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?

Ooh beware let me know how you find the scones as I did not find them easy... Would be good to know if I should try again.

Morning all. Had another look at feast last night but struggling to find anything I want to cook that isn't sweet.

Pantah let me know how the sake steak works out with Marsala wine. Like the idea of it but don't want to buy a bottle of sake just for that one recipe.

Also has anyone made the veggie chilli? Was thinking that I may make that as a change from the usual meat one.

I am also finding it difficult to pick two savoury recipes from Feast, although in my case it's because there is hardly anything I haven't already done that doesn't have mushrooms or aubergines in (my bête noire). I think I will do the crunchy pork chops as that kind of individually portioned food is not something I would often cook. Then the lamb shanks with figs and honey as my DH would love that (we like fruit in savoury recipes a lot).

Pantah - definitely make the lemon bars, I made them yesterday, they were delicious, and I am just about to make them again (not for us this time, I bake every week for the local children's centre).

Am I the only person who thought that Nigella's Georgian Feast would be a tableful of whatever they ate 300 years ago? I felt extremely thick (but rather glad) when I realised it was Georgian as in the country, not the historical period. I can totally identify with her introduction as well - I spent a summer in Moscow and the best food I had by far was in a Georgian restaurant. I am looking forward to trying the khachipuri.

Nigella's veggie chilli is pretty good, although I've now stopped using it in favour of one of my own invention.

poppy yes I thought the same

I made the Smitten Kitchen carrot, harissa and feta salad today. It was good, possibly a bit sweet but nice and fragrant and plenty of dressing. Perhaps I'll try the fabled lemon bars next.

Lemon bars, well slab still, cooling on rack. Waiting to dig in with a cuppa later.

Steak in fridge marinating. :)

Slab disappearing quickly, blimey they're good!! A definite recommendation from me on the lemon bars

The lemon bars tick every box for me:

• cheap, readily available ingredients that you've probably got anyway
• pretty much foolproof recipe
• little washing up
• absolutely delicious!

I wonder if orange would work?

I agree that the raspberry and ricotta scones from SK are distinctly 'meh'. I've had similar in desperation from Starbucks in America, so I think maybe they're and American thing that we just don't have an equivalent for.
I found making them really messy, and the method was a bit odd - I have a kitchenaid, so pretty powerful, but no way can it reduce fridge-cold butter to pea-sized lumps without spraying flour everywhere.
Anyway, I ate them for breakfast on the train this morning as they're still considerably nicer than anything First Great Western has to offer, and my 16-month-old DD absolutely adores them. So I might end up making them again for her, as they're 'cake' with quite a low sugar content.

Is this the recipe for the lemon bars? They look lovely. Does anybody have a non-cup version though? I'm an old gimmer and like ounces!

No remus that must be an older version, this is the recipe from the book. The difference us that here you use the whole lemon, rind and all.

Can I join pease? My shelves are groaning with cookbooks! I have feast and like the look of smitten kitchen. Now to catch up in the thread.

Thanks Tiger. Any idea how I convert from cups to ounces?

beware I think you're spot on. science said that flat scones are an American thing. I didn't dislike them but they definitely weren't worth the effort.

remus have you got a smart phone? I put cook converter into App Store and there's a few apps which look promising?

elr with pleasure! To recap you need to cook two recipes from each book that you haven't cooked before, by end of April. And let us know how you get on! Any tips re feast welcome.

remus if you get stuck let me know and I will ping over the recipe to you from my uk cookbook.

beware one more thing before the thread degenerates into me chatting away to myself. Have you tried draping a clean tea towel over your kitchen aid when you're whisking etc? That's what Lorraine Pascale does so it must be right cos she seems like a neat freak.

Cheers! clinks

For Remus
For the crust: 125g plain flour, 65g sugar (I used caster for both bits), 1/4tsp salt and 115g unsalted butter (I used salted as that's all I had)
For the filling: small- medium sized lemon, 265g sugar, 115g butter, 4 large eggs, 2tbsp cornflour, 1/4tsp salt

:)

I've got the SK book, and now Jerusalem and Kitchen Diaries, on the kindle at work so I can plan my recipes during quiet times

What kind of kindle do you have pantah? Do you get the pictures as well as the text?

Me Me Me Me.
I want to join. I am the cookery book queen.