[[Category:New Reviews|Cookery]]
==Cookery==
__NOTOC__<!-- Remove -->{{newreview|author=Chloe Coker and Jane Montgomery |title=The Vegetarian Pantry|rating=4|genre=Cookery|summary=Chloe Coker and Jane Montgomery aren't strict vegetarians, but they are ''passionate about fresh, healthy, seasonal, meat-free cooking.'' A shared frustration about being unable to find the inspiration and ideas they wanted led to this book, with its recipes which will appeal to everyone from strict vegetarians to meat eaters. Reassuringly they're not out to convert anyone - just to give some inspiration, particularly to people who haven't tried this type of food before. Some recipes are suitable for vegans (or can be easily adapted) and they're clearly marked, as are those suitable for people with a gluten intolerance.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>184975344X</amazonuk>}} {{newreview|author=Will Torrent|title=Patisserie at Home|rating=4|genre=Cookery|summary=I've always been in awe of people who can make great desserts - the ones which taste amazing AND look stunning on the plate. I have used [[The Roux Brothers on Patisserie by Michel and Albert Roux]] (that's Michel Roux senior, by the way and not his son) but I found the book almost pernickety in some of its requirements and I've long wished for a book which was rather more relaxed and aimed at the home cook rather than someone who aspired to be a professional chef. ''Patisserie at Home'' seemed to fit the bill.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1849753547</amazonuk>}} {{newreview|author=Hannah Miles|title=Cheesecake|rating=4|genre=Cookery|summary=I have a weakness for cheesecake, the genuine item rather than the over-sweet lookalikes found in some supermarkets. I love that unctuous richness and the slightly tart taste on the tongue. I'm less keen on what they deliver in terms of calories, but that simply means that cheesecake has to be an occasional treat - and the best that there is around. So, ''Cheesecake'' by Hannah Miles was going to press all the right buttons. Hannah reached the final of Masterchef in 2007, so she knows a thing or two about food.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1849753520</amazonuk>}} {{newreview|author=Tori Finch|title=A Perfect Day for a Picnic|rating=4|genre=Cookery|summary=There are strange reasons why books appeal to you. With ''A Perfect Day for a Picnic'' my immediate reaction was it would be lovely to have the ''weather'', never mind the food. Then I had a look at the spine of the book (I know - I'm sad) and it looked just like one of those expensive linen glass cloths - you know, the ones you have to ''iron'' and it brought back such memories of childhood picnics that I had to see what was on offer.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1849753539</amazonuk>}} {{newreview|author=Andy Bates|title=Andy Bates: Modern Twists on Classic Dishes|rating=3|genre=Cookery|summary=I do tire of cook books which regurgitate what are essentially the same recipes time after time. Sometimes food writers rework their own recipes - a tweak here, a change of emphasis there and you can have the same dish many times over, so it's a real breath of fresh air when you find a book which seems to have new ideas, or genuinely new approaches to classic dishes. Andy Bates has a classical background (working in a Michelin starred restaurant by the time he was seventeen and time in France to hone his skills) but his business is a stall in London's Whitecross street market. So - a perfect combination of technical knowledge, experience and knowing what people ''really'' want to eat.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1908917709</amazonuk>}} {{newreview|author=Margaret Powell|title=The Downstairs Cookbook: Recipes From A 1920s Household Cook|rating=4|genre=Cookery|summary=Margaret Powell began her life in service as a housemaid, but she had an interest in cooking (her mother wouldn't allow her to learn at home as food was too precious to waste) and by talking to cooks, watching what they did and making notes she eventually rose to be cook in the grand houses on the nineteen twenties. ''The Downstairs Cookbook'' is her collection of the recipes which she used, or which were current at the time. But it's more than that. Think of it as being rather like a visit to a good cookery school where you'd collect all those hints and tips which make recipes ''work'' and the anecdotes about life in a professional kitchen.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0230767834</amazonuk>}} {{newreview|author=Danaan Elderhill|title=The Magic Book of Cookery|rating=3.5|genre=Spirituality and Religion|summary=Back in the seventeenth century in what was then the Kingdom of Bohemia there was a coven of witches. As was common at that time witches were hunted and they had to hide their beliefs. The Friends of Euphrosyne, as they called themselves, turned to this deity (she's one of the three graces and there to remind us to have fun) in their time of need and developed rituals which could be assimilated into social gatherings, allowing them to hide in plain sight. Their book - The Magic Book of Cookery - vanished along with the coven when they were discovered but Danaan Elderhill wants us to benefit from its ancient wisdom - and its fun.