"101 One-Dish Dinners" by Andrea Chesman | Cookbook Review

101 One-Dish Dinners by Andrea Chesman

Publishing Date: September 20, 2016
Publisher: Storey Publishing
Pages: 192
Links: Goodreads | Indigo | Book Depository | Amazon | Kobo

We all love comfort food. Whether, to you, that means soup or mac and cheese or ice cream, there's always a place for comfort food at the table. 101 One-Dish Dinners aims to put these recipes into our hands - and stomachs - by showing us that they can be pretty simple to make.

The book starts with a brief history of one-dish dinners, as well as some tips and advice for cooking and cookware.

Full of recipes both familiar and new to me, I would definitely say this cookbook is accessible to a wide range of people. Whether you want to learn recipes from other cultures or you just want to make a simple meal, or whether you're skilled in the kitchen or...just want to make a simple meal, there's something in here for you.

When I was looking through the recipes, I noticed that most of the ingredients are pretty standard and easy to find at a local grocery store. To me, that's important in a cookbook because it's nice to be able to make delicious food without breaking the bank or going on a trek to find obscure ingredients.

My one criticism of the book is that 2 of the 3 recipes I tried were not one-dish dinners. The soup used a couple of pans (which I'm not complaining about, just, it's not one dish) and the casserole required several pots and pans. I wouldn't quite call them one-dish dinners, even though they were fairly straightforward to make - I was expecting something simpler based on the title of the book.

Clockwise from left: Stovetop Mac 'n' Cheese with Ham
 & Peas (p.116); Caldo Verde (p.50); Pastitsio (p.145)

On to the food!

The first thing I made from this book was the Stovetop Mac 'n' Cheese with Ham & Peas (p.116). It was super simple and easy to make, and it's a good way of getting some greens and protein into you. I didn't have any ham at home, so it ended up being a vegetarian version of the recipe, but ham could only make it tastier. I also tossed in some leftover broccoli, which was delish. The mac 'n' cheese is a little dry, so I'd suggest using a little more milk and cheese.

The second recipe I made was Caldo Verde (p.50), which is literally "green soup" in Portuguese. Being a half-Portuguese family, everyone in my house was super excited about this one, given that we love my grandma's version. There were a couple of things I did wrong, so I endured some light ribbing (all in good fun) from my Portuguese mother and the rest of my family ("What happened?"), but overall, I'd say it's a great recipe. It ain't pretty, but it's so incredibly tasty. Everyone who tried it absolutely loves it, and I'd say it's a big success in my house!

The last thing I made was Pastitsio (p.145), which is described as a Greek mac and cheese. This was probably the most popular thing I made from the book, as I made it late last night and it's nearly 2/3 of the way gone already. It was also the most complicated - this is the recipe that used multiple pots and pans, and it was also time-consuming. I won't be making it for a while because it was a lot of work, but I do think it's worth the effort!

All in all, this is a great cookbook if you're looking for some fairly easy, very delicious recipes.

*I received a NetGalley copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review