Murder of a Smart Cookie (Scumble River Mysteries, Book 7)

Book Description

Yard sales can bring out the worst in people. So when Scumble River school psychologist Skye Denison organizes a 100-mile yard sale, otherwise neighborly folk get downright nasty: her own mother creams a woman, and a battle of the sexes breaks out. But when her former boss is found murdered, nobody knows for sure how this cookie will crumble.

Customer Reviews:

Summer job and murder.......2006-10-25

Skye Denison is organizing the First Annual Route 66 Yard Sale as her new summer job. She got fired from the first two, and is now working for her uncle. The main reason she took this job was to get enough money to purchase the house she's been renting. Bad thing is her uncle rented out her house to Faith Fairchild, tv personality, who has come to film a "Faith Finds Special" during the nine-day yard sale.

Skye ends up jumping through hoops to keep her uncle happy and keep peace with everyone during the yard sale. This isn't easy.

In the meantime, her parents aren't speaking to each other. Skye is staying with them and ends up in the middle. How can she get them back together? And if that isn't enough, a couple of students from the high school where she works are having problems, and one of them goes missing during the yard sale.

Top it all off when Cookie Caldwell, her former summer-job boss, is found murdered. The sheriff suspects Skye, so Skye sets out to clear her name. Along with that, Skye's love life gets more complicated.

Can Skye find the real killer, patch up her parents' relationship, find the missing teen, keep the yard sale going to get her bonus, and figure out her love life all before the yard sale ends?

I love this series. Skye is so much fun. When I read a book in this series, it's like sitting down with an old friend and catching up on the latest. It is so well written and Skye and the other characters in the series are so well crafted that you forget you're reading a book. I always find these books to be hard to put down, and this one was no exception.

I highly recommend this book and the whole series.

Death at the Yard Sale..........2006-10-09

In the 7th book in the Scumble River mystery series, the small town is preparing for the largest yard sale to ever hit their stretch of Route 66 in Illinois. Skye Denison, on summer break from her job as a school psychologist, has taken on the job of event coordinator for the huge sale. Making additional money over the summer has become a priority to her, as the cottage she has been renting is now for sale. Wanting to purchase her rental home, Skye tries her hand at her third job this summer...as the previous two ended badly. Her normal summer job is to be a lifeguard, but when goose droppings close down the swimming area, she seeks a different job working in an antique's store. Skye is quickly fired after telling a potential seller that the owner of the business, Cookie Caldwell, has underbid on the valuable item.

It seems that Cookie is not well liked in her new home of Scumble River, and after Skye takes over the job of yard sale organizer, she stays away from her prior boss. But when Cookie is found dead in a large antique that is for sale at the Denison booth, the sheriff begins to suspect that Skye harbored hard feelings over her termination. When another victim appears with ties to Skye, she becomes nervous and investigates the case...even though forbidden by the disgruntled, harried sheriff. Skye solves another case just in the nick of time, and somehow manages to find a way to mend several broken relationships in the process.

This is a great series! This book was one of my favorite installments, and I loved the unique setting of a city-wide yard sale. It was nice to see Skye at a job other than in the school system...and I like the mystery surrounding Skye's love life. Simon has become quite a stale character in the series, and I was happy to see a little bit of zip in Skye's step again over a potential romantic interest. A great addition to the cozy genre!

The first book in the series is called "Murder of a Small-Town Honey". Enjoy!

The ultimate yard sale!.......2006-06-21

Having just gone to a community yard sale in a small Michigan village over the weekend, this book (which I had just finished before leaving town) took on new meaning for me. Although the dynamics of the event were totally different than those in Smart Cookie, which takes place along a stretch of famous Route 66 in the state of Illinois, it was, nonetheless, a connection. It was 90 degrees and there were some great deals to be had, but, as far as I know, no one was murdered.

In Murder of a Smart Cookie, Skye Denison is a school psychologist in Scumble River, Illinois. Skye is in her early thirties and finds herself, once again, involved in solving a murder. Her Uncle Dante Leofanti, mayor of Scumble River, has roped her into organizing the First Annual Route 66 Yard Sale after his latest assistant bolted. Skye needs a summer job, so....

