Sam the Cooking Guy: Just a Bunch of Recipes
Sam the Cooking Guy: Just a Bunch of Recipes book cover

Sam the Cooking Guy: Just a Bunch of Recipes

Paperback – International Edition, February 29, 2008

by
Price
$47.56
Format
Paperback
Pages
256
Publisher
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-0470043738
Dimensions
7.5 x 0.5 x 8.75 inches
Weight
1.2 pounds

Description

From Publishers Weekly Zien, creator and host of the television show Sam the Cooking Guy , is very clear from the onset that he is not a chef; he also believes that certain things, like measuring ingredients (unless baking), are a "waste of time" and that 350 degrees is the "universal temperature" at which to cook everything. A self-proclaimed "regular guy," Zien thinks that people have "been wrecked by cooking shows with their millions of complicated steps and crazy ass ingredients." His recipes are for people who want to cook, but want to spend as little time and effort in the kitchen as possible. Two of his favorite ingredients, which show up frequently, are prebaked pizza crust (used in his pesto pizza recipe, which also calls for ready-made pesto) and "ready bacon," which simply needs to be microwaved. Other dishes include a Tomato and Potato Chip Sandwich and Stir Fry Noodles made with Styrofoam cup instant ramen. Some dishes, though lacking originality, call for fresh ingredients and explain simple techniques, like the Adobo Chicken or Ginger Scallops. Foodies won't be impressed, and even those with mild interest in putting together their own meals might want to be challenged a bit more. (Mar.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From the Inside Flap Sam Zien is a regular guy who cooks great food. No cutesy patter. No foo-foo ingredients. Just easy, great-tasting stuff that real people like you can make, served up with lots of humor. All of which has made him one of today's fastest-rising TV food starsx97the host of Sam the Cooking Guy as well as Just Cook This! on the Discovery Health Channel. Sam's e-mail inbox has long been flooded with requests for a cookbook. Now, he finally delivers. Just a Bunch of Recipes features 126 of Sam's all-time favorite recipes. All of them are big in taste and small in effortx97crowd-pleasingdishes that skip the weird ingredients and complicated steps and focus on the flavor. You can't go wrong with any of Sam's recipesx97they're all seriously good and seriously easy. Once you start fixing them for your family and friends, you'll be the one everyone turns tofor great everyday food. For quick family meals, Sam is your man. Choose from recipes like Shrimp Tacos,Buffalo Chicken Pizza, and Steak Salad withBlue Cheese Crumbles as well as super-fast favorites such as Chili Corn Chip Bags and Tomato and Potato Chip Sandwiches. On weekends, kick things off with a Pastrami Benedict or Banana Bread French Toast for brunchx97then wow your friends with "company" dishes like Tomato and Yellow Pepper Gazpacho and Teriyaki and Bacon Scallops. Try out a "Three-Two-One" Bloody Mary, Sammy-Boy's Margarita, or Lager and Lime for good measure. And for dessert, forget about itx97you haven't lived until you've tried Sam's Ice-Cream Sandwich Deal, Doughnutmis? ("tiramis?" made with powdered doughnuts), and Grilled Pound Cake with Fresh Fruit. Complete with photos of Sam as well as his inimitable take on essential kitchen tools and ingredients, Sam the Cooking Guy is all you need to start fixing food that's unbelievably easy and delicious. So make a run to the store, invite some friends, and head for the kitchen. As Sam says, "You can cook too, but some of you just don't know it yet." " 'I can't cook,' I hear that all the time. And it's not that you can'tx97it's that you don't. It's that we've been wrecked by cooking shows with their millions of complicated steps and crazy-ass ingredients. Ingredients you can't find, let alone pronounce. That's not how I want to cook. I want to eat well, but I don't want it to take a year. Who's making stuff like 'Truffled Peruvian Mountain Squab with Chilled Framboise Foam' anyway? "So this book is about food that's big in taste and small in effort. Just great-tasting stuff with no fancy techniques and definitely no over-the-top ingredients, as in everything-comes-from-a-regular-supermarketx97cool concept, huh? It's just a bunch of recipes you'll easily be able to make and enjoy."x97From Sam the Cooking Guy Look inside for great recipes like these: Cinnamon Pull-ApartFrench Toast MountainOne Dank Tomato Pie"Whatever" Spring RollsFive-Minute Stir-Fry NoodlesO.F.R.B.P.J.G.O.Awww Nuts!BBQ Chicken PizzaHalloween Chicken ChiliFridge Fried RiceSam's Sticky Sweet BBQ RibsStuffed BurgersPesto BBQ ShrimpChili SalmonMotor Home MeatballsSpicy-ish Sausage PastaThe Great Potato CakeBrussels Sprouts You'll Actually Eat(Fake) Crème BrûléeChocolate Toffee MatzohPeanut Butter Ice-Cream Cup Things Cinnamon Pull-Apart French Toast MountainOne Dank Tomato Pie"Whatever" Spring RollsFive-Minute Stir-Fry NoodlesO.F.R.B.P.J.G.O.Awww Nuts!BBQ Chicken PizzaHalloween Chicken ChiliFridge Fried RiceSam's Sticky