Cookbook Review: 'Rotisserie Chicken Cookbook' by the Editors of Southern Living Magazine

✰✰✰✰ Now that school is back in session, it's great to find a cookbook that features quick and easy to prepare chicken dishes. Rotisserie Chicken Cookbook is just that book; it features step-by-step directions that are easy to follow and ingredients that are convenient and easy to find. This handy cookbook also includes a tutorial to help you get the most out of your store-bought rotisserie chicken and a handy checklist to help you save time and organize a well-stocked pantry.

Recipes for soup, salad, sandwich, and pasta dishes are plentiful like Fiesta Chicken Soup, Vegetable Patch Chicken Salad, Grilled Chicken and Cheese Sandwiches, and Chicken Marsala Tetrazzini. Additionally, besides chicken dishes, there is also a section featuring recipes for sides like Lemon Broccolini and Spring Potato Toss. The recipes all feature tips in one of several styles: 1.) "Grab and Go" ideas to supplement your meal, 2.) "Simple Swap" ideas for recipe substitutions, or 3.) "From the Kitchen" tips. To make choosing recipes even easier, each page features a heading like "make-ahead," "healthy & hearty," "kid-friendly," or "ready in 30 minutes." Furthermore, each recipe includes a full page full color photograph of the finished dish. Finally, a page of charts for metric equivalents and an index can be found at the end.

Taste Test Notes: I've been looking for a tasty, easy-to-prepare chicken salad recipe, so for my taste test I chose to prepare the Chicken-Horseradish Salad featured on p. 82. The ingredients were easy to find at my local Jewel store. However, I did opt to pick up the roasted chicken breast rather than the whole chicken. Overall, the recipe was very easy to prepare. I only used 2 Tbsp. of the refrigerated horseradish, but the next time I make this recipe, I'll use 3 Tbsp. I used the finished recipe in a sandwich. It was mild with a nutty flavor. While the Hands-on Time is listed at 10 minutes, I think that was for the mixing portion of the recipe. It took me a lot longer to chop and prepare all the ingredients. From start to finish, including cleanup time, I took 90 minutes.

Preparing to mix the Chicken-Horseradish Salad

The finished salad

This recipe is plentiful, and I had leftovers. Since I like salads with a little zip, I decided to add more horseradish and 1 Tbsp. of pickle relish to the remaining portion the next day. The result was a tangy treat.

The Bottom Line: If you are looking for a cookbook featuring recipes that are delicious and super easy to make, then look no further. Southern Living’s Rotisserie Chicken Cookbook is for you. These recipes are sure to please your family and friends. Many of these dishes will appeal kids of all ages. This cookbook is great for cooks of all levels, but especially for beginning cooks or busy moms and dads. This cookbook is versatile and would be a great addition to personal cookbook collections as well. It’s a lot of fun to page through and look at the gorgeous food photography. The only thing missing was a chapter featuring chicken appetizers.

Details: Rotisserie Chicken Cookbook: 101 Hearty Recipes with Store-Bought Convenience by the Editors of Southern Living Magazine. Paperback published by Oxmoor House in 2012. 224 p. ISBN: 978-0-8487-3702-3