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>B0092BX6O0</amazonuk>}} {{newreview|author=Antonio Caluccio|title=A Recipe for Life|rating=4|genre=Autobiography|summary=Antonio Carluccio is a name you know well if you've any interest in food and particularly Italian food. He's well known as a cook, restaurateur, deli owner, television personality and author. In everything he's done he's concentrated on the flavour of the food - this isn't the man to turn to if you're interested in fine dining as there's a lack of frills and ostentation - and he has his own phrase to describe his vision. 'Mof mof' stands for 'maximum of flavour and minimum of fuss'. He's a man after my own heart but when I thought about it I realised that I knew little, beyond the occasional news item, of Carluccio the man. His autobiography came at just the right time.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1742703925</amazonuk>}} {{newreview|author=Prue Leith|title=Relish: My Life on a Plate|rating=4.5|genre=Autobiography|summary=Prue Leith was born in South Africa, the daughter of a prominent actress who was considered 'dangerously liberal' in her views on race. Prue was largely unaware of the horrors of apartheid and had a privileged lifestyle. She came to London in the early sixties but still retains an awareness of colour as a legacy of her childhood. What didn't come from her childhood was her love of cooking - she drifted into catering almost accidentally but went on to set up a very successful catering company and then to open Leith's Restaurant . Her cookery school and regular food columns in national newspapers followed soon after.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0857384058</amazonuk>}} {{newreview|author=Robert L Wolke and Marlene Parrish|title=What Einstein Kept Under His Hat: Secrets of Science in the Kitchen|rating=3.5|genre=Cookery|summary=''Everyone'' knows that when you chop onions, you cry, but have you ever wondered ''exactly'' why this happens? More to the point have you ever considered what you might be able to do so that you don't need to look like a snivelling wreck every time you make kedgeree? Life is littered with such conundrums (along with the old-wives'-tale solutions) but there seem to be more of them in the kitchen than elsewhere. Robert L Wolke has a column in the ''Washington'' ''Post'' in which he debunks misconceptions and answers questions with logic, science and a healthy dose of common sense. |amazonuk=<amazonuk>0393341658</amazonuk>}} {{newreview|author=Andrew Webb|title=Food Britannia|rating=4|genre=Cookery|summary=I've always suspected that British food gained its dreadful reputation after the end of World War II. Rationing lasted for many years and the sort of food which you could buy in the average hotel or restaurant was pretty poor. An image like that sticks: we might have Stilton cheese, Scottish raspberries, Welsh lamb and a host of other wonderful foodstuffs but still we are thought of as the people who eat the food of a post-war boarding house. Andrew Webb is a food journalist and photographer - and he's set out to prove that there's a wealth of regional food, traditional recipes and passionate producers just waiting to be found.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847946232</amazonuk>}} {{newreview|author=Lucie Cash|title=Fairytale Food|rating=3.5|genre=Cookery|summary=Are you looking for a gift for someone who enjoys cooking and who has an interest in fairy tales? If so, this book could well be your perfect answer. It has over sixty recipes - none of them at all complex - and they're all associated with favourite fairy tales. Instead of the usual carefully-primped pictures of the finished dishes there are lavish illustrations by Yelena Bryksenkova of scenes from the tales and I didn't find a double page spread which didn't have some entertaining embellishment. It's also a bonus that there's a gentle humour in the illustrations, as in this note from Goldilocks:|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848093578</amazonuk>}} {{newreview|author=Marian Keyes|title=Saved by Cake: Over 80 Ways to Bake Yourself Happy|rating=4|genre=Cookery|summary=Right now you are probably thinking 'Marian Keyes? She writes chick-lit doesn't she? What's she doing writing a cookbook?' You'll quite probably also be looking at her and thinking that she doesn't look as though she eats a lot of the output either. Well, there's a bit of a story behind this book...