Cookery bookclub - who is with me?

[Curioustiger]

I love cookbooks and have picked up a ton of recommendations since joining mumsnet. I am keen to set up a cookery book club - anyone else interested? I propose:

• we select one book each month
  
• we go away, try out the recipes and generally revel in the deliciousness
  
• we chat about it
  

We could alternate between books people are likely to have eg Nigella, Jamie, Delia and something a bit more unusual. If we have a rolling three month list, that gives people time to borrow / buy books they don't have (from the library for example).

What to you think?

[Pantah630]

I've been flicking (can you flick on kindle?) through Smitten Kitchen and think I'm going to pick the chicken with grapes and olives with the broccoli slaw also fancy the vermouth mussels and tarragon oven chips. Has anyone tried any of these? The broccoli slaw is on the blog as well as in the book.

[Curioustiger]

Ooh please do the chicken with grapes as I love the sound of that!

[Pantah630]

We got a tweet back from Tonia Buxton from My Greek Kitchen as well. :)

Just realised I'm doing two chicken dishes, will do the grape and olive one but have another look through Feast for something else, maybe something fishy. I only started eating fish and shellfish when I got to 40. I always thought I was allergic but thought I'd give it another go. Still not keen on smoked fish but now love sea bass, salmon, plaice, squid, etc...

[kalidasa]

Loving the idea of this thread! Not sure I'll be able to join in properly as have 4 month old baby and have just started back at work so everything a bit chaotic and haven't had time to think much beyond old favourites. Don't have either 'Feast' or the 'Smitten Kitchen' but just been having a look at SK on Amazon and it looks tempting.

I LOVE the Kitchen Diaries so glad you're doing that next month. I have also been experimenting a bit with Kitchen Diaries II but I'm not quite so convinced so far. Generally a big fan of Nigel, less so of Nigella, whom I enjoy reading but find I don't actually cook from very often.

I have some ideas for more unusual (but still readily available) books but will keep quiet for now.

[IDismyname]

Out of Feast, I've cooked the Banana Buttermilk pancakes which are a big hit for breakfast in this household. Brilliant for the slightly past it bananas...

I've also cooked the Easy Action Christmas Cake which I cooked as cupcakes for a wedding, and then iced. The kitchen smelt heavenly (even in June!).

Red roast Quinces with Pomegranate were good, too.

Having looked through the book again, I should try out a few more!

I like the look of the Georgian Chicken, but the I remembered Yottam and I am so completely in love with the man atm, that I think I'll save my chicken recipe until we get to 'Jerusalem'

[Kneedeepindaisies]

I've reserved Feast from the library but will probably buy Smitten Kitchen on pay day next week.

I'm now off to find you all on Twitter

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

Have had a look at the Smitten Kitchen site but found it all a bit overwhelming. Can anybody recommend a couple of good things from there? Need to be veggie and have no aubergines, mushrooms or tomatoes.

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

Must admit, I don't like Kitchen Diaries much.

[rabbitonthemoon]

Marking my place, excellent idea and I have Feast and love Smitten Kitchen (though don't have the book). Thanks OP. my cookbook addiction is out of control and this will help me actually use them and not just look at them.

[rabbitonthemoon]

(I actually made the sausage and lentil stew from SK yesterday. It was ok but I didn't love it enough to make it again)

[Cristiane]

Please can I join? I've cooked loads from feast but I will try to find something new

One suggestion is felicity cloake's 'cook the perfect...' Column in the guardian. She searches through recipes and tries them out and almagamates the best ideas to make an über recipe.I made her crab linguine on Thursday and chicken tagine last night and both were AMAZIG... Also all the recipes are online :)

[Brices]

I've ordered smitten kitchen and am now looking through Feast, never cooked anything from it before, but great read

[MrsSchadenfreude]

Damn you, I've ordered Smitten Kitchen as well! I need another cookery book like I need a hole in the head!

[dairymoo]

I've made loads from the SK blog, and a few things from the book too. (Although, have to say, just fyi for members of this club - most of the recipes in the book don't seem to be found on the blog?)

From the blog:
Arroz con pollo
Chewy oatmeal raisin cookies
Spring panzanella
Favourite choc brownies
Brownie mosaic cheesecake
Texan carnitas & green slaw

From the book:
Mushrooom bourguignon - amazing!
Chicken mustard milanese
Wild rice, caremelised onion & kale gratin - made for Easter Sunday, delish
Roast carrot & parsnip salad with harissa & feta
Cranberry crumb bars with mixed spice
Granola (using egg white to bind) - v yummy

Happy to answer q's on any of these recipes....

