5 Ingredient Fix: Easy, Elegant, and Irresistible Recipes

by Claire Robinson

Claire Robinson, the hot new Food Network star of 5 Ingredient Fix and Food Network Challenge, helps people get dinner on the table with little fuss and a few great ingredients.

The quest for simple, affordable, and fresh, mouthwatering food is over. 5 INGREDIENT FIX helps put delicious and sophisticated meals on the table in a snap. With people struggling to simplify, streamline, and budget, the Food Network's Claire Robinson is here to help. Cooking doesn't have to be complicated to be impressive; simplifying the process with fewer ingredients saves time, frustration, and ultimately, money. From breakfast treats like Brioche French Toast with Strawberries and Cream to no-fuss meals like Grown-up Grilled Cheese and Iceberg Wedges with Buttermilk Dressing to a romantic dinner of Grilled Scallops with Saffron Aioli and Green Goddess Rice, all of Robinson's recipes have five or fewer ingredients. A quick trip to the supermarket for one bag of groceries, and a delicious, restaurant-quality meal can be on the table in no time.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Nonfiction, Reference, Food

240 pages, Hardcover

First published October 6, 2010

About the author

With a multi-ethnic background, Claire cites her French-speaking grandmother as a major influence on her love for food, a joy passed on through many generations. Born in Jacksonville, Fla. Claire and her family spent time in St. Augustine, Fla.; Houston; and New Orleans but ultimately settled in Memphis, Tenn.

Claire graduated from The University of Memphis in 1999 with a B.A. in Communications. While in college, Claire worked at Maggie’s Pharm where she learned to appreciate the amazing flavors, scents and uses for exotic herbs and spices – a love she applies to her cooking today. Claire gained behind-the-scenes media experience at Memphis’ CBS affiliate, WREG-TV, and at WMC-FM radio. At Tiger Sports Properties, a sports marketing agency, Claire handled marketing for The University of Memphis’ athletic department.

Despite enjoying her jobs, Claire realized she would never love another career the way she loved cooking. She decided to pursue her dream by moving to New York City and attending The French Culinary Institute; she graduated in November 2005. Claire then spent time as a private chef as well as a culinary producer on various television series including Food Network’s Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello and PBS’ Everyday Baking for Everyday Food. Currently, she's host of the Food Network's "5 Ingredient Fix" cooking program.

Aside from cooking, Claire enjoys a variety of unique sports including skydiving, boxing, and slalom waterskiing. She currently lives in New York City with her dog Newman.

Reviews

[Clare]

it's obvious she doesn't have kids, but I want to try her recipes anyway.

[Dianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I saw the title of this cookbook, I was worried. I've seen cookbooks like this before, a bit gimmicky with the number of ingredients required to make a recipe. Usually the main idea is to provide fast and easy recipes. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the recipes in this cookbook don't call for canned soup or bottled sauces and dressings, as most cookbooks of this type seem to.

Instead, the point is to get the maximum flavor out of a few quality ingredients. Recipes call for cheese, olive oil, meat, fish, fruits and vegetables—things like that. I looked through the whole book, and there was no canned soup in sight. The recipes look simple and delicious.

Claire Robinson, the author of this cookbook, is a star on the Food Network. I've never seen her show, but I guess that would explain why she's in so many of the photographs. I'm more used to cookbooks that feature the food, not the chef!

The only downside to this book is that it suffers from what I'll call the Food Network Syndrome. There are two parts to FNS. First, the cooking has to be delicious enough to be on television, so some of the recipes tend to call for large amounts of ingredients that most of us try to eat in moderation, such as butter and cream. Second, the recipes tend to call for ingredients that I don't usually buy because of availability and expense. The recipes just aren't practical for everyday. I'm unlikely, for example, to make duck breasts with citrus-port cherry sauce or fig and blue cheese tart. Some other recipes take a lot of time or work, or specialized equipment or techniques. None of this is bad, and some people enjoy cooking this way. I love spending a lot of time on a meal occasionaly, but not every day.

There are eight sections of recipes:
Breakfast
Cocktails and "nibbles"
Appetizers
Soup and salads
Main dishes (meat and fish)
Vegetable sides
Starchy sides
Desserts

My conclusion: check out this book if you're a fan of Claire Robinson, if you like playing around with fun and fancy ingredients, if you like "adult" cooking, if you enjoy seasonal food, and if you're not on a tight food budget. If you entertain in a fancy way, you'll probably enjoy this book. I often serve my guests mac and cheese, so I don't think I'm exactly the right audience for this book. I've marked several recipes to try, however, such as baked fresh ricotta with stewed cherries and pumpkin seed dried cherry trail mix. If/when I actually make the recipes, I'll update this review.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book through the GoodReads First Reads program. I have not yet cooked anything from this book.

[Gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been watching Claire's Food Network TV show for awhile now (thank gawd for the DVR) and she impresses me as someone who is creative and isn't afraid to cook for the masses. Even though she's a French trained chef, her approach to all things cooking is very inclusive thanks to a rather unique upbringing. She's the first chef in quite awhile who I can honestly say has introduced me to a new concept in cooking - more from less. The book (Christmas gift from my wife) is gorgeous with few equals in the photography category. Layouts of the recipes are clean and often introduced with a few words by Claire. Overall, this book is a keeper and one that I'll return to more than many others in future years.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Ingredient Fix is my favorite kind of cookbook. The recipes are fast and easy, don't require hard-to-find ingredients and yet they introduce me to new and interesting flavor combinations. I cooked a number of recipes from this cookbook and have many more flagged to try.

Fennel Orange Crackers - The flavors on these were as great as advertised. I didn't feel they had quite the cracker texture I was looking for, but found myself eating them anyway because they tasted so good!

Zucchini Ribbon Salad - Fabulous! These light, lemony zucchini ribbons topped with breadcrumbs were just different enough to feel special. This will be an often repeated recipe at my house.

Spiced Stone Fruit Chutney - Very easy to make and I do like the idea of a fruit sauce even when its not Thanksgiving. I didn't have cherries so I made it with cranberries, but I bet I'd like it even more with the cherries. I loved the spiciness added with the chai tea.

Ginger and Lemon Roasted Chicken with Braised Fennel - Delicious roast chicken and the ginger under the skin makes it special. I thought this as good as the rotisserie chickens in the grocery store.

Pork Roast with Hard Cider Gravy - I was worried this gravy would be too sweet and I wouldn't like it. It turned out more tart then sweet and it was great. Next time I would peel the apples to make the gravy smoother.

Roasted Cauliflower with Dates and Pine Nuts - Wow! This was my favorite recipe from this cookbook. Super easy, but flavors I've never tasted together before. Really, really tasty!

I found great recipes and beautiful photography in 5 Ingredient Fix. I loved her notes with each recipe of "what makes this recipe sing" and "What to toss in if you have it".

[Suz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I judge a recipe by the final outcome but also, was the product worth the investment. All the recipes I’ve tried from this book are. I’ve made several of the recipes multiple times. Easy to follow, and only five ingredients! Ingredients are largely accessible to me without having to go to specialty shops, which I appreciate.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is hands-down my most used cookbook. It was gifted to me in 2012 and I’ve been reaching for it ever since. The recipes are EASY with only 5 ingredients and you can alter them depending on your taste that day! The majority of my go-to recipes are from this cookbook. I absolutely love it and wish more cookbooks were as accessible as this one.

[Barb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting recipes. Some have ingredients that may be difficult to get. I thoroughly enjoyed her TV show.
I decided to read the reviews. These were very confusing as they cited recipes not in the copy I had yet I was very careful to choose the correct copy.

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the idea of focusing on one main ingredient, and having the other ingredients enhance the main one. There are some good ideas in this cookbook.

[Roberta · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really good cookbook, if you are looking to having great meals on the table with limited ingredients.

There are so many to choose from, you wont get bored.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found some really good recipes in here.

[Katy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of pictures. Most of the recipes stick to 5 fresh ingredients.

[Carol Harlow · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Ingredient Fix

Claire Robinson, the hot new Food Network star of 5 Ingredient Fix and Food Network Challenge, helps people get dinner on the table with little fuss and a few great ingredients. The quest for simple, affordable, and fresh, mouthwatering food is over. 5 INGREDIENT FIX helps put delicious and sophisticated meals on the table in a snap. With people struggling to simplify, streamline, and budget, the Food Network's Claire Robinson is here to help. Cooking doesn't have to be complicated to be impressive; simplifying the process with fewer ingredients saves time, frustration, and ultimately, money.