When a particularly unpleasant TV personality and her crew arrive, lovable Uncle Dante sublets to the crew the little cottage Skye rents. He does this behind her back, of course. Skye ends up moving in with Mom and Dad for nine days...and they aren't getting along. Shortly after the yard sale begins, antique maven and Cookie's Collectibles shop owner, Cookie Caldwell, is murdered. She may not be the most pleasant person around, but murdered? Why? Old Mrs. Griggs is not at all happy with Cookie after finding out that Cookie tried to cheat her on the price of one of her valuable antiques. Could Mrs. Griggs have killed Cookie? As the days pass, Skye gets more deeply involved in Cookie's murder, has to put up with unhappy parents, a friend contemplating leaving her husband, a student who has disappeared, a boyfriend who's out of town, and growing romantic feelings for police chief, Walter (Wally) Boyd. Another murder occurs and things get downright scary for Skye as county sheriff and bully, Buck Petersen, decides Skye is the guilty party and arrests her. In the end, the cases are solved, and life begins to return to normal...or does it? A good beach read.

Note: I thought the television show chapter headings were clever: To Tell the Truth; All in the Family: Name that Tune; Meet the Press, etc. Very clever, indeed. Enjoy!

Swanson's next book is due out next month! (Jul 06)

Carolyn Rowe Hill

Someone please buy this protagonist a spine........2005-12-02

I would have enjoyed this book much more if the main character showed any inclination towards standing up for herself or making her own decisions. Unfortunately, so much of contemporary "women's fiction" seems to center on ditzy, semicompetent (at best) heroines, and this book is no exception. The back story is handled clumsily, with a lot of dialogue that would never occur in real life but which the author uses to sum up the previous books in the series.

Fun!.......2005-09-08

This was a great book and I was glad to return to Scumble River, but what's up with starting to break up Simon and Skye! I really liked Simon, so I hope they work things out...what a way to leave us hanging on for the next book!

Scumble River Mystery Series: Murder Of A Small-Town Honey, Sweet Old Lady, Sleeping Beauty, Snake In The Grass, Barbie And Ken, Pink Elephant, Smart Cookie, Real Bad Boy (Set of 8)

Average customer rating:

Scumble River Mystery Series: Murder Of A Small-Town Honey, Sweet Old Lady, Sleeping Beauty, Snake In The Grass, Barbie And Ken, Pink Elephant, Smart Cookie, Real Bad Boy (Set of 8)
Denise Swanson
Manufacturer: Signet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000MXWQ48

Soldier of Arete
Average customer rating:

Memories of mist

A VERY learned book.

No surprise that the trilogy was not completed.

A great sequel

Sequel to Soldier of the Mist
Soldier of Arete
Gene Wolfe
Manufacturer: Tor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Wolfe, Gene | ( W ) | Authors, A-Z | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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Soldier of the Mist

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ASIN: 0812511557

Customer Reviews:

Memories of mist.......2006-09-12

If miracles can flow from a pen, then that pen belongs to Gene Wolfe. Complex characters, gripping narratives and richly-furnished worlds of superabundant creativity -- Wolfe's vital power nevertheless turns to disadvantage when his books lose their way in impenetrable plots, although it hardly matters when the journey is so interesting. The place is ancient Greece -- the battleground of the city-states of Athens ("Thought") and Sparta ("Rope.") Latro is a greek warrior whose head injury makes it impossible to hold a memory for longer than 24 hours. Like ship lost in mist -- Latro is unable to see very far ahead or behind. Every morning he wakes among strangers, and only by writing the days events and then reading the long scroll of this handwritten narrative is he able to piece his life together and make sense of the events. But his injury has also left him with a secret strength -- the ability to speak to the Gods. It takes determination to wade through the tongue-twisting names and places, but it is well worth it to return to the authentic sense of ancient Greece, and unforgettable images of a world that has faded into the mists of the past. Wolfe never completed this trilogy, but if you appetite for greek battles has not been sated, you might turn to The King Must Die, by Mary Renault

