Rachael Ray 365: No Repeats: A Year of Deliciously Different Dinners

I have had quite a few nights lately where I am planning dinner without enough time to plan or hit the store, and this book has been awesome. Many of the recipes involve simple ingredients that I often have in the fridge, like sausages and potatoes, spinach leaves and tomatoes, onions, etc. The recipes are unusual enough that I often wouldn't think of the combinations on my own (pretzel encrusted chicken, mmmm!), but are truly fast and easy to make. I am not much of a cook and am usually pretty tired when I get home from my job as a landscaper, so it really says something that every time I have turned to this book right before dinnertime, I have found at least a few options for a meal to make that night with what I have on hand, all of which have been do-able and not too complicated to figure out. I love the fresh take she has on combining everyday ingredients so they make something a bit different and special. I have felt really treated and like I was eating something delicious and reasonably healthy, each time I have made a meal from this book. The 30 minute claim has been pretty close to accurate for each one as well, unlike a lot of "quick" recipes I have tried, which expect you to have a lot of ingredients already cooked or prepared in advance. I would also like to note that I am cooking for a VERY picky eater, who doesn't like zucchini, beans, onions, garlic, bell peppers, anything sweet in his savory foods, many fishes, etc, and the structure of this book, of having a master recipe and then some variations that feel like a whole different meal but use the same general theme and directions, made it a lot easier to substitute for my picky eater's food dislikes. The variations were different enough that it was pretty simple to put together a bit of this and a bit of that from each recipe to make something that everyone in the house would enjoy. I love Ray's obvious enjoyment of food and cooking, and her enthusiasm is catching! I am loving using her recipes as springboards to my own culinary experimentations, and her encouraging tone has really helped me enjoy cooking dinner even when I am in a hurry. This would be a great book to give to a college student or a new parent.

People really ought to be required to read the book before posting reviews. Contrary to the assertion in another review, and according to the book's index, out of 365 recipes, there are only 3 that use hot dogs, and 20 to 25 which use ground beef. For her ground beef, Rachael generally calls for ground sirloin, which is the leanest form of ground beef. Bacon is used in some dishes as a flavoring. I flipped through the first 50 recipes in the book, and she called for turkey bacon in 2 recipes, regular bacon in 3 and pancetta in 2 others. The recipes do frequently call for cheese, but often it is as a topping for a dish (parmesan sprinkled on top of a pasta dish, for instance) so that you can use a lesser amount or omit it altogether if you choose. There are absolutely no recipes using cream of mushroom or other condensed soups. There are many, many recipes using leaner meats such as chicken, pork tenderloin and ground turkey. And while there are plenty of recipes that use sausage (Rachael always says to feel free to substitute leaner sausages, like turkey Italian sausage for the real thing), there are more that call for fish or other seafood. For some reason, some people have taken a real dislike to Rachael. That's fine - to each his own. But that is no excuse for posting inaccurate information in a review. There is also some inaccurate information in some of the positive reviews as well - for instance, one review references the dessert recipes. There is only one dessert recipe in this book. I think some of these people are using the reviews to try to hype another product. If you're considering this book, I'd recommend that you not rely on the negative reviews, and take the positive ones with a grain of salt. Go to a library or bookstore, and look at it, then make your decision and buy it where you find the best price. Keep in mind that in her books and on her show, Rachael tries to demonstrate recipes that you can easily adjust to suit your taste and dietary needs. This book fits that mold as well. Personally, I find this book to be a nice mix of different types of foods and of healthier and more indulgent recipes, which is really the way I want to eat.

