Recommend me a Cookbook for Xmas pressie

Masala · 2011-12-04 20:03:56

Hi All I like to do a little cooking and give my hard-working wife a night off and recently have got into cooking in a big way. Have done a number of courses over past 1-2 years and enjoy trying new ideas. For last Xmas.. the kids got me Jamie Oliver '30 Minute Meals' ... which I have enjoyed. Have taken bits and pieces…

04-12-2011 09:03PM

#1

Masala

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Hi All

I like to do a little cooking and give my hard-working wife a night off and recently have got into cooking in a big way.

Have done a number of courses over past 1-2 years and enjoy trying new ideas.

For last Xmas.. the kids got me Jamie Oliver '30 Minute Meals' ... which I have enjoyed. Have taken bits and pieces from it and done some good stuff!!

Have been looking for suggestions for this year for someting similiar ???

Has anyone got some 'great' books that they would recommend???? Living in Ireland ....I have to rely on Tesco and Dunnes for ingredients... so lookintg for 'day-to day' type meals is what I am after!!!!

Any suggestions???

PS.... cam trying to trace a Jamie Oliver cookbook for students for my kids.....did he have 'Students' nbook at any stage??? I can't find it on google!!!!

Thanks All!!!

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#2 04-12-2011 11:44PM

thebouldwhacker

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sounds like a river cottage book might suit you needs....

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#3 05-12-2011 01:35AM

TeletextPear

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I like Nigella Lawson's 'Kitchen', some really nice recipes.

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#4 05-12-2011 10:50AM

The Hill Billy

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Cookbook recommendations are to be found in this thread (linked from the FAQ stickied at the top of the first page on the forum).

tHB

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#5 05-12-2011 11:47AM

Swampy

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Ballymaloe cookery course

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/1856267296/ref=sr_1_1_olp?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323082021&sr=1-1&condition=new

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#6 05-12-2011 12:48PM

lucylu

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Swampy wrote: »

Ballymaloe cookery course

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/1856267296/ref=sr_1_1_olp?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323082021&sr=1-1&condition=new

I absolutely agree with Swampy.. Ballymaloe Cookery course is excellent.
For example it will detail a "mother" recipe and it will show you variations of the same recipe.

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#7 05-12-2011 11:28PM

Slogger Jogger

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TeletextPear wrote: »

I like Nigella Lawson's 'Kitchen', some really nice recipes.

Thats the one I'd have gone for too.

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#8 05-12-2011 11:53PM

Faith

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My recommendation of the moment is The Family Meal by Ferran Adria, of El Bulli fame. It's a beautifully laid out book with pictures of every step. The recipes are sophisticated but are not overly difficult or fancy. It's been on my wishlist since it came out a couple of months ago.

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#9 06-12-2011 12:19AM

The Lovely Muffin

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My dad got me this one and I loved it. It explains everything, it's very basic though so might not be what you are looking for.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1843405830/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=103612307&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0091864941&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=19HTG7FNFFQ5D0T8P6YP

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#10 06-12-2011 12:21AM

ElleEm

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I think the Masterchef Kitchen Bible is a great cook book.

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#11 06-12-2011 12:28AM

Thoie

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Third vote for Nigella Lawson's Kitchen.

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#12 06-12-2011 12:35AM

daniels.ducks

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The Ballymaloe one cost me €50 a few years back! It's for £21 on amazon! Highly recommended. Sometimes the layout can be hard to follow.

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#13 06-12-2011 08:36PM

BailMeOut

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I use two for pretty much everything (all my others just gather dust

- Delia Smith - Complete Illustrated Cookery Course
- The Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook 2001-2011

2nd is a USA book so all in cups, quarts, etc.... but really is a superb. Gives you really good very refined processes and methods to turn out great food every time making it impossible to mess anything up using their instructions.

The Delia one is my cooking bible. Must have IMO

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#14 06-12-2011 09:45PM

yurmothrintites

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The River Cottage ones are excellent. Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall's Everyday is one of my favourites.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/River-Cottage-Every-Hugh-Fearnley-Whittingstall/dp/0747598401/ref=zg_bs_1039788_2

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#15 09-12-2011 09:26AM

muckety

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The Good Housekeeping one suggested by purplebobbin is excellent. I have an earlier edition for 30 years! Although having several several other cookery books I still look to this when cooking something for the first time. The recipies really work, which isn't always the case with some of the big name TV chefs' books.

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#16 16-12-2011 01:54PM

Cork Boy

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I got Darina Allen's Ballymaloe Cookbook a few years back for a steal (€20).

There's so much in it and it's just great for someone at your level (assuming this is for yourself?)

Trying to get this back from my dad but he's getting so much use out of it with his veggie garden and polytunnell.

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#17 16-12-2011 02:12PM

Lpfsox

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hey folks!

I'm a cookbook fiend (but a rubbish cook!) and buy quite a lot of them. I recently bought Jamie's Great British Meals and Lorraine Pascale's Home Cooking Made Easy and both are lovely books. Some delicious looking recipes in the Jamie one in particular.

Also, not sure where you're based OP but I picked up loads of bargain cookbooks (River Cottage, Nevin Maguire, Hairy Bikers etc) a little while ago in a bargain bookshop called The Works (www.theworks.co.uk) in Enniskillen. They had the Ballymaloe one for a tenner there too but I already had that one.

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#18 16-12-2011 04:37PM

barbiegirl

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I have quite a large collection of cookbooks, and the best for bringing from a simple to more complex is the Delia Smith How to Cook, Parts 1 and 2. Other than that I keep going back to two cheap books I have The 30 Minute Cookbook and Fast Cooking. They are not by any particular chef and are full of receipes I use every day.

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