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COMFORTABLE IN THE KITCHEN

by Meredith Laurence

aka the Blue Jean Chef

Are you as comfortable in the kitchen as you are in your blue jeans? Would you like to be?

Comfortable in the Kitchen, Meredith Laurence, the Blue Jean Chef, helps you settle into your comfort zone in the kitchen with tips, tricks, explanations of cooking techniques, and over 200 recipes. Meredith shares her knowledge acquired from years working in cooking schools, test kitchens and restaurants in France, Canada and the USA. Her delicious, easy-to-follow recipes, interesting tips and informative explanations will help make any cook more comfortable in the kitchen and inspire new meals.

Comfortable in the Kitchen is designed to teach basic techniques and then strengthen skills, each chapter contains basic recipes that will give you a solid understanding of how the dish works, and four other recipes that build on that technique, but use different ingredients to create a unique and delicious meal. Once you've mastered the basic recipe and practiced the variations, you'll be comfortable enough with the dish to improvise and make it your own! For example, start with the magically simple Basic Roast Chicken. Next, spice things up with Jerk Spiced Roast Chicken, Chipotle Orange Roast Chicken, Summer Ale Chicken with Caramelized Onions, and Five-Spice Roast Chicken.

With chapters on Soups and Salads, Sandwiches and Snacks, Meat and Poultry, Fish and Seafood, Vegetables, Breakfast, and Desserts and Treats, Meredith will help you cover all your bases.

We spend a lot of time in the kitchen. You might as well get comfortable!

A shout out to my friend, Kay, for sending me the link to this book. Thank you, Kay. If not for you, I may never have found this wonderful cookbook!

The title, COMFORTABLE IN THE KITCHEN, is spot on for this delightful recipe book. Author Meredith Laurence aka the Blue Jean Chef, has delivered a cookbook that takes all manner of dishes and makes them approachable for starter cooks, while still creating recipes that will have professional chefs and foodies alike salivating.

After a brief, yet educating introduction, Ms. Laurence jumps right in with the fabulous recipes that fill the pages of this hunger maker. Recipes such as . . . Cream of Vegetable Soup, Asian Shrimp Noodle Soup, Western Grilled Cheese Sandwich, Potato Salad with Bacon, Corn and Green Onions, Basic Tomato and Cheese Pizza, Greek Pasta Salad, Lobster Mac ‘n’ Cheese,  Farfalle with Ham, Asparagus and Goat Cheese, Basic Stuffed Chicken Breast with Spinach and Feta Cheese, Spicy Italian Meatloaf, Grilled Brined Pork Chops with Grilled Peaches, Seared Scallops with a Hazelnut Orange Sauce, Baked Salmon with Horseradish Crust, Maple Glazed Carrots, Sweet Potato and Apple Gratin, Bacon, Cheddar and Tomato Frittata, Chocolate Chip Walnut Pancakes, Coconut Rice Pudding, Butter Tarts, Raspberry Cheesecake, and many more. There are many basic recipes as well that begin and are within each chapter.

While there are some lovely color photos, I’m a bit disappointed there wasn’t one for each dish. I know I sound on a loop about that because I mention it a lot of my cookbook reviews. However, photos are an important part of the experience for me that I enjoy from cookbooks. Well, I can’t really complain because I grabbed up a free Kindle version.

All in all I was very happy with COMFORTABLE IN THE KITCHEN. I’m really looking forward to trying out many of the recipes.

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