[ScienceRocks]

Cristiane, felicity cloake has a book called Perfect too. Like her guardian column very much.

[ChocsandChipsandSealingWax]

Have been having a lovely time browsing through feast.

Haven't yet decided on my recipes but have always wanted to do the Georgian feast so will perhaps use this as the impetus. DH is veggie though so I may need to host a feast to cook it!

Also I have been wanting to do him an Arabian nights feast for a while so might pull some of the curry/ pomegranate etc recipes together and do that next Saturday.

I did the Chilli chocolate pudding for a Dia de Los Muertos Mexican hallowe'en feast but wasn't very impressed by it. I liked the combination of chocolate and Chilli, but it looked like cowpat and taste only so so.

In general I don't think nigella is nearly as good at puddings as savory (despite the domestic goddess moniker) - and they are always much too sweet too, althought she claims not to have a sweet tooth!

Now off to check out SK blog.

[HappyGirlNow]

In want to do this! I've just ordered Feast to go with my other millions of cook books.

Nigel Slater's books are my favourite! The kitchen diaries are amazing - like beautiful novels and so inspirational. And love his slightly less than prescriptive approach to recipes. Shame he's a bit annoying in the telly!

[minimuffin]

Ooh can I join please? I love Feast - think it is my favourite Nigella book. I have made her simnel cake yet again this Easter, it's gorgeous. Also it has transformed our Christmas dinners (which DH cooks, lucky me...) with gingerbread stuffing, her turkey brining method and the leftover turkey recipes all huge hits here. The rhubarb muffins are fabulous too and I keep thinking I need to dig a bit deeper into that book - will have a browse and choose a couple of things. The DCs meals could do with a bit of a shake-up too - I might try one thing for them and one for us, likewise from the Smitten Kitchen blog which I'll have a look at.

I too have hoardes of recipe books. The first Kitchen Diaries is my favourite of the past 5 years or so - love love love it. Every January when the catkins appear on the trees I think of the beautiful photo in the January chapter... sigh. I agree he's hamming it up just a wee bit much now on TV, shame. I still want his life though - unencumbered by kids, faffing about gently in his kitchen, pottering around his garden and tasteful artisan shops, eating and drinking with his mates

One book I think I need to do more from is the River Cafe cookbook (first one). And I've just discovered cookery blogs recently and can see an addiction growing there - Esther Walker's Recipe Rifle makes me laugh.

Has anyone actually tried Tessa Kiros's recipe books? I flicked through one (Apples for Jam?) in a holiday cottage and swooned over its flowery style and lovely stories and photos, but are the recipes any good?

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

What am I missing with Nigel Slater? You all seem to love him. As far as I can tell from Kitchen Diaries, he lives on cheese, tomatoes and hunks of meat. I've just spent half an hour with it and the only thing I fancy is a raddish and feta salad (and quite frankly, I could do that without Nigel telling me how) and the courgette fritters (which he ridiculously calls zucchini fritters) and again, I don't need a recipe for those.

[rabbitonthemoon]

Remus have you got appetite? I cook lots more things from that. I like to read kitchen diaries to get a bit of inspiration for seasonal things rather than the recipes I think. I like his writing style, it whets my appetite.

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

I have, but can't say that inspires me much either tbh. I think the problem is that he doesn't cater terribly well to the idea of family cooking, as of course he doesn't need to. And I hate tomatoes, but pretty much everything he does involves the nasty red balls of seedy gook. :)

[rabbitonthemoon]

Ha I feel the same about the evil tomato! DH says Nigel cooks sides as mains and I do get that. But his fast food taught me to cook at uni so I think I hold a special place for him. I'm just thinking now of books I've got the most recipes from that are keepers. It's probably a Jamie one.

[Curioustiger]

remus have to say I agree re Nigel. I said on another thread I think he takes a hero ingredient and gives you a few ideas about what to do with it, rather than full on recipes. Although his ideas are nice I would use the Internet for that rather than a book. I haven't read kitchen diaries though so am waiting to see if that changes my mind.

[Curioustiger]

Hello to all the newbies! I have made the raspberry ricotta scones and grapefruit cake from sk but am sat staring at them greedily now while I wait for friends to arrive. So will report back when I've tasted them!

[Curioustiger]

rabbit - sides as mains - perfect description!