Sweet BBQ RibsStuffed BurgersPesto BBQ ShrimpChili SalmonMotor Home MeatballsSpicy-ish Sausage PastaThe Great Potato CakeBrussels Sprouts You'll Actually Eat(Fake) Crème BrûléeChocolate Toffee MatzohPeanut Butter Ice-Cream Cup Things French Toast Mountain One Dank Tomato Pie"Whatever" Spring RollsFive-Minute Stir-Fry NoodlesO.F.R.B.P.J.G.O.Awww Nuts!BBQ Chicken PizzaHalloween Chicken ChiliFridge Fried RiceSam's Sticky Sweet BBQ RibsStuffed BurgersPesto BBQ ShrimpChili SalmonMotor Home MeatballsSpicy-ish Sausage PastaThe Great Potato CakeBrussels Sprouts You'll Actually Eat(Fake) Crème BrûléeChocolate Toffee MatzohPeanut Butter Ice-Cream Cup Things One Dank Tomato Pie "Whatever" Spring RollsFive-Minute Stir-Fry NoodlesO.F.R.B.P.J.G.O.Awww Nuts!BBQ Chicken PizzaHalloween Chicken ChiliFridge Fried RiceSam's Sticky Sweet BBQ RibsStuffed BurgersPesto BBQ ShrimpChili SalmonMotor Home MeatballsSpicy-ish Sausage PastaThe Great Potato CakeBrussels Sprouts You'll Actually Eat(Fake) Crème BrûléeChocolate Toffee MatzohPeanut Butter Ice-Cream Cup Things "Whatever" Spring Rolls Five-Minute Stir-Fry NoodlesO.F.R.B.P.J.G.O.Awww Nuts!BBQ Chicken PizzaHalloween Chicken ChiliFridge Fried RiceSam's Sticky Sweet BBQ RibsStuffed BurgersPesto BBQ ShrimpChili SalmonMotor Home MeatballsSpicy-ish Sausage PastaThe Great Potato CakeBrussels Sprouts You'll Actually Eat(Fake) Crème BrûléeChocolate Toffee MatzohPeanut Butter Ice-Cream Cup Things Five-Minute Stir-Fry Noodles O.F.R.B.P.J.G.O.Awww Nuts!BBQ Chicken PizzaHalloween Chicken ChiliFridge Fried RiceSam's Sticky Sweet BBQ RibsStuffed BurgersPesto BBQ ShrimpChili SalmonMotor Home MeatballsSpicy-ish Sausage PastaThe Great Potato CakeBrussels Sprouts You'll Actually Eat(Fake) Crème BrûléeChocolate Toffee MatzohPeanut Butter Ice-Cream Cup Things O.F.R.B.P.J.G.O. Awww Nuts!BBQ Chicken PizzaHalloween Chicken ChiliFridge Fried RiceSam's Sticky Sweet BBQ RibsStuffed BurgersPesto BBQ ShrimpChili SalmonMotor Home MeatballsSpicy-ish Sausage PastaThe Great Potato CakeBrussels Sprouts You'll Actually Eat(Fake) Crème BrûléeChocolate Toffee MatzohPeanut Butter Ice-Cream Cup Things Awww Nuts! BBQ Chicken PizzaHalloween Chicken ChiliFridge Fried RiceSam's Sticky Sweet BBQ RibsStuffed BurgersPesto BBQ ShrimpChili SalmonMotor Home MeatballsSpicy-ish Sausage PastaThe Great Potato CakeBrussels Sprouts You'll Actually Eat(Fake) Crème BrûléeChocolate Toffee MatzohPeanut Butter Ice-Cream Cup Things BBQ Chicken Pizza Halloween Chicken ChiliFridge Fried RiceSam's Sticky Sweet BBQ RibsStuffed BurgersPesto BBQ ShrimpChili SalmonMotor Home MeatballsSpicy-ish Sausage PastaThe Great Potato CakeBrussels Sprouts You'll Actually Eat(Fake) Crème BrûléeChocolate Toffee MatzohPeanut Butter Ice-Cream Cup Things Halloween Chicken Chili Fridge Fried RiceSam's Sticky Sweet BBQ RibsStuffed BurgersPesto BBQ ShrimpChili SalmonMotor Home MeatballsSpicy-ish Sausage PastaThe Great Potato CakeBrussels Sprouts You'll Actually Eat(Fake) Crème BrûléeChocolate Toffee MatzohPeanut Butter Ice-Cream Cup Things Fridge Fried Rice Sam's Sticky Sweet BBQ RibsStuffed BurgersPesto BBQ ShrimpChili SalmonMotor Home MeatballsSpicy-ish Sausage PastaThe Great Potato CakeBrussels Sprouts You'll Actually Eat(Fake) Crème BrûléeChocolate Toffee MatzohPeanut Butter Ice-Cream Cup Things Sam's Sticky Sweet BBQ Ribs Stuffed BurgersPesto BBQ ShrimpChili SalmonMotor Home MeatballsSpicy-ish Sausage PastaThe Great Potato CakeBrussels Sprouts You'll Actually Eat(Fake) Crème BrûléeChocolate Toffee MatzohPeanut Butter Ice-Cream Cup Things Stuffed Burgers Pesto BBQ ShrimpChili SalmonMotor Home MeatballsSpicy-ish Sausage PastaThe Great Potato CakeBrussels Sprouts You'll Actually Eat(Fake) Crème BrûléeChocolate Toffee MatzohPeanut Butter Ice-Cream Cup Things Pesto BBQ Shrimp Chili SalmonMotor Home MeatballsSpicy-ish Sausage PastaThe Great Potato CakeBrussels Sprouts You'll Actually Eat(Fake) Crème BrûléeChocolate Toffee MatzohPeanut Butter Ice-Cream Cup Things Chili Salmon Motor Home MeatballsSpicy-ish Sausage PastaThe Great Potato CakeBrussels Sprouts You'll Actually Eat(Fake) Crème BrûléeChocolate Toffee MatzohPeanut Butter Ice-Cream Cup Things Motor Home Meatballs Spicy-ish Sausage PastaThe Great Potato CakeBrussels Sprouts You'll Actually Eat(Fake) Crème BrûléeChocolate Toffee MatzohPeanut Butter Ice-Cream Cup Things Spicy-ish Sausage Pasta The Great Potato CakeBrussels Sprouts You'll Actually Eat(Fake) Crème BrûléeChocolate Toffee MatzohPeanut Butter Ice-Cream Cup Things The Great Potato Cake Brussels Sprouts You'll Actually Eat(Fake) Crème BrûléeChocolate Toffee MatzohPeanut Butter Ice-Cream Cup Things Brussels Sprouts You'll Actually Eat (Fake) Crème BrûléeChocolate Toffee MatzohPeanut Butter Ice-Cream Cup Things (Fake) Crème Brûlée Chocolate Toffee MatzohPeanut Butter Ice-Cream Cup Things Chocolate Toffee Matzoh Peanut Butter Ice-Cream Cup Things Peanut Butter Ice-Cream Cup Things SAM ZIEN is a twelve-time Emmy Award winner and the creator and host of Sam the Cooking Guy. His latest show is Just Cook This with Sam the Cooking Guy. Visit his website, is TheCookingGuy.com. Read more

