Slow Fires by Justin Smillie

My rating: 4 of 5 spoons

gggg

I love to grill. I also love slow braised and roasted meats, and this book beautifully covers it all with some great foundations and finishes to boot. The title says a lot about this book. Do not expect to pop in the kitchen and deliver an amazing meal in an hour. This is all about SLOW fires...recipes that may be fairly simple, but they take time. For example, Seared Bay Scallops with Bagna Cauda and Vegetables may sound like a quick, easy dish, but you have to refrigerate the scallops, uncovered, for 3 hours, roast the sunchokes for about half an hour, make the bagna cauda...you get the idea. However, the results speak for themselves.

I like that there is a nice mix of everyday ingredients that most are familiar with as well as a few that you might have to go searching for. However, that just piques the interest and encourages you to go on a little food adventure.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend this book for absolute beginners. The directions are clear, but the sheer volume of work for many of the recipes could intimidate the novice cook. However, if you've been cooking awhile, I think this would be a great book for you.

I received a copy of this book from Clarkson Potter through the Blogging for Books program for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.