Delia Smith

[NoraLuka]

Is wonderful. That is all.

I am known for being an atrocious cook who failed at rice crispy cakes, yet over the past few weeks I have followed her recipes and made a chocolate cake, a Victoria sponge and two different soups which everyone liked.

Just thought I’d share that 😁

What's your best book?

Oh well done. Also would like know which book did you use? Im thinking of buying the roasting tin book that's often discussed on here.

Massively overrated IMO.

Gosh you are controversial @IDontMindMarmite with your yeast extract and Delia opinions!

I think Delia's recipe success rate must be the highest in the English speaking world, which is what you look for as a beginner or when you try something for the first time.

I can recommend the 30 minute roasting tin book @burglarbettybaby not as foolproof as Delia though, depends what you are looking for.

Definitely depends on what you’re looking for! If you’re looking to master a particular “thing” (eg, how to cook eggs well, how to make bread, how to cook fish), you can’t go wrong with her How To Cook series. But her older Complete Cookery Course has a very wide range of recipes, albeit some of them will seem very dated now.

Oh, and you can’t go wrong with her leek and potato soup recipe if you haven’t tried it already!

I find Mary Berry has moved with the times a little more than Delia and I have made a few of her family recipes recently which have worked really well, so would also recommend her as another one to try.

I find her hit and miss. Her scone recipe has about 25ml too much milk, for example. But other things are fab (I love her ham rissoles).

I love her.

Complete cookery course is great for basics

I usually turn to Delia first and find her very reliable. This evening I wanted a recipe for cottage pie, and found hers in the Complete Cookery Course, it was delicious, it had sauted leeks mixed with the mashed potato topping, and grated cheese on top of that - perfect autumn comfort food.

Complete Cookery Source is legend!

Course!

Delia is straightforward and her recipes are really reliable. I make her minestrone soup and her little puddings with toffee sauce, they've become family staples
Mary Berry has some good recipes too although I don't like her on TV. Her Latimer Beef is excellent

Certainly not infallible. I had a disaster with one of her dishes.
I guessed that putting soaked but uncooked haricot beans in a casserole wouldn't work, but I thought she's a better cook than me & went ahead. Luckily it was just for family as we had to pick the inedible beans out.

I've never forgotten her most public disaster :-

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/7711684/Id-be-ashamed-to-offer-Delia-Smiths-risotto-to-a-guest.html

Many years ago she wrote a book called How to Cheat at Cookery, which is the one I really liked. I have a battered old copy somewhere.

I've never been too bothered about any of her other books.

Delia taught me to make roast potatoes and gravy

I have only had one failure with Delia and that is lemon curd, it is the same in 2 of her early cook books and it wont set,
My recipe calls for 3oz sugar and 2 eggs, the updated online recipe is 12oz 4 eggs, so clearly no enough sugar.
I found Jamie Olivers Ministry of Food not very good ie the curry has way too much water in it

I love Delia, weirdly am cooking her chicken basque tonight.

My 11 year old has discovered a love of baking and I must say that Delia's recipes are more reliable than Mary Berrys or Nigellas.

Where has she vanished too though in recent years?

When I was first learning to cook her Complete Cookery Course was brilliant. The cheat book was good too, there was a pork and chrizo stew that used a Heinz soffrito mix, they don't make it any more though so I have to do it the normal way.

I love Delia. Almost guaranteed to turn out right. I know she's not as fashionable or current as some, but her recipes, for detail, are excellent.

The only recipe that didn't work for me was goose, on a christmas day . I followed her recipe and incinerated the bird. We had a vegetarian Christmas.

I love that chicken Basque @mrscampbellblackagain. It's still a regular in this house.

It the leftover chicken curry that is the favorite in our house

Her caramelised pork belly is a favourite here, with some Jamie Oliver bao buns and some cucumber and spring onions.

I might make some soon.

Delia and I have been great friends for 33 years now. She has and always will have a very special place in my heart. I don't have all of her books but do have many.

Mary Berry is lovely, I have lots of her books too. We are not close though more like neighbours who wave across the street.

My all time favourite cookbook is Farmhouse Kitchen which accompanied the tv programme of the same name. I loved that programme as a child as my mother was a crap cook.

Made Delia's pear and almond cake with a streusel topping yesterday. Yum.

Essential packing when the kids went off to uni - the original Cookery Course book.

Her Summer and Winter collection have great dishes that I don't think date.
They might not be the trendiest around, but they aren't boring, aren't difficult to make and are genuinely just great.