--Auralgo

A VERY learned book........2001-12-03

I saw from the previous reviews of this book that many people found it and it's predecessor, Soldier of the Mists very confusing. What's seems to be at issue with these books is the high degree of learning required to completely understand the story. Gene Wolfe seems to have done a lot of research in writing these books. Without having a pretty thorough knowledge of the Persian Wars of the beginning of the Fifth Century B.C. as well as the Classical Greek tongue, a reader is just not going to get everything out of these books that is in them (Yes, Gene Wolfe is playing with the Classical Greek language in these books). By the end of the book, I feel that it is possible to draw definite conclusions about the identity of Latro. As you read these books, think about the following: Who was Latro revered as in Thrace? In Greek mythology, who are the only figures able to decend to the underworld and come back at will, as Latro does unwittingly? Latro believes that he is a Latin speaking mercenary in the army of the Great King. So who is the patron god of the Latin speaking people? In Greek myth what often is done to the Greek God of War by the other gods when he over steps his bounds? Think on these things, read the book again. I think it will make more sense.

No surprise that the trilogy was not completed........2000-08-03

Soldier of the mist was a great book, and this was a good sequel, but you can see the problem with writing it. Unless you have a brilliant memory the plot becomes more and more difficult to follow, the memories more difficult to call up, like Latro we are referring to our journal to see what went before, and I think Wolfe, brilliant writer that he is, realised the limitations of this style of writing and decided to abandon number three. Confusing and difficult to read, this book is not a patch on the first!

A great sequel.......1999-06-13

Two books, no plot! I think Wolfe wrote these books just to show how unimportant a plot really is.

And take my word for it, these books prove he's right!

Sequel to Soldier of the Mist.......1999-01-15

Gene Wolfe is the best there is at what he does. End of discussion. This book (impossible to find nowdays) is the sequel to Soldier of the Mist, the story of Latro. The setting is the immediate aftermath of the battle of Marathon, Latro is a soldier of The Great King (Xerxes) who was wounded while the Persians were losing the battle. Latro had the bad luck to be cursed by a Greek Goddess (Demeter?) for breaking the rules of propriety and actually fighting on the grounds of her temple during the fight (see Herodotus, he was appalled by the bad manners of the soldiers involved in the actual event). Latro's curse is that he completely loses his memory every day, but as compensation, he's able to see the Gods as they wander around among the mortals. In order to know what happened to him yesterday, he writes a daily journal of what he did, who he talked to, and in that journal Wolfe manages to bring us the day to day life of Ancient Greece. Wolfe weaves ghosts, Gods, famous poets and warriors and ordinary cowherds throughout, and after 30 pages, you'll believe. Not just 'suspend disbelief', you'll believe. I'm going to go out on a limb and recommend keeping a copy of Herodotus handy, as well as Bullfinch's mythology. You don't have to have references handy, the story doesn't require it, but I like to KNOW who he's talking about when a general or goddess happens to walk by. Never read 'Arete' without reading 'Soldier of the Mist' first, and frankly, 'Mist' is a better book. The ending of 'Arete' can be interpreted to leave an opening for another sequel. But if GW hasn't released it in 10 years, we can't expect one now. We can only wish. These two are THAT good.

Average customer rating:

Soldier of Arete
Gene Wolfe
Manufacturer: Tom Doherty Associates
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000K1P40U

Average customer rating:

Soldier of Arete: (Braille Book)
Gene Wolfe
Manufacturer: Thomas, William
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Ring-bound
ASIN: 1569560919

Average customer rating:

Soldier of Arete
Gene Wolfe
Manufacturer: Tor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OTQHL8

Average customer rating:

Soldier of Arete
Gene Wolfe
Manufacturer: Tor Book
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000THKZCM

Soldier of the Mist and Soldier of Arete

Average customer rating:

Soldier of the Mist and Soldier of Arete
Gene Wolfe
Manufacturer: Tor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MN58GG

Soldier of the Mist and Soldier of Arete (2 books, as a set)

Average customer rating:

Soldier of the Mist and Soldier of Arete (2 books, as a set)
Gene Wolfe
Manufacturer: Tor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000LT1O4Q

Product Description

The first two books of the "Soldier" sequence.

