In thinking Delia has a death wish for us all?

[mamhaf]

Just watched the Delia Christmas cookery programme on BBC2.

I know she always does this, but I haven't seen her on the tv for a while - everything was crammed with heart-stopping cholesterol - either butter or cream/creme fraiche. And then liberal amounts of nuts, cheese, fatty bacon etc.

It made me feel ill watching it.

And, wearing loads of rings on her horrible liver-spotty hands while preparing food - I hope they chucked the stuff away afterwards.

Admittedly some of the recipes looked delicious in small quantities but AIBU in thinking a full Delia Christmas is a ticket for the morgue?

Oh I always use Delia's christmas book at christmas. Loverlee.
I'm fine watching Delia, but I did used to get a bit squeamish watching 2 Fat Ladies with their long, painted nails. I kept thinking of all the fat and flour getting stuck underneath them.

Antdamn, just try cooking from the Delia book - you can't go wrong. I learned to cook using the Complete Cookery Course when I was 18 and living away from home when I started work. I am now 43, and she is still my bible; even though I have over 300 cookbooks, she is still the one I turn to when I want to know something.

... she's never in her late 60's, is she? Blimey.

I didn't like her top. And I don't like her schoolmarmishness. But I think a few liverspots are neither here nor there. And Nigella is a terrible ring-wearer-while-cooking, too!

I may give it a go (will mean a trip into the loft though)

Does it have 'nice' recipes in it?

Scaryteacher - did I read that right - you have 300 cookery books?

Delia's complete cookery course is the one I turn to for recipes like pastry, bread etc.

Some of the actual dishes are very 70s now though, lots of "layer bakes" (would have fancy Italian "al forno" monickers now) Fairly heavy on the offal. That sort of thing. The odd sweetbread recipe. (hmm, bet H F-W salivates when he gets to the offal chapter)

Ina Garten uses about 3 times the cream ("half and half" and "heavy cream" as she calls it), sugar and butter as Delia.

She is fab but a bit too scarily obsessed about dear Jeffrey.

Delia has got Vitiligo which is a loss of skin pigment.

I won't hear a bad word about Delia but still love this www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_8JLkwzpd0.

I would love to choose between 300 recipe books to read

Also Tamasin Day Lewis had a TV programme which was very good, I really liked it, however I seem to remember a post about her on here ages ago saying she needed to tie her hair up as it looked like it dangled in the food.

Must admit I don't take my rings off when cooking. i would probably lose the damn things.

I don't like getting foody bits under my nails/rings but thats just me. Jennifer Paterson did it all the time on Two Fat Ladies with her red talons and her antique bling. It just makes me think 'how can you not mind that raw dough under your nails!'
I agree, Delia did make it very clear all the fat was purely seasonal. I laughed out loud at the amount of fat she put in and on the turkey to ensure it stayed moist. I did worry she was going to start injecting it with molten lard or something. And that bread sauce will be a silent killer!
Christmas with no fat, salt or booze is unthinkable. Bring it on!!

threestars I know what you mean about the Two Fat Ladies and their nail varnish

I thought they always looked as though they'd both just put fags out as well. And patted some labradors. Without washing their hands. Ew.

Leave Delia alone. I use the Cookery Course book all the time. Sometimes it's comforting to get a bit bossed around, imo

Yes can't be doing with a chef who lisps, imagine all the spittle in the cranberry sauce.

I cannot be dealing with Jamie Oliver, DP got me the Minsitry of Cooks (or whatecver it's called) and it is awful, full of testimonials from Candice the Hairdresser, Joanne the single mum and Dave the Bricklayer all going on about how they lived on rustler burgers til jamie came along and told them how to make a biryani (I paraphrase somewhat). Patronising bugger.

Delia's Frugal Food cookebook most uninspiring and grim cookbook ever (DP got me that one as well, he has a habit of buying me crap cookbooks bless him)

And will say it again, can't trust anyone (aka delia) who recommends you use aluminum to cook with. It taints all food.

OMG though Getorf, you should smell the rogan josh paste I've just made from Jamie's Ministry of Food. I don't think I'll do anything else all day now, just stand in the kitchen and inhale it.

having only read first and last page, I might be repeating - but I think Anthony Worral Fatface is worse. My mum had his book that was supposed to be for people with Syndrome X/Type II diabetes and the number of recipes in there that used double cream etc. Obesity is a prime cause of Sydnrome X/Insulin resistance/Type II diabetes, so encouraging the use of double cream is hardly helpful!

However, in response to the OP - you are being unreasonably snidey, and as others say, it is special occasion food she is demonstrating, not every day fare.

Kerry- hi btw, did he really????? (Delia's husband?????)

Jamie is also a liar. I might have mentioned it before, I like to get it in on all Jamie-mentioned threads. When he came to Italy and preached to the converted about how crap English food is, and all the Italian dinner ladies laughed and swooned at the turkey twizzlers, he said that all Italian school food has to be organic by law. Bollocks does it. He also claimed to be in a state primary school, whereas he was in a private nursery.
(I know, you know, cos it was near here)

I wrote to him, but he never replied.

Also intrugued about Delia's husband.

VBucharest - I always try to slag off Jamie O on all vaguely related threads, I think he is a pompous arse.

Kathy - I make curry pastes a lot (not using Jamie's recipe but still) and there is nothing more satisfying knowing that you have made a curry from scratch. Agree the smell of toasted and freshly ground spices is lovely.

Organic by law my arse

Am with AA Gill on the farcical and hystercial nature of organic food locvers.

No-one minded Jamie Oliver when he was just a fat tongued twat on a scooter doing very stagey bish bash bosh slap up nosh and harrassing stallholders down Berwick Street. Then he got himself a sense of Social Responsibilitee and started doing Kind Things, instead of just cooking for Brad and Ange/swanning round Primrose Hill, and now everyone hates the poor fucker.

I can't work it out

ooh, ooh, ooh, Kerry, Delia's gonna sue you.

Jamie is an angel sent straight from heaven

I'm a bit scared to cross the Delia fans on here, but I just can't warm to her, myself. I know all the sleb chefs (sorry, Delia, we're home cooks ) are in it to sell their books and DVDs and generally promote their interests, but there's just something a bit coldly calculating about her. I mean, the last dismal series, with the snipped-up frozen aubergines and what-have-you, seemed like a naked bid to muscle in on Nigella's 'Express' series. And yet now she's totally abandoned the whole 'don't be afraid of all this complicated cooking stuff, just get it out of tins', and gone back to stuff for which you do need a bit of experience. I dunno, it just grates on me, as did the truly yucky Wogan Delia worship during those contrived sequences of her 'listening' to the radio....and as for the shots of the winter sunset and her veg garden and, er, her husband - no thanks. I'll take the house, though, thanks...

and don't forget she makes the camera crew widdle in the garden!

Mind you, she is right about M and S tinned meat, it's veh good!

Kerry! I bet she does sue! (I could see old Delia doing a deal with GF for a weaning book you know......Delia- the Next Generation....)

do you mean it's really her house??

that sounds a bit too authentic, don't it? Even Nigella films hers in a House Like Studio...