I have read some of the reviews here and there seems to be a consensus that Miss Ray has a very chirpy and annoying personality. I have not had the opportunity to ever watch her show, so I am totally unfamiliar with her persona. So, I basically walked into the Rachael Ray world without an opinion one way or another. I originally avoided her books simply because I like fussy cooking and thought a thirty minute cookbook would be full of convenience foods and probably not very interesting. Lo and behold, my work schedule changed a few months ago and I no longer had the long, leisurely hours to cook - I found myself getting into a total rut - cooking the same quick foods again and again and again. So, I decided to take a gander at Rachael Ray's books and see what the fuss was about. My busy schedule is no longer an excuse to be in a cooking rut! This is a nice book full of clever ideas. I immediately sat down and skimmed through it, looking for recipes that would appeal to my family (I like the little check boxes next to each recipe that allow you to mark off the ones you want to try and the ones that are a 'keeper'). So far, everything I've cooked from this book is a 'keeper'! There are not that many convenience foods featured - simply real food. We've enjoyed the Rosemary-Orange Pork Chops with Lemon-Butter Broccolini, Chicken in Mustard Sauce with Asparagras, Ricotta Pasta with Grape Tomatoes Peas and Basil - and more. One of the highlights of this book is the 'master recipes' - which can then be changed to create a 'new recipe' by altering ingredients. Although this may appear like a cheater's way to get in a few recipes, it truly helps to inspire creativity in the kitchen. And yes - the food CAN be done and on the table in 30 minutes! I've had no problem with the time factor at all. How nice to be able to have good quality food, imaginative combinations and new ideas for those of us who are rushed but still want to eat well. On a side note: The industrious Miss Ray has just come out with a magazine, which I had picked up before I bought this book. This magazine, Everyday with Rachael Ray, is simply amazing. Every single thing that I have cooked out of this magazine has been unbelievably good. My son thought that the Chicken Curry recipe was the best he had ever tasted! I really recommend that you check out the magazine in addition to her other offerings.

I agree that this is Rachael's best and most diverse collection of recipes to date. I actually did a rough count of the recipes by the protein or main ingredient. This is approximately how the recipes stack up: 53 meatless (many do contain cheese, however), 11 lamb, 4 egg, 8 ground turkey, 21 ground beef, 80 chicken, 21 beef (steaks, London broil, etc.), 5 ground pork, 16 pork (chops, tenderloin), 9 turkey (cutlets), 10 ground chicken, 29 fish (halibut, cod, swordfish, salmon, tuna), 11 veal (ground, cutlets, etc.), 30 shellfish (shrimp, crab, mussels, scallops, calamari), and 48 sausage, etc. (ham, prosciutto, chorizo, Italian sausage, breakfast sausage, bacon, salami, pancetta, etc). According to the listings in the front of the book, there are 48 pasta dishes, 33 soups and 20 burgers. I may have miscounted a few, but I think these numbers are fairly close. Perhaps some reviewers got the impression that the ingredients were repetitive because of the technique Rachael sometimes (but not always) uses of providing a master recipe with variations by swapping out ingredients. For instance, there is a master macaroni and cheese with broccoli recipe, followed by macaroni and smoked gouda with cauliflower, Tex-Mex mac and cheddar (with ground beef) and a chipotle mac and cheddar with chorizo and tomato. While many of the recipes are Italian or Italian influenced, reflecting Rachael's heritage, with Tex-Mex following closely behind, there are also Spanish, Cuban, Indian, Chinese, Thai, Japanese, French, Cajun, Greek, German, and Carribbean influenced recipes as well. There is also plenty of "American" fare as well, although there are fewer traditional "comfort food" dishes in this book than there are in some of her other collections. The subtitle of the book is a hint at that. It truly is "a year of deliciously different dinners." And, after several years of watching Rachael's show regularly and making many, many of her recipes, I find that I can come close to the 30 minute mark in completing the meals, especially after the first time making a particular recipe. As for pictures, if you are familiar with buying cookbooks, you realize that you trade off photographs for affordability. If this book were full of glossy photos of the food, it would probably have a list price of at least $40. I don't know of anywhere else you can find such a large and diverse collection of recipes for so little money.

Love this book! I have all of Ray's previous books, and I often watch her show when I am cooking my own family dinner. We are huge fans of her Cooking Round the Clock book and her Cooking Rocks (for kids) books. On average, I use recipes from those books at least twice a week. Her first book that I purchased was her 30 Minute Get Togethers and the first couple menus that I used were NOT 30 minute meals for me. However over the years I have learned to adapt. I have gotten quicker at chopping veggies and will use already prepared things if necessary. Ok, on to the new book. This is her biggest book by far. I got it the day it came out and spent at least two hours pouring over the recipes and marking ones I want to try. For the most part I was thinking I would be anal here. I would start with recipe number one and go from there, making every single recipe and not skipping a one. But I husband really wanted to try #37-Warm Lemon Chicken Sandwich with Arugula and Pears. Not something I would normally make, but it sounded intriguing. WONDERFUL! Even my picky eaters (I have two) gobbled it up. We then went on to #38-Grilled Flank Steak Sandwich again we were not disappointed. If you are looking for a cookbook that offers quick, but unique and tasty meals, this is the one.