Book Description

Bruce Banner . . . man or monster? This collection of Banner's diary entries reveals the struggle between his dream of a peaceful life and the nightmare of being the Hulk. Through science, Banner hopes to heal others. Yet science turns him into a force of unstoppable destruction. When the Hulk takes over, Banner is trapped inside a being filled with rage, but he feels strangely free. How much Bruce Banner exists in the creature? The answer could never be known -- till now.

The Vietnamese Cookbook (Capital Lifestyles)
Average customer rating:

practical and delicious

Very detailed guide for very traditionally Vietnamese dish

Great everyday Vietnamese cookbook

easiest Asian cookbook ever

Delicious and easy cooking

The Vietnamese Cookbook (Capital Lifestyles)
Diana My Tran
Manufacturer: Capital Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
General | Quick & Easy | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
General | Asian | Regional & International | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Vietnamese | Asian | Regional & International | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
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The Little Saigon Cookbook: Vietnamese Cuisine and Culture in Southern California's Little Saigon

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Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table

Authentic Recipes from Vietnam (Authentic Recipes)

A Vietnamese Kitchen: Treasured Family Recipes (Hippocrene Cookbook Library)

ASIN: 1931868387

Amazon.com

One page of deliciousness after another is what you'll find once you crack the cover of Diana My Tran's The Vietnamese Cookbook. Tran has a couple of qualifications above and beyond her Vietnamese heritage as underpinnings to this book: She has two impatient children and a very busy career. Time, then, is of the essence. And yet, she wants to pass on to her children the food of their culture--while living in the U.S.

So from the many dishes of her own childhood in Saigon Diana My Tran has simplified technique while making use of the available foods in an American supermarket. The results are quickly prepared, flavorful renditions of Vietnamese classics that give the cook the sense of what Vietnamese cooking is all about. As Tran points out, part of what it's all about is low-fat cooking with lots of vegetables--a veritable diet book.

Tran divides her book by rice, sauces, appetizers and salads, soups, main dishes, and desserts and beverages. She mixes lemon juice and lemon zest to create the Lemon Rice she serves with chicken and seafood. There's also a recipe for sticky rice with peanuts. Her sauces include such standards as Sweet and Sour Fish Sauce and Sweet and Sour Soy Sauce. Among the appetizers you will find spring rolls, both fried and fresh. Also, Shrimp Mung Bean Rice Cakes. There's a Papaya Shrimp Salad as well as a Lime Steak Salad. The wonderful Beef Noodle Soup (Pho Bo) is represented. Main dishes include Ginger Chicken, Honey Roasted Quail, Sesame Spareribs, Caramel Shrimp, Lemongrass Fish, and Vietnamese Crab Cakes.

The Vietnamese Cookbook is an easy way in to this wonderful culinary world. Let your palate be your guide. --Schuyler Ingle

Book Description

In The Vietnamese Cookbook, Diana My Tran transforms many of her complex traditional dishes into new simpler versions - tailored to the fast pace of America and the freshest ingredients from our local supermarkets. In Vietnam, a traditional meal consists mainly of rice accompanied by a salty dish of seafood or meat, vegetables and/or a composed salad. Diana invites you to create your own memorable meals with more than 100 tantalizing recipes for authentic Vietnamese sauces, appetizers, salads, soups, main dishes, desserts, and beverages. Combine the tempting healthful food with Steve Raymer’s magnificent photographs of Vietnam, and you’ll truly taste the exquisite flavors of this age-old country in all its beauty and richness.

Customer Reviews:

practical and delicious.......2006-05-04

i am vietnamese and since i never had the priviledge to learn directly from my mom how to cook.. i picked up this book just to give it a try. within a few weeks, i have tried most of the recipes particularly the main dishes. not only are they quick recipes with only 4 to 5 steps max, the dishes require simple ingredients, obtainable and cheap.. not only that but all these dishes have turned out to be delicious.. i feel like i can compete with my mom's great cooking. lol. i absolutely love this book. it's a must have!

