Favourite cookbooks? Looking for inspiration

[dorisbonkers]

Mine are:

Claudia Roden's Tamarind and Saffron (a wonderful book that I used a lot at the start of BLW as the mezze style suited the time of year and dippy nature of first foods). In fact anything by Roden is good I think.
Fuschia Dunlop's Sichuan Cookery
New Chinese Cookery Course by Kenneth Lo
Mai Pham's Pleasures of the Table (Vietnamese)
Cracking the Coconut (a Thai one by someone I've forgotten -- quite involved recipes but the best I think for Thai_
Generally those Aussie Women's Weekly booklets are quite good for quick and easy Asian food
Madhur Jaffrey's classic indian one, plus her latest pan-Asian curry one is quite good
The Silver Spoon Italian bible
The Delia books and there are a couple of Jamie Oliver pasta recipes I often do, but I'm not generally that impressed by him

my favourite cookbook at the moment is by anthony worrall thompson - real family food. i bought this book the day before i went into labour, and i still managed to cook two of the recipes because they looked so good...and they definitely taste amazing too!

i agree with you about jamie oliver. his recipes dont always work that well. same with nigella lawson, which is a shame because she always inspires me to cook!

Yes, I agree with you about Nigella. They sound so nice, and look so nice but don't seem to taste utterly wonderful.

is it just a difference in taste, or do they just not bother to check their recipes....

sounds like a great selection of recipe books you have there, why are you needing inpsiration?

Oh, I think I'm too skewed towards Asian (used to live there) and would like to hear of some unknown European gems really.

My favourite cookery books are anything by Nigel Slater.

'Ooooh, chase me!'

Yes, I have some of his, but strangely don't often cook from them. I'll dig them out again.

Nige is the man - every recipe works and tastes delish every time

And also love:
Sarah Raven - Garden Cookbook
Tom Norrington Davies - Just Like Mother Used to Make
Leith's Baking Bible ( am cake freak )
River Cafe Books

I really want the Ottolenghi Cookbook....

The cookbooks that I find I use most often are Delia's How to Cook and the Good Housekeeping Cook's Collection. These are both full of simple, basic recipes.

I also like Tana Ramsay, Rachel Allen, Nigella (but mainly for baking), and Jamie Oliver.

I have recently been reading Sophie Dahl's cookbook, but that is more inspiration than actual recipes you'd use frequently.

Vicar's Wife
Nigel Slater Kitchen Diaries
Leiths Simple Cookery

I love the Moro books- I live in S Spain and the ingredients are easy to get here.

Also Madhur Jaffrey's vegetable cookbook is brilliant-she was the first TV cook I say ans I learnt so much from her programme-coriander chicken from her first book is still a favourite.

Claudia Rodent's Middle Eastern Cookbook also inspirational.

The River Cottage series is good-I love the Jam's preserves and chutneys one.

I still use an M and S beginners cook book I got in 1977 as it has all the basics -recently referred to it for lemon merangue (sp?) pie.

Nigella -I got her Christmas one as a present and it is great inspiration. I have made the pomegranate vodka two years running and it's very popular, hic.

Donna Haye's Modern Classics.

Thanks for the heads up. Like the sound of Ottolenghi and Donna Hay