nigella

[nailpolish]

i want to get one of her books but dont know which one. can anyone recommend one thats got a wee bit of everything? please and thank you

I got "Feast" for Xmas, I've never looked at any of the others so don;t know how it compares.

It's got menus for different types of celebration meals and just crammed full of stuff really.

It's not really a basic cookbook but it's got lots of ideas for special meals etc and new things to try out.

Nigella Bites, Nailpolish.

feast sounds a bit fussy, although good

nigella bites - is that good for bits and pieces, everyday sort of things.

hope you know what i mean

Nigella Bites is excellent, everything from snacky food to dinner for 12.

oooh snacky food, my cup of tea

so snacky food, family lunches and teatime

children and adults

posh romantic meals for two

etc etc

veggie as well as meat? (im not a veggie, just like a bit of both)

easy puddings

are they all included?

anyone else?

Nigella bites.

Domestic goddess is all about baking.

thanks marslady

does it have all the things ive listed below?

sorry to be a pest, ive been hunting for months for a decent book that has a bit of everything, getting weary now and i thought nigella would be best bet

so is that ok for waht im looking for then?

Nigella Bites has all those things. A lot of the recipes are available online. I think at the US Style Channel website. The recipes are easy and practical - and yummy

How to Eat is a bit more detailed - has a great children's section.

i like domestic goddess most. despite what you might think, it has much more than just cakes/cookies in. even savoury. forever summer has good things in too....okay, okay i like all of them!!

what a relief. i will go to the bookshop tomorrow and have a flick.

i really find cookbooks a pain in the arse, TBH, and can never find a good decent one. im not the best cook in the world by any stretch of the imagination, and i cant thank you enough.

if How to Eat has a good childrens section ill have a peek at that too..

ta v much

The other one I like and use alot as well as Nigella is Nigel Slater. If you're having a browse anyway, have a look at Real Food (which has the best recipe for chocolate cake in the world btw).

ill do that mrsFP, ill prob be in the bookshop all day. mind you ive seen him on the telly and im not keen on him (although i know books are different)

i dont like cakes

just fruity puds

How to Eat is probably covers most things from basics through to fancy meals but my fav is Nigella Bites, the Sticky Toffee Pudding recipe is to die for.

np you must must must get into Nigel!! He is my hero. He writes soooo wonderfully. I read cookery books like others devour porn,me!
Also like 'How to Eat' although it is the only one I have!

I love Nigella but I've been a bit disappointed with some of her recipes - they haven't quite lived up to expectations. And I'm usually ok as a cook! I like Delia - boring but utterly foolproof. And Jamie for really great ideas.

How to Eat is the best all rounder in my opinion. Good sections on "fast" (after work) food, kids food, Christmas, low fat. I have Domestic Goddess and Forever Summer too, both OK but more about baking and "occasion" food than everyday stuff. Enjoy, it's more like a novel than a cookbook!

I like How to Eat because it gives me ideas about what ingredients would go well with others, but I don't think I've actually followed any of her recipes to the letter, just adapted them.

If you're in the bookshop anyway have a look at Good Housekeeping Step by Step, I absolute loved it when I was starting out cooking because every technique is shown in pictures which makes it so straight-forward. Everything I've ever made from it has worked - which is more than I can say for some cookbooks.

ok so

nigella bites
how to eat
nigel slater
good housekeeping (if my mother knew i was thinking about buying a good housekeeping book she would laugh her head off)

thanks very much for the tips x

How To Eat has to be the most useful in terms of covering most recipes, most occasions etc. Have all her books and although I love the way she writes, the latest, Feast, doesn't compare in terms of usefulness to some of her other books IMO.

Nigella Bites and Domestic Goddess are my favourites, I have Forever Summer but have never used it (maybe I am not a summer person) it doesn't imspire me at all.

Nailpolish, why not borrow them fom the library then you can get an idea of what suits you best.
I've just borrowed Feast from our local library as I'd like it but don't want to waste money on it if it's as inspiring (to me) as Forever Summer.

Love How To Eat. My very bashed and battered copy is always hanging around the kitchen(although it's bashed and battered more from constant re-reading than from actually making any of the recipes!) It's great for getting general ideas and I like her philosophy on children's food - i.e. stop bloody obsessing about it - the anti-Karmel...

How To Eat, definitely.

i really like how to eat. actually it's the only nigella book i have. HOWEVER, i made ds' birthday cake from a recipe in it last night & it was an utter collapsing disaster. it could be that i'm not a natural cake maker, but i made a delia one this morning which was much more succesful. so nigella gets my good to read but not necessarily to cook vote. i have never made a bad recipe by nigel slater on the other hand.