The Complete I Hate to Cook Cookbook

I bought my first copy many years ago. I loaned it to a friend who never returned it and claimed to have lost it. I miss it dearly as I loved her recipes and simple ideas. Her humor is so insightful and on point. I always seem to ha e everything the recipes call for readily available as they are not exotic but what I consider normal for the everyday cook who just wants to feed their family without fuss.

I write cookbooks, and I collect cookbooks, and this is my hands-down favorite. Bracken writes incredibly well; she's both clear and very funny. The recipes are for real food the family will like. Bracken addresses all sorts of real-life food situations -- the family get-together, the casual gathering after the kids' soccer game, the late night snack, the potluck supper. She makes the valuable points that recipes are resilient, that you can and should go with your own tastes, cutting back or leaving out what you don't like, adding more of what you do. She demystifies cooking, something that is essential for the currently generation of young adults who grew up in non-cooking households. And the food tastes good. I openly admit that several of the recipes that have appeared in my cookbooks are adaptations (usually for nutritional purposes) of recipes I got from Peg Bracken. Imitation is definitely the sincerest form of flattery. I only hope to be as good a cookbook writer as she. You want this book. You need this book. Buy this book now.

All of the things you want in a recipe, AND this book is funny!I bought this a few months ago and hadn't used it since I HATE TO COOK! Picked it up to make pork chops (for the first time in my life) They were fast, simple, and tasted fantastic. The directions are easy the ingredients are things that you have. It almost made cooking a pleasure and a joy. I recommend this book for everyone who hates to cook but loves to eat and can't eat out all the time.

The holidays are over, and once more--as it has been for the last 40 years--Lasagna Casserole was the star of my Christmas Eve buffet. I have the edition where Bracken writes, "Light a cigarette and stare sullenly while the ingredients simmer"--which seems to have been edited out of the later versions. I can't imagine life without this book. The caesar salad dressing, the chilly night chili, the salad with olives and cauliflower--they have been the background beat for my adult life. I am buying the "compleat" so I can have all the pages in order--and retire my old paperback editions to an appropriate shrine. Viva Peg Bracken!

Peg Bracken's book is for those of us who look at Martha Stewart and want to bang our heads against the wall. Most of the recipes create simple, "normal" food, in relatively small amounts of time. Her advice is funny and straightforward. The book is a pleasure to read, as well as to cook from. I've had luck with all but one of the recipes I've tried -- the one that "failed" came out okay, but my tastebuds gave it a bad grade. The best of the lot are "Sweep Steak." "Innocent Chicken," and "Boeuf and Oeufplant," but there are still more that I'd like to try out. This book is especially helpful for people just starting to keep house on their own; Peg Bracken's insights help keep a light perspective on the entire domestic endeavor.