DS Forums

 
 

The one cookbook you couldn't live without?


Reply
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old 07-09-2008, 12:30
sheddy99
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Deepest Darkest Cornwall
Posts: 5,545

Let's have some recommendations.
I love 'How to cook the perfect' by Marcus Wareing.
I've heard 'the silver spoon' is a good one to have too.
sheddy99 is offline   Reply With Quote
Please sign in or register to remove this advertisement.
Old 07-09-2008, 12:32
stud u like
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: The Sunny Side Of The Street
Posts: 40,106
Claudia Roden "The Book Of Jewish Food"
Nigella Lawson "Feast"

I love reading these two the most.
stud u like is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 07-09-2008, 12:43
LostFool
Forum Member
 
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 59,757
Probably Appetite by Nigel Slater. It's not really a cookbook in the traditional sense - no long lists of of detailed recipes, it's more of a series of suggestion of things to try and encourages you to go freestyle rather being a slave to the recipe.
LostFool is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 07-09-2008, 12:47
SHAFT
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Kent, UK
Posts: 4,252
My Mums. Although it's more of a file than a book.
SHAFT is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-09-2008, 12:49
indianwells
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 12,236
Roast Chicken & Other Stories. Simon Hopkinson.
Delia Smiths Complete Cookery Course.
Moro. Sam & Sam Clark.
The Les halles Cookbook. Anthony Bourdain.
The Silver Spoon.
Made in Italy. Giorgio Locatelli.
Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. Marcella Hazan.
indianwells is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-09-2008, 15:28
vidalia
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: London
Posts: 24,469
Entertaining with Katie Stewart.
Everything in it works and works very well.
vidalia is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-09-2008, 15:53
pixieboots
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 3,655
Delia's Complete Cookery course-excellent for all the basics
The Silver Spoon for anything italian
I have very aold (from the 60's) paperback Womans weekly cookbook too and like Delia it is great for basics like bread, casseroles & roasts etc
pixieboots is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-09-2008, 16:09
Skinny Jules
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 44
Good Housekeeping Cookery Book

A really good basic and simple cookery book.
Skinny Jules is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-09-2008, 16:19
Gogfumble
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Swashbuckling on Melee Island.
Posts: 21,624
Good Housekeeping Cookery Book

A really good basic and simple cookery book.
I agree. I have 'inherited' (read that as stolen ) my mums Good Housekeeping cookery book. it is rather old and is falling to bits though.... but it has character.
Gogfumble is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-09-2008, 17:27
♣ Moya
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 22,629
I was given a cookery book when I married - 'The Love of Cooking' by Sonia Allison and it's falling apart through use.
What I liked about it was that it went from the very basic, like preparing vegetables to the exotic.
I also like the way it was set out with chapters on Fish; Meat, Poultry and Game; Sauces, Batters, Stuffings and Pastry; Teatime cookery etc.

If I want anything different I'll go on the net rather than buy a book.
♣ Moya is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-09-2008, 18:34
Elanor
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Derbyshire
Posts: 13,041
My Mums. Although it's more of a file than a book.
I've got a file that I've made over the years, and I couldn't cook without it. It's full of scribbled recipes I've jotted down from watching things on telly, or that I've scrounged from friends, or that I've adapted from ones in books, or made up myself over the years. It's a bit of a mish mash, but I'd be devastated if I lost it.
Elanor is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-09-2008, 11:34
dollylovesshoes
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: East London
Posts: 14,258
I'm currently having my whole flat refurbished, they are working in the kitchen so everything plus two cats are in the living room with me! I've had to have a massive clear out ,unfortunatly cookery books had to go Ive kept me Delia books plus Nigella,Jamie and some very good american cookbooks.
dollylovesshoes is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-09-2008, 12:16
stumblebum
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: ♀ Hampshire
Posts: 5,309
I've got a file that I've made over the years, and I couldn't cook without it. It's full of scribbled recipes I've jotted down from watching things on telly, or that I've scrounged from friends, or that I've adapted from ones in books, or made up myself over the years. It's a bit of a mish mash, but I'd be devastated if I lost it.
Exactly the same for me. In fact i'm in the very slow process of typing it all up to print out and put in a file.
stumblebum is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-09-2008, 12:21
kingjeremy
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 8,242
Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cookery.

