What cookery books do you recommend?

[batoutofhell]

Love to snuggle up in bed with a mug of hot chocolate and a good cookery book to read.

I know quite sad.

What cookery books can anyone recommend as a good and informative read?

Nigella and Elizabeth David's..An omelette and a glass of wine[travels round europe,simple food..FAB]
Also Mrs Beeton's guide to household management is interesting.

Klaramum - I am also a big fan of 'Living and Eating' - actually I think John Pawson's living bit is very pretentious but I love Annie Bell's recipes. They all work and can find something to cook for most occassions.

The New English Kitchen by Rose Prince is a very good read - all about how to shop and cook more ethically, unfortunately I don't put as much of it into practice as I mean to. Other than that would agree with all the Nigels and Nigellas. Have just bought 'Rachel's favourite food at home' by Rachel Allen, which is very practical but a bit on the basic side. .

I go to bed with Nigel Slater porn. Appetite is a particularly good read.

Nigel is a GOD and his food philosophy is exactly the way I approach food....all his recipes work, they are tasty, photography is divine and I could read Kitchen Diaries all night....

We have a chef called Karen Martini in Australia and her cookbook is also amazing. I have not had a single dud which is more than I can say for Jamie or Nigella (even though I like their books and approach and I love Jamie's series on cooking fresh from the garden).

Other good books: Claudia Roden "Arabesque", Jane Grigson "The Vegetable Book", Anthony Bourdain "les Halles"

Arabesque is great but her food of the middle east is better for all the history stuff.

DH got me the nobu cookbook which is lovely to look at but I defy anyone to find the ingredients anywhere (or the patience to faff)

Another vote for hugh fairly longname's MEAT book, thats essential and the chicken tikka/murgh makhani is lush as is the lamb with vine leaves.

Just got one by Jo Pratt which is ok-ish. Nice to read but hasn't sent me to the kitchen yet.

Rick Stein for fish for sure. His one from the series he did in France is also vvvv good.

Yes I love the BBC website for the ingredient search thing and for the same as you. I decided I fancied making some chutney last autumn, went on there for inspiration and found loads of recipes and ended up making loads of spiced apple chutney as Christmas presents.

Has anyone else got the Harold McGee 'Encyclopaedia of Food and Cooking'? It's not a recipe book but has an absolutely staggering amount of information on the science, history etc of food. I'm finding it's hugely improving my cooking because I'm getting a much better idea about why things behave the way they do so I can vary recipes more confidently. And it answers questions I'd been wondering about for years like 'what's the difference between a raisin and a currant?'

Claudia Roden fans - which do you think is her best?

I was loitering over her most recent one (Arabesque - I think?), but it seemed to be more atmosphere'n'anecdote than hardpacked recipes (recipe-density being a particularly fantastic feature of Nigel Slater's books).

I'd specially like one with lots of tapas-type, starter, drinks-accompaniment sorts of things.

(I use Leith's Cookery Bible a lot - very proud of my much-practised sauce mornay (= cheesy white sauce, when it's at home))

I think the New Book of Middle Eastern Food is a reissue of the quite old large format Penguin book we have
That has lots of meze type dishes Bink

Madhur Jaffrey's Curry Bible - really fascinating stuff all about how curry spread around the world and was adapted in different countries. The recipes are fantastic too.

Also love the Silver Spoon especially for ideas for odd vegetables we get in the fruit & veg box, & Good Housekeeping for the basics.

Marina, thank you.

My bible is 1000 Favourite Recipes
by Marguerite Patten...its dog eared and plain but useful for all the things everyone assumes you KNOW how to cook, always gets referred to for pastry & dumplings. I notice its now "collectible" and they are asking £77 for it on Amazon!

Love Nigel Slater...just adore his attitude to food "its your dinner so you put in as much as you like"

Mary Berry 's Ultimate Cake Book

Dont know why I dont just get rid of all the others to be honest these are the ones I always use.

Not much good in bed but I use both of these web sites if im looking for something specific

BBC

UKTV

Bink, I'll ask in Juniors tomorrow about that. I am sure they'll have a good idea or two. We don't have a Juniors section in the Library, Heaven forfend...

Has anyone tried Tana Ramsay's Family Kitchen I find I use a lot of reciepes from her cook book. It is aimed at people with kids, so it is a mix of interesting and on occasion bland recipes.

Ditto the Dairy Cookbook and Delia for reference on the basics. My Mum also has the Reader's Digest Cookery Year which is a good one for seasonal cookery.

Jamie is my other favourite. Find him pretty foolproof whereas I have had a disaster with Nigel (Chicken baked in a salt crust tasted of, ermmm, salt. So much so I had to wash it before dinner!)

On a slightly more esoteric note, Josceline Dimblebey is great. I have one of her Sainsbury's Cookbooks from the 80s - called something like "Dishes from around the world" which has some great recipes.

Oh, and anyone else got the Food Aid book? It's coming apart at the seams but is great. Love Ronnie Barker's 5 pound note sandwich...

Nigella's Feast has quite literally changed my life!

I was a complete Kitchenphobe and had Feast for quite a few months before I actually picked it up and read it through just before Christmas - never in my life had I enjoyed READING a cookery book let alone seriously give recipes a try...

Christmas day was amazing and my family now LOVE my roast potatoes.... never believed I would ever hear myself say those words! hehe

Hi,

I love a good cookbook and am always buying new ones! some just to read but many more because I like the idea of cooking from them.
My favourites recently I see recommended elsewhere on this page are by Tessa Kiros. The first book I got by her "falling Cloudberries" was such a treat! It is full of wonderful recipes that are reliable, but also stories of her amazing family and life. A real joy!
Recently I got !Apples for Jam" many many more useful recipes....Its like those family books your Mum has scribbled recipes in for you, the ones that are family favourites and work. these are bliss!

For easier cooking I would recommend Mary Berry. Easy, quick and reliable recipes. I know anything by her will work and there are a lot fo books you cannot say that about!

Have fun!

Fiona

Would be interested to know success stories re: Nigella's recipes as I so love reading her but don't actually trust her recipes. There have been threads before on here I think but since this thread seems to have lots of "cookbook-junkies" on, maybe it would be a good place?

Interesting Janeite. I love her recipes, but find the timings way out. Her cakes (particularly my favoutite - cherry almond loaf cake) take much longer than she says they will. I've cooked it in 3 different ovens, and had the same problem.

Can anyone recommend a good book for stir frys? I've got a Ken Hom book but haven't found it very good.

I did Nigella's whole "turkey in a massive bucketbath full of herbs and spices overnight" thing at Christmas.

Not entirely sure the turkey tasted that much different but it was lovely and tender and not dried out after cooking at all.

It was an interesting and fun Christmas Eve activity that the children found hilarious (especially when the turkey farted!) and they've said they now want to incorporate it into their Christmas routine every year along with the usual mince pie/glass of sherry/carrot for rudolph/stiocking hanging stuff.

And I have to say the small room I stood the briny spicy turkey bucket in smelt WONDERFULLY Christmassy!!

(get Nigella's Feast for full instructions and watch/record the TV programme too if it's shown again next Christmas)

Ooooo, only just spotted this thread so hope you haven`t all given up on it! I adore cookery books, in fact just had another one for my birthday, which takes my collection to over 200! I have to say I have loads of M&S books, but my favs are def Nigel Slater and Nigella.............but the winner hands down id The French Cook Book by Joanne Harris(author of Chocolat)and Fran Wardle! I have bought loads of copies for friends who all love it too. Not complicated or expensive recipes, they always work and if you love France the pictures are just bliss!