Really brilliant book,even for Cooks !

I bought this book recently and I just love it ! its a great purchase even if you are good at cooking.There are so many recipes that you can rustle up in 10 mins from items you already have. There are also ways of doing new things with basic ingredients too. The way it is written, the pictures, everything ! Some cookery books make me feel inferior ; this book was written in a non-patronising manner. The photos are excellent ; even the ones showing how a boiled egg should look after 5/7/10 mins, really helpful. I will be buying this book for my brother who lives alone and doesn't cook ! Well done Jamie ! I am well chuffed with this book !

A gem of a book

This is a wonderfully simple, efficient cookery book that every working mum can relate to. I found that not only do my family enjoy the meals but my children want to help make them too. My daughter made the Tuna Pasta Bake recipe in cookery class as school and got 10 out of 10 and 2 merits for it.

Been there, done that

I have all Nigella's books and use them constantly but"Christmas" is a big disappointment, in fact, I am returning it. Apart from the fact that a vast number of the recipes are repeats of her other books, I can't come to terms with the amount of alcohol that Nigella uses in practically everything, not a good idea when feeding a large family with grandchildren and older people. Also a lot of the ingredients are unavailable in country shopping centres and I refuse to spend time going from one shop to another trying to source unheard-of spices and sauces, especially at Christmas. How sad, Nigella was my true"Domestic Goddess", but, no longer!

What a gem!

Fantastic recipes, nothing beyond the average cook and amazing value, best little cookery book I've seen in a long time, I will be buying the others in the series for me and sending some to my sons (even they could cook well using these recipes).

Pretty Good Cook Book

As a fairly amateur but keen cook, I wholeheratedly agree with all the other reviewers. This is a good little cook book. I also would have preferred each recipe to have a photo so I know what it looks like and whether I have cooked it right! I am not keen on the typefont either, but having said that, there are great tips (as in her accompanying series) and I do love the end section on jams, sauces etc. One that I will be using quite a bit.

Bland and Samey

There must be some easily pleased folks around judging by the reviews. Well, I'm not one of them. I've seen the series and bought my wife the book and we both agree that it's, to say the least uninspired. Most of the recipes use the same basic ingredients regardless of the meat or fish content and generally end up tasting like a rough amalgam of far eastern food. I've travelled extensively woorldwide through my work and there's not a shred of doubt that most of these rather bland same tasting dishes do not do justice to the real thing. I will admit happily that once in while when you fancy a generic Chinese style dish, this book provides something quick and easy. And as the only things required are garlic, ginger, sherry and a bit of soy sauce it doesn't really matter what page you open - they are all the same. So even chosing a meal doesn't require any thought. To round up, bland, uninspired but quick and easy.

Great Book!

I love Nigellas recipes, so I had to get this book! I've tried a few of the recipes on some of my friends and they really enjoyed them! Not the healthiest of recipes, but some of the best tasting ones! I would recommend this to anyone! Enjoy

Gordon Ramsey: Cooking for Friends

I have all Gordon Ramsey's books and this one is ideal for people who think everything he creates is expensive
This book deals with things like Oxtail soup which is a simple recipe and easy to make
I really recommend this title for everyday cooking with the Ramsey touch

Huge Disappointment

I strongly agree with the last review. After watching all of those wonderful dishes being so passionatly put together each week I was most upset to discover such a high number of them NOT included in the book. Valentine HAS included some of his own charming illustrations but I wasnt in the market for an art book! Inspirational TV but, sorry Val, I had to sent your book back!

Essential for every Mum facing the weaning milestone!

I bought this book, along with the Gina Ford one, because everyone I know has it and so I figured they were on to something! Have to say I have been really impressed with the information in it and also the recipes. I've used them as the basis for weaning my daughter - initially the puree recipes are pretty basic and you wonder why you needed a book but now she's nearly 7 months, the recipes give great ideas for introducing protein and different foods. They also tell you about good combinations. The only thing I don't like is the timings of meals and bottles as Annabel seems to have an extra feed a day so I simply used Gina's timings and Annabel's recipes which worked for us. I felt quite daunted by the prospect of weaning, feeling like we'd just got the whole milk/breast/bottle thing sussed but like with all things baby, read a few books and then adapt to your needs & you'll be find. Happy pureeing!

