Get Togethers: Rachael Ray 30-Minute Meals

"Get Togethers" contain some wonderfully delicious recipes! One just cannot go wrong with Rachael Ray. Talented as can be, she makes Cooking fun! I never bought recipe books while raising my children, too many ingredients (so I thought) & too much work with them running around. NOT SO! The Mother/Father of today can zip up a great meal fast with the children running around with Rachaels recipe's. Try it:-) betcha like it! Jeannie!

More fine, quick recipes from one of my favorite cooks. Rachel knows how to reduce a recipe to its basics without compromising the taste. On the day it arrived, we found a recipe that had to be shared -- the Chili Casserole. I look forward to trying most of the others. I go back to Rachel Ray's cookbooks time and again -- many of her recipes have become standards in my cooking. But she can sure multi-task! I rarely do one up in thirty minutes until I have done it several times.

As a "non chef" I am always excited when I find a cookbook that has recipes I can follow and which turn out the way they are supposed to. Rachel Ray's recipes do that and more - they are easy, quick and don't usually take a whole lot of ingredients. I have gone from hating cooking to actually looking forward to making her dishes. I have two of her books already, and just ordered a third.

When I first started watching Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals on the Food Network - I thought she was a bit annoying a little bit too "over the top." BUT ---- I gave her a couple of chances and I must confess I have changed my tune and become a full time 30-Minute Meal fanatic. I never miss an episode and find her recipes so easy to work into my everyday cooking. Ray builds her receipes around the everyday cook - with everyday ingredients - with a normal grocery store down the road and no real "special cooks tools" that other cookbook authors request. Ray's new book "Get Togethers" broadens her collection of recipes and give so many great ideas for all your entertaining needs. I love how she organizes her books - and her friendly conversational way of explaining ingredients/techniques. I have read other complaints that it is not possible to complete her receipes in the stated 30 minutes - but I think if you are organized, focused and have a small bit of cooking knowledge it's completely possible.I love this new book and it's a great addition to anyone's collection. Cheers!

When I first saw Rachael Ray on the Food Network, I thought she was something of a lightweight appearing alongside Wolfgang, Emeril, Mario, and Bobbie. It didn't take me long to change that opinion. This book sustains that good opinion.The book is simply 30 Minute Meals 3. It's recipes and menus are taken directly from the scripts of the Food Network show 30 Minute Meals. This is a good thing. If nothing else, it insures that the recipes have been run through with several pairs of eyes more than once and it saves one the time required to download the almost always good recipes from the Food Network web site. It also means that you have a foolproof visual aid to show you exactly how it can be done in 30 minutes. And, at a very affordable list price of $22, discounted to below $20, I'm sure, this is a very economical resource.The book is not pure foodie fare in that it makes a judicious use of prewashed and cut vegetables, boned and skinned meats, prepared stocks, cake mixes, and frozen foods. It is not, however, a revivial of the food culture of the 50's where building meals from packages and cans was heralded as the sensible way for the housewife to prepare dinner quickly and easily. Rachael makes abundant use of fresh raw materials such as lettuce and pancetta, and makes the application of extra virgin olive oil and garlic into something of a mantra.At the same time, this is definitely not fast food. As Rachael states on numerous occasions, her cuisine is a remedy to fast foods, which I heartily endorse. The overriding virtue of her books is that she not only presents recipes which can be done quickly, she presents whole menus which, in theory, can be done in 30 minutes, and shows how to switch from one preparation to the other, so as she does on TV, the whole meal can be done quickly. Her success in accomplishing this feat is more than worth the reasonable price of admission.As Rachael will be the first to admit, few of her recipes are original. Many are fast lane versions of classic dishes. Many others are adapted from older books. I recognize, for example, a dish made in 10 minutes with canned tomatoes and frozen green beans which are based on a Paula Wolfert classic which can cook for over an hour. Rachael spends a lot of time reading old cookbooks!For those who may not know of Rachael's work, there are some caveats. First, finishing a typical Rachael Ray menu in 30 minutes of real time is a stretch for the average cook. I have never seen Rachael cheat on the screen, but her pace can only be sustained by someone who really knows her way around the kitchen, has a kitchen which is very well laid out to fit her style, with plenty of work room and plenty of high end pots and pans. It also helps that all ingredients are right at hand. It also helps to be a thirtysomething who knows the recipes by heart and can keep in constant motion for 30 minutes. Another caveat is that there are several cooking techniques such as braising and roasting which si