Cookbook Review: The Magic of Cooking with Really Good Broth

Jenn’s office is littered with stuff. Stacks of workout DVDs, running shoes, cutting-edge health and cooking gizmos and books all awaiting her attention. Even though she is the Fit Bottomed version of Wonder Woman, in order to maintain her sanity she routinely doles out some of the work (or the wealth in this case) for review, and I was lucky enough to end up with Johnny Prep’s The Magic of Cooking with Really Good Broth.

This first book, in the forthcoming Johnny Prep’s Series: Culinary School for the Home Cook, puts the focus on the essential ingredient needed to achieve restaurant style eats: high-quality, full-flavor broths and stocks. Now, if you’re thinking this title sounds boringly basic and are planning to holdout for the good stuff in his next book, think again. This, my food-loving friends, is exactly what makes the good stuff — well, good!
If you are one of the many who have grown tired of flavorless, nutrient-poor convenience foods and are valiantly striving to re-create chef approved meals in your own home, The Magic of Cooking with Really Good Broth, is your long awaited treasure map.
Johnny Prep (that’s short for Prepolec) first schools us on the myriad benefits of homemade broths and/or stocks and then deftly demonstrates how a little extra time spent in the kitchen (you’ll seriously be surprised how little) will pay off in spades.
With just one recipe of his Rich Chicken Broth, I prepared his delightfully creamy Roasted Butternut Squash Soup (with only four ingredients), his crazy good Bacon and Feta Stuffed Pork Chops, and a veggie-filled Chicken Cobbler (check back tomorrow for a step-by-step preview of one of those delicious recipes!), and I’ve still got some of the golden elixir stashed in my freezer. And that’s just one batch!
His book also contains a chapter on nutrition, tips to make your kitchen experience easier (he even tackles clean up) and a fun little chapter on cooking with kids so that you can pass your skills and good habits on to the ones you love.
Thanks to Johnny, the secret is out! We no longer have to scratch our heads and wonder why after purchasing first-rate ingredients and following directions to a tee, our meals still lack that something special. If the rest of Johnny’s collection is anything like his first achievement, I am whole-heartedly looking forward to the remainder of the series.
Rock on, Johnny!
Are you game to give your own broth a try? —Karen