Very detailed guide for very traditionally Vietnamese dish.......2005-10-17

I like the book after just skimming through some of the pages. I know to cook some of them before and I think it matches the way it was taught in there. I believe this is an excellent book for those who really want to know to cook traditional Vietnamese dish especially the dish from the Northern Vietnam.

Great everyday Vietnamese cookbook .......2005-02-26

I come from a Vietnamese family but was raised in a small Wisconsin town. Growing up, my mom would make Vietnamese dishes along with standard American fare. Although the supermarkets in the area did not have available all the necessary ingredients to make authentic Vietnamese dishes, my mom found comparable replacements. I never cooked that much to begin with, but when I got older and lived away from my folks, I wanted to try my hand at Vietnamese cooking and found this book while I was a student in Washington DC. I've tried many of the recipes in this cookbook and found them easy to follow and the results tasted quite good. Also, I thought it was especially helpful that the author used ingredients that could be found almost anywhere in the U.S. and explained or had pictures of what some of the ingredients were (I had never seen actual lemongrass until I moved to DC!). So, I recommend this book to anyone interested in trying out Vietnamese cooking.

easiest Asian cookbook ever.......2004-04-03

At the time I bought this book, I bought 2 other Asian cookbooks. I've never even opened them as I have tried recipe after recipe from The Vietnamese Cookbook. The recipes are dead easy, delicious, and the ingredients are easily obtainable. And...most of the recipes are low fat. What more could you want?

Delicious and easy cooking.......2004-02-07

I love this cookbook! It is very easy to follow and descriptive. The recipes are quick and they turn out great. I look forward to making something new each day from this cookbook. I definitely recommend this cookbook to others who want to try Vietnamese cooking for themselves.

Quick & Easy Vietnamese: Home Cooking for Everyone (Quick and Easy Series)

Average customer rating:

Quick, easy, and delicious.
Lots of pictures!!
Great, Quic & Easy Cookbook
The best Vietnamese cook book yet.
Great Book!

Quick & Easy Vietnamese: Home Cooking for Everyone (Quick and Easy Series)
Andre Nguyen , and Yukiko Moriyama
Manufacturer: Japan Publications Trading
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

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Quick & Easy Japanese Cuisine for Everyone

ASIN: 4889961259

Book Description

INTRODUCTION
Vietnam is a country of natural beauty with a coastline of sandy beaches stretching about 2000 miles (3225 km) from the northern to the southern tip of the South China Sea. Along the coast, fishing is the main livelihood. The majority of Vietnamese people are Kinh race people (87%) with the
remaining of 53 different ethnic minority groups. For more than 2000 years, the country has been subjected to a near continuing series of foreign occupations from China, France, Japan, and America. One consequence of these occupations is the lasting influence on Vietnamese cuisine. Among Vietnamese
dishes, perhaps the best known in the West is Pho, a noodle soup. Another is the deep-fried spring roll called Nern in the north, and Cha Goi in the south. Rice is a staple food used as a side dish, or a main dish when combined with other ingredients, such as beef, pork, chicken, or seafood.
Vietnamese dishes consist of many different blends of herbs and spices. Most dishes are not fiery hot, nor greasy. Seafood and vegetarian dishes like An Chay are very popular. Today, Vietnamese cuisine is gaining increased international attention due to the fact that it is quite healthy.

This book is an introduction to a new generation for a delicious journey through Vietnamese cuisine. While the combination of flavors may seem experimental to some, they will result in a savory experience. All ingredients used in these recipes can be found in supermarkets, natural food stores or in
Asian food markets. It is our pleasure to share these quick and delicious Vietnamese recipes with you. Enjoy the good nutrition that comes with it.

