Good cook books

[RedKnight]

All these threads about food really make want to start cooking more and to try making different things. There is one problem with this though and that is I suck at cooking. So I could do with laying my hands on some decent cook books which I can learn from and do some new interesting receipes.

 

One thing; no Thai food. I hate it.

[hamstrung]

If you don't mind your house smelling of onion

[Elmyn Noos]

At the risk of a panning from the foodies, the Jamie Oliver books have served me well over the last few years. Tasty food, easy to follow and no wanky use of foodstuffs no-one has heard of that you can't buy anywhere.

[Michael Howard]

All these threads about food really make want to start cooking more and to try making different things. There is one problem with this though and that is I suck at cooking. So I could do with laying my hands on some decent cook books which I can learn from and do some new interesting receipes.

 

One thing; no Thai food. I hate it.

 

You want piccies to inspire you. Nigel Slater has done a few "quick food" type books. Gordon Ramsays sunday lunch book isnt bad for new ones with a mix of simple and complicated stuff.

But I'd suggest watching tv cookery programmes - saturday morning before footie focus ain't bad - Bill some aussie guy does great looking simple stuff. Rick Stein, Gordon Ramsay are ace. Nigella of course as well.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (don't be put off by the name) did an ace series teaching complete junk food eaters to cook on Ch 4 recently - taught them all the stuff they bought pre made. That was excellant.

 

Avoid Gary Rohodes, Ainsley Harriott and Anthony Worral Thompson.

 

*Jamie Oliver is good as well on telly and in books. Bit annoying these days but fair do's to Noos I do own about 4 of his books and they are more used than most.

[biglad]

Delia's book are an excellent starting point - inform you about what things do, why you do them and how to make pretty decent food.

[RedinSweden]

The best cookery book I have is called Cordon Bleu Cookery and it is ace. It gives really good basic recipes and procedures for everything. No fancy pants crap or flim flam. Just ace food.

 

It might be this one, but the cover doesn't look like this. I'll check later.

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Penguin-Cordon-Bleu-Cookery-Rosemary/dp/0140460977/ref=sr_1_3/202-0701895-4933460?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1191330803&sr=1-3

[bonzo]

I'd second that about Delia Smith, she really does know how to cook, and how to explain stuff.

 

Also good call on Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, forget the name, he's really into his food. I've got his River Cottage Meat Book and it's great. As well as being a good cookbook (for stuff with meat in, obviously) he lays out why it's worthwhile looking for better quality meat - tastes better and you feel better eating it.

 

For Indian food, Madhur Jaffrey will never let you down.

[Remmie]

I recommend choosing a specific type of food and getting into that first - it's what I did. I got given the pizza express cookbook and started making my own Pizzas from scratch. It goes into great detail, like type of surface to knead the dough on - the ideal air temperature and the protein composition in the flour. I love that shit

[Elmyn Noos]

I recommend choosing a specific type of food and getting into that first - it's what I did. I got given the pizza express cookbook and started making my own Pizzas from scratch. It goes into great detail, like type of surface to knead the dough on - the ideal air temperature and the protein composition in the flour. I love that shit

 

Have you tried making two pizzas to exactly the same method, but kneading the dough for each on different surfaces, or at different air temperatures? Did it make a blind bit of difference?

[Owen]

The BBC website has a great cooking section with loads of recipes. That's all I tend to use.

[Remmie]

Have you tried making two pizzas to exactly the same method, but kneading the dough for each on different surfaces, or at different air temperatures? Did it make a blind bit of difference?

the more general tips helped at first but now I have my own ideas. I tend to just replicate the ideal conditions for pizza making rather then too wild an experimentation though in my uni days I made an ace pizza with curry and banana on it.

[hamstrung]

The BBC website has a great cooking section with loads of recipes. That's all I tend to use.

 

True that.

 

The UKTV food one is also good

 

http://uktv.co.uk/food/homepage/sid/566

[RJ Fan club]

You can't go wrong with this.

 

[RedKnight]

Cheers lads. I'm looking at doing either Italian or Mexican cooking. Jamie Oliver's Italian book may not be a bed bet.

[Elmyn Noos]

Cheers lads. I'm looking at doing either Italian or Mexican cooking. Jamie Oliver's Italian book may not be a bed bet.

 

It is. I can, and did on another thread (simple but great food, or something) recommend the chicken cacciatora. Easy to make and fucking tasty.

[Fink]

At the risk of a panning from the foodies, the Jamie Oliver books have served me well over the last few years. Tasty food, easy to follow and no wanky use of foodstuffs no-one has heard of that you can't buy anywhere.

 

His books are ace for beginners - like me

 

Nigel Slater does a good one

[RedinSweden]

Cheers lads. I'm looking at doing either Italian or Mexican cooking. Jamie Oliver's Italian book may not be a bed bet.

 

To be honest, I get a hell of a lot of my stuff off the net. As Owen said, BBC has some ace stuff.

[Aaron Miller]

cookbooks? are you fucking kidding me?

 

take the cocks out of your asses, lads.

 

the only people that should own cook books are women.

 

if, and that's a big if, any man should find himself having to cook, he should cook by trial and error.

[Paul]

There's no real substitute for your own taste buds, but if you've never been into cooking then books are a good place to look for inspiration. All the best have been mentioned: Nigel Slater, Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson are the holy trinity in our house, and you can't ever go wrong with a bit of Delia. I would strongly recommend Appetite by Nigel Slater as your starting point. Mainly because it's fucking ace. The Sopranos Family Cookbook is also amazing, but it's not for newbies. There are quite a few complex, faffy recipes in there. All taste fucking beautiful, but straight forward they ain't.

[Strontium]

Why don't we just start a TLW cookbook? A thread where everyone can post their own top recipes.

[RedinSweden]

That recipe Dirk, it was hand written and I can't be arsed typing it out, but having scouted around, this one from Delia looks bang on, http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/french-onion-soup,1308,RC.html and is almost identical.

 

You don't have to make your own stock, but it is preferable, but there a couple of decent ones, one called Bong is quite nice.

[Owen]

Did you ever learn to cook, Jules?

[Karl_b]

Why don't we just start a TLW cookbook? A thread where everyone can post their own top recipes.

 

We have one somewhere.

[RedKnight]

I am learning. Baby steps like but I've some basic stuff from scratch.

[Fink]

Anything by Nigel Slater

 

Tamasins kitchen Bible is my fave.