"5 Ingredient Fix" by Claire Robinson



"5 Ingredient Fix: Easy, Elegant and Irresistible Recipes"
by Claire Robinson

Publisher: Grand Central Life & Style
Release Date: Oct 27, 2010

Source: sent by publisher


My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Summary from goodreads.com:

Food Network regular will instant recognize the concept behind this book: As the host of the channel's 5 Ingredient Fix, author Claire Robinson presents easy-to-make recipes with no more than five ingredients. Like the show, her debut cookbook demonstrates that this guideline is no harsh limitation. In fact, her recipes for dishes like Maple-Candied Bacon, Grilled Scallops with Saffron Aioli, and Brioche French Toast with Strawberries and Cream show that her penchant for fresh ingredients and distinctive flavors turn simple fare into delectable feasts. Especially appealing for kitchen newbies, but a fine resource for any home cook.

My review:

This is a beautiful cookbook with some really upscale recipes that have only five ingredients or less. Robinson's philosophy is that the more ingredients you add to a recipe, the farther away you get from the true flavor. Of course, the five ingredients that you do use need to be very high quality. While the recipes seem uncomplicated to prepare (yay!), they also seem like your grocery bill would be pretty high (boo!)

I loved that this book had sections on hors d'oeuvres, cocktails, and appetizers. I can really see how people would use this book to host elegant parties. It seems like a lot of books skip over these types of recipes, so I'm glad to see the options here.

I also thought the chapter on "All Day Eats" was unique and useful to me because I love snacks! The Fennel, Strawberry, and Arugula Salad" looks delicious, as do many of the other salads and snacks.

As for the main dishes, they weren't really anything I would try, for example-a whole chicken, but the side dishes looked really good. I'd love to try the "Smokey Roasted Peaches."

Bottom Line: This book is beautifully presented and would make a lovely gift. I think it would be especially great for a hostess who throws a lot of elegant parties.

13 comments

  1. O sounds like fun! I like when recipes don't have a million different ingredients.

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  2. Great review, Carrie! This would make my mum SO happy for Christmas! :)

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  3. I love cook books and always manage to keep them in pristine condition as I never use them, I just enjoy looking at them.

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  4. It does look lovely, and I like cookbooks :)

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  5. Ok Smokey Roasted Peaches sounds delish and with 5 ingredients sounds like something I could totally make! :-) Thank you for sharing!

    XOXO~ Renee

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  6. I love this show. Everything always seems super easy to make. I will have to check out the book as well.
    I'm sure once I have a place of my own and no roommate to bother me I will be cooking a lot more. Thanks for sharing!!!

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  7. Great review! I like the concept of each recipe consisting of 5 ingredients or less. :)

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  8. Mmmm...sounds good! I am actually addicted to cookery shows, but we don't have this one over here. I love Giada and Barefoot Contessa though. I can watch episode after episode of those. lol! Great review! :)

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  9. What a beautiful blog you have here, the layout is just lovely!! I just wanted to thank you for visiting my blog and tweeting me, thank you, I really appreciate it!! I added you also, and I´m looking forward to new interesting reviews!! I wish you a great, great weekend!!

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  10. I like your yay and boo! LOL One of the cooks I love to watch on the Food Network is the Barefoot Contessa, but she has a lot of expensive ingredients. Smoky Roasted Peaches sound delicious! I'm going to see if the recipe is online over at FN.

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  11. Hi, I am hopping and realized I hadn't been by in a while. Beautiful cook book, great review. Very Balanced. My Junior League has 2 cookbooks we sell and last year we learned that the average home has 30 cookbooks and uses very few of them. I always use them for ideas but often end up online because you can find a recipe that has the ingredients you have in front of you.
    Stop by when you have a chance. Fangs, Wands and Fairy Dust
    email: steph@fangswandsandfairydust.com
    Twitter: @fangswandsfairy

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  12. I haven't watched the Food Network in awhile but I always start looking through my cookbooks around the holidays. I have so many that I own just because their pretty - haven't tried even one recipe! LOL

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  13. I have a daughter who loves to cook, but truly likes to have not as many ingredients in her dishes! This would be perfect for her, as she could "splurge" on ingredients for a couple of meals and feel like a gourmand! Thanks for the review!

    Julie @ Knitting and Sundries

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Thanks so much for your lovely comments!