Simply Sous Vide: Soups to Casseroles to Cakes

Simply Sous Vide® is one of a number of relatively inexpensive books to come out recently regarding the sous vide method of cooking -- an indication that sous vide cooking is becoming mainstream and reaching the home user. The recipes cover soups and starters; brunch; sandwiches and burgers; meat, poultry, and seafood recipes; side dishes; sauces; pastry dishes(!); and deserts. I am looking forward to trying a number of these recipes -- the brandied mushrooms sound delightful, along with a steak. But there are also some surprising omissions, like corn-on-the-cob sous vide, and she cooks asparagus in a bag in boiling water. Why?The author, Cindy Kowalyk, advocates cooking many of the dishes in dishware or containers such as a ramekin, which are then sealed in a food safe bag. She claims to have a patent pending on the technique, but it seems doubtful that the patent office will actually award such a patent.This technique may be necessary for some of the dishes that have a structure to them, such as the puddings and custards, but many of the recipes can just as well be prepared in a Ziploc bag directly, using the Archimedes technique (immerse the bag in water to squeeze out the air before sealing the bag), or by using a chamber vacuum.The book is all recipes, with no photographs. This was presumably to keep the production costs down. Instead, the reader is directed to the author's web site for pictures and additional tips.There is a minimal (half-page) discussion of sous vide equipment, and no discussion at all of the food safety issues involved. If readers are not already familiar with those subjects, I would recommend a Google search for Douglas Baldwin's "Practical Guide to Sous Vide Cooking," or his book, "Sous Vide for the Home Cook."The times and temperatures suggested for many of the recipes seem rather arbitrary, but safe. She recommends cooking brisket for 30 hours at 135F, whereas I prefer 72 hours at 131F. She also recommends pre-searing meat, primarily in the interest of time when serving a party, whereas most sous vide practitioners recommend post-searing for a more robust flavor.The temperatures given are all in Fahrenheit, and the measurements are all in U.S. cups, teaspoons, tablespoons, pounds, etc., instead of the increasingly accepted and more precise metric gram weights. International users take note!Recommended with reservations.

I purchased my first sous vide machine and the author's book four months ago. I find the recipes to be well thought out, concise, and easy to follow. The book is also interactive. On her website the author does constant updates, has pictures, and links to her facebook page. On facebook she answers questions and has interesting postings of her meetings with chefs from around the world.The book allows me to build complete dinners, many which employ her new method allowing me to serve directly from the water bath to the table. This affords portion control and easy clean up. I just had a party in my condo. Served Sloppy Joes ( page 73 ), paired with the "Kicked up Corn on the Cob" ( page 187 ), adding potato chips and coleslaw. For desert, I prepared her Godiva Carmel Cheesecake the night before. This uses her new technique allowing creation of sous vide cake and individual servings directly to the table. Great and no fuss! I believe this may be the first review of her actual recipes and I highly recommend them!

We are enjoying it very much. The title is just what the book says. It's a great way to expand on the many things possible to use the sous vide technique.There are some wonderful gourmet reciepes.We are looking forward to trying most of them.We feel it is well worth what we paid for it.

I went through half the book, and wondered why anyone would go through all the trouble to cook many of these dishes first, and In the end "Sous Vide" them all assembled, even on a plate. All a bunch of nonsense. Hopefully the recipes can be converted to regular oven, or stove top. I must admit the author certainly has a good imagination.

Good information

" Without question the BEST go to sous vide cookbook on the market today for doable , original , creative recipes. The Simply Sous Vide technique is sheer genius. 5 Stars. "

Interesting cookbook

There are factual errors (place the fish in the freezer for 20 minutes to kill any parasites...NOT TRUE), conceptually questionable recipes (put cooked pasta in a bag with sauce and cook raw chicken and cook for three hours), typos, and procedures that neither save time nor improve quality. How is it beneficial to cook soup in a bag and then dump it into a pan to puree? Why not just cook it in the pan, in less time. Don't waste your money on this. There are too many books out that that have culinary soul and an educated point of view.

Great book! I never realised you could do so much with Sous vide. Brilliant!

I do not use my sous vide any more.