Which cookbook???

[giftwrappedkittycat]

What are your cookbook recommendations (UK) for someone who is hopeless in the kitchen? I dont want anything fancy, just something with everyday family recipes that are easy to follow (make that really easy to follow!). There are so many books out there, I am just bamboozled. I have quite a few books already (mostly by Jamie Oliver) but I wouldnt even attempt to cook the majority of the recipes nor do I want to spend a fortune on odd ingredients never to be used again! Please help, I think my family is absolutely sick of being served pasta bake

Delia's How To Cook.

Hugh feanley whittingstall's family cookbook.

I have tonnes of cookbooks. I use this one so much its falling apart (8yrs old). Easy to follow and recipes get a big thumbs up in our family and with friends.

I found Jamie Oliver pretty easy to cook from. What do you find is scary about his book? Do you have his "Cook with Jamie"? I think it's for beginner's cook.

I don't recommend Delia because, well, I don't actually like much of what Delia cooks. I think it's important to find a book that cooks stuff you want to eat.

Or is there someone you know that can show you how to do a few things? Maybe even from recipes from the books you got, and you like the look of?

Am also not a fan of Hugh FW. Though I only have his veg every day, so maybe it's not representative of his work!

Thanks for suggestions! I do have the Cook with jamie book but there arent many recipes in there that appeal to me. I'm looking for home cooked meals: roasts, casseroles, spag bol from scratch, pasta sauces, that sort of thing

The Busy Mum's Cookbook. Really good and I'm about as far away from Delia as you could imagine.

This might sound a bit bizarre (and expensive - ca £15+ used) but I have found Practical Cookery by Ceserani, Kinton, Foskett really useful. It is for, um, catering college students, NVQ Level 2 or similar Has recipes for 4 portions and 10 portions each recipe and is really straightforward.

Good food family meal p lanner is good. But if it's really back to basics type cooking that you want, then you can't go wrong with the grandma's best recipes type books you can get from cheaper bookshops and usually in asda etc. they have the basic recipes such as shepherd's pie, fish pie, roast chicken, bolognese, apple pie etc. that a lot of the professional chef's books leave out. they're usually about a fiver or so.

Have a look on amazon for family cook books or similar, read reviews, browse bookshops and order some from your library before you commit. (But, really, check asda for grandma's recipes and have a quick look through, see what you think )

Have you Jamie's Ministry of Food?

It might not look that exciting, but it's great for getting people starting cooking. It's normal stuff too - 'dinners' - rather than fancy dinner-party cuisine.

It's really good, the explanations are clear but it's not patronising. I recommend it loads for people who either can't or wont cook!

Ooh, that book also gives you multiple ways of using the same base - eg mince could be tweaked for shepherds' pie, spag bol etc etc.