The book is old, battered and stained to hell but It's still the one I go for other the others when I want Indian.
kingjeremy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-09-2008, 12:47
Color of Night
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Leeds
Posts: 2,164
the OXO cook book
Jamie Oliver. Love his beef & Guinness casserole
I tend to get a lot of my recipes just goggling on the net, the BBC site is quite good.
Color of Night is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-09-2008, 17:58
fannyadams
Forum Member
 
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 1,060
I actually don't rate the Silver Spoon, the recipe for spaghetti bolognaise is not very good, and an Italian friend looked at the book and didn't rate it either. I prefer Locatelli for Italian recipes personally.
fannyadams is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-09-2008, 18:36
dollylovesshoes
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: East London
Posts: 14,258
Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cookery.

The book is old, battered and stained to hell but It's still the one I go for other the others when I want Indian.
Agree , I have a few of hers and wouldn't part with them for anything, mine also are very stained, I have one of hers from the early 70's, her Far East book is fab.(also very stained etc)
dollylovesshoes is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-09-2008, 14:29
pickledlily
 
Posts: n/a
Any of Delia's books, especially the winter one,
Good Housekeeping, and a 1950's edition of Mrs Beeton which I bought in a charity shop, still reading through it.
  Reply With Quote
Old 09-09-2008, 14:32
pickledlily
 
Posts: n/a
Any of Delia's books, especially the winter one, it has a black cover
Good Housekeeping, Readers Digest Cookery year, another one called The Cooks Scrapbook, a 1950's edition of Mrs Beeton which I bought in a charity shop, still reading through it and of course my trusty file of scribbled recipes, some of which I collected when I got married over 40 years ago.
  Reply With Quote
Old 09-09-2008, 14:47
AbsoluteHush
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Wales...
Posts: 1,000
Delia's books - great for the basics and The reader's digest (or good housekeeping?) cookery year - very battered but the best thing for cooking seasonally. And my mum's file. Now MINE - very much stolen!
AbsoluteHush is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-09-2008, 15:10
Shuttermaze
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Shropshire.
Posts: 6,740
Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cookery.

The book is old, battered and stained to hell but It's still the one I go for other the others when I want Indian.

Same here.. The Spicy baked chicken is a firm fave in this house. Along with the chicken in a red pepper sauce, and the fried onion one.. Truly gorgeous!
Shuttermaze is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-09-2008, 16:26
kingjeremy
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 8,242
Same here.. The Spicy baked chicken is a firm fave in this house. Along with the chicken in a red pepper sauce, and the fried onion one.. Truly gorgeous!
Never actually made Spicy Baked Chicken. Made the other two, I especially love chicken in a fried onion sauce, i've probably made that the most along with the royal beef with a creamy almond sauce recipe which is also a favourite of mine.

We have her Curry bible as well but i've only ever used it a couple of times, I always seem to go back to Indian Cookery.
kingjeremy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-09-2008, 17:38
Shuttermaze
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Shropshire.
Posts: 6,740
Never actually made Spicy Baked Chicken. Made the other two, I especially love chicken in a fried onion sauce, i've probably made that the most along with the royal beef with a creamy almond sauce recipe which is also a favourite of mine.

We have her Curry bible as well but i've only ever used it a couple of times, I always seem to go back to Indian Cookery.

It has to be the best recipe in the book. Try it, you'll love it. We have it with the rice & peas and diced fried potatoes cooked with ground cumin, salt and pepper. Have it this weekend, and let me know what you think. One word of caution with it though, you don't need half as much Cayenne pepper as stated, I only use about a 1/4 of a teaspoon at most.
Shuttermaze is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-09-2008, 17:41
kingjeremy
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 8,242
Would it be ok to replace the chicken pieces with say chicken breasts cut into a few large chucks. Mainly because I have some breasts in the freezer that i've been wanting to use.
kingjeremy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-09-2008, 17:43
Shuttermaze
Forum Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Shropshire.
Posts: 6,740
Would it be ok to replace the chicken pieces with say chicken breasts cut into a few large chucks. Mainly because I have some breasts in the freezer that i've been wanting to use.

Absolutely, though you might not need as long to marinate them and cook them, but they'll be lovely!!
We've marinated drumsticks, on many an occasion to take to parties,bbq's etc, and they're always the first thing to go!
Shuttermaze is offline   Reply With Quote
 
Reply




 
Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 17:34.