Kate Gosselin’s Love Is in the Mix: Making Meals into Memories with Family-Friendly Recipes, Tips and Traditions
Kate Gosselin
Category: Cookbook:
Celebrity
Synopsis: Kate
Gosselin, of the “Jon and Kate Plus 8” reality television show, shares family
recipes and traditions.
Date finished: 19 October 2013
Rating: ****
Comments:
I didn’t expect anything fantastic here, and I pretty much got
what I expected. The recipes were straightforward fare—the kind of food I grew
up on and tend to still cook. Other than calling for organic ingredients, the
recipes don’t pay special attention to the current food fads—gluten-free, vegan,
paleo, low fat, low sodium, low carb, etc.—and for that I say, God bless Kate!
I’m so sick of those trendy specialty cookbooks that treat diet as a disease to
be cured.
There was much criticism on Amazon for this book being full
of recipes where you “open a can and dump stuff in.” I don’t think these folks are
being fair. Sure, there are some canned tomatoes and beans, but unless you’re
canning your own garden tomatoes or have all day to cook a pot of beans to use
in another recipe, this seems perfectly legitimate to me.
The recipes use a lot of pork, a lot of eggs, not much
spice, and emphasize vegetables. She includes recipes for snacks like guacamole
and hummus; lots of main dishes, side dishes, and soups; and plenty of sweets.
The recipes are easy to follow, if a touch over-explained. There is also a
portion of the book (probably about one-third) devoted to family traditions and
tips for feeding a large family. While I didn’t find this part as much fun as the
recipes, it wasn’t as inane as I’d feared it would be.
My main complaint is that the photography isn’t necessarily
professional. But, in the acknowledgments in the back I found out that one of
her twins took the photos, so I softened on my critique. (Not that I’m entirely
sure I’d let my thirteen-year-old [or thereabouts] be in charge of photography
for my book…)
I was also bothered by the fact that the photographs of the
dishes don’t reflect the ingredients or preparation instructions in a large
number of the recipes. So, beware!
Also beware that the recipes are scaled toward the large
family and will need to be scaled back for a smaller one. (Or, I’m sure Kate
would tell you, freeze the excess for a busy day when you don’t have much time
to get supper on the table.)
All-in-all, I enjoyed this cookbook, and I will try a few of
the recipes. I think this would be a good book for kids learning to cook. The
recipes are quite simple and easy to execute.
Would you recommend
this to a friend?
Yes.
No comments:
Post a Comment