Book Review: The I Hate to Cook Book

'The I Hate to Cook Book: 50th Anniversary Edition'
Author: Peg Bracken


Format: Hardback
Published: Grand Central Publishing; July 2010
Originally Published: 1960
Pages: 224
Genre: Cookbook
Rating: B
Source: Personal Copy


Synopsis: "There are two kinds of people in this world: the ones who don't cook out of and have NEVER cooked out of THE I HATE TO COOK BOOK, and the other kind...The I HATE TO COOK people consist mainly of those who find other things more interesting and less fattening, and so they do it as seldom as possible. Today there is an Annual Culinary Olympics, with hundreds of cooks from many countries ardently competing. But we who hate to cook have had our own Olympics for years, seeing who can get out of the kitchen the fastest and stay out the longest." - Peg Bracken
Philosopher's Chowder. Skinny Meatloaf. Fat Man's Shrimp. Immediate Fudge Cake. These are just a few of the beloved recipes from Peg Bracken's classic I HATE TO COOK BOOK. Written in a time when women were expected to have full, delicious meals on the table for their families every night, Peg Bracken offered women who didn't revel in this obligation an alternative: quick, simple meals that took minimal effort but would still satisfy. 

50 years later, times have certainly changed - but the appeal of THE I HATE TO COOK BOOK hasn't. This book is for everyone, men and women alike, who wants to get from cooking hour to cocktail hour in as little time as possible.

My Take: I actually don't hate to cook. I really enjoy it ... when I have the time. Time, that's the essential ingredient. Sunday nights are when I am all relaxed and can cook big, delicious meals. We love having people over for dinner or barbecues. Oh and baking, I love baking! But there's those middle bits, those ornery work weeks that get in the way. We have to eat and are generally starving when we get home from work, the gym, life and it's late, we are tired. That's when cooking is more of a chore than something fun and a joy so I appreciated what this book was trying to achieve. More than that though I appreciated the humor. This cookbook was freaking hysterical! Bracken's recipes and chapter headings leave you laughing out loud and so what may be leaving you desiring for more in actual healthful recipes, it more than makes up for in heart.

I can totally understand in the 1960s when all families were expected to have these large, home cooked meals on the table and this book was originally published that women were essentially no different than they are today: some women loved to cook and others, well, didn't. It's just a fact of life. Not all of us are good at all things. I'm good at baking. My boyfriend is good at barbecuing. We could probably swap roles but the result is probably not as good when the other does it because you can taste the joy and love that is put into it from the beginning. Thus Bracken filled a niche with this book. A cookbook for those women who had a chore to do, get dinner on the table, entertain guests, etc. simply and efficiently. Genius. 

With chapter headings like "Company's Company: Or your Back's to the Wall" and "Last Minute Suppers: Or This is the Story of your Life" I was chuckling the whole way through. Unfortunately when it came time to actually pick a recipe to test, I had a hard time choosing. As so often happens with older cookbooks, they are a blast to look through but are often not as healthy as we might wish. However, when all else fails, I pick Mexican because it's always delicious and rarely healthy no matter the decade!

Here's what we ate and found absolutely delicious:

Pedro's Special

(Very easy; very good with beer; good even without it). Sold!

1 pound ground round steak (I used lean ground beef)

1 pound chopped onion

1 garlic clove, minced

1 8-ounce can tomato sauce plus 1/3 can tomato juice, beef broth, or water

1/4 teaspoon oregano

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 16 ounces can kidney or pinto beans with liquid

1 medium sized bag of corn chips

a bit of lettuce

more chopped onion

Brown together, in a little oil, the ground meat, onions, and garlic. Stir in the tomato sauce, oregano, and chili powder. Now dust off a good-sized casserole, grease it, and alternate layers of this mixture with layers of beans and corn chips (I also added in cheese!), ending with corn chips. Bake it, covered, at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, and uncover it for the last ten. Before you serve it, strew some shredded lettuce and chopped raw onion on top, for that Olde-Tyme Mexicali look. 

This recipe was a big hit around our house and one I will definitely make again! Kind of tasted like nachos! Unfortunately we were too busy eating it too take a picture, darnit :)

Bottom line, while the recipes aren't all that healthy, so not a resource I would reach for over and over again, if you have a friend or family member who isn't a huge fan of cooking, considering how funny this book is, I think this would make a fabulous gift!

Cover Lust: It's got the perfect amount of humor with the oven mitt on fire and pot boiling over. I think it's really cute!