|amazonuk=<amazonuk>071815889X</amazonuk>}} {{newreview|author=Jamie Oliver|title=Jamie's Great Britain|rating=3.5|genre=Cookery|summary=The Royal Wedding in 2011 and 2012's Diamond Jubilee and Olympic Games mean that ''anything'' which can be adorned with a Union Jack will be. Barbour do waxed Union Jack dog coats, so it should come as no surprise that Jamie Oliver is here with a large plate of good old roast beef in front of said flag. It's a splendidly chunky book and beautifully presented. Flick the book open at any page and you're likely to find a double-page spread of pictures (shooting on the country estate, making traditional cakes, foraging for food... you get the picture) or a recipe accompanied by a full-page photograph of the end product.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0718156811</amazonuk>}} {{newreview|author=Nigella Lawson|title=Kitchen: Recipes from the Heart of the Home|rating=4|genre=Cookery|summary=Nigella Lawson's latest offering is subtitled 'recipes from the heart of home', which is a very vague title whose significance (undoubtedly clear to those who watch the TV versions) I fail to decode. All cooking is done in the kitchen after all. But I suppose coming up with interesting titles for general collections of recipes is not that easy, so I'll leave it at that.|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0701184604</amazonuk>}}
{{newreview
|author=Clarissa Dickson Wright
|summary=I have a weakness for puddings and whilst I wouldn't consider buying a ready meal I will happily trawl the aisles for a good desert when I haven't the time to spend in the kitchen. So, the opportunity to read a book with the sub-title ''every pudding you have ever wanted to make'' was simply too good to pass up. I have two favourites when I think of puddings – Tarte Tatin and Crème Brulee – so I was keen to see Phil Vickery's recipes for these classics.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847376835</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Jennifer McCann
|title=Vegan Lunch Box Around the World
|rating=3.5
|genre=Cookery
|summary=I am a long-time Vegetarian but sometimes flex up (or down, depending on how you look at it) to Vegan since I don't like eggs unless cleverly disguised as a cake, and don't drink milk. Not having either in the house most of the time means cooking some recipes can be a pain, so I was keen to have a look at this book for ideas of what I could use as substitutes.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0738213578</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=New Covent Garden Food Co
|title=Soup For All Occasions
|rating=4
|genre=Cookery
|summary=I love soup. It's more filling than a drink and less time-consuming than a meal but with all the flavour you could ask for. I don't mind good quality canned soup such as Baxter's or New Covent Garden, but I do prefer to make my own, so what could be better than a recipe book from New Covent Garden Food Co? It's not a book of recipes for the soups they sell, but a series of recipes from their staff which will take you, as the title says, through all occasions.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0752226797</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Richard Mabey
|title=Wild Cooking
|rating=4
|genre=Cookery
|summary=It's become fashionable now to make do, to cut back - even for those who have no need to do so. Conspicuous consumption is frowned upon and thriftiness is the new black, so ''Wild Cooking'', previously published in hardback as ''The New English Cassoulet'' is going to appeal to the mood of the moment with its approach of 'busking in the kitchen' and making do. Some of it might seem a little extreme – I really can't imagine that I will ever slow cook a Peking Duck in front of a fan heater simply because it might as well cook the food whilst it's heating the room – but I love the idea of using a glut to make broad bean hummus, or even of gathering up vegetables which have been left when the field has been harvested.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0099522969</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Gill Holcombe
|title=Fish Pies and French Fries, Vegetables, Meat and Something Sweet...Affordable, Everyday Food and Family-friendly Recipes Made Easy
|rating=2.5
|genre=Cookery
|summary=Following on from her success with [[How to Feed Your Whole Family a Healthy Balanced Diet, with Very Little Money and Hardly Any Time, Even If You Have a Tiny Kitchen, Only Three Saucepans ... - Unless You Count the Garlic Crusher... by Gill Holcombe|the book with the atrociously long title]] Gill Holcombe has given us another long title and more easy recipes aimed at busy people who live real lives. The principle is the same – few people have unlimited time and/or money and these recipe books go some way towards proving that it is possible to prepare food simply and quickly without breaking the Bank. She promises 'simple, wholesome and nutritious recipes' – does she deliver?
