I have to say that this cooking method is great for picky families because YOU decide the ingredients YOU want to use in each recipe.
While I give you suggestions of ingredients and flavor combinations in each recipe, you can freely substitute any protein for any protein, any carb for any carb, and any veggie for any veggie.
For example, I have a recipe for Cajun Fish that calls for fish of any kind, sweet potatoes, green beans and tomatoes with Creole Seasoning for the flavoring. You could easily make this with chicken instead of fish, rice instead of sweet potatoes, broccoli instead of green beans, and carrots instead of tomatoes. See what I mean? Now you would have a Cajun Chicken with Rice and broccoli meal, though you would still be using the same technique you learned in the original Cajun Fish recipe.
The cookbook also gives lots of info about altering recipes and teaches you exactly how this unique, patented cooking method works.
Yes, while Glorious One-Pot Meals work best when they are filled to the brim with food, you certainly can use a larger Dutch oven to prepare a smaller amount of food. You just need to realize that some things will change and it won’t be as effortless as it would be if you were following the “1-quart-per-person” guideline for pot size.
When using a Dutch oven that is too large for the amount of food you’re preparing, you will have “dead air space” in your pot. This may or may not affect your cooking time, and in some cases, your meal may be a bit dried out. You will really have to follow your nose to know when dinner is ready. The more you get to know your pot and how things work in it, the easier this will get.
Additionally, I find I experience “over-enthusiastic vegetable preparation” — I include way too many veggies and have leftovers composed entirely of veggies but no protein. This may not be an issue for everyone.
So, using a larger Dutch oven will affect your cooking time, the quality of the meal, and you will have to pay more attention to the amounts of the veggies you include. Otherwise, you’re good to go!
You’ve hit the nail on the head. Glorious One-Pot Meals work best when your oven is fully preheated to 450F degrees before you put your Dutch oven inside.
If your oven runs too hot you may find that your veggies are too soft and your meat is dried out. If your oven runs too low, your meat may not be fully cooked and your rice may be too crunchy when you take out your pot. In a Glorious One-Pot Meal, nothing is done until everything is done, so if you’re experiencing a problem like this, it is worth investing in an oven thermometer (about $5 at a cookware store) to see what’s going on in there.
I recently moved into a new house and my Glorious One-Pot Meals were not turning out the way they should. When I unpacked my oven thermometer I discovered that when my oven SAID it was at 450F, it was actually at 410F. Luckily, my oven manual gave instructions on how to recalibrate and it took two minutes to accomplish the adjustment.
The other thing I learned was that when my oven chimes and claims that it is fully preheated to 450F, it is actually only at 250F. So be aware that it takes a while for an oven to heat up that hot, perhaps even longer than your oven claims it does. Now my oven thermometer lives inside my oven and I habitually check it before I put anything inside.
The patented Glorious One-Pot Meal cooking method requires a constant temperature of 450F degrees (230C or Mark 8 in Europe) from start to finish to work correctly. If your meals aren’t turning out the way they should, the first thing to do is to check your oven temp with a separate oven thermometer.
I call the 2009 edition of the Glorious One-Pot Meals cookbook the “expanded and revised” edition. It has all the recipes from the previous version plus around 60 new ones and has been extensively edited and standardized. It also has a few new twists on ingredients – several ways to use eggs, for example – and more grain options not seen in the first edition. It’s organized differently and has a comprehensive index, so it’s more user-friendly than the first book. It’s twice as big and a much better book in so many ways.
If you’re already a GOPM-lover, you’ll really like the 60+ new recipes and new ways to use ingredients. For a GOPM-newbie, you’ll find everything people have loved about the first book and(hopefully!) enjoy the read.
A Dutch oven is an oven-safe, heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid and two side handles. Its straight sides are vertical and the bottom is wide and flat. Though Dutch ovens can appear in stainless steel or other materials, only cast iron Dutch (sometimes called “French”) ovens work properly with Glorious One-Pot Meals. I prefer enamel-coated cast iron as it will not only absorb, distribute, and retain heat evenly and efficiently but it’s rust-proof and easy to wash to boot. The enamel coating usually makes the pot dishwasher-safe and freezer-safe, and it won’t react with tomatoes or other acidic ingredients. The size can range from 2 quarts up to 10 quarts or more.
When selecting and purchasing a Dutch oven to use with Glorious One-Pot Meal recipes, be sure that you choose one that can withstand oven temperatures of up to 450 degrees and can provide enough for almost 1 quart of food per person served. For instance, the recipes presented her and in the cookbook serve 2 people and call for a 2-quart Dutch oven, though you can use a larger pot.
Some companies only offer Dutch ovens in half or three-quarter-quart sizes; in this case you would want to step down a bit and use a 3.5-quart Dutch oven to feed 4 people, a 5.5-quart one to feed 6 people, etc.
