Reviews

Food52 A New Way to Dinner: A Playbook of Recipes and Strategies for the Week Ahead by Amanda Hesser

angiesix's review

5.0

I received this book from the Publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.

I can think of no other aspect of home keeping that can bring as much satisfaction and joy as a delicious, home-cooked dinner. And yet it never fails to be a daunting task to plan, shop for, and cook said dinners. Throw in work, children and a few evening activities and you have a recipe for frustration and sad dinners.

Amanda Hesser, Merrill Stubbs and the Food52 community have come to the rescue in their latest cookbook. To call it a cookbook seems inadequate: there are recipes (and fantastic ones at that), but it is also your meal planning and dinner playbook. Organized by season, Amanda and Merrill take you through a week of meals from start to finish: menus, what to buy, exactly how to spend a few hours in one day to prep for the entire week, and what to do each day to turn your prepped ingredients into a meal you’ll be excited to tuck into.

I marked 31 recipes as “Must Try ASAP,” and I know that I’ll end up cooking many more. I’ve always loved the idea of spending a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon prepping meals for the week ahead, but quickly lose my motivation when I try to figure out how much to do and what order to do it in. “A New Way to Dinner” solves this dilemma for the reader, and I can’t wait to get a hard copy in my hands to spill and splatter on while I prep and cook my way to better dinners.

briface's review

3.0

Recipes did not suit my tastes... too much seafood, and too fancy. I like the concept though.

dray's review

2.0

Although I love the food 52 podcast this book left me flat. Perhaps too much meat based recipes but it wasn't just that.

mhinnen's review

5.0

Wow! If you love cooking and eating wonderfully fresh and delicious meals but don't feel like you have enough time, this cookbook is for you. Wonderful company worthy menus with a game plan and shopping list to help you make as much as possible ahead of time and organize for the week. The authors offer some flexibility options and with a little creativity, most of the meals can be adapted for special diets (it is rather meat heavy). I love the variety and the different combinations and leftover ideas. The photos are gorgeous. the only drawback is that based on the kids I know, most would only want to eat a small selection of these dishes.

This would make a great Christmas gift for someone who likes to cook.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for a review.

triceratopper's review against another edition

informative

3.0

This is a great meal planning book, if you happen to be a certain type of person. I have found, in looking through this book, that I am not that type of person: although I do like going into the week with a plan, I don't cook for a family of 4, and I tend toward plant-based meals. Amanda and Merrill don't shy away from meat, fish, and dessert with every meal. They do offer plenty of adjustments to save on cooking time, swap ingredients, or eliminate some meals altogether. But while there were a few intriguing recipes in here that I might want to try, the majority of them were not for me.

sarahc3319's review against another edition

3.0

The introduction says it might take the reader a minute to get used to this strategy of meal planning. Not me! This is how I have been doing it for just over a year, and it works so well for us, I am thrilled to see a beautiful cookbook explaining the idea to a wide audience. I find that I waste less food, spend less time cooking (on an average day) and less time wondering what to cook, which is so very important on busy weekdays. The only drawback is the volume of food prepared here; it's clearly intended for someone cooking for a family, or for the freezer, and not our two person meals. Still, a good resource from authors who know a thing or two about cooking.

carry_on_librarian's review against another edition

5.0

I really like this book. It is beautiful, the recipes are instructive and useful, and the format is beautiful. It is the perfect balance of visual and informational content for a cookbook.

debbic's review against another edition

3.0

Although many of the recipes in this book are good, this is a cookbook that focuses on organization. It is aimed at the young, busy householder. Cook on the weekend for the rest of the week. I would consider passing this on to my daughters, but I didn't find many new innovated ideas.

urn's review against another edition

3.0

The concept is excellent, the execution is very out of touch (for my budget and resources)