As a couple that loves to "glamp" but hates to waste propane on cooking dinner in a super small oven that takes forever, options for both grill and campfire are always bonuses, but we tend to especially like foil packet dinners. I like how thorough this cookbook was in terms of letting you know how much foil you might need for any given dinner. Definitely a great variety of recipes for use in the oven, or on a grill/over a campfire.

Since I foresee we’ll be cooking outdoors more often when social distancing has relaxed a bit (we’ll still want to be cautious and host small outdoor gatherings, not big indoor parties) I’m looking forward to using this cookbook for our grilling and fire pit cooking this summer!

Foil Pack Dinners is a technique guide and recipe collection for steaming/grilling and more in foil on the grill and oven. Released by Simon & Schuster on their Tiller Press imprint, it's 192 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats.

It has a logical and accessible format. The author provides a good introduction (I was unaware of the papillote or el cartoccio techniques prior to encountering this book, except in the most general terms from camping trips in my childhood - very primitively steamed fish). She continues with a tutorial on sourcing and buying the right heavy duty foil for cooking, different ways of packing food in foil (flat packs, tents), ingredient prep, liquids, and even transporting food in foil. The author does a thorough job of covering all the relevant points of different heat sources, safety, and food handling.

The recipes are well written and clear. They're grouped by category: chicken, meats, fish, vegetarian. The recipe ingredients are listed in a sidebar. Measurements are given in American standard only (with a conversion table in the back of the book for metric). The recipes don't include nutritional information or serving size/yields.

My main quibble with the book is that the recipes are mostly not photographed. There are some photos, and they're clear and attractive, but they only represent about 5% of the recipes included in the book. It is, however, a very well written book full of tasty food prepared in a novel way.

This would make a good gift for folks living away from home for the first time, as well as adventurous cooks looking for some interesting and tasty new techniques. I liked that much of the recipes can easily be made ahead of time. This would be a great collection to adapt to meal-prep and planning lifestyles.

Four stars. Well written and attractive.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

This book has a huge variety of meals that can be cooked as a 'one pot' type of meal, except that all the ingredients are folded into foil. At the beginning of the book the author goes over safety considerations, types of foil to use, and proper folding techniques to ensure meals cook properly. Meals can be cooked in the oven or on the grill, and the author gives tips for each of those cooking methods.

The book is broken down into 4 sections--poultry, meat, seafood, and vegetables. There's a wide variety of meal types--these meals aren't just for dinner! There are many things I wouldn't have considered cooking in foil, like stew, nachos, and mussels. The recipes are easy to follow. The directions are written fairly simply without a bunch of technical language that can be confusing.

I'm looking forward to trying these recipes, especially now that grilling weather is upon us! Definitely recommend!

If you are a camper - get it, get it now!!! What a terrific cookbook!! Holy Moly - I am excited for summer with this cookbook. I can hardly wait to break out to use these recipes while camping.

Recipes are for oven or grill but all I could think about was being able to prepare my foil packets & store in zipper lock plastic bags in my cooler. I can pull out and start dinner with no fuse after a day on the lake or in the woods.

Chicken recipes had nice vegetables in packets and different flavor profiles. Even the vegetable recipes (I don't like veggies) made me think which ones I wanted to try first. Lots of variety with the meats and interesting flavors. Only down side - no desserts!!

For someone who needs to cull her cookbook collection even further, I am thinking I need to pick this up for camping.

I received and ARC for my review.

Have made foil dinners, grilled over charcoal, before but this cookbook provides vastly unique manus along with suggestions for cooking in the oven or out on the grill. Plus explains all the different kinds of foil and their uses. Fancy meals too. Never thought about making Chicken Piccata with foil. So many of the recipes impressed me as several I have never considered using the grill instead of the oven. Looking forward to trying my hand at Greek Chicken with Olives and Feta, Barbecue Chicken Breast Sweet Potato Boats, and several others as soon as grilling season begins!
I received an advanced reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for my volunteer review.

