If you actually want to cook something you are way better off with an hibachi
596408
This product is a POS. Please save your money. Mine worked 3 times then quit. They send me a replacement part. It was installed and still didn't work. My brother-inlaw tried to fix it and after several emails back and forth with Traeger no results. BTW my BIL has an undergraduate degree in physics and advanced degrees in enginerring. So far nothing. this is the first thing I have ever seen him not be able to repair.  No refunds forth coming. If you want to grow flowers in a BBQ cooker please buy this. If you actually want to cook something you are way better off with an hibachi.
2014402
I am an extremely experienced cook, and I'm also a serious foodie.  My local farm stands sell top-quality potatoes in 50lb sacks during the fall, so I also have a need for good potato recipes. Cooking is one of my favorite hobbies, so I enjoy spending an afternoon cooking dinner for the family and friends.

I wanted to like this book, I truly did, but I can't.

The recipes are excessively complicated, excessively time-consuming, and the resulting dishes consistently do a disservice to all of their major ingredients.  I can see where they would appeal to people who confuse complication with quality.  I prefer to impress people with the taste of the food, not with the amount of time I spent cooking a dish. I like to invest in quality ingredients, and then let them shine.  This is not a cookbook that supports that goal.  If I could have given it a 1/2 star, I would have.
600009
I am sorry but I had an immediate dislike to this cookbook. Can't really say why but I found the tone of the book a bit grating on my nerves. It might have something to do with the author's admonitions or dislike of the microwave oven. There is absolutely nothing wrong with using a microwave oven (especially for defrosting and reheating make-ahead meals) and is particularly handy for small meals. The microwave oven also saves energy as it cooks quicker and does not heat up the kitchen. Both are good things when you live in the middle of the desert during summer.

The author then goes on to write about important it is to eat seasonally and to avoid big supermarket chains. Sigh...she does admit that city dwellers may have no option but to shop at the supermarket and if they do check the grocery label.

She then offers these two rules for healthy eating:

"Don't eat any food you would not have found in your Grandmother's kitchen" followed by "Don't eat anything that is advertised. Whenever was an essential food advertised?"

Sigh...

If we all ate what Grandma cooked we would have never tasted other cuisines or tried new foods. For example I don't think Grandma (at least my Grandma in 1950) would have cooked broccolini or tried eating Pluots. As to advertised food items:  A bit of commonsense is needed here as some advertised food items are healthy and essential. You have to use commonsense when choosing what to buy. Most money-saving experts recommend you shop using grocery specials that are advertised to save money too.

As to the recipes:

Some of the recipes are written in both metric and Imperial measurements. You will have to take this in account when using the recipes in this cookbook.

There is no active table of contents in this cookbook.

Some of the recipes you will find in this cookbook include:

Shortcrust Pastry
Creme Fraiche
Jam
Pesto
French-Style Dressing
Lemon Sole
Italian Chicken
Fried Chicken
Balsamic Veal Steak
Beef Pot Pie
Potato Gratin
Bacon and Egg Pie
Carrot and Walnut Cake

Recommend with caveats given.
3248832
I sent it back because hate the slow cook method with plastic leaching into my yogurt....a stainless insert would be much better and I would pay more for it.
4063769
I give this appliance a 3 star ratingpartially because of the work involved in making mini pies. That's not the fault of the maker itself,but the whole concept of making mini pies.if you get one, be prepared to work your butt off. It's much easier just to make a large pie and cut it into pieces if you decide to wrap and freeze the pies.

