Rocco Gets Real: Cook at Home, Every Day [Paperback]

This is the first cook book that has ever made sense to me. im a single guy and I actually have a job and don't have 12 hours to prepare a meal, especially before a date. i don't mind spending some money getting a meal together but i DONT want to spend alot of time. and i still want it to be cool. this cook book is awesome!! really straight forward, really fast, and everything came out great. it was hard to screw up the recipes which is good since when you are getting ready for a date, you kind of want to be as close to idiot-proof as possible. this is the most practical cook book ever

I am a young professional who loves great food, but never cared much for cooking. My family always cooked for me (my dad is a chef), so when I started living on my own, I only ordered take-out and never bothered to start learning to cook. When I realized how much money I was spending, and how much weight I was gaining, I decided to buy Rocco's new book in an attempt to cook fast, easy, but tasty meals. To my surprise, all of the recipes actually came out great, tasted as good as they looked, and were very flavorful! The book is a great guide because it has step-by-step pictures, shopping lists, and illustrations of all the tools needed for each recipe. The recipes are simple but not unimaginative or lacking in flavor. The real test was when my dad came to visit me and I decided to cook him a recipe out of Rocco's new book. I made him the sweet and sour cherry beef on page 42. My dad could not believe his eyes (or his taste-buds!) It was soooo good, I decided to cook more often (and HE decided to get a copy of Rocco's book for himself). This book is great for people who feel hopeless in the kitchen, or for people who already know and love cooking, but want to try new recipes. I didn't know the difference between a skillet or frying pan, much less what they look like. But having this book makes me feel confident that I can become knowledgeable about what to use to achieve high quality food in an easy, effortless manner. Plus, the new sections on health and holiday make this a great, all year round go-to cookbook. Thanks Rocco, for sending me on my way to becoming healthier, wealthier, and not having to compromise the flavors I love so much!

After seeing some of the 5-star reviews and seeing some of the recipes listed, I was excited to try this book. After looking through page after page of recipes, I found maybe 3 that I thought sounded tasty. Not impressed. This is one of those books that heavily incorporates pre-packaged foods, by brand name, to save cooking time. Many of those prepackaged items aren't to be found at my local big-box or even specialty markets. How much time am I really saving trying to track down the brands that Rocco recommends? And how healthy can it be if the recipes call for canned, frozen, or boxed ingredients rather than fresh? If you want fast and healthy, pick up a Tyler Florence book. He knows how to do it without pimping for the food companies and t.v. shows that he's involved with.