Need a good cookery book !

[Cazbar]

I watched the River Cottage Treatment tonight on ch 4 with that Hugh whatisface and he had a bunch of people on that ate loads of ready meals and made them make meals from scratch. It was really good and made me realise that although we don't eat ready meals as such I have come to rely on jars of sauce etc to make meals.

I really enjoy cooking but sometimes with the cookery books I have by the time I have found a recipe that everyone will like and actually got my head round the ingredients (that's if I've actually managed to get them all in a normal supermarket :lol, spent hours in the kitchen making it, it looks and tastes nothing like how it says it should in the book !!

So, I have decided to start trying to cook more from scratch. Can anyone recommend a good cookery book for this ? I'm not a complete novice in the kitchen but would like to know how to make all the normal everyday meals not the fancy ones !!

 

[melissaq]

Might only be in the US but how about Betty Crocker?....she always has good everyday things in there .....

Just an FYI .....I collect cook books....and I've found that the best recipe books are the "local" ones that you get at Church sales....try going to a second hand store as you can always find book " bargains" and local cookbooks!

 

[Peter Pan]

have you tried the gordon ramsey book "sunday lunch" its fab, i use it quiet alot but tend to switch stuff to my own liking, also another good one is gary rodes - his book is also very good = basic stuff, but well worth a try. again i switch stuff that i dont like,but to be honest ive only tried one of gary's sea bass with leek carbonara - all i did with this one was add more sauce and cheese - it tastes bloody marvellouse and would deffo recomend to anyone

 

[JackieMc]

I'm a 'Gordon' fan too - try his new (I think) book called 'Fast Food' - I thkn it's in Tesco for £9.99 at the moment.

Jackie
x

 

[Mrs.Clooney]

St. Delia Smith is a no frills, no fuss cook. I have several of her books. However, have you thought about perhaps subscribing to 'Good Food Magazine' or if not subscribing to it, then just grabbing it off the shelf on a monthly basis.

It really is a brill mag for picking up ideas, hints, tips and it always features great recipes for both the proficient and beginner cooks. Even if you just buy one to start off with and have a good browse through it. xx

 

[Amethyst_Angel]

Oooh Cookery Books!!! My favourite subject!!! I have hundreds of the beggers!!! :green:

I quite like a bit of Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson (Nigella's book "Feast" is excellent!). Although, probably my "bible" over the years has been a Readers' Digest book called "The Cookery Year". Brilliant basic food. :green:

 

[hayls]

Ive had a few books from the kids school, you know 'Book Club', they are really good, alot of hearty meals, healthy and things kids would like aswell as adults.

Try the internet, the Good Food site is good and full of lovely recipes. I to have the Gordon and Gary books, both great, also got Rick Steins book if you are a fan of fish, very comprehensive and easy to follow!

 

[izzidoll]

I also love my Cookery Books....Although some of them I just love to READ and never cook any recipes from them....just dream about it!!


The one though that I have used the most, and cooked loads of great things from is Jamie Olivers 'Jamie's Dinners'.

So I would recommend this....especially if you love stews and pasta dishes!!!
I even make all my own pasta sauces from scratch thanks to Jamie!

 

[Amethyst_Angel]

I also love my Cookery Books....Although some of them I just love to READ and never cook any recipes from them....just dream about it!!


The one though that I have used the most, and cooked loads of great things from is Jamie Olivers 'Jamie's Dinners'.

So I would recommend this....especially if you love stews and pasta dishes!!!
I even make all my own pasta sauces from scratch thanks to Jamie!

Oooh, Izzidoll you're definitely a woman after my own heart! :green: I love reading cookery books, even tho I never actually get around to cooking anything from them. The books I *do* cook from end up being a bit... well... "scratch n' sniff" if you see what I mean, as most of the ingredients end up all over the pages! LOL!

 

[Sals]

The UKTV Food website has got thousands of recipes for all different skill levels. It's really good and has a recipe for practically anything you can think of.

 

[Rach]

There is a BBC magazine called Easy Cook it comes out about 6 times a year i think. It has loads of quick and simple recipes. I think the next issue is due out on 2nd Aug.

 

[Amethyst_Angel]

There is a BBC magazine called Easy Cook it comes out about 6 times a year i think. It has loads of quick and simple recipes. I think the next issue is due out on 2nd Aug.

I agree! The Easy Cook magazine is very good! :green:

I think Food is one of my favourite subjects. I didn't get to be this size living on lettuce leaves!

 

[Noodle]

Delia Smith's Complete Cookery Course ... an excellent culinary bible.

 

[tonilee]

You may laugh at this one but I swear by Annabel Karmels recipe books....yeah they are for babies abd toddlers but are so yummy, throw in some herbs and spices to some and they become much more grown up!!! She tells you how to make dead simple stuff, sauces etc which you can then add to....hth

 

[nicjill]

I'm a 'Gordon' fan too - try his new (I think) book called 'Fast Food' - I thkn it's in Tesco for £9.99 at the moment

I got this too, i'd recommend it. Nice easy recipes that are easy to prepare and taste great.

 

[Marlise]

The UKTV Food website has got thousands of recipes for all different skill levels. It's really good and has a recipe for practically anything you can think of.

You never should have told me this !!

I've been on the site for the past 30min and I know I'll be there for the next 6 hours

So many recipes, so little time !


Marlise

 

[Amethyst_Angel]

You never should have told me this !!

I've been on the site for the past 30min and I know I'll be there for the next 6 hours

So many recipes, so little time !


Marlise

LOL! Been there... done that!!! :green:

I have a friend in Wales who was horrified when he found out that I used my superfast broadband connection to download recipes!!

 

[Cazbar]

Thank you all so much for your recommendations ! :hug:

What a great response. Perhaps we should have a favourite recipe thread as there seem to be lots of avid cooks on here.

 

[Ophala]

i've been banned from buying cookery books by my mum!! we've run out of space to keep them but i buy them in the hope that i'll be able to afford to move out and make the recipes one day!!

i don't know about everyone else but i find it very difficult to follow a recipe if there isn't a picture. my mum has loads of old 80s cook books but there are no pictures and i just don't get inspired by them!!

 

[Marlise]

i've been banned from buying cookery books by my mum!! we've run out of space to keep them but i buy them in the hope that i'll be able to afford to move out and make the recipes one day!!

i don't know about everyone else but i find it very difficult to follow a recipe if there isn't a picture. my mum has loads of old 80s cook books but there are no pictures and i just don't get inspired by them!!

I don't necessarily find it hard to follow, but I do like to see a picture of the end result with a recipe as that way, I can gauge if the food turned out the way it should have done :lol:


Marlise