so you decide you want to make mini pies. 1 fault with this item, is that the instruction book leaves a lot to be desired. Be prepared to experiment a lotin order to make acceptable mini pie. Example - there are no instructions on how to get the pie out of the appliance. You will probably destroy a decent looking pie by just trying to get them out.secondly, in order to get the top crust to brown properly, you must make sure that your pies are full enough that the top crust touches the top of the appliance. Your instruction book does not tell you this. Another negative, is that all four of the pie inserts do not heat evenly.just getting the bottom crust into the insertproperly can be a challenge.with a lot of time, effort,and experimentation, you will eventually be able to make decent and acceptable mini pies.  there are many other tips and tricks that need to be learned in order to master this appliance, none of which are addressed in the instruction book.if you're retired like me and have plenty of spare time, you might want to try this appliance. I, on the other hand, can find better things to do with my time.
4736186
Wish I would've read the negative reviews before buying this. It was $11 during the Christmas sales, so I snatched it up. I've used it a few times and I'm not happy with the low setting. It gets way too hot for low. We made beef/vegetable stew in it and within an hour on low, it was boiling. That's not what low is supposed to be. I remember growing up, my mom used the crock pot all the time. Meals cooked all day and never boiled on low.  This unit might burn your house down if you left it on all day at low.  So, if you want to cook something fast and not really have to pay attention to it on the stove, this might do the trick. Otherwise, do NOT leave this unattended for more than an hour or you could find your food burning (and maybe even your kitchen).
4056435
I have both volume 1 and volume 2 and while the flavors are very solid, I have not had good luck with her recipes. I tried the Santa Fe Sweet Potato Soup from volume 2 and it was waaay too spicy and the broth was too thin. Since I'm a confident cook, I penciled in adjustments like "reduce 1 Tbs chili powder to 1/2 tsp" to lower heat and "use 2 large sweet potatoes instead of 2 regular" to make broth not so watery and thin. Well, then I tried the Greek Moussaka from volume 1 and while the spices and flavors were right on, the end product turned into a mash (like oatmeal rather than a casserole). I would have to adjust this recipe by just cooking the casserole in the oven. (This , BTW, defeats the whole purpose of a slow cooker which is meant to save you time by leaving it unattended for most of the day).  I will have to use this dish, which I spent a lot of time and ingredients on, using it as a thick sauce to put on top of spaghetti or something in order to make this dish palatable. I have only tried 2 recipes, 1 from each volume, but so far, the recipes have not been worth the amount of work.
1830823
I wanted to like this, and am a big fan of wasabi.  But this has a horrid, musty taste to it.  Possibly mine was made from old, low quality wasabi root.  It ruined my sashimi meal and I threw the remainder in the garbage.
1043413
by the time you have this cooked, you could have cooked it from scratch.  No point ordering it again.  I'm just going to get a good rice cooker that makes porridge/congee/jok.  I'll use this up, but I won't buy again.
4845329
So I had written a long and detailed review with specifics about most of the recipes I've tried from this book and ultimately decided it was the wrong kind of review after reading so many of the "good" reviews on here.  What you'll get out of this book is entirely dependent upon who you are going into it, and thus I offer the following summary:

If you can't cook and/or hate to cook and/or don't really want to learn to cook but are at least willing to do more than microwave something, or if you're used to eating frozen dinners and takeout, or if you consider food as nothing more than fuel, or if you're currently eating the gut-wrenchingly bland standard muscle head fare of steamed chicken and steamed vegetables 7 days a week for months or years on end, then you'll love this book.  The recipes are super simple, they're way healthier than takeout, and they're way more interesting than standard muscle head fare.

However if you're already good at cooking or want to learn how to be a really good cook, if you enjoy cooking as much as you love eating, if you see food as being far more than merely fuel for your workout, then you'll be bored to tears and suffer through each ghastly meal as I did.  This book is great for people who want to do the bare minimum to prepare calories that fit easily into their macros, but for those who truly savor their meals and wish to prepare and share in delicious meals that everyone at the table will thoroughly enjoy, you'll be well served to forget this and pick up Cooking for Two, Comfort Food Makeovers, The Meat Book or any of a dozen other books by America's Test Kitchen instead.  I am a HUGE fan and supporter of Mike's book Bigger Leaner Stronger, but in terms of food you can get the exact same results from your workouts while still enjoying cooking and eating truly delicious meals with America's Test Kitchen as your guide in your own kitchen.

I give this book two stars because even though I do feel like it fills a niche in the world of cooking, if you're accustomed to eating good quality home cooking these will leave you gagging.
287540
I'd think Faberware would have figured it out by now, how to make quality cookware. They didn't. This is the worse set of cookware I have ever had. And the worse thing, I had such great expectations for it that I bought a set for my friends when they moved into a new house. What a mistake! I can't even imagine what they think about me now?! Anyway, the food sticks to the bottom of these pans like in no other set, including non-coated stainless steel pans. On top of that, after some time discoloration on the bottom is very visible.
Now, the question is:
You went to Consumer Reports to look for a good, non-toxic set of pans. You bought this set. However, the food sticks so much, you scrape it off but you can't take it out until it's done and parts of food still sticking to the bottom finally burn. You get all that burned food in with your good food you have been cooking. Let me ask you a question at this time: What is worse for your health - some gas in immeasurable quantities supposedly being given off by some coated non-stick pots or ingesting burned food (claimed by many that it causes cancer) day after day.
Yesterday I tried to fry some Wontons in one of these pans. Everything was sticking to the bottom so badly that I was getting frustrated more and more by the minute. All the time I was saying - You are going in the garbage can, You are going in the garbage can...
Bottom line: don't buy it. If you have already made a mistake of buying it - use it to cook spaghetti or maybe for light duty cooking, never for frying. Or just cut your losses and move on.
I WOULD NEVER RECOMMEND IT TO MY FRIEND. IF YOU'RE HERE READING THIS - YOU ARE MY FRIEND SO PLEASE DON'T BUY IT.
3519119
Dont be suckered by the hype.  The Instant Pot is worthless.
On the 3rd use we chose to make a pot roast which requires high pressure and high heat.  We could never get the damn thing beyond the preheat stage without receiving a burn error message.  We tried vigorously stirring the contents without success. So, our crock pot will just have to finish the job Instant Pot cannot handle.
I hope you will avoid the same $150 mistake we made.  Do not buy Instant Pot!!!
2582108
I hate cooking and this is basically just cooking. The instructions should be printed in a normal size, not the microscopic print they are using. Also more than half the box is air, it looks like it would be full of plastic molds or something but the packaging is gigantic just to advertise their product. My son liked the lollipops but we accidentally used tons of citric acid in our recipe and he loves super sour so he was happy. now we have to try lemon juice substitution since we ran out of citric acid powder since we had a hard time following the recipe (did I mention I hate cooking). they should have supplied more than 5 lollipop paper lollipop sticks, at least plastic would be more reuseable.
1794549
Based on all of the glowing reviews regarding what one can use this for as well as reading the description, I thought that this product would be just what I am looking for to simmer spaghetti sauce, chili, stroganoff, and the like.  My high-end gas stove (already in the place where I am now living) is too hot on the "low" setting and it cannot be adjusted any lower than that.  I have found that "low" is boiling over time.  I need an appliance that enables me to do what I stated herein.  In other words, I need something that will allow simmering for an hour or slightly over.  (I did not want a slow cooker/crock pot).

