Strictly Sundays by Joe Fitzpatrick aka "The Blue Collar Gourmet" answers the question of what to serve for entertaining-at-home. This gorgeously photographed cookbook features a wide of assortment of relatively easy recipes that will satisfy even the most discriminating of palates.
The cookbook is divided into six sections: appetizers; main dishes; salads; soups; side dishes; and salsas. The recipes call for commonly available ingredients and, generally, are prepared in a few easy steps. The results, however, are of restaurant quality. A few recipes that particularly stood out are: tenderloin steaks with brandy cream sauce; champion smoked chicken; veal scaloppini marsala; and salmon in cranberry Dijon sauce. With recipes like these friends and family will be begging to dine at your house!
Strictly Sundays is simply scrumptious!
Publisher: Book Publishers Network; 1st edition (September 25, 2009), 146 pages
Advance Review Copy Provided Courtesy of the Author.
In this generously-illustrated publication (27 color reproductions), Fitzpatrick (www.strictlysundays.com), also known as the "Blue Collar Gourmet," a real estate agent living in the Puget Sound area of Washington State, who cooks on Sundays for his wife, children, and grandchildren, compiles the recipes that have won him accolades from his family, friends, and coworkers. Dividing his cookbook into six chapters, the author presents recipes for many types of foods with the exception of desserts. He covers appetizers, main dishes, salads, soups, side dishes, and salsas. The chapters featuring main and side dishes are the longest, whereas the ones on salsas and soups are the shortest, with the fewest recipes. Most of the recipes that Fitzpatrick sets forth are comprised of vegetables, meat, seafood, and/or pasta. Covering basic, American, old-fashioned dishes that every amateur chef probably should master as well as more sophisticated, contemporary, innovative creations, the author includes many recipes for comfort food, "real food that fills the belly, satisfies the soul, and wins the day," (back cover) as well as for gourmet concoctions. Some of the down-home dishes Fitzpatrick showcases include Buffalo wings, beef and pork pot roasts, cabbage rolls, corned beef and cabbage, lasagnas, chicken cacciatore, goulash, fish and chips, Caesar salad, potato salad, clam chowder, chili, scalloped potatoes, macaroni and cheese, garlic bread, baked beans, and more. The author's gourmet-style fare are not limited to mustard seed pancakes with salmon and caviar, lamb stew, butter poached lobster, and salmon in cranberry Dijon sauce. The author's creations are accompanied by the recipes for their marinades, sauces, and toppings. While many of Fitzpatrick's masterpieces include ingredients that are commonly found in most supermarkets, others may have more exotic constituents or are comprised of wine or beer. The author unfortunately does not list possible, alternative substitutions, nor does he set forth the serving sizes for all his recipes. With the exception of the aforementioned exclusions, this book is nicely-illustrated and presented as well as sufficiently-documented. Instructions are complete, concise, and easy-to-follow. This publication will interest beginner and intermediate cooks. Written for men, it makes a great gift for the man, who may want to learn how to cook or who wants to cook for his loved one(s), thereby becoming a "hero on Sundays," weekends, special occasions, or whenever. Women also will find this cookbook useful and worthwhile, even though many of the recipes may not be suitable for everyday meals. Highly recommended for many public library book collections.
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Posted November 28, 2009
Strictly Sundays by Joe Fitzpatrick is a gourmet cookbook for the cook that we all want to be. Joe Fitzpatrick is a real estate agent from the Puget Sound area of Washington State. He and his wife of 32 years have three children and two grandchildren. Joe has been called the Blue Collar Gourmet.
The recipes I found in Strictly Sundays remind me of the type of recipes I've seen in gourmet cooking magazines like Bon Apetit with one exception. These recipes all use very familiar ingredients and are written so that your average cook can prepare them without running to a culinary dictionary.
Strictly Sundays has 146 full color, glossy pages including the index. There are six chapters which include Appetizers, Main Dishes, Salads, Soups, Side Dishes and Salsas. The recipes in this cookbook are enticing and the gorgeous color photographs are inspirational.
Each delicious recipe includes a short description to explain the origins of the recipe or to offer a suggestion on serving the recipe. For example, the recipe for London Broil offers "This meal comes together very well with my olive-tomato topping." The recipe details each ingredient and offers easy to follow, step-by-step instructions for preparing and serving each dish.
There is literally something for everyone in this cookbook. Whether your tastes run to seafood, barbeque, Italian, Mexican or hearty American dishes, you will find a recipe to entice you in the pages of Strictly Sundays.
I love that there are no dessert recipes included in the cookbook. Too many cookbooks over focus on sweets and I think the focus of any meal should be the main course. Strictly Sundays gets to the meat (and potatoes) of a Sunday dinner to remember.
A few of my favorite recipes included in Strictly Sundays are Pasta Shrimp Salad, Garlic Parmesan Potatoes, French BLT and Crab Cakes with Dipping Sauce. Doesn't that just make your mouth water thinking about it? Now I just have to decide which one to make first!
Strictly Sundays is a unique and interesting new cookbook that presents the perfect blend of gourmet and everyday cooking. This is gourmet cooking that will not scare away the regular cook, and you will not need a dictionary to figure out the ingredients.
There are recipes for appetizers, main dishes, salads, soups, side dishes and salsas. No desserts, but you won't miss them with the quality and variety of recipes presented. Because I live in a very small town, one of the most important things I look for in a new cookbook is availability of ingredients. These recipes contain easy to find ingredients that I would be able to pick up locally. The instructions for the recipes are clear and concise. Recipes for Portuguese Meatballs with Spicy Sauce, Crab Cakes with Dipping Sauce, Tenderloin Steaks with Brandy Cream Sauce, Cioppino, and Orange and Olive Salsa are just a few of the recipes that are on my list to try first.
The quality and look of the book is outstanding. The photography is beautiful and with the book printed on coated paper, it has a classy look and feel. It would make a thoughtful gift or a useful addition to the family cookbook collection.
