Before I write anything, let me first say that I am not a chef, a cook, or even a weekend griller. I know how to make only three different things around a stove: omelets, broiled chicken, and something else which I don’t recall at the moment. So when I received The Main Ingredient cookbook, written by Jayne Bryant, to review, my first thought was that I was way in over my head.
It turns out my fears were unfounded. As I initially paged through the recipes I appreciated that the pages are big, easy to turn, and come with easy-to-read and understand entries. It felt good in my hands. I was starting to like this.
What makes this book even more appealing to me is that it is an eco-friendly product! Not only is it printed on recycled card stock that can be ordered with or without a binder (if you have one of your own, you can re-use that, rather than order a new one), the book's layout and organization makes it almost impossible to waste any food. And you know that the Green Guy hates waste!
Instead of being organized by type of meal, such as appetizer, entree, soup, or dessert, The Main Ingredient is organized by type of food, listed in alphabetical order. If you have some leftover apples from going apple picking last weekend, you can flip open the book and find several options on how to use the apples in different recipes. Apple sauce, apple crisp, or chicken with apples are just a few of your options. If your grocery store had a sale on chicken and you filled up your freezer, you can flip through The Main Ingredient as the chicken thaws and decide what to prepare. With all of these recipes on hand and so easily organized, it's almost impossible to waste food. Your compost pile may shrink in size, but your fridge and freezer will definitely be full!
Well, a cookbook doesn’t mean anything unless some of the things are cooked. And although I am all thumbs in the kitchen, to be fully objective, I knew I was going to have to try and actually make something, and I decided on three things.
I wanted to attempt to make a main course, a Saturday kind of easy dish and a killer dessert. So I picked a stuffed filet mignon (on page 20) for my main course, an easy Saturday macaroni and cheese dish (located on page72) and one of my favorite desserts: pecan pie (found on page 112).
All of these recipes came with easy-to-follow directions that make using this cookbook virtually error-proof, yet don’t think that these are just the same old recipes found elsewhere, either. The filet mignon was stuffed with roasted red peppers cooked with balsamic vinegar and scallions, and a bit of sugar was added before the stuffing was simmered in olive oil. The stuffing itself was delightful, and when stuffed inside the filet and grilled, it was delectable! I made a baked potato on the side, and I never even touched it, because the filet was that good!
You might think that mac and cheese is fairly ordinary, but this recipe calls for chopped cloves of garlic as well as chopped scallions. Just those two little ingredients turn ordinary mac and cheese into an extraordinary pallet-pleaser. It is my firm belief that this is how macaroni and cheese always should be made, and from here on, I always will!
Last and certainly not least was the pecan pie. Like I said, I have never attempted something like this, but by following the directions and adding the ingredients that are called for, I’ll match my first pecan pie, and if I may say so, I think it would meet anyone else's standards. I won’t say that this is the best pecan pie that I ever had, but I do not recall ever having one that was better, and I made it!
To sum this up, I will say that I am a total novice like and I was able to literally cook like a gourmet chef with this book. I think anyone at any skill level needs The Main Ingredient cookbook in their kitchen. I will be doing more cooking and baking to be sure, and The Main Ingredient will be the cookbook that I reach for. With the holidays just around the corner, everyone's kitchens will be filled to the brim with leftovers. Instead of making turkey sandwiches every day until you never want to see a drumstick again, why not see what The Main Ingredient suggests to do with the leftover turkey? No food will go to waste and you may discover your own inner Julia Child while you're at it!
You can purchase The Main Ingredient by going to its website or e-mailing cookbookjayne@gmail.com.