I’ve always loved foil packed meals. Okay, I have always loved the idea of them. I’ve never made one, nor have I been where one was served. After reading FOIL PACK DINNERS, that will be changing! I may have to rummage through the kitchen after I’m done with this review and whip one up for supper!

Some of the amazing stomach growling recipes you’ll find are . . . Chicken with Creamy Tomato-Basil Sauce ~ Hot, Chicken, Bacon, and Corn Salad ~ Turkey with Sweet Potatoes ~ Easy Meatloaf ~ Stuffed Cabbage ~ Pork Tenderloin with Apples and Onions ~ Ham, Hash Brown, and Egg Bake ~ Smoked Sausage over Herbed Polenta ~ Shrimp Boil in Foil ~ Super Simple Wrapped Flounder ~ Baked Salmon with Orange and Herbs ~ Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches ~ Pepperoni Cheese Bread ~ Fish Tacos with Chipotle Lime Crema ~ Cheesy-Garlic Scalloped Potatoes ~ Big Batch Succotash ~ Mexican Sweet Corn ~ Vegan Tamale Dumplings. You won’t believe how many more!

FOIL PACK DINNERS starts with a brief introduction containing some very helpful advice, before moving on to recipes that cover over 100 pages and come with beautiful full color photos. I would testify I could smell could smell the food in those photos.

With dinners that can be baked in the oven or cooked on top of the grill, FOIL PACK DINNERS has something for all year round. This one is a keeper!

This review is based on an ARC of Foil Pack Dinners which I received courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher.
I loved the ideas in this cookbook and the way it's set up. The author starts by educating her readers on foil and how to properly tent and flip it. She then includes how to complete these easy to follow recipes on the grill or oven. Her chapters include recipes broken down into the following main ingredients: chicken and turkey, beef and pork, handheld (aka sandwiches), fish and seafood, and veggies. I found myself repeatedly marking down recipes to try and getting hungrier with each page. I'm especially excited to try the Buffalo Chicken Bread; Smoked Pork Chops, Sweet Potato, and Cranberry Bake; and the Honey Chicken in Cowboy Cavier. The only negative thing I have to say about this book is that now every recipe has an accompanying photograph. I like to see what the finished product is supposed to look like. That being said, I can't wait to try so many of these recipes this summer and I encourage you to get your hands on a copy of this book today.

Great book and awesome recipes! The recipes are very easy to make and the book is well organized, There are chicken recipes, meats, fishes and seafood, and veggies recipes. I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

Thank you NetGalley and Julia Rutland for letting me read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my hones opinion!
This book could not have come at a better time! Life is busy and summer is hot. Spending hours standing in the kitchen cooking dinner is NOT my idea of a good time. I grew up eating Foil Pack dinners calling them "hobos" here in the Midwest! Last night we did an awesome recipe of chicken, potatoes and veggies. So easy to chop, season and just toss it in the oven, letting the foil do the hard work, The easy prep isn't the best part, though, it's the cleanup! minimal dishes needed and as easy as tossing the foil when your meal is cooked! We will be using these recipes camping and all through the summer!

Foil Pack Dinners by Julia Rutland is the perfect cookbook if you want cut down on washing dishes as her recipes are prepared using foil packs. You can choose to grill or bake your meal making this a wonderful year-round cookbook too.

At the start of her cookbook the author details the different types of foil used in cooking and the different wraps that can be used as part of your foil cooking repertoire. She also discusses the best way to arrange foods in their foil packs for optimal cooking results.

Some of the recipes you'll find include:

Boursin Basil Stuffed Chicken
Creamy Chicken and Green Chile Enchiladas
Basic Hobo Packet
Pork Tenderloin with Apples and Onions
Baked Salmon with Orange and Herbs

Recommend.

Review written after downloading a galley from NetGalley.

We have been making foil pac dinners ever since our daughter returned home from camp telling me all about one they made and was excited to teach me how. Since then I have made them for my husband and myself usually with beef or chicken and pretty basic. The meat and spices change but the vegetables are the same. Now we can change it up! Foil Pack Dinners by Julia Rutland gives us a lot of ways in which to do this! I am excited to try the first one. I collect cookbooks and this one will be added! foil pack dinners are so very easy to make and extremely tasty! Yum!