Here’s a look at the contents~

Up And At ‘Em (Breakfast on the table)

It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere (Cocktails and nibbles for Parties or Anytime)

Opening Act (Appetizers to Start Your Engine)

All Day Eats (Soups and Salads To Tide You Over)

The Main Event (Impressive Entrees)

Sidekicks (Vegetable Dishes to Dress Up Any Plate)

Comfort A La Carte (Pasta, Potatoes, and Other Perfect Plate Fillers)

Sweet Endings (Wrap It All Up with Dessert)

I love the whole idea of this book! Simple elegant meals with 5 ingredients or less. With this premise you get to taste the meal with more flavor, more intensity because you don’t have so many flavors hitting your palate at once. With 5 ingredients or less each ingredient can truly stand out in the recipe, so you really taste the food your cooking. With these recipes you can cut down on shopping time, expense and cooking time!

Well, if you haven’t realized it by now, I’m a baker, so I usually turn to breads and sweets first in a cookbook. So I decided to try the Millionaire Shortbread recipe. I love a layered bar cookie and this one isn’t that much work with a stunning results!

PB091236

Millionaire’s Shortbread

Shortbread

1/2 lb butter (2 sticks), cut into small pieces

2 cups flour

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

Caramel Layer

2 (14oz) cans sweetened condensed milk

2 tablespoons butter

Chocolate Topping

12 oz good quality milk chocolate, chopped

Flaky Sea Salt, for garnish

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray 2 8x8 inch pans with Pam. In a food processor pulse the flour, sugar, salt and butter until the butter is the size of small peas. Pat into prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes.

For Caramel

In a double boiler heat the sweetened condensed milk and the butter. Slowly bring to a boil stirring continuously. Continue stirring over the heat until the mixture becomes thick and amber in color, 15 to 20 minutes.*Pour the caramel over the shortbread and spread evenly. Cool to room temperature.

*This step actually took about 80 minutes. I Googled it and it said anywhere from 60~75 minutes, so 20 minutes is way off.

For the chocolate topping

In a glass bowl set over a saucepan of water, melt the chocolate. Once the chocolate has melted, pour it over the cooled caramel layer. Sprinkle a little flaky salt over the surface of the chocolate to garnish. Cool at room temperature for about 10 minutes and then place in the refrigerator to set completely. Cut into 2 inch squares and serve.

[Mary BookHounds · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robinson is the host of 5 Ingredient Fix on Food Network and one that I watch religiously. In this new cookbook, she puts on paper a lot of her favorites for you to try. This is such a beautiful cookbook, full of easy to use recipes and beautiful pictures. I tried several and the one that is most favored in my house is the grown up grilled cheese made with cheese that doesn't come wrapped in cellophane. I even tried my hand at creating my own 5 Ingredient Fix.

HERE IS MINE!

Cheesy Enchilada Casserole
Serves at least 8
Preparation about 30 minutes
Cook Time about 30 minutes at 350.
This can be prepared ahead and refrigerated, just add 10 minutes cook time.

4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded or chopped into bit size pieces
3 cups shredded Mexican Cheese blend - divided use
2 tbsp finely chopped onions
1 large can mild Enchilada Sauce
18 small corn tortillas


In one large casserole pan (13 x 9)
I use a small ladle to place about 4 scoops of Enchilada sauce in the bottom of the pan.
Place 6 tortillas over the bottom of the dish like Lasagna noodles, they will overlap.
Coat the top of the tortillas with a few more ladles of sauce.
Divide the cooked chicken and place half on top of the cheese
Sprinkle with almost 1 tablespoon of onions (you can use more if you like, but just reserve a few for the top)
Sprinkle with more cheese, about a handful
Place 6 more tortillas after coating both sides with sauce. I usually ladle a bit on the bottom of each and coat as best as possible. Ladle extra on the top. You should have about 1/3 can of sauce left.
Repeat the cheese, chicken, onion, cheese step above.
Place the final tortillas on top of this after coating both sides with sauce.
Sprinkle the remainder of cheese on top with some of the onions and whatever sauce is left.
Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, add about 10 minutes to baking time if you refrigerated it.

This is almost better the next night. It will keep in the refrigerator for 3 days. You can also make this with turkey, pork and hamburger. I would recommend lightly dusting salt and pepper over the meat as it is cooking. I serve it with corn mixed with a few red bell peppers finely chopped and Spanish rice made from a box.

[Angelc · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful cookbook with some really upscale recipes that have only five ingredients or less. Robinson's philosophy is that the more ingredients you add to a recipe, the farther away you get from the true flavor. Of course, the five ingredients that you do use need to be very high quality. While the recipes seem uncomplicated to prepare (yay!), they also seem like your grocery bill would be pretty high (boo!)