Uninspiring

After reading the very mixed reviews on this page I was eager to see what all the fuss was about with this book. I am not overly concerned about the whole argument on whether or not it is right or wrong to cheat at cooking - although I might add that I am surprised at the anger from those who sit firmly in the latter camp (if you feel so strongly about it, why on earth would you buy a book entitled 'how to cheat at cooking' in the first place?) Personally, I bought the book on the basis that it might provide me with some after-work ideas for a quick meal. Flicking through the book, I have only really come across a couple of recipes that appealed to me and most of them contained so many specific ingredients that I felt it was not worth the bother. The ones with a shorter list of ingredients seemed to be so pointless as I felt it easier and cheaper to just buy the dish in a ready made version! Sorry, Delia, I know you are trying to move with the times, and I for one appreciate that, but I couldn't get on with this book, it's definitely not one of your best or one of my favourites.

VERY good

A well put together book that shines amongst a lot of other cookbooks out there (Delia's How to Cheat at Cooking--which I loved but some hated, or"Kitchen Diaries), this book fascinated me because it came recommended from a friend who can't cook anything! That, plus the fact that I'm probably the only person who hasn't watched the show, led me to see what the fuss was about. I'm not a vegetarian, but even so there are recipes here aplenty that I would make. The real reason to buy this is for your FRIENDS who are vegetarians--we all know what a pain that can be; trying to find something that everyone can eat. Would also recommend"Frugal Foods" for another canon to the genre.

Totally inspiring!

I was at a friends and flicked through this book and began to drool! I scribbled down two recipes that night which I recreated that week. They were fantastic and I bought the book. Every single recipe screams 'Try me, you'll love me!' and I do.

Restaurant bible

this book is absolutely maqnificent. i've always been a fan of el bulli but the book has blown my mind open. the things they do there are amazing. i am a chef myself and although 99.99% of the recipes are impossible to do in the majority of kitchens, it just shows you how much they've raised the bar and why they are considered the best restaurant in the world. Even if you are not interested in food the pictures alone make this a perfect coffee table book.

OK - but some repetition

some nice recipes in this book but be warned some of them have been recycled from author's previous book entitled"Real Food from your Slo-Cooker"

An excellent little book

This little gem of a book should be in every backpackers back pocket. Concise, focused and descriptive you'll have no trouble identifying the plants and shellfish. There has been some comments about lack of information on animals to eat, this is probably because rabbits, pheasants and such are classed as game and will belong to the landowner. Whilst it's ok to pick a few plants, mushrooms and shellfish it will probably be frowned on if you start blasting away at the countryside or setting traps!

beautiful, but impractical

As with Tessa Kiros' previous books, this one is absolutely gorgeous. Gold-edged pages and many, many shots of Venice and its people, especially around Carnival time make it a delight to leaf through.

So far, so good, and if you know someone who loves Venice or has had a special time there, this would be a good gift. But I doubt how much actual cooking I'll be doing from this book...octopus, anchovies, special Italian sausage and prosecco feature highly on the ingredients list, none of which I find particularly appealing or easy to lay my hands on.

It's certainly not the family-friendly fare of Falling Cloudberries or Apples for Jam. Nice to read but I think I'll stick to her earlier works for cooking.

Inspiring and wonderful!

I've been wanting to make preserves for years, but I've only just started to do it. Loving the whole River Cottage ethos, I was naturally interested in this book. I read some great reviews and so I bought it, and IMO it's just as wonderful as others said it was.

There's a wealth of inspiring recipes, many of which come with suggestions for modifications which can be made by those who have different ingredients/would like to use something slightly different. Everything is clearly explained, and the photographs just make me want to go down to the kitchen and eat up every last preserve in the fridge!

This book is an absolute inspiration. I'd defy anyone even very slightly interested in making their own jams, chutneys, pickles etc not to want to dash straight out to the shops/the garden/the local nature reserves, pick things and get bottling, after reading it. I've already spent 3 happy evenings on the couch by the fire, listening to the rain beating at the windows, reading and re-reading the recipes and making plans for a whole pantry full of lovely things to see me through the winter.

Very highly recommended.

worth the risk, possibly

i suppose in these days when we are supposed to be feeling the pinch, expected to eat leftovers and are bullied into recycling, the tonic that we all need is delia smith's reissue of"frugal food". i haven't read it, but if it's anything like the last one she did - add sainsbury's tinned chickpeas to asda's dogfood for a lovely, economical stew - then it's a book i can definitely do without. having said that, it's probably a great little number, reminiscent of the days before saint delia sold out, a prospect that makes me want to risk buying it.

CAN COOK, WILL COOK

This book has made me start to enjoy cooking! No longer the look of bewilderment when trying to cook a decent meal. The instructions are easy to follow, the pictures are a boost! I have her other book, Indian every day which does not have as many photos of the final result.

I have also had great service from shopping with the online retailers for all the ingredients. So simple. The resulting food is truly delicious. Such delicate and yet again tasteful flavours. I can not recommend enough