A good overall recipe book for family cooking???

[blissfullyignorantorinpain]

Hi everyone just wanted to get some advice on a good recipe book as a starting point to learn some new recipes. I want a good all round book with starters, mains and desserts, good meals for all the family...

TIA

Jamie Oliver or Nigella are really good ones to start with. I find most of their meals really family friendly and not too fussy.

Nigella's Kitchen has a huge amount of recipes to suit every occasion, Jamie's Ministry of Food is brilliant for family meals.
I have over 300 recipe books and would highly recommend these two out of them all.

I like The Hairy Bikers/Dieters books. They cover different topics - e.g. Best of British, Meat Feasts, Asian etc - & the recipes I've tried are easy to follow & seem to be foolproof.
I would not recommend Delia Smith; there are some serious errors in her books.
If you need help with techniques etc, www.bbc.co.uk/food is great.
I've got about 100 books, but I still look at stuff on the WWW.
I often borrow a book from the library to see if I want to buy it.

5 o'clock apron by Claire Thompson is amazing - recipes are good value and not made with 100 different ingredients. Most used book I own.

handbags
I disagree, I find my original Delia priceless. It’s my go to for any “How do I make...”

Nigel Slater, Claudia Roden and Hairy Bikers are always a safe bet.

River cottage baby and toddler so many good recipes. Roasting tin invaluable for quick and healthy meals.

Completely Perfect: 120 Essential Recipes for Every Cook by Felicity Cloake

Agree @RamblinRosie Delia is also my go to for basic recipes.

I love Felicity Cloake but because her quest is for the ULTIMATE brownie/stew/whatever, her recipes can be quite a faff sometimes. So while I do use them, they're not what I usually turn to for everyday family cookery.

I use an old Mary Berry bible (MB Complete Cookbook I think) quite a lot as it has pics and is straightforward and packed with nice ideas. She also has a lovely book called Family Sunday Lunches which is brilliant and again has lots of nice things, with pics.

Also Diana Henry is excellent with her quick and straightforward ideas. I love her Simple and From Oven to Table books.

However OP to answer your question I'd head for Mary Berry and find her most recent cooking bible with pics.

Hi can I jump on this thread, I am a huge recipe book collector and have just ordered the 5 o clock apron. However I am looking for a book for my daughter who is young (21) with her partner and 2 young children. She is a good cook and is looking for ideas for all the family. The only thing is she likes a picture for every recipe, anyone any recommendations.

Not as trendy as Nigella or Nigel Slater, but the "Good Housekeeping Cookery Book" is great. It has a huge array of family favourites, together with some more adventurous recipes, and a picture of every recipe. It is my "Go To" book, and has been for almost 35 years.

Just ordered a copy on ebay for £2.95 and free postage, thank you.

good food has lots of ‘easy’ category recipes and is free online, those recipes v reliable.

I find Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose also have good quick family recipes, if you sign up to their newsletters. I know you asked for books but these easy to pull up on your phone for buying ingredients and quick cooking plus free.

I use a lot of online recipes, but sometimes you just want to sit down with a coffee and browse through some recipe boooks.

I love Nigella express - regularly use a lot of the recipes from it. Delia Smith's basic cookery books are good for traditional staples too

I follow nigella on twitter, she gives a lot of recipes away on her website. I agree, I’ve got tonnes of books, cookery mags etc (in my head I’m a great cook) but I do love the online part too.

Just a recommendation for Sabrina Ghayour, her books are fab.

Honestly I have shelves full of books but constantly end up using the BBC good food website as it's a solid resource

For everyday "normal" meals without wanky ingredients then you can't beat this home cookery book from Dairy Diary. My copy is probably 20 years old, and my mum's is likely twice that but I still use it regularly.
It has everything from a basic white sauce to vegetarian nut burgers!

Just bought the dairy cook book, I might have to stay of this thread for a while.

Seconding recommendations for:

Dairy cookbook
Nigella express

I don't use the 5 o'clock apron much, have been quite disappointed in it.

My other useful family book is this one:

www.amazon.co.uk/Hamlyn-QuickCook-Family-Meals-Quick/dp/0600623599/ref=nodl_

Lots of quick dishes, including loads that the kids will eat. For every set of ingredients there are 3 different ways to cook a meal (a 10 minute, 20 minute and a 30 minute option)

My 3 favourite cookbooks are Jamie's ministry of food, nigella nigelissima and sabrina ghayour persiana.

All simple, easy to follow and delicious.

Ooh I used to love the dairy dairy!

www.waterstones.com/book/good-housekeeping-cookery-book/good-housekeeping-institute/9781909397859

Good housekeeping cookbook

Definitely Good Housekeeping, specifically the one that @AndWhatNext linked to. It has everything, recipes and techniques, for all manner of food - mains, starters, salads, veggies, puddings, snacks, easy stuff, complex stuff, classics, etc. It tells you how to joint, skin, fillet, mix, the tools you need, how to put everything together. It is a truly complete book.

There are lots of GH books. This one is the best updated version of the 1950s "bible". All the recipes work, they're designed to be practical and the steps are easy to follow, and it tells you so much about how food preparation and cooking works. I wouldn't be without mine. I have many other cookery books but none of them cover the same breadth and depth of ground.