The Complete Allergy-Free Comfort Foods Cookbook: Every Recipe is Free of Gluten, Dairy, Soy, Nuts, and Eggs

Here is my attempt at deconstructing The Complete Allergy-Free Comfort Foods Cookbook, which features some very unique, innovative recipes that are all free of gluten, dairy, soy, nuts, and eggs.Number of recipes: 112Paper type/quality: The book is hardbound with a glossy dust jacket. The pages are glossy and of medium weight. Splatters seem to wipe off easily.Photography: There are medium to large full-color photos accompanying almost all of the recipes. Many are full page photos.Does the book lay flat without assistance: YesGeneral layout and design: Very straightforward and well organized into seven basic sections; Breakfast, Starters, Salads, Condiments, Dressings & Basics, Main Courses, Sides, and Desserts.Fonts and Colors: Clear, bold black font with a few dark blue and orange accents -Are the recipes easy to read?: Yes, very. -Is the typeface large enough?: Yes, it is nice and bold -Are the words and paragraphs spaced well so that it is easy to find the step you are on?: Yes, perfectly. The steps are numbered and everything is well spaced.Extra Inclusions: Dictionary of ingredients, substitution advice, a where to shop section.Index: Nicely organized- it is easy to find recipes by name, main ingredient, category and type.Allergen/Special diet notes: This is an allergy free cookbook, definitely NOT a vegan cookbook. There are many meat based recipes and some of the pastry crusts call for leaf lard.Nutritional Notes: This is not really a low calorie cookbook. The author is providing allergy free versions of comfort foods, many of which would be things that would be made on a very occasional basis...think once or twice a year as a special treat. There are some everyday recipes to be sure, but many are special and are intended to be viewed in that regard. Quite a few of the main dishes, salads and sides appear to be quite healthy though.Skill Level: Medium There are several recipes that involve frying, making pastry crusts and assembling dessert items beyond what the average cook might be used to. The instructions are clear and easy to follow, but some of the techniques might be unfamiliar to some.Special Ingredients: Coconut Milk Kefir, Leaf Lard, Lyle's Golden Syrup, French Lentils, Sorghum Beer, Specialty sanding sugars and sprinkles from India Tree. (Substitutions for difficult to find ingredients are suggested by the author) Lyles Golden Syrup 16.0 Fluid Oz Per Tin - Pack 2 Tins Special Equipment: Oil mister, Deep Fat Fryer (or a candy thermometer to keep track of the temperature of the oil in a skillet), Eclair pan, pastry bag, cookie cutters (to make animal crackers), food processor or blender. All of these items would be helpful to have in order to properly execute all of the recipes in the book, but most of them are not required. The fryer or thermometer would be the only one that would be required in order to make the fried recipes. There are seven recipes that require frying. Misto Gourmet Olive Oil Sprayer, Brushed Aluminum Do the recipes turn out?: So far yes, mostly.The baked beans recipe didn't turn out like the picture suggested it would.Do the recipes taste good? So far, they taste pretty good. I made the sloppy joes recipe last night as a special Valentine's Day Dinner for my husband and son. I think it was the best sloppy joe I have ever had.The roasted chicken was excellent, and the baked beans were fair.*Update* The pasta salad was excellent. I have made it three-four times and I'll be making it a lot this summer.The roast chicken recipe is very good but the time stated in the recipe was not accurate. I had to keep it in the oven about 15-20 minutes longer than the recipe stated which may be due to size difference of the chicken.In Summary, after thoroughly looking through this cookbook and now having tried a few of the recipes I feel ready to give this cookbook a four star rating. That could change if some of the next few recipes I try are really great. My four star rating is based on the fact that quite a few of the recipes require frying and many require a special ingredient that might be hard to find. Yes, substitutions are provided for these items, but it is just another step to go through to figure out a substitution. The rating is also based on my two great experiences making the recipes so far and the number of really unique and interesting recipes included. I am so excited to try more of these!Some of the interesting and unique recipes are: Allergy-free versions of pop tarts, twinkies, animal crackers, thin mints, funnel cakes!, s'mores cookies, hush puppies, empanadas, mayo using cannelini beans, dolmades, pot stickers and jelly donuts.

