Good recipes for each season that are rustic and eclectic! Not all the recipes were easy, and some had more than 5 ingredients, but the couple of dishes I tried were delicious. Some of the recipes were better for entertaining too. There's a very good selection of different types of dishes with emphasis on different cultures or regions. Overall, a pretty good gift idea for anyone who likes cooking something a little extraordinary.

Blogging for Books ( )

Love the recipes, there are some for every season. Easy steps to follow, they all look yummy! ( )

The first time I watched Michael Symon on TV was back in 2007/2008 when he became an Iron Chef on the Food Network channel. When The Chew began airing in 2011, Michael Symon's style of cooking and his philosophy of making food and recipes approachable definitely speaks to my soul. His 5 in 5 segment (5 ingredients + 5 minutes) on the Chew in particular became extremely popular and the recipes that came from that segment are probably the ones I've used most often from The Chew archive. Don't get me wrong I love to cook and I like trying out recipes that have sous-vide, paupiette, amuse bouche, or en papilotte in the title/instruction of recipes. But in reality, most of the time I really only have the time (and patience) to do quick meals and this is where Michael Symon's 5 in 5 comes in handy.

Michael Symon, 5 in 5 for every season

His new book Michael Symon's 5 in 5 for Every Season is a continuation of his previous cookbook but focuses more on produce that are more in season. Prior to reading The Broad Fork which I've reviewed previously, I'm not usually a fan of cookbooks that are divided into seasons but again the recipes in this books (similar to The Broadf Frk) are so simple and flexible, I can be creative with some of the seasonal produce. The recipes are straight forward and simple. With any cookbooks I tend to just browse and mark the pages of recipes that I want to try.

In the introduction Symon laid out a series of pantry ingredients that one should always have in stock such as: different type of cooking oils, seasonings, herbs, sauces, broths, box pastas, different type of flours, bread crumbs, panko crumbs, salt & pepper etc. These pantry ingredients are not included in the '5 in 5'. The '5' ingredients beyond the pantry that are used in a recipe are usually marked in bold.

Again, what I love about this book is that nothing is too difficult just like his 5 in 5 segment on The Chew and many of his recipes are leftover friendly. If I'm cooking for myself or plan on travelling and want food to come home to, his recipe for spaghetti with quick sausage ragu is perfect for the fridge. I am looking forward to trying out recipes I've marked in the near future. ( )

I have always loved the idea of five ingredients in five minutes. These take a little longer and don't count spices as ingredients so the title is a little misleading. There are some very tasty ideas here (no macaroni or velveeta need apply). More meat than I usually eat, but great for a last minute meal when I'm pooped. I greatly appreciated his pantry chapter which lets you know what you need to keep on hand. Arranged by season, Mr Symon makes it easy to find recipes with ingredients I just got at the Farmer's Market. ( )