Review: Food Network Magazine 1,000 Easy Recipes

Summary: You’ll never be stumped for meal ideas again with this massive collection from Food Network Magazine, America’s best-selling food magazine. This family-friendly cookbook is packed with more than 1,000 recipes, including:

294 appetizers and snacks
156 breakfasts
287 main dishes
192 salads and sides
232 drinks and desserts

Inspired by the pages of the magazine, this book is all about fun, easy cooking: Each recipe is short and simple—just a single paragraph!—and every page is filled with great photos and tips.
Step up old favorites in no time: Try taco burgers at your next cookout, or make Buffalo chicken nachos for a party. Find dozens of new pastas and salads for quick weeknight dinners, or treat your family to a big stack of lemon-berry pancakes.

Bonus: Check out the “centerforld” at the end of each chapter for a great classic recipe, like perfect marinara sauce and s’mores.

With this book you can mix and match your way to just about any meal and impress your family and friends with creative new dishes. Try our ideas or dream up your own: The options are endless!

MORE THAN 1,000 EASY RECIPES!

Keep this amazing new cookbook next to the stove and you’ll never run out of ideas! Food Network Magazine’s second cookbook is packed with more than 1,200 recipes. Choose from hundreds of fun appetizers and snacks, tasty dinners and sides, and easy desserts and drinks.

Mexican Eggs Benedict
Salmon-Cucumber Tea Sandwiches
Rum-Raisin Pancake Sundaes
Mocha Smoothies
Margarita Shrimp Nachos
Blue Cheese Dip
Potato Chip Toffee
Three-Meat Panini
Bacon-Pork Burgers
BLT Pasta
Bell Pepper-Pasta Salad
Caesar Salad
Spicy Tortilla Soup
Baby Bell Peppers with Feta and Mint
Rosemary Gin and Tonic
Praline Ice Cream Sandwiches

DISHES FOR EVERY OCCASION
Plan weeknight meals and parties, from the same book!

TIPS FROM THE TEST KITCHEN
Find helpful hints and serving ideas on nearly every page.

EXTRA-SHORT RECIPES
Each recipe is just a paragraph long—and a snap to make. -- Hyperion

The new cookbook FOOD NETWORK MAGAZINE 1,000 EASY RECIPES: SUPER FUN FOOD FOR EVERY DAY sounded like an ideal cookbook for me. One thousand easy recipes for every day... what could be more perfect for a busy mom who has little time each evening to prepare dinner? Plus, I've always been a big fan of the Food Network and its magazine, so I thought this cookbook was definitely worth a peek.

I don't usually just sit down and start reading a new cookbook. I tend to skim through it at least once before reading every recipe from the beginning. My initial impression of 1,000 EASY RECIPES was that it was a wonderful cookbook. There were lots (and I mean lots) of beautiful color photographs of the recipes. I don't think that there is a page spread that doesn't have at least one big photograph. I'm sure that many of you will agree with me that color photographs of the prepared meals are a definitely plus when it comes to rating cookbooks. In addition, these photos aren't your ordinary boring photos of food. They are absolutely gorgeous and I found myself getting hungry while looking at them.

After I stopped drooling over the pictures, the next thing I noticed were the recipes themselves. I don't mean the types of recipes. Rather I mean that each recipe was only a paragraph long, and often times, just a sentence. Talk about simple and quick! The ingredients are listed in bold so the reader can identify them quickly. Another interesting tidbit is that many of the recipes are pretty general and don't give specific amounts of ingredients. I am one of these cooks who are very comfortable with exact directions, so that initially threw me for a loop. However, upon a further look, most of these recipes are so simple that you can just throw things together without measuring. Furthermore, it allows you to cater the recipe to your particular taste.

The cookbook is divided into fairly typical section: Appetizers & Snacks, Breakfast & Brunch, Main Dishes, Salads & Sides, and Drinks & Desserts. Each one of these sections are divided further into smaller sections and they aren't always what you'd expect. For example, the Main Dishes section is divided into Soup, Kebabs, Burgers & Dogs, Panini, and Pizza & Pasta. There is also a section in the beginning of the cookbook with recommended menus for such themed parties as a Greek Get-Together, a Southern Picnic, and a Kids' Sleepover. (This section is especially cute because the suggestions appear as small photos with the name and page number below them -- kind of like the Brady Bunch intro.)

As far as the recipes go, there are plenty of good ones in 1,000 EASY RECIPES. There are a ton of ideas for entertaining and snack foods which I appreciated; however, I admit to being a little disappointed that there wasn't the typical chicken main meal section because that's where I usually find the most new recipes to try. I think the thing to keep in mind is that these recipes are super-easy. I found myself marking quite a few recipes and I ended up trying the Penne Alla Vodka one. It was extremely easy and very good, and I was excited that I still had enough sauce leftover to freeze for another meal. (That's always a bonus!) My husband did point out to me that I really didn't need a recipe to make pasta sauce, but I assured him that I appreciated this cookbook's guidance.



I definitely enjoyed 1,000 EASY RECIPES and I do think it's a worthwhile cookbook to own. I just have to warn you that it's not your traditional cookbook for main meals, but I do think you'll find lots of fun recipes to use with kids and when you entertain.

Thanks to SallyAnne McCartin & Associates for providing a review copy of this cookbook.

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