Book Review - Michael Symon's 5 in 5 For Every Season

Using fresh ingredients in recipes always tastes much better than dried or canned vegetables. I was glad to get this book for recipes for the whole year using fresh ingredients in quickly made meals. Read below for my review of this book.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for writing an honest review of the book. All thoughts are my own and are not swayed by receiving a free copy of this book. This post contains affiliate links. For more information about my Amazon affiliate links, see the bottom side of my blog.

Thinking of recipes throughout the year for fresh ingredients can be difficult. 5 in 5 For Every Season by Michael Symon gives you plenty of ideas for using the produce that is freshest during the year.

Michael Symon loves to share quick meals made with few ingredients. His "5 in 5" means he uses 5 fresh ingredients in the meal (with a few other seasonings, grains, or broths) that will cook in about 5 minutes. In the Introduction (pg 6) Michael says, "You can get a from-scratch meal on the table for you, your family, and your friends in very little time, for not a lot of money, and without a lot of fuss."

This book even has a page where it lays out what items should be in your pantry for easy cooking. Oils and vinegars, seasonings to have on hand, canned, bottled and boxed items, and the basics which are in most pantries already. Looking at the list, my average kitchen has almost all of these items already. This list is for making all the recipes in the book. If there are certain ones that you don't plan on making then don't worry about adding the ingredients to your pantry.

This book is split up into the different seasons. Each section starts with a double page listing the meals you will find in the season. Not every recipe is listed with a picture, but there are enough pictures throughout the book to make your mouth water and inspire you to get cooking in the kitchen.

Spring has offerings such as: "Angel Hair with Peas, Lemon, and Mint", "Grilled Skirt Steak with Mushroom Gravy", "Roasted Asparagus & Mushroom Salad".

In the Summer section you will find "Grilled Pork Medallions with Plum Sauce", "Scallops with Chinese Green Beans & Radish", and "Parmesan Zucchini Fries".

Don't miss out on Fall recipes such as "Rosemary Chicken with Endive", "Vegetable Stir-Fry", and "Keilbasa with Apples and Onions".

In Winter you can look forward to "Mushroom Philly Cheesesteaks",  "Spicy Beef Tacos with Fresh Salsa", and "Salmon with Kale, White Wine, & Lemon".

There is even a bonus chapter: Holidays. You will find "Leftover Turkey Frittata", "Glazed Carrots with Pecans & Nutmeg", and "Cheesy Broccoli Gratin".

Those are just a few of the 165 recipes found in this book. Next time we have mashed potatoes, I am going to use the leftovers to make "Mashed Potato Cakes with Parmesan". I know those will be a hit with my family.

This book has some recipes that lean toward the fancier meals that people who are adventurous in the kitchen would enjoy. There are definitely enough regular meals that others would enjoy also. This book has a good mix of both throughout each section. I tend to lean toward the more regular meals, but every once in a while I like to throw in some different ingredients that make the meal stand out a bit. This book hits both points and I think would appeal to most people.

Interested in some other cookbooks? I wrote about 12 cookbooks every kitchen should have. You can see my picks here.