I loved that this book had sections on hors d'oeuvres, cocktails, and appetizers. I can really see how people would use this book to host elegant parties. It seems like a lot of books skip over these types of recipes, so I'm glad to see the options here.

I also thought the chapter on "All Day Eats" was unique and useful to me because I love snacks! The Fennel, Strawberry, and Arugula Salad" looks delicious, as do many of the other salads and snacks.

As for the main dishes, they weren't really anything I would try, for example-a whole chicken, but the side dishes looked really good. I'd love to try the "Smokey Roasted Peaches."

This book is beautifully presented and would make a lovely gift. I think it would be especially great for a hostess who throws a lot of elegant parties.


book sent by publisher in exchange for honest review

reviewed for http://inthehammockblog.blogspot.com

[Wendy Hines · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a hardworking woman who comes home after a long day and still has to cook a meal for my family. Sure sometimes it's something we can just pop in the microwave or deep fryer, but it isn't healthy. I like making healthy meals for us, but time is always an issue. I've never seen this show on Food Network, but I am a big fan of the idea of easy to prepare foods, low ingredients, and it doesn't have to simmer or cook for hours. This book is chock-ful of delicious recipes that use only the bare amount of ingredients, letting the food flavors come out on their own, and it doesn't take long to prepare them.

I prepared the Wild Rice Casserole. My family loves rice!! It called for wild rice, bell peppers, onion, egg and Parmesan cheese. You can add salt and pepper to taste if you want. Total prep time took me about 10 minutes since I bought the fast-cooking rice. Then popped it in the oven for about 35 minutes. It tasted heavenly!! A definite new addition to our menu and we've already been planning on making pumpkin soup this weekend since pumpkins are in season!

Definitely pick this one up and give it a try. It has easy to read and follow recipes, colorful and yummy pictures, and most of the recipes use produce that you can find in season, so it's versatile for all year round! Delish!!

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

From my book review blog Rundpinne
5 Ingredient Fix: Easy Elegant and Irresistible Recipes by Claire Robinson is a well laid out cookbook with impressive pictures of both the food and the chef, an easy to navigate index and a selection of menus. The recipes stayed primarily around 5 ingredients, some did have a few more, and the directions appeared relatively straightforward. I definitely agree the recipes are elegant, but would beg to question easy and irresistible. Robinson’s cookbook is probably not for the beginner cook nor one for picky eaters as her cookbook contains a wide range of foods, for example; Zucchini-Tinis (page 54), Sake and Lemongrass Steamed Sea Bass (page 117), Fig and Blue Cheese Tart (page 144) not typical family fare in my household. Robinson’s 5 Ingredient Fix appears to me to be more of an entertainment cookbook and as such it is wonderfully done. If it is meant to be used nightly in a family home, I do not think it would be as great a success, at least not in this home. If one were looking for elegant, quick, and inexpensive ideas for entertaining I would recommend 5 Ingredient Fix: Easy Elegant and Irresistible Recipes.

[Kendra · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was personally bummed by this cookbook because I adore Claire Robinson endlessly. What's not to like? She's friendly, relatable, likeable, and I've always liked her cooking show. Whenever I watch her, I can't help but think... five ingredients? This woman and I need to become friends in real life. But then I got this cookbook and I made some of her recipes (Easy ones by the way, supposedly foolproof), and I didn't love them. I made the "Polenta fries with roasted tomato sauce" and the "Spicy citrus mozzarella bites". At that point, I had the ingredients for her "Mushroom carpaccio" but I was so afraid of another recipe/cooking disappointment that I ended up talking myself out of it and not making it. I used the ingredients for something else instead. So, honestly, I was disappointed. And I didn't think I would be. I don't like writing a negative review for someone I like so much. Maybe my taste profiles are decidedly different from hers? Maybe it's human error on my part? Maybe I'm an idiot who somehow found a way to fudge these recipes somehow? I hope so. I don't know. I want to give her every benefit of the doubt, but needless to say, I was disappointed.

[Joanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the idea of simple ingredients that don't hide the food. And I like Robinson's notes on each recipe, and the layout with the ingredients listed at the top of the page. The book is beautifully photographed, though there are far too many mildly seductive-looking photos of Robinson artfully posed next to her food. I mean, good grief, I love chocolate as much as the next girl, but I don't stand around in a low cut poet shirt thrusting my chest out while holding the chocolate up on my hand like a pedestal.

There's also no nutritional info -- I expect that from reading cooking magazines -- and the inner margin is way too close to the binding so I can't copy a page and put it in my recipe book. Grumble.

[Tomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Ingredient Fix features some fab recipes for every imaginable meal occasion. I've watched the show and she's got a wonderful passion for cooking and I like the fact that she chooses to keep it simple. The recipes are simple and each includes a little sidebar comment highlighting "What makes this recipe sing" and "What to toss in if you have it". One of my fave recipes is the grilled corn with curry yogurt. This was a hit with my kids and I grilled the corn on my cast iron stove top grill and got the most perfect grill marks. The curry yogurt drizzle was a tasty compliment and a refreshing change from our regular slather of butter. DELICIOUS!

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comfort zone - begone. The recipes in this book definitely are not the run of the mill supper affair, at least not in my house. I like the 5 ingredient premise but there is often that the author (cook? chef? not sure what to call her) goes above the 5 ingredient mark. There are some main dishes that look intreguing as do some of the cocktails and desserts that I'm sure I will try. I do think that I will have to wait for a day when I am up for adventure as well as my husband (my food tasting guinea pig) before trying many of the recipes included.

[Brigid · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this cookbook. As someone who doesn’t have a lot of pantry space I love the idea of using five ingredients or less! I have already made a number of recipes from this book and they are all fantastic. The recipes are easy to follow and seem so much less complicated because of the limited amount of ingredients. This is my new go-to cookbook for easy and elegant entertaining!

I received a copy of this book through the Goodreads giveaway.

[Margie Hillebrecht · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book from Goodreads as a contest winner and was thrilled with this chance. While I did mark 4 or 5 recipes to try the rest were simply not to my taste and not really for the average family. I don't even know if I could locate some of the ingredients. I suppose a young upscale city dweller would find use for the book to impress her friends but as a mother in a small town I would have to say no to most of the recipes.

[Nicole · Rating 1 out of 5]

So I get this book out of the library…browse through a few recipes and find a LARGE majority of them have MORE than 5 ingredients.

Don’t sell me on a book claiming to have recipes with 5 ingredients WHEN THEY DON’T!

Haven’t made a single thing and it’s going straight back to the shelves.

P.S. The one star is because some of the recipes do look really good but I refuse to partake out of principle!

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this cookbook! I borrowed it from the library and think I now have to buy it. Too many recipes I want to try! I love that it is 5 ingredients really goes along with wanting to simplify. The pumpkin seed dried cherry trail mix is addicting. The ricotta thyme spaetzle (pg 181) is great. I've always bought spaetzle when making a German dish and my husband has never gone for seconds. He went for seconds and I was amazed. The kids liked them too.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of my friends laugh at the notion of reading a cookbook, but ever since Julia Child's legendary endeavors a good cookbook is always more than a dry collection of recipes. Claire Robinson's collection is chic, savvy, and a pleasure to read. All of the recipes are easily alterable for more/fewer people and would be perfect for entertaining. Her approach to the kitchen is far from fussy, and relies on good ingredients—what food ought to be— without getting in their way.

[Rachelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Claire's introduction and how she explained what brought her to choose simple recipes with fewer ingredients. Her explanations are clear and easy to follow and I look forward to trying more of her awesome recipes filled with delightful ingredients!
The photos are mouth-watering! You’ll get inspired to start cooking just by looking at the pictures.

[marmix · Rating 3 out of 5]

Never having seen her Food Network show, I was misled to believe that recipes having only 5 ingredients would be easy! Wrong. Most of the recipes here required fancy kitchen equipment or an exotic ingredient. Great photographs, but no nutritional information and she neglects to give the cook an estimate of how long each recipe should take.

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of Claire! Her first cookbook is great! I've tried several of her easy and flavorful meals and have always been pleased. The recipe that is the most requested by my sweet hubby is Claire's dry rubbed BBQ chicken. This chicken is so moist and yummy. I can not wait for another book by Claire. Until then I will have to get my "fix" on the Food Network by watching her great show.

[Bridget · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Ingredient Fix is full of great cooking tips and easy-to-prepare meals. The Rosemary-Parmesan Shortbread is so delicious! It has been my favorite thing to fix for the past week. Yeah, I've already made it three times. This would make the perfect gift for the food-lover in your life.

[Dawn Culbertson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always love Claire. B/c she limits herself to 5 ingredients some of her recipes are lacking flavor...but that's where I get to play with the recipe, then! :) In this book she tells you things to add beyond the 5 ingredients. I wish she would do that on her show, too!