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1905862334</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Victoria Moore
|title=How to Drink
|rating=5
|genre=Lifestyle
|summary=A friend who saw me reading this book was moved to ask if I really needed the advice and was quite surprised when I explained that it was about the whole range of liquid intake from the humble glass of warm water (try it – it's wonderful first thing in the morning) to rare spirits costing hundreds of pounds a bottle. It's completely unpreachy with not a word about how much liquid you should be taking in each day to how few units you should be consuming each week. It's about getting the best (which isn't always the most expensive) and enjoying it – and most importantly, enjoying a drink when that's the drink you want.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1847080200</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Delia Smith
|title=Delia's Complete How To Cook
|rating=4
|genre=Cookery
|summary=At the end of the last century Delia Smith produced her ''How to Cook'' series – three volumes which gave the inexperienced cook the grounding that they would need to put good food on the table for any occasion. Produced in three volumes ([[Delia's How To Cook - Book 1 by Delia Smith|volumes 1]], [[Delia's How To Cook - Book 2 by Delia Smith|2]] and [[Delia's How to Cook - Book 3 by Delia Smith|3]]) it always seemed to me to be a reworking of her [[Delia Smith's Complete Cookery Course by Delia Smith|Complete Cookery Course]] which began life in a similar manner. There were some new recipes, some reworkings of old favourites and some that were well known. The books were directed at the novice rather than the experienced cook, but found favour with both as this was a time when Delia could do no wrong.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0563539070</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Kate Colquhoun
|title=The Thrifty Cookbook
|rating=5
|genre=Cookery
|summary=Using left-over food can, as Kate Colquhoun says, become something of an obsession. I've done it for years and I do occasionally wonder if I ever eat a meal which doesn't owe something to the day before – or even the day before that. Tonight we're having chicken (from yesterday's roast) and roast vegetables (the last of the selection in the vegetable rack) followed by queen of puddings (the end of the loaf which made chicken sandwiches for lunchboxes, the last of a pot of jam and a couple of eggs). The carcass of the chicken made stock and whilst that was simmering I used the steam to make the custard for ice cream with the last of this week's eggs, the end of the weekend's cream and some milk. It's all good food, but you do need to know what you're doing and how you can make best use of what's in the kitchen. That's where ''The Thrifty Cookbook'' comes in.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0747597049</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=David Pritchard
|title=Shooting the Cook
|rating=4
|genre=Autobiography
|summary=David Pritchard would have you believe that he was a bumbling TV producer and that he, almost by accident, discovered two men who would go on to become celebrity chefs. The first, Keith Floyd, was a revelation to viewers as he slurped a glass (or two) of wine, said exactly what you thought he shouldn't have said and cooked amazing food in one exotic location after another. After the stultifying programmes made by the likes Fanny Craddock he was a breath of fresh air and like or loathe him there was no way that you could be ambivalent. The second man, Rick Stein, was an entirely different, er, kettle of fish. Quiet, thoughtful and decidedly more erudite – it was difficult to imagine two more diverse personalities, but he brought out the best of both and made programmes which stay in the mind years later.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0007278306</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Daniel Stevens
|title=Bread: River Cottage Handbook No 3
|rating=5
|genre=Cookery
|summary=Have you ever been tempted by a bread recipe in a magazine and thought that it looked so easy you really ought to give it a go? Have you followed the instructions to the letter – or so you thought – only to find that you produced a solid mass fit only for the birds and even they took it as an insult? Me too. 'Bread: River Cottage Handbook No 3' was to be my final attempt at bread making and if that failed then I would have to make the regular trip to the local artisan baker.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>074759533X</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Delia Smith
|title=Delia's Frugal Food
|rating=4
|genre=Cookery
|summary=Following a lamentable lack of ability to predict the way that public opinion was heading when she published [[Delia's How To Cheat At Cooking by Delia Smith|How to Cheat at Cooking]] it's good to see that Delia's returned to form with an updating and reissue of her original classic bestseller, ''Frugal Food''. Frugal Food was first published in the nineteen seventies when we were having a little local financial difficulty and it caught the mood of the times with its preference for spending time in the kitchen to produce economical meals rather than spending money to buy time.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>034091856X</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Rick Stein
|title=Coast to Coast
|rating=4
|genre=Cookery
|summary=You know what you're going to get with Rick Stein. There's a good reason why he's a television chef, successful restaurateur and author – he delivers, on the table, on the screen and on the page, the sort of food which people want to eat. In his early days it was all about fish but in his latest book he gives recipes for food from land and sea inspired by his travels across the world.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846076145</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Gill Holcombe
|title=How to Feed Your Whole Family a Healthy Balanced Diet, with Very Little Money and Hardly Any Time, Even If You Have a Tiny Kitchen, Only Three Saucepans ... - Unless You Count the Garlic Crusher...