Customer Reviews:

Quick, easy, and delicious........2007-09-01

This book is excellent for beginners who want to cook Vietnamese food. The author, Andre Nguyen, is a Vietnamese chef who owns a Vietnamese restaurant, so he knows how to cook very well. The recipes have only a few ingredients that are easy to find in a Vietnamese market or other Southeast Asian markets, and they taste delicious. This book along with Diana My Tran's "The Vietnamese Cookbook" are two of the easiest Vietnamese cookbooks to cook from for beginners or homecooks who want to put food on the table fast! The major difference between this book and Diana My Tran's book is that this book seems to include more "restaurant-esque" recipes. Diana My Tran is not a chef, and she includes Vietnamese recipes that she cooks at home in her book. The recipes in Andre's book are simple but at the same time "sophisticated", meaning you won't be embarrassed serving them to guests. I bought serveral copies as gifts. If you want 100% authentic Vietnamese recipes which will take hours to prepare, then this book is not for you. But if you want delicious Vietnamese recipes that have been simplified for beginners or for homecooks, then this book is definitely for you. I highly recommend this book for its quick, easy, and delicious recipes. This book also has great color photos of every recipe, so they're very helpful. I really, really like this book. I hope Andre will write another one. One last thing...there are many recipes in Andre's book that are not in Diana My Tran's book and vice versa. It would be a good idea to buy both books because I like them both.

Lots of pictures!!.......2007-07-06

I'm Viet but I was born in America. I only learned how to cook a couple of Vietnamese dishes from my parents but I have been looking for a good cookbook. This one is my favorite so far! There are pictures of every dish AND step by step pictures! SOOOO helpful! And because there are pictures of each dish, I recognized almost all of them even if I didn't know exactly what it was called.

This book is PERFECT for me (the amateur cook wanting to replicate Vietnamese homecooking for my own family)!

5 STARS!!

Great, Quic & Easy Cookbook.......2007-05-22

I used 4 recipes from this book so far. All were easy to make and very delicious. I can't wait to make the rest

The best Vietnamese cook book yet........2007-04-09

I have gone through many expensive Vietnamese cook books and have not used a single recipe out of them because they're difficult or "it's not the way my mom made it." This book show pictures of the ingredients so you know what to look for in an Asian store and pictures of the end product. If I don't know the name of a dish I can look at the picture and recognize it. I tried learning from my mom but as everyone knows most women from Vietnam don't measure, it's a little of this and some of that. So some of the time my recipes are just right and other times they weren't. My mom would try to explain what a certain ingredient was but would not know the English name for it. This book explains it all. Very easy to follow recipes and they turn out just like "the way my mom made it."

Great Book!.......2007-02-09

I've tried about half of the receipes in this book and it taste great! I love the simple instructions and pictures of all the items you need to make the entree. Wish all cookbooks were like this! Although I have to say they used the wrong wrap for making the eggrolls. The one they pictured isn't ideal for deep frying.

Quick & Easy Vietnamese: 75 Everyday Recipes (Quick & Easy)

Average customer rating:

Very Disapointed!!
A great and authentic starter to Vietnamese cooking
delicious but not as quick as I'd hoped
Really love this cookbook
Quick and Easy!

Quick & Easy Vietnamese: 75 Everyday Recipes (Quick & Easy)
Nancie McDermott
Manufacturer: Chronicle Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

General | Quick & Easy | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

International | Regional & International | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
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Quick & Easy Thai: 70 Everyday Recipes
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Real Thai: The Best of Thailand's Regional Cooking

ASIN: 081184434X

Book Description

From the author of the popular Quick & Easy Thai come these 75 oh-so-delicious recipes for every level of cook. Though it shares certain culinary traditions with its Asian neighbors, Vietnamese cuisine is entirely distinct, focusing on a bounty of fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs for signature clear, bright flavors with contrasting notes of salty, sweet, sour, and spicy. Creamy chicken curry is paired with the zesty tang of lime juice and the heat from ground pepper and chilies. Crisp, fried fish is served with a puree of pineapple-chili sauce. Delicate, rice paper wrapped summer rolls merit a rich and savory soybean dipping sauce. From snacks and soups to grilled meats and seafood to the essential noodle dishes and desserts, Quick & Easy Vietnamese presents the full spectrum of Vietnamese cooking at its most simply delicious.