Features & Highlights

  • ‘I can't cook.’ I hear that all the time. And it's not that you can't--it's that you don't. It's that we've been wrecked by cooking shows with their millions of complicated steps and crazy-ass ingredients. Ingredients you can't find, let alone pronounce. That's not how I want to cook. I want to eat well, but I don't want it to take a year. Who's making stuff like 'Truffled Peruvian Mountain Squab with Chilled Framboise Foam' anyway?
  • "So this book is about food that's big in taste and small in effort. Just great-tasting stuff with no fancy techniques and definitely no over-the-top ingredients, as in everything-comes-from-a-regular-supermarket--cool concept, huh? It's just a bunch of recipes you'll easily be able to make and enjoy."--
  • From Sam the Cooking Guy
  • Look inside for great recipes like these:
  • • One Dank Tomato Pie • "Whatever" Spring Rolls • Five-Minute Stir-Fry Noodles • O.F.R.B.P.J.G.O. • Awww Nuts! • BBQ Chicken Pizza • Halloween Chicken Chili • Fridge Fried Rice • Sam's Sticky Sweet BBQ Ribs • Stuffed Burgers • Pesto BBQ Shrimp • Chili Salmon • Motor Home Meatballs • Spicy-ish Sausage Pasta • The Great Potato Cake • Brussels Sprouts You'll Actually Eat • (Fake) Creme Brulee • Chocolate Toffee Matzoh  • Peanut Butter Ice-Cream Cup Things

