overall, an okay book. Not exciting or inspiring.

A last note: I'd like to have seen photos of the author's crappy little kitchens.