Almost from Scratch

May 19, 2003
After holding forth on the use of prepared ingredients, spice mixes, sauces and salad bars to produce restaurant dishes at home, Schloss (Using a Pot, a Spoon, and a Pan) explains the necessary ingredients to stock the convenience pantry and what to look for when shopping for groceries. Logically starting from appetizers and spur-of-the-moment snacks and soups, he covers sauces before continuing with meals in minutes and the more usual chapters on chicken, seafood and desserts (he also offers a chapter on meatless dishes). The simple recipes run from the most basic of combinations, such as the innovative Salsa Hummus, which mixes an eight-ounce container of hummus with a quarter cup salsa, to the barely more complicated flavorful Udon Noodles with Peanut Sauce. Drawing on international inspiration and ingredients made readily available by the growing range of products in supermarket aisles—whether it's Hot and Sour Chicken Soup or Curried Rice and Lentils, redolent of the flavor of India—Schloss caters to the increasing familiarity with the variety of flavors and dishes experienced by the consumer who wants to provide quick easy dishes. While this overly simple book is unlikely to appeal to the serious cook, it would make a suitable gift for those lacking culinary confidence or those who are time-driven, and no longer wish to rely on take-out or eating at the nearest fast-food chain.

June 15, 2003
Schloss, author or coauthor of numerous cookbooks, including the "One Pot" series and Cooking with Three Ingredients, presents a good idea here: use the "new" convenience foods, such as precut vegetables and especially the many high-quality condiments now available in supermarkets, to make quick, easy, and "powerfully flavored" recipes. And many of his recipes do make inventive use of salsas, pestos, and similar prepared products, as in Olive Beurre Noire, butter flavored with tapenade and garlic for an easy, versatile "sauce" to be served with anything from grilled shellfish to roasted poultry. But others seem far less appealing, such as Potato Spinach Bisque made with French onion dip and prepared mashed potatoes, or a so-called risotto based on herb-flavored condensed cream of chicken soup. In addition, several recipes call for ten or so ingredients, which will seem like a long list to a busy home cook. Nevertheless, Schloss's earlier books have been popular, and this one will surely attract fans.

Copyright 2003 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2003
\deflang1033\pard\plain\f3\fs24 Serious cooks turn up their noses at recipes calling for a can of soup, usually a condensed cream soup, as an ingredient. Nevertheless, there are times when something from a can or jar efficiently saves time and energy. In \plain\f3\fs24" Almost from Scratch\plain\f3\fs24, Andrew Schloss steers a careful course: each recipe calls for some pre-made ingredient: bottled mayonnaise, canned kidney beans, bottled Chinese \plain\f3\fs24" hoisin \plain\f3\fs24 sauce, a jar of curry sauce, pesto from a can, a container of yogurt, a box of frozen vegetables. As Schloss illustrates in hundreds of recipes, these convenience foods can combine with fresh ingredients to make all sorts of appetizers, main dishes, and desserts. Guests need never know that the apple-gingersnap stuffing in their pork chops started out as a box of frozen escalloped apples, boxed gingersnaps, and frozen chopped onions. Schloss gets a lot of mileage out of a can of chunky salsa, its flavorful essence serving as foundation for a host of dips and entrees. Salsas also form the bases for many a barbecue sauce, both spicy and mild. Desserts may start with a boxed cake mix, instant pudding, or frozen puff pastry. Using these shortcuts, as Schloss demonstrates, actually leads to more imaginative cooking, not less. Schloss' approach is also useful to help introduce youngsters to cooking by starting them out with simple combinations of prepared ingredients that require little or no chopping, mincing, or other more advanced food preparation techniques. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)