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
60%
(163)
★★★★
25%
(68)
★★★
15%
(41)
★★
7%
(19)
★
-7%
(-19)

Most Helpful Reviews

✓ Verified Purchase

Husband uses it to cook!

This is a WONDERFUL book! Like Sam's show, the recipes are easy and delicious, unpretentious and healthy. And Sam's personality comes through, which makes it not only useful but fun! My husband, whose repertoire previously included at most 2-3 dishes (burritos, boxed mac and cheese, and barbecued steak), has made several recipes already.
26 people found this helpful
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Hometown hero makes it big

Released in March, "Sam the Cooking Guy: Just a Bunch of Recipes," coincides with San Diego TV chef Sam Zien's ascent to the national cable lineup. With his creative, quick-and-easy recipes and everyman personality, Zien, better known as Sam the Cooking Guy, already is a celebrity on his home turf, drawing hundreds to book signings in Mira Mesa and La Jolla this spring. "Just Cook This! With Sam the Cooking Guy" is now playing on TVs across the country on Discovery Health Channel.

Those familiar with the local show "Sam the Cooking Guy," a low-budget cooking show shot in Sam's kitchen available on 9 local stations like San Diego's County Television Network, will recognize the book's 200-or-so recipes -- all requiring little kitchen know-how, no fancy equipment, and (almost) no gourmet ingredients.

But although Sam is on his way up, his first book remains true to his casual culinary style and down-to-earth personality.

Sam's recipes use everyday items, including eyebrow-raising variations of far-from-elegant products like Kraft Macaroni and Cheese and Top Ramen noodles. Think Rachael Ray, but more creative, even off-the-wall, and lacking the New Yorker's overuse of extra-virgin olive oil.

With each recipe we get Sam's take via a short intro and sporadic comments. In one of the book's crazier recipes, "Chili Corn Chip Bags," he instructs readers to dump hot chili and shredded cheddar into individual-sized Fritos bags. "This is one of those things that people make fun of until they try it," he writes, and then tells readers to eat it straight out of the bag. "Stupid, but great," he concludes. Like the everyman anti-chef he is, he tells us to try it before we knock it. In "Cinnamon Pull-Apart," he uses prepackaged refrigerated biscuits as a base for a gooey delicious concoction. He's like that college roommate, whose kitchen concoctions seemed completely absurd at first but upon sampling were delicious, simple to prepare...and cheap!

Despite its zanier moments, the 250-page collection provides a comprehensive variety of dishes that everyday households would actually want to make on a regular basis. Although the recipes reflect California cuisine styles, they are big on flavor, not effort, and at times the results appear more gourmet than they actually are. Foodies will delight in the more gourmet recipes such as "Pesto BBQ Shrimp"; "(Fake) Crème Brulee," prepared with pre-made vanilla pudding; "Gooey Blue Cheese and Red Onion Quesadillas"; and "Mini Crab Cake Sandwiches."

The book includes Sam's favorites, including "Sammy-Boy's Margarita," built on sweet-and-sour mix. While his dishes cross all categories, readers can expect quite a bit of Asian influence, as in "Black Bean Salmon," which uses prepared Chinese black bean sauce. Recipes also have much Latin influence, as in "Mahimahi with Salsa Cream." Also, you'll find lots of great uses for blue cheese and ready-made bacon, Sam's favorite ingredients, as in "Warm (Napa) Cabbage Salad."

While not specified as a collection of healthy recipes, the book well could be, as Sam stays away from heavy ingredients and fried goods. In "Easy Bunuelos," he modifies a traditional Mexican dish by baking puff pastry sold in the freezer section, rather than deep frying homemade dough.