I absolutely loved this cookbook. It had so much information on foil-packs. Not only does it include how to fold them (and the variety of folds you can use), but I found that they included information I wasn't expecting. They mentioned a variety of cooking methods, making this cookbook useful for people using ovens, bbqs, and campfires, as well as transporting/storing your foil packs and what type of foil to use. The ingredients aren't difficult to find and the author includes alternatives and substitutions for ingredients that are less common or that may pose a problem for those with dietary restrictions (keto, grains, etc.).

I was extremely impressed with the variety and would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys cooking flavourful meals in minimal time. I have a class of grade 6 - 9 students that I will be recommending try this (in addition to reading the cautionary instructions at the beginning). These simple, easy to follow recipes would be enjoyable for even beginner cooks.


Thank you to Netgalley and @simonschuster for providing a copy of this e-book for review.

Don't let the plain name of this cookbook deter you! These recipes are far from plain, and if I'm being honest, I am shocked to learn the variety of foods that can be cooked in foil pack. I really like the no nonsense feel to this cookbook. You won't find a wordy introduction or repetitive supply/pantry checklists. Instead, there is a simple foil pack 101 describing types of foil packs and universal cooking instructions.

This cookbook does an amazing job of introducing popular/traditional recipes in a very simplified cooking method. Making Chicken & Dumplings from scratch sounds intimidating...until you learn that you can make it in easy clean-up foil packets! All of the ingredients are readily available at your local grocer and no recipes calls for a million all at once. Each recipe includes oven & grill cooking instructions. It also shows serving sizes, which makes it super easy to scale a recipe up or down. We tried the Ham, Hashbrown, and Egg Bake and it will become a permanent breakfast staple in our household.

I recommend this cookbook for a chef of any level. Cook/prep time for the majority of these recipes makes for the perfect weeknight resource. My toddler got a kick out of the packets and it made the whole process of cooking fun for her.

I received this eARC from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received a free copy of this e-book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review!
When I saw this book, I thought this would be a great cookbook to have on hand! I have already tried one of the recipes and it was tasty and easy to follow.
I wish this would have chapters to break up the sections. I'm not sure if it's the ebook format, but it's all jumbled together. It's not very user friendly. Other than that, it's a great cookbook. I look forward to trying more recipes!

Foil pack dinners is a fun way to make dinner on the grill or straight from an oven. Variety of a hundred different dinner recipes made into a basic foil pack. Straight forward and simplistic.

What did I like? The author first describes various aluminum foil from heavy duty to nonstick foil for your baking needs. She also gives you various methods for folding the foil into a boat and how to prevent foil from tearing. The recipes also include vegan/ vegetarian which was a pleasure for me. Not all grilling is about meat. There is a good amount of pictures for the recipes as well.

Would I buy or recommend? Yes, although it’s a pretty straightforward book and simplistic the recipes look yummy. Plus who doesn’t love easy clean up. So yes to recommending and buying.

Thoughts for the author? Congratulations on your new release! Love the idea, and I’ve always been a fan of hobo meals. Some of the pictures were amazing looking.

The beginning that talks about different ways to fold and use the foil is great. There were techniques I never thought of. The variation of recipes is enlightening. There is absolutely something for everyone. The recipes are clear and concise. This will be my most used summer cookbook.

Such a great book for expanding your knowledge of what you can cook in aluminum foil! Not just the old fashioned "hobo meals" I can't wait to try some of the new recipes out! Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the opportunity to read the ARC of this book.

Foil Pack Dinners is full of innovation recipes. The first chapter explains two different foil pack types; tent and flat and when and why to use each one. Also included are different ways to grill or bake in the over. Chapters included on Chicken, Beef and Pork, Sandwiches, Fish and Seafood, and veggies. I have never thought of making pasta or chicken and dumplings on the grill but I am excited to try. The recipe for an egg Florentine sandwich sounds especially delicious.

I didn't realize how many meals could be cooked in aluminum foil! I can't wait to try many of the recipes in this book!