Photo: Amazon.com

'Robin Rescues Dinner'
By Robin Miller
Photographs by Ben Fink
Clarkson Potter -- 2009
Buy it on Amazon

In the desolate land of "quick fix" cookbooks, recipes tend to be uninspired, trading flavor for time. Food Network "Quick Fix Meals" and "Robin to the Rescue" hostess Robin Miller seeks to change that stereotype with low-fuss, high-flavor cooking in her newest book, "Robin Rescues Dinner."

Featuring 52 weeks of seasonally appropriate recipes, the lexicon crams in some 350 formulas for delicious eating. As a bonus, it includes major timesavers, like bulk (cooking ahead) tricks and corner-cutting tips.

Though perhaps erring on the side of conservatism rather than that of innovation, Robin turns out excellently executed staple dishes with remarkably low-overhead ingredients, either involving surprisingly short grocery lists or relying heavily on pantry staples.

See what we tested and whether it's worth buying after the jump.

Takeaway tips: No-fuss in its appearance or recipes, this expansive cookbook minimizes steps and ingredient lists, facilitating gourmet meals for chefs on the run.

Quality of pictures: Though the standard glamour-shot photos are thriftily clumped together in a mere two clusters -- which cover a negligible fraction of the book's ample recipes -- they are vibrant, artfully arranged and, more often than not, they capture the dishes' grilled-to-perfection appeal.

We tested: Alsatian Tart and the Kung Pow Turkey Tenderloin

Showcasing Miller's reliable style, these two dishes are easy to execute with exemplary results. Though the suggested cream cheese or mascarpone base seemed a little dubious for a traditional Alsatian dish we often see employing crème fraîche, the completed tart surpassed any expectations for a six-ingredient meal.

Topping puff pastry with cheese, meat -- we opted for crisp, salty bacon, but Miller also suggests pork, chicken, steak, or the indulgent pig-on-pig bacon-wrapped pork -- red onion, Parmesan and oregano, the chopping and assembly took a breezy 15 minutes. We feared the dried-oregano topping would overpower the tart, but it instead added a fresh, herbal finish, not unlike adding a spritz lemon to cut a rich dish.

The Kung Pow Turkey Tenderloin glaze achieved the perfect, gelatinous sheen of a caramel apple while providing ample kick and depth of flavor, courtesy of the sherry, rice wine vinegar and Chinese chile sauce. Embracing Miller's trademark versatility, the sauce would work equally well with meat, tofu or even vegetables.

Worth the investment: These piece-of-cake recipes transcend their components. Though perhaps not suited for gourmands prone to culinary reveries, this could easily become a busy cook's standby.