Rachael Ray 2, 4, 6, 8: Great Meals for Couples or Crowds

first..I have alot of rachel rays books and I use this one the most! It is useful for making single meals and one's just for my husband and I. Some recipes I've never heard of but turned out delicious and without having to purchase the entire grocery store to make them! Also included: recipes for a very small dinner party and for a bit larger dinner party. Not to mention recipes for a large family on a huge budget! You can't beat any Rachel Ray cookbook!

Rachel Ray has done it again! What a delightful book with some fantastic recipes. I bought two as gifts and then had to buy one for myself as I kept finding recipes I liked for us!

I got this book as a gift, and initially I wasn't too excited about it. I believe that we eat with our eyes, and that being said, I like cookbooks with pictures. I like images that make my mouth water and my hands eager to get to work. This book lacks visual stimulation, but it makes up for that in the recipes. I have now tried a number of these recipes, and for each one that I try, I have to make it a second time. I now have faith that whichever recipe I choose, it will taste fabulous and not require too much effort.

I realize that this book sounds like it's a cheer for Rachael Ray, and Ms. Ray acknowledges that with her perky dedication to cheerleaders. If you are a busy couple with limited cooking experience who sometimes have two, four, or six family members or guests over for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, you'll feel like cheering instead. Rachael Ray has done it again in creating a niche book for a special purpose that most cookbook writers totally ignore. And all of this comes within the context for 30-minute meals for fast choppers who keep the Rachael Ray basic ingredients on hand (lots of Extra Virgin Olive Oil - EVOO. garlic, most seasonings, and lots of fresh and frozen vegetables). By dividing up the menu to match the number of guests, you know you have a good chance of finishing up within 30 minutes whereas if you tried to quadruple a menu for two . . . you might not be even close! Unlike some of her cookbooks, this one has some gorgeous photographs of eight dishes to give you a sense of how to make them look great, too. The book opens with 25 menus or main courses for every moment over 24 hours a day . . . to serve two. These choices range from the simple (steaks and salads) to the more adventuresome (chicken marvalasala and pappardelle with rosemary gravy). Here are some of my favorites: Garden salad with smoked almond-cilantro dressing served with smoky chicken tortilla soup with chipotle and fire-roasted tomatoes; Sea bass with puttanesca and potatoes; Serrano-wrapped halibut with tortillas, savory cabbage, and warm cinnamon-chipotle tomato salsa; Chorizo-stuffed bread bites with warm mushroom and sherry vinegar salad; Sliced steak with green olive and tomato sauce with sautéed artichokes and mushrooms; and Veal topped with prosciutto and fontini served with a green olive-dressed green apple and arugula salad. Naturally, the menu choices for four will get the heaviest use for serving guests. This is the biggest section with 34 menus or entrees listed. Actually, if you have two teenaged children who frequently don't show up for meals, this cookbook would also work well for you. When the kids are home you use the recipes for four . . . and use the recipes for two when the kids have disappeared. Here are some of my many favorites: Sliced chili-rubbed flank steak on spicy rice with shrimp and guacamole stacks: Grilled shrimp and chorizo skewers with piquillo pepper gazpacho; Hors d'oeuvre dinner -- giant stuffed mushrooms, killer crab and potato cakes, and bitter salad with sweet dressing; Chipotle potato salad; Beef tenderloin bites on a bed of arugula; Lemon and egg soup, and Greek-style shrimp scampi and linguine; Chicken in orange-scallion-sesame sauce and big fat spicy sate noodles; and Thai-style chicken and veggies over ginger-lemon rice. Meals and menu choices for six is a smaller section with 22 menus and entrees. Here are some of my favorites: Lemon spaghetti, flounder franchese, and lemon sorbet with limoncello liqueur

My friend is a Rachel Ray freak and loved this book. It is divided nicely so that she can cook for her boyfriend or cook more for when I eat over very easily.