The recipes are all on his Web site at [...], but it's worth the Amazon price to snag a copy of this collection so his no-nonsense recipes are always easily accessed. The book, unfortunately, is as low-budget as his local show. There are no photos of recipes, only the occasional black-and-whites of Sam and his dogs. The book is entirely black and white with a green spot color. Once readers get past its no-frills appearance, they will see that it's actually quite a useful collection of creative, everyday recipes and tips. It's also quite entertaining, as Sam wrote it himself (not ghost-written, as some of the bigger celebrity chefs' books are) and so the book is not without his wry, funny personality. He writes, on the back of the book:

" `I can't cook,' I hear that all the time. And it's not that you can't -- it's that you don't. It's that we've been wrecked by cooking shows with their millions of complicated steps and crazy-ass ingredients. Ingredients you can't find, let alone pronounce. That's not how I want to cook. I want to eat well, but I don't want it to take a year. Who's `making stuff like `Truffled Peruvian Mountain Squab with Chilled Framboise Foam' anyway?"

Definitely not Sam.
22 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Easy Breezy

Great cookbook for those with little time but still want something better than fast food. Sam is cool and in our house we watch his show whenever he is on. Of course, like us, he's a San Diegan, so we gotta support him anyway we can.
19 people found this helpful
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MEALS THAT ARE SIMPLE TO PREPARE AND DELICIOUS!

I have always loved cooking shows, but found I would spend a ton of money to buy the food they prepared and be in the kitchen for at least 2-3 hours with all the preparations. After discovering Sam the Cooking Guy, I now have time to walk the dogs, relax, watch some TV AND prepare a delicious meal in the same amount of time the Southern Belle or the supposed 30 Minute Meal gal meals would take.

The book is fantastic! Just like Sam. Last night we had the salmon on a plank. I am still drooling from how delicious that was and how easy and quick it was to prepare. I have also made his corn salad (a huge hit at the party I brought it to), the caprese salad, mini cheesecakes, just to name a few. EVERY SINGLE RECIPE IS ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS and takes almost no time to prepare. Buy this book. You won't be sorry.
18 people found this helpful
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Quick, Easy and Hilarious!

I've been a fan of Sam's cooking show for awhile now and was really excited when his first book came out. I was hoping the book would be a reflection of the quick, easy recipes he makes on the show and I was not disappointed. The added bonus of this book: Sam's sense of humor and great personality. I have made a bunch of the recipes in the book and they are all ridiculously simple and really delicious. With Sam "quick and easy" means just that. My "30 Minute Meals" often end up taking two hours to make! Not with this book. It is one of the rare "cookbooks" that is a pleasure to READ (always a good laugh). So...just buy this book. You won't be disappointed.
14 people found this helpful
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Great quick recipes and tips

Sam offers many quick recipes/ideas and some very wise tips for people with limited time and experience in the kitchen (like me). If you don't like to follow recipes, this is a good book for you, as the recipes are straight forward and easy to manipulate and alter. Check out his show on Discovery Health TV for a better presentation of these recipes.
10 people found this helpful
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Great book at a good price

I love the way this book is laid out and the recipes are large enough to read without my glasses. The recipes sometime take 2 pages so they are well spaced. The recipes are all easy and fun to make and I recommend this book.
10 people found this helpful
✓ Verified Purchase

Just a bunch of great recipes

I'm a big fan of Sam the Cooking Guy and I have lots of his recipes, jotted down when watching his TV show or downloaded from his website. Now I have a bunch of them, all in one place, and organized so I can find them easily. But even if you're not a cook, this funny book makes good reading and has a snazzy appearance.

I've made quite a few of Sam's recipes, all of which are easy and call for just a few ingredients. I love the leftover stuffing omelet, for example, and the shrimp tacos, the whippping cream chicken, the donutmisu, the salmon on a plank, the chicken enchiladas, and The Best Asparagus.

Now I look forward to volume two.
9 people found this helpful
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Tough Format For Me

The recipes looked interesting. But, I couldn't get past the crazy sort of layout, format, and general "look" of the book. Some font is black, some font is green, some font is small, some big, differnt styles, scrunched together. I found it so distracting and not reader friendly, I couldn't read it. I guess it's supposed to be cutting edge, fun, or modern. Not for me. Sorry.
8 people found this helpful
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Best Cook Book

Sam the Cooking Guy is my hero.

His cooking methods are perfect for us normal people that want to cook good food with easily and with food that we would actually find in our kitchen. I have mad most of the food that is in this book and have not been disappointed once. To go along with recipes are great little quirky stories and great recommendations for cooking and things that you need in the kitchen.
8 people found this helpful

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