The recipes in this book have been tested not only by the author but also on her children and children are very tough critics indeed. The photos of the recipes will make your mouth water. If you are gluten intolerant you may be particularly interested in the bread recipes. The author also includes a source list for items not easily found in your local grocery store. This is important particularly if you live in a small town as I do. The recipes are not difficult to follow. Of all the books that I've read on this topic this is the most positive in tone and the one where the food actually looked tasty and edible and not like sludge!

I found this book after seeing one of the author's recipes on the back of a Bob's Red Mill package of sorghum flour. My daughter cannot have nuts, dairy, eggs, or wheat. That really limits our options and I was needing ideas. I have tried 3 recipes so far, and they have all been delicious. She even has a great pot roast recipe in there, better than my mother's. The book is well organized and well written. I highly recommend it to those struggling to avoid Top 6 allergens.

I was very excited about the book, as i am very new to the allergy-free cooking and i am doing lots of research on it as well, however once i read "What the heck?: Allergy-Free Dictionary of ingredients" and found the Xanthan Gum listed as "the number-one, most important ingredient in gluten-free baking" i was very confused...Every site i've researched, is listing Xanthan gum as deriving from "a variety of source products that are themselves common allergens, such as corn, wheat, dairy, or soy. As such, persons with known sensitivities or allergies to food products are advised to avoid foods including generic xanthan gum or first determine the source for the xanthan gum before consuming the food. Specifically, an allergic response may be triggered in people sensitive to the growth medium, usually corn, soy, or wheat. For example, residual wheat gluten has been detected on xanthan gum made using wheat. This may trigger a response in people highly sensitive to gluten."(quoted from Wikipedia.) Based on my own experience, Xanthan Gum is causing my (soy, wheat, corn) allergies to act up and i will not be using those recipes for sure. I wish they would have included that information next to this "number one" product...In any case, i will still look through the book and hopefully find some recipes i can make.

I'm on an elimination diet for EOE right now and have been looking for good cookbooks because my eating world has been flipped upside down. This cookbook has a lot of great ideas, but to make most of these recipes you would have to have a pantry the size of my garage and a lot of time on your hands. I'm sure the recipes taste great, but who has time to make these? I found another one, "Sophies-Safe Cooking" which was much easier to incorporate into a suddenly changed diet.

If you have someone in your family that has a lot of allergies (In my case it's Egg, Milk, Wheat, and Cheese) than this is an incredible recipe book. It's not just filled with dorky recipes that use Daiya cheese to replace foods you may crave or love, but it has legitimate dinner recipes that will fill you up and are delicious. Of all the allergy free recipe books I've looked at recently this is my favorite and a great source for affordable and allergy free cooking!

I bought this book for a friend who has allergies and after browsing it, I bought one for myself too. I don't have any allergies - I was just drawn to it mainly for its good variety of main courses, perfect for a family. The shredded pork is to die for, as is the sloppy Joe, and I LOVE the stuffed peppers too. I also find myself using this book a lot for the interesting salad recipes. I love the idea that if I need to host dinner for friends, some with allergies and some without, I know exactly where to turn, plus I can feel confident that everyone will enjoy the meal.

Good, US slant on recipes.

I read and cook from a LOT of allergen-free and gluten-free cookbooks to feed my sensitive family. Usually I borrow from the library and try a few or see what an author has online. This was the first book of this genre I was compelled to buy because I wanted to make almost every recipe. I haven't tried everything yet, but so far, the soda bread, pie crust and chocolate chip cookie recipes have been the best allergen/gluten free versions that I've found, hands-down. When required, I've found that substitutions are easy and still result in a good product. Thank you, Elizabeth Gordon for doing the legwork and being someone I can trust. There is nothing worse than devoting so much time and expensive ingredients to a recipe to have it turn out a poorly-textured and yucky-tasting fail. With this book, you don't have to worry!

This is a great allergy -friendly cookbook for people who like basic but good food. My Mom bought this for me for the Holidays !

this is a good book for people new to allergy cooking. Easy to follow and she gives suggestion on different types of products.

I have different food allergy. however good to start with and liked it.