When I received this item, I read the instructions that came with it.  Well, it states that one can "stew" in it.  That right there means that one can cook in it for at least one hour.  However, the instructions caution that the temperature control is not accurate and specifically that the temperature is a few degrees higher than what is set on the control.  As such, the instructions contradict each other.  Oh, and it also cautions about a fire hazard!

I then called the company in California and spoke to a nice man in customer service.  I told him my concerns.  A couple of times during our conversation, he put me on hold to call the marketing department.  He told me that this appliance is not meant for lengthy cooking; i.e., for what I wanted to do.  I argued that the instructions state that "stew" can be prepared in it.  As we discussed this, I discovered that "stew" has a different meaning for the asians that originated this appliance --- NOT "stew" as Americans think of it.  The rep also stated that this appliance has pans that are "just" aluminum and that cooking for an hour would be a fire hazard.

The instructions also state to not saute in the pans that come with it.  That is ridiculous and I so stated to the rep.  I explained to him that one sautes onions (and whatever else, e.g. garlic, green peppers) FIRST and then add the liquid ingredients.  I noticed that the oriental recipes included with the product state to add ingredients such as onions to the liquid already in the pan.  The rep then stated that I could return the product within thirty days.  I replied that it was hard enough to bring in the heavy appliance from my doorstep.  (In fact, I could not carry the box.  I had to gently use my feet to scoot the box into my house).  I am also disabled and live alone.  So; now, I have a useless $150.00 product that does not meet my needs.

Years ago, a grandmother of mine would make wonderful fried chicken and dishes using stew beef and bone-in pork chops in her electric skillet (which is what this product is called), all of which took an hour to cook.  I cannot do that with this.  Naturally, hers was made of heavy gauge metal and it lasted for years.  Oh, and hers was made in the U.S.

What I should have done was purchase one of those higher-end slow cookers where you can brown your ingredients first in the same pot and then add the other items.
2767930
This book lacks charm, humor and practicality. Perhaps if one were training to open an authentic Chinese restaurant it might serve some purpose but for the home cook it is terrifying! I'm an accomplished cook. I bought this for my daughter, also a fine cook, after hearing it reviewed on NPR. Sad to say it is not  for anyone other than a professional and then a professional who can get his/her hands on live shrimp or carp; spend days making a sauce; scour China town for 5 pig feet; and scale the cliffs of Taiwan for spittle laced bird nests! Cooking should not be intimidating. This book offers the home cook no safety net. It will make for fun dinner party story telling. Must say some of the comments following my review also lack charm and humor!
Gerry H
[...]
2005521
This thing sucks.  I cook for a living and this knife has been a nightmare from day one.  Why on earth it has a 30/70 bevel is beyond me.  It's truly garbage.  It's a constant hassle.  All Eastern style knives are but this thing takes it to a new level.  I wouldn't even recommend this thing to a 97 year old home cook.  Get a Wusthof Ikon or if you have to go Eastern get a Takamura or even a Shun.
4526049
The bread on my panini is so close to burnt by the time the rare beep comes on. I tried to cook a steak at medium rare pulling it between rare and medium and it was so over done. For chicken I set to well done since, well it is chicken, but it was inedible it was so dry. I guess you only cook chicken to rare. I don't know how all you folks who say this thing cooks meat perfectly is doing this because this is my second grill (ok really third, the second one had that stuck manual mode) and both are overdoing my meat.