Customer Reviews:

Very Disapointed!!.......2007-07-26

Bought this book because of it's good reviews and high star rating. The layout and instructions of this book are easy to follow and pleasant on the eyes (vibrant colors and good quality pages). However none of that matters if the instructions are all slightly off (recipes that called for medium-high heat for 20 minutes was in actually 1 hour on high heat while covered in order for the meat to be cooked enough to eat. Resulted in good enough looking food but tasted off and not at all "authentic" vietnamese. I've grown up on Vietnamese food and TRUST ME you do not want to use the foods made from this cookbook to represent what Vietnamese food should taste like. My mom laughed and suggested I throw out the cookbook and finally accept her traditional method of Vietnamese cooking (a dash of this and a glob of that measurements) instead. I wonder if I can still return this book since it will definately be unused and collecting dust on my shelf!

A great and authentic starter to Vietnamese cooking.......2007-03-09

Though I grew up in the states, my family is of Vietnamese descent and I travelled (and ate) my way through Vietnam, especially Hanoi. This book was my first attempt at making Vietnamese food at home and boy am I impressed at how AUTHENTIC it is to what I ate in Vietnam and in local Vietnamese restaurants. I'll think twice about eating out now that I know how easy it is to make at home.

delicious but not as quick as I'd hoped.......2006-12-13

Let me first say that the bar was set very high: McDermott's Quick and Easy Thai is a masterpiece.

These recipes are also delicious, and the ones I've tried have been easy. However, they're not nearly as quick and easy as the ones in the Thai book.

What makes them not so quick? In a word, ingredients. Most recipe has lots of them, so there's a lot of measuring/chopping going on before you cook.

Also, if you're a European American like me, you don't have these ingredients lying around, so a trip to an Asian market is a necessity, at least to stock up in the beginning.

But don't let this deter you! Make fish sauce and lemon grass part of your standard staples, and McDermott does have an excellent section on ingredients, how to find them, and which are most important.

The recipes also have notes on what to do if you can't find something: suggestions for substitutions or just leaving things out (though again, not as many as the Thai book.) These recipes are delicious and have complex flavors, so even if you leave something out it'll still be good.

So to sum up, this is a great cookbook, but if you want to enter the world of SE Asian cooking, go with McDermott's Quick and Easy Thai first.

Really love this cookbook.......2006-08-16

I have been looking for a good vietnamese cookbook for awhile. I checked this out at the library and fell in love with it so much I bought it to add to my collection. The fish in caramel sauce is marvelous. There is a recipe for meatballs that is great too. I'm still working my way through the book.

Quick and Easy!.......2006-03-12

I love Vietnamese cuisine, and this book allows me to easily incorporate it into my everyday diet. The ingredients are easy to find in chain grocery stores and I can use ingredients I buy in multiple recipes, making the book economical. I recommend preparing your own chicken stock (have it on hand in freezer). It improves the taste of the recipes. I grow my own Vietnamese herbs in the summer, and the book will give me lots of opportunity to use them on the fly. I have also lost a little weight cooking from this book because the dishes are flavorful (be sure to use the Everyday Dipping Sauce) and healthy, and replaced microwaved and canned meals. Many books may be more in-depth, and not every dish is absolutely fantastic, but if you need something for the busy weekdays, this is a good choice.

Vietnamese Home Cooking (Essential Asian Kitchen)

Average customer rating:

Vietnamese Home Cooking (Essential Asian Kitchen)
Robert Carmack , and Didier Corlou
Manufacturer: Periplus Editions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

General | Quick & Easy | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

Quick & Easy Vietnamese: Home Cooking for Everyone (Quick and Easy Series)
Into the Vietnamese Kitchen: Treasured Foodways, Modern Flavors
Thai Home Cooking
Authentic Recipes from Vietnam (Authentic Recipes)
The Little Saigon Cookbook: Vietnamese Cuisine and Culture in Southern California's Little Saigon

ASIN: 0794650120

Average customer rating:

Quick and Easy Vietnamese
Nancie McDermott
Manufacturer: CHRONICLE BOOKS (HI
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000K22F88

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