Good Cheap Food

Embracing the secret of cooking well on the cheap--buy what is fresh, plentiful, and in season, then find a recipe to suit it--the author offers many recipes for soups, salads, pasta, eggs, sauces, beans and rice, and poultry.

The original edition of Good Cheap Food gained recognition as a classic not just for the excellence of its recipes but also for the author's down-to-earth, opinionated style: settling into these pages is like settling into the kitchen of a trusted friend who also happens to be a great cook. Although Good Cheap Food includes many simple favorites and "comfort foods", it also offers a wide range of deceptively lavish and elegant dishes fit for the most festive occasions. Embracing the secret of cooking well on the cheap - buy what's fresh and in season and find a recipe to suit it - Ungerer offers dishes that range from old-fashioned favorites with a new twist (Chicken Pot Pie with a luxurious touch of wild mushrooms), to homegrown versions of Indian, Chinese, and classic French dishes, to offerings like Colache or Corn Soup with Roasted Peppers that have all the pizzazz of nouvelle cuisine - without its excesses. Ungerer's inspirations are clearly eclectic: if you have the time, try her elegant chicken galantine; if not, there are recipes for quick and satisfying suppers even Mother Hubbard could rustle up. With its common sense survey of essential and overrated cookware, its pragmatic approach toward costly basics like extra-virgin olive oil, and its reassuring advice about constructing"difficult" classic sauces, Good Cheap Food is the perfect book for new cooks, hurried cooks, and bachelor and bachelorette cooks - as well as for those determined to eat well whether or not the wolf is at the door.