Book Review – Fast Ed's Dinner in 10 Cookbook

Quick and Easy Step-by-step Recipes by Australian Chef Ed Halmagyi

Aug 18, 2009

Looking for tasty, stylish recipes that can be prepared quickly at the end of a busy day? TV chef Ed Halmagyi offers a range of main meal recipes in his latest cookbook.

With the enticing title of Dinner in 10 (Ebury Press, 2009), Ed Halmagyi’s most recent cookbook promises to solve the “What will I cook for dinner?” blues. This collection of more than 100 recipes assures readers they can quickly prepare a stylish meal suitable for everyday dinner or entertaining in only 10 minutes.

‘Fast’ Ed Halmagyi lives up to his nickname with this collection of recipes. Halmagyi assures home cooks that they can produce stylish dishes quickly and easily with all food preparation steps covered in the countdown.

The greatest strength of this cookbook is the very clear and easy to follow layout. Recipes are listed one per page, with the equipment required for each recipe listed above the ingredients. Any pre-cooking steps, such as boiling water or preheating the oven, are also listed with the equipment and ingredients.

The recipe itself is listed in ten steps, counting down from ten to one corresponding with the countdown of time. This gives a very clear indication of how long each step should take and helps to keep things moving quickly. Most recipes feature a colour photograph of the finished meal on the opposing page.

Recipes for Singles, Couples and Foodies

Dinner in 10 offers a range of recipes that are most likely to appeal to adult palates, although there are some family favourites, such as high-speed stroganoff, that would appeal to diners of all ages. Recipes are ideal for entertaining, allowing hosts to quickly prepare tasty, appealing dishes and still have time to enjoy time with their guests.

Recipes focus primarily on main course and entree dishes, with no baked goods and only 12 tempting dessert dishes. Soups and a selection of “small bites” recipes cover entree dishes and the remaining recipes are ordered by their primary meat ingredient including shellfish and fish. Pasta and vegetarian dishes are also included.

TV Chef ‘Fast’ Ed Halmagyi

Ed Halmagyi is a trained chef who has worked in top restaurants in Australia and Canada. He is the popular cooking presenter on Better Homes and Gardens TV and New Idea TV and has also hosted his own show, Fast Ed’s Fast Food. He co-hosts the Better Homes and Gardens radio show on Australia’s national FM radio each Saturday morning.

In July, Halmagyi released the first issue of the Better Basics magazine, affiliated with Better Homes and Gardens magazine. A mixture of recipes for family dining or entertaining, this magazine also features basic food preparation and cooking tips and would appeal to both experienced and beginner cooks.

Quick and Tasty Recipes for Home Cooks

While some ingredients add a touch of the exotic to some of the recipes, the basic premise of Dinner in 10 ensures that it is suitable for cooks of all skill levels. With only 10 minutes to prepare recipes, complicated techniques are put aside and the focus is on appealing combinations of taste and texture to produce a flavoursome meal.

This cookbook is unlikely to feature as an everyday reference for busy family cooks, but should find an enthusiastic market with singles and couples who want to prepare tasty meals at home at the end of a busy day or parents who want quick and easy recipes they can prepare and enjoy together after their children are settled for the night.

The copyright of the article Book Review – Fast Ed's Dinner in 10 Cookbook in Celebrity Cookbooks is owned by Susan Whelan. Permission to republish Book Review – Fast Ed's Dinner in 10 Cookbook in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.