|rating=4
|genre=Cookery
|summary=These days few people have the luxury of unlimited time in which to prepare meals. Jobs, children, families and life all seem to get in the way. The same is true of money and when you put the two factors together it's easy to see why people are tempted to buy cheap convenience food. It's on the table without much effort, requires little in the way of equipment and superficially it looks a lot cheaper than buying all the ingredients to make a family meal. In ''How to Feed Your Whole Family a Healthy, Balanced Diet…'' gill Holcombe sets out to prove that it's possible to put good food on the table without breaking the Bank.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1905862156</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Laura Lockington
|title=Cupboard Love
|rating=5
|genre=Autobiography
|summary=There's something extraordinarily refreshing about a book by someone with whom you can empathise – not a celebrity, a victim or an axe-grinder, but a real person leading the sort of life which you can recognise. It's even better when that someone unashamedly loves good food and wants to share that love with the reader. Meet Laura Lockington, writer, playwright, bon vivant and feeder of a greedy fridge.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846242800</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Sybil Kapoor
|title=Citrus and Spice: A Year of Flavour
|rating=4
|genre=Cookery
|summary=It's not often that a cookery book keeps me awake at night but Sybil Kapoor's ''Citrus and Spice'' did just that. The cause of the problem was the need to sort out in my own mind what, exactly, I understood by the word 'flavour'. For me it's always been a combination of various senses – taste, smell, texture on the tongue, even the visual impact of the food – which gave a dish its flavour. It's the overall experience of the food. Sybil Kapoor wants me to think differently.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>184737221X</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Kathleen Burk and Michael Bywater
|title=Is This Bottle Corked? The Secret Life of Wine
|rating=4
|genre=Trivia
|summary=Now, I'm the first person to admit I am not a wine buff. I know a lot more now than I did before my current relationship, but she is right to say I have a very masculine (ie dead weak) sense of smell. Added to that a blunt sense of taste and I'm left saying I know what I like when I drink it, and that's it.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0571241743</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Pam Corbin
|title=Preserves: River Cottage Handbook No 2
|rating=5
|genre=Cookery
|summary=I was born not long after the end of the Second World War, at a time when some foods were rationed and a banana or an orange was a treat. Preserving was simply one of those things that you did to store one season's bounty to help you through less generous times – and all this without the help of a freezer or even a fridge. Freezers have undoubtedly made it easier to save food but it's not the greenest solution and I have long wanted a book which extended my range of recipes, most of which I inherited from my parents.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0747595321</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Rosie Sykes, Polly Russell and Zoe Heron
|title=The Kitchen Revolution
|rating=4
|genre=Cookery
|summary=I've been cooking regular family meals for over forty years. For more than 95% of those nights I've prepared a meal from scratch and sometimes it's just plain drudgery. It's not just the cooking either – there's all the thinking, the planning and the buying to take into account too. Rosie Sykes, Polly Russell and Zoe Heller have come up with a solution.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>009191373X</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Paul Richardson
|title=A Late Dinner: Discovering the Food of Spain
|rating=5
|genre=Travel
|summary=Although subtitled ''discovering the food of Spain'', this excellently written, engaging and interesting book is about so much more. Yes, the focus is on food, mouthwateringly described, but it is also about culture, people, travel, tourism, history and geography.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0747593809</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Manju Malhi
|title=Easy Indian Cookbook
|rating=5
|genre=Cookery
|summary=Have you ever thought that you'd like to make good Indian food but you don't really know where to start? Have you ever worried about over-spicing or under-spicing your dishes? Have you ever wondered what foods work well together and which don't? If you have, this third book from Manju Malhi will provide all the answers.
''Indian cuisine is perfume for the nose, relish for the lips, nourishment for the body and nectar for the soul.''
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1844835839</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Fuchsia Dunlop
|title=Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Sweet-sour Memoir of Eating in China
|rating=5
|genre=Cookery
|summary=On her first trip to the orient Fuchsia Dunlop is appalled at the preserved duck eggs served as hors d'oeuvre in Hong Kong. Her description of this first encounter with the Chinese delicacy is rich with words like filthy, revolting, nightmarish, translucent, oozy, mouldy, toxic, slime…
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0091918308</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Delia Smith
|title=Delia's How To Cheat At Cooking
|rating=3.5
|genre=Cookery
|summary=I don't often begin a review by saying who shouldn't read a book, but I think it's important with Delia's How to Cheat at Cooking if there are not to be a lot of disappointed readers. If you've ever sighed because you know that your home-made soup would have tasted so much better if you had gone to the trouble of making a decent stock, if you've ever made a quick soufflé for lunch with a friend then you shouldn't even look at this book as you will end up besmirching the name of St Delia and that would never do.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0091922291</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|title=Moro East
|author=Sam and Sam Clark
|genre=Cookery
|rating=4
|summary=Imagine an area of land bordered on one side by the River Lea and on another by the Grand Union Canal. You'll have approached with care because you had to go through some rather insalubrious areas to get there but once you were over the bridge you were in the Manor Garden Allotments – a tiny part of the Eastern Mediterranean in East London – where the Clarks grew vegetables for seven years, but, perhaps more importantly became part of a community of Turks and Cypriots who showed them how to make use of every part of the plant. You'll notice that I've spoken of this in the past tense. Have the Clarks given up, moved on? No – the Manor Garden Allotments have been bulldozed to make way for a hockey stadium for the 2012 Olympics and this book shows the last year of vegetable growing on the site and the glorious food that has been eaten.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0091917778</amazonuk>
}}