Recipe Weekend: The Secret Ingredient Cookbook 125 Family-Friendly Recipes with Surprisingly Tasty Twists by Kelly Senyei

 Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this ebook free of charge, from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt via #netgalley, for review purposes on this blog. No compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it, all opinions are my own

125 family-friendly recipes based on the author's popular Just a Taste food site, with each recipe featuring a totally unexpected ingredient

Synopsis

Kelly Senyei, founder of the food site Just a Taste, has garnered millions of fans with a delicious hook--every one of her recipes has a secret ingredient, something totally unexpected that takes a dish from common to extraordinary. Some of the 125 tried-and-tested recipes are surprisingly simple, like her Vanilla Bean Drop Doughnuts made with Greek yogurt, or the Sweet and Tangy Baked Chicken Wings made with blackberry jam. Other recipes are nothing short of genius, such as the Kale Panzanella made with croissants, the Healthy White Chicken Chili made with hummus, or the Crispy Slow Cooker Carnitas made with cocoa powder. And just because the secret ingredients are surprising doesn't mean they're expensive or hard to find, either. Kelly is a busy mother of two, and she made sure every ingredient can be found in any supermarket. Her family-friendly recipes cover every occasion, from crowd-pleasing snacks and 30-minute entrées to make-ahead sides and holiday-worthy desserts.

Review:

This isn't an extensive book, but what it does to is to get your mind whirling with different ways you can change up recipes by adding an unexpected ingredient-zucchini in cookies? pumpkin puree in mac n cheese? Yup, they're in here! We've tried a few of the recipes and love the Everything pretzels for a teen sleep over, and the slow cooker carnitas, which were excellent for street tacos, and then enchiladas the next day. It's a fun book, and I think teens taking cooking classes will really enjoy surprising their family with these secret ingredients! It's a fun book for Summer recipe experimentation!

Recipe:

About the Author

Kelly Senyei is the founder of Just a Taste, a food site frequented by millions of people around the world each month. She is also a professionally trained chef, TV and podcast host, author and entrepreneur.

Kelly received her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University, her master's degree from The Columbia Journalism School and her culinary arts diploma with highest honors from The Institute of Culinary Education. She completed her culinary apprenticeship in the Food Network Kitchens and previously worked at Condé Nast, where she launched the Gourmet Live app and was an editor and on-air talent at Gourmet and Epicurious.

Kelly is a host on the Food Network Kitchen app and appears regularly on Home & Family on the Hallmark Channel. She resides in San Diego, CA, with her husband and three sons.