Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Review: Copycat Cooking

Summary: OVERVIEW The popular Six Sisters’ Stuff bloggers come to the rescue with a new collection of more than 100 easy-to-make recipes of popular restaurant dishes and takeout favorites for busy families.

With more than fifty recipes that you can make in 30 minutes or less, this cookbook can help make meal planning a breeze as you mix-and-match side dishes from one restaurant with main courses from another and finish it off with a dessert from a third.

Save money while spending more time with your family. Change dining-out to dining-in for a memorable experience your whole family will enjoy.

Includes copycat recipes for Texas Roadhouse Cactus Blossom, Panda Express Orange Chicken, Olive Garden Chicken Parmesan, Disneyland Monte Cristo Sandwich, Chili’s Molten Hot Lave Cake, Sprinkles Red Velvet Cupcakes, and Universal Studios Butterbeer. -- Shadow Mountain Publishing

When I received an email about the new cookbook SIX SISTERS' STUFF COPYCAT COOKING: 100+ POPULAR RESTAURANT MEALS YOU CAN MAKE AT HOME, I jumped at the opportunity to take a look at it. For one thing, I've saved (and made) quite a few recipes from the Six Sisters' blog over the years. But I also love the concept of a copycat cookbook based on some popular restaurants' most well-known dishes.

COPYCAT COOKING is fantastic! I absolutely love this cookbook. Not only do the recipes look terrific, but the cookbook itself is fun to look at. (I have a thing for browsing through cookbooks. I inherited it from my grandma!) There are plenty of full page color photographs of the finished product (which is a must in a cookbook, right?), and I was thrilled to see that over half the recipes are 30 minutes or less.

One great feature of this cookbook is that it makes eating some of the delicious meals actually affordable. I don't know about you, but I think it's expensive to take the entire family out of dinner. But what's equally great about COPYCAT COOKING is that you can eat these meals even if you don't live near the restaurants! For example, there is a recipe for Butterbeer from Harry Potter World at Universal Studios and a Monte Cristo Sandwich from Disneyland.

I can't wait to make a few of these recipes... especially since I don't live near a Cheesecake Factory or a P.F. Changs.  In addition to these popular restaurants, this cookbook also has recipes from Chili's, KFC, TGI Fridays, Outback, Chick-Fil-A, Sonic, Starbucks, and many more! There really is something for everyone in this cookbook!

COPYCAT COOKING is divided into normal chapters -- Copycat Appetizers & Side Dishes, Copycat Main Dishes, Copycat Desserts, and Copycat Drinks; and each section is chock full of recipes. Every single recipe has a full page photograph -- of course, my finished meals never look quite like theirs, but still....

As you might imagine, the recipes in this cookbook aren't for the individual who is dieting. Most of the recipes are exactly what you'd expect - lots of fat and calories, but I would argue that a low-fat copycat cookbook just wouldn't meet anyone's expectations! There isn't even nutritional information listed, but that's ok... Most of us aren't calorie-counting when ordering food like this in a restaurant either!

Before I finish this review, I thought I'd give you a little idea of the recipes in this cookbook. This is just scratching the surface, but here are a few that appealed to me: Chick-Fil-A Chicken Nuggets, P.F. Chang's Chicken Lettuce Wraps, Applebee's Honey Grilled Salmon, Chili's Cajun Chicken Pasta, and Starbucks' Lemon Poundcake. This list is far from complete, but it does give you an idea of the assortment.

I think COPYCAT COOKING is a great cookbook with 100+ delicious copycat recipes. Highly recommended to people who want to replicate popular restaurants' dishes anytime from their home and without breaking the bank.

1 comment:

bermudaonion said...

My mom loves to look through cookbooks too. It sounds like this one includes recipes kids would eat which is always a plus.