The Dinner Doctor

September 8, 2003
For her latest book, the Cake Mix Doctor Byrn turns her attention to doctoring other convenience foods to produce tasty home-style dishes. A QVC regular, Byrn tackles appetizers, salads, main dishes and her trademark desserts with her customary aplomb. The result is full of flavor and easy to produce in a minimum amount of time or supervision, a must for the busy homemaker in today's hectic world. Interspersed among the clearly laid out recipes are sidebars full of helpful tips, such as sizes of dishes to use and ways to doctor French bread. Scattered at intervals are her groups of"15 Ways to Doctor" which covers everything from spicing up canned tuna to putting a slow cooker to best use. From using coleslaw mix in the light sweet-and-sour Fast Asian Slaw to the microwave in the Micro-steamed Hoisin Fish and Vegetables, all the recipes are included for their ability to help cooks save time without giving up flavor. Although she overuses such staples as cream of chicken or celery soup, Byrn certainly shows that she's able to doctor more of the meal than just dessert. Nonetheless, the dessert recipes are the ones that really shine in this book. Whether it's luscious Triple-Decker Peanut Butter Cake or Slow-Cooker Chocolate Chip Pudding Cake, the desserts in this book will satisfy even the sweetest tooth. 16-page full color insert not seen by PW.

October 15, 2003
Byrn's two Cake Doctor books-recipes based on cake mixes doctored with various additions, fillings, and other garnishes-have sold more than 1.5 million copies. Now she provides easy recipes for the rest of the meal, using prepared convenience foods of all types. Andrew Schloss's recent Almost from Scratch also offers "convenience cuisine" recipes, but though there are certainly some combinations here that will make purists blanch, overall Byrn's recipes seem fresher and more imaginative. In addition, many of them are super-quick, taking no more than ten minutes to put together. There are also dozens of ideas for other dishes, such as "15 Ways To Doctor a Deli Roast Chicken," along with hundreds of timesaving tips and helpful hints. Some fans may be disappointed that Byrn has tackled savory dishes rather than sweets this time, but this book is sure to be in demand.

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