If you could only have 1 cookery book what would it be?

[ghengis]

Am trying to take more of an interest in cooking for my family but they aren't terribly adventurous. What one cookery book should I start with?

or suggestions for good bung in the pot stews/casseroles recipe books (or sections in more wide ranging cookery books)?

Bossykate thats what I am after too: I asked my Mum and she got me an M&S book of casseroles but somehow its not very inspiring.

bk, Delia's Winter Collection has a casseroles/braising section which has some good ideas (esp if you skip browning meat etc)

One book I use almost as often as Nige's Real Fast Food is Ken Hom's Quick & Easy Chinese cookery, had it since student days but it's still in print. It even has some ideas for mince & noodles so you can do a kind of Chinese spag bol in under 30 mins - and the leftover sauce freezes well so the next time it takes less than 5 mins from start to finish.

Easy Peasy (can't remember who it's by, but it's supposed to be for you/your children to cook together)
most things by Nige
my Marie Claire cookbook by that Aussie woman whose name I can't remember, she's a bit of a Jamie Oliver down unda iykwim
a lovely book by Loyd Grossman(!) which lists his fave recipes of all time from different cooks
delia for baking

Would second that Nigel Slater Real Food is great for family cooking - particularly as a lot of his recipies get flavour using herbs and reducing with wine so don't use much salt. Also though he has a recipe for chocolate cornflake cakes so has to be good.

For summer use - Ainsley Harriot's Barbeque Bible is excellent. Got it last year and have done several recipes from it. Some are long winded but others are quick. I made the burgers on Saturday and it took no time at all (although I made 9 burgers from a quantity he suggested for 4!). Also made little kiddy burgers using same recipe (no salt!) and cut out circles of bread and cheese using a cake cutter. Book also has some yummy marinade recipies which are also good for winter oven use.

thanks, twink. just looked on amazon and it is being reissued in paperback in the autumn, so will wait till then. in the meantime i found Australian Women's Weekly Casseroles which looks good - this series of books gets great reviews...

bundle,

Maybe you are thinking of Donna Hay?

I use this cookbook a lot, by a New York Times writer, Mark Bittman.

Oops, I meant to preview, not post. What's nice about it is that it provides a basic recipe, and then tells you how you can modify it with other ingredients.

thanks maomao, it was Donna Hay I was thinking of. fairly simple stuff that looks delicious.

Without a doubt, Nigella Lawson's How to Eat. We moved abroad for a year and it was the only cookbook I took. Excellent.