Anyone got any good cook books they'd like to recommend?

[lucysmam]

A very kind mumsnetter has sent me an amazon.co.uk voucher & I thought I'd get a couple of cook books along with a couple of bits for the lo.

They have to be fairly simple-ish as I'm still learning but any suggestions I will make a note of & have a look at later on.

Thanks

Jamie's Ministry for Food

Anything by Rachel Allen - loads of family orientated food in there, and all very simple to make.

Delia is the best/most reliable (although I'm not sure about all this recent cheat ingredients business).

I use my Nigella books a lot too.

What a lovely treat - mooching on amazon is one of life's great pleasures

Hmmm.yes...had forgotten about Nigella. Her Nigella Express is great for quick bites to eat; however not so good for my waistline.

I've got the Jamie one cheers slack, got a couple of things out of there on my shopping list to try.

Any particular Nigella books or Rachel Allen ones to look out for?

I'm off to get pen and paper to write these down before my oh gets back with the lo and my peace is interrupted for the afternoon & then I can have a look this evening

I know you like making cakes lucysmam - Mary Berry is very good. I have two of her books Ultimate Cake Book and Foolproof Cakes.

cheers bella, I'll have a look at those this evening. I'm meant to be doing my lo's birthday cake next month so could do with the practice!

I'd recommend 'Real Fast Food' by Nigel Slater (no cake recipes though!)

I'm thinking about getting another book by him called 'The 30 Minute Cook'

That sounds like my sort of book, I'll add it to my list thanks myrrhcy.

It doesn't have to be cakes, I have a very sweet tooth though & do like trying new ones

Donna Hay is great. I've got her classic book 2, or similar, to help me come up with better baking. Due to waistline issues I didn't really bake between 18 and 40 so I'm a tad rusty and fariy cakes are getting a bit dull. The photos are great and it's very "how to" without being rubbish.

I used to use "real fast food" by Nigel Slater a lot but haven't seen it since three moves ago .

Thanks for the suggestions, I'm still browsing but am likely to get Real Fast Food and maybe another

I love Donna Hay - we have two of her books - bit annoying at first because everything is in cups - but worth getting over that because the books have fab recipes

Real Food - Nigel Slater (Real Fast Food is also very good, but I use Real Food a lot more)

Nigella Express - Nigella Lawson (I have most of her others too, which are also very good, but use this one the most)

The Ottolenghi one

River Cottage Family Cookbook

The dinner lady is good for a variety of simple dishes

I love Nigella's books, Jamie's books and an old Good Housekeeping one which has all the old standard recipes in.

And all the recipes I cut out and keep

I'm not a big fan of delia but Mary Berry has a big compendium cookbook that covers everything you need to know - from simple to complicated and easy to follow instructions.

Would also vote for Jamie's Ministry of Food which is fab as well.

this is the Mary Berry one

I have to say her recipes always come out perfectly. Especially for cakes (and there are a lot of them in there). She's also a lot more interesting than Delia.

I second real fast food by Nigel slater - got loads of easy recipes with lots of adaptations

I also love Katie Stewart, the times cookery book

it is just has everything in it -

how to make pancakes/pastry/crumble

any old staples that you are not sure about will be in there

just had a look on amazon and it is really expensive but I bought mine for 2 quid from a charity shop so one to look out for!

Nigella's 'Domestic Goddess' book is great if you like cakes.

Rose Elliot 'Vegetarian Cookery' is good for veggy stuff , as is Ursula Ferrigno 'Real fast vegetarian food' (Italian, simple and really lovely)

I second the Katie Stewart recommendation - is yours the old white hardback noonki? I also found mine in a charity shop - bought it because my mum had a copy she used a lot

The Leith Cookery Bible is also good as an encyclopaedia of recipes for just about anything you'll ever need.

Oh, and I also use Deliah's How To Cook (books 1 and 2) quite a lot, but don't find the actual recipes all that exciting or inspirational - they're more really useful reference books for how to cook basics when I suddenly find I've forgotten how to do something obvious since last cooking it a week ago .

Nigella's How to Eat seems similar from looking at other people's copies, and I prefer her writing style, so if I was going to buy one or the other I'd probably get Nigella if I was buying it now.

i like cook with jamie. though if you use any cake recipes you will end up with far more than you think in my experience!

dh rates ainsley and i have to say the results i have been presented with have been most acceptable