Please recommend me your best cook books.

[Milliways]

I have some very old books with nothing inspiring in them, + delias Christmas, Summer & Autumn books - which I like.

Nothing fancy, and we don't do fish.

Toying with a Nigella & a Jamie. Are they worth the money, which are best. Or someone else.

I have vouchers to spend

Yes, if buying a book when don't have loads of cook books doing similar recipes already would get The Silver Spoon one. All Italians have it (apparently)

its so big and heavy though

I read it when some friends came to stay. A useful reference but I doubt I would actually use it that much.

But it looks the business.

yes lovely font

I did a big clearout lately when we moved house (and country!) and only kept How to Eat and my Japanese cookbook!

I find Jane Grigson to be invaluable, especially the Vegetable Book (a chapter for each vegetable), for those "I have some leeks, what should I do with them?" moments. The Fruit Book is organised in the same way. I also like the way she writes - it inspires confidence and shows a real love of food.

I love my Leith's Bible + Reader's Digest Cookery Year

I like the sound of The Silver Spoon - anyone able to give me a quick list of say 10 of the recipes?

my god there are about 3,000 recipes in there

ok, some meat ones then (for my meat loving dh)

Dh made meatballs with aubergine from it a few days ago - divine.

This is our moroccan cookbook. It gets a lot of use. Particularly as many of the recipes can be made up while a child is napping in the afternoon, and then served for tea, iyswim. Lots of stuff that needs to be put in the oven for hours, and not fiddled with.

Tamarind and Saffron

how could I have forgotten this. It is lovely.

And this brilliant for dinner parties
Moro

drool

puff thought bubble reads:

"what the hell am I doing on a cookery book thread when I am dieting and have been for 18 months???"

have you got this one puff its great
Fat Girl Slim

yes I have, recommended by www - everything I've made from it most yummy

Oooh, Enid, what's good from the Moro book? DH bought me the first Moro book, and then the second, not noticing I'd only cooked like one recipe from the first.

MIL has Fat Girl Slim, but it is unread, as she only actually cooks from a very old Good Housekeeping cookbook. Which reminds me, actually, the current Good Housekeeping cookbook is actually pretty good.

I do the lamb stuffed with saffron rice (but always use orange zest - orange flower water too perfumed), lamb kibbeh with yog, adn the duck breast with pomegranet molasses

my fave thing probably sounds vile to everyone else: eggs poached with yogurt, sage and chili flakes. God it is good.

Space,I am loving The Kitchen Diaries at present and am surprised you think it is single person's cooking.
I disagree-it is exactly the sort of cooking I (and my mothers and sisters) do for our families.

The Women's Weekly (Australian) are excellent if rather untrendy.Mind you,I'm going off food porn in my old age.Feel it's all going a bit far.

Is Gordon any good?

Enid, the moroccan book I linked to below would probably be to your taste.

The egg thing you mention sounds good to me, btw, will have to look it up. I feel we should eat more eggs.

Oh, I do use one of their ideas, which is to use harissa to coat a roast chicken. That is very very popular in our house.

My ds got given the teens cookbook, Cooking up a Storm by Sam Stern
I have not stopped cooking from it yet, its fabulous!

I have loads of books including all of Nigella nd Jamie et al. Have to say the most used in our house is Ainsley Harriot, Gourmet Express 2 and low fat meals in minutes, was given them as gifts and use a lot more than I thought I would, lots of simple to knock up stuff and great marinades that are versatile

Out of Jamie I think Happy Days and Return of tye Naked chef are the best