Cook Book Reviews

You'll find cookery books from famous Chefs. All are that I've tried out. The books will be added to and some removed as I try out each new one. Hope you like them. Have a look at the NEW COOKERY BOOK Store

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Gary Rhodes is on itscooking.com and his books are below; learn more about Gary Rhodes here. And read his recipes here.

Gary Rhodes at the Table
Edition: Paperback

Availability: usually dispatched within 24 hours.

Once again Gary Rhodes delves deep into the riches of the British culinary tradition to create a collection of wonderful new recipes which combine today’s flavours with the very best from the past. Tracing the history of the menu and why different courses are grouped together, Gary looks at the social influences which have formed our eating habits over the years.

Gary takes the cook through the separate courses which make up a meal, from soups and appetisers to cakes and biscuits, reviving the long forgotten tradition of savouries along the way. Modern British main dishes include Trout and Almond Tart with Nut Brown Butter Dressing and Crusted Lamb with Creamy Ham and Sweet Red Pepper Potatoes. And finally Gary produces a wealth of exciting puddings, including Bitter Sweet Strawberry Tart with Mascarpone Cheesecake Cream and the wonderful British Digestive – home-made digestive biscuit cake with Earl Grey custard.

With the emphasis on matching flavours and balancing the depth of each course, Gary shows us how to mix and match dishes to create the perfect menu, from a quick, informal meal for two to a sumptuous dinner party to impress your friends. Whether you like simple food with a twist or prefer an imaginative culinary challenge, you’ll find something in Gary Rhodes At The Table for every occasion. This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Great Fast Food Edition: Hardcover

Rhodes provides 200 recipes for all occasions, whether it is a sophisticated meal for two or more satisfying fare to feed a hungry family. Preparation and cooking time is around 30 minutes, and each recipe comes with a colour photograph.

Keeping it simple
Despite his reputation for intricate and impressive restaurant cooking, Gary Rhodes believes that the best way to cook something is often the most simple. In his latest book, he strips out complicated techniques and fiddly instructions, in search of the very easiest way to get maximum flavour out of familiar ingredients from chicken to squid and beetroot to rhubarb. In over 200 simple recipes, he demonstrates the fundamentals of cooking and explains how to get stunning results by doing as little as possible. But this is not just a brilliant cookbook for beginners and an essential bible for busy people, it is also a tribute to simplicity and flavour and an invaluable book of simply delicious ideas for cooks of every level.

Gordon Ramsay is on itscooking.com and his books are below; learn more about Gordon Ramsy. And read one of his recipes here.

Kitchen Heaven
Michael Joseph Hardcover - April 27, 2004

Never mind the b*****ks, here are the true gems that place Gordon Ramsay at the apogee of contemporary British cuisine. In Kitchen Heaven, Gordon's a man with a mission: to give back to the industry that has given him so much. And if he can impose his excellence into our home kitchens, so much the better. His confident and sometimes forceful character define the gregarious style of his cooking so the finesse and elegance of this book will surprise many.

His beautifully illustrated book includes many of the recipes he uses in his TV series, Kitchen Nightmares, to replace tired and misguided fancy food with hearty fare focused more on local produce and fresh, good-quality ingredients simply presented. Don't be intimidated by Ramsay's reputation for three Michelin star perfection. The man whose previous book, Gordon Ramsay's Just Desserts, includes a recipe for a roasted rhubarb and apple crumble (an easy and warming comfort pudding), is surprisingly accessible as a creator of cookbooks for anyone's kitchen. He is a master of great classics such as bouillabaisse, fish pie, Caesar salad and a stuffed loin of roast suckling pig with crispy crackling that you'll be calling your mum about.

Gordon Ramsay's Secrets

Gordon Ramsay is the most celebrated chef working in Britain today, with a well-deserved reputation for fabulous food. Here, he reveals how he transforms ingredients into the sublime dishes for which he is so justly famous. Much more than a collection of his superb recipes, this inspirational book passes on many of the secrets of his cooking techniques, knowledge and skills. Recipes are presented in a straightforward and comprehensive way with detailed descriptions of Gordon's special techniques, his innovative short-cuts, and other culinary hot tips with close-up photography. With recipes for fish and shellfish, poultry and game, meat, vegetables, salads, fruits, breads and pastries, as well as flavourings, stocks and dressings, this unique cookbook is destined to become a classic kitchen reference book.

Jamie Oliver Books. Learn more about the Naked Chef here.

The Return of the Naked Chef -- Jamie Oliver (Paperback - Penguin Books - 4 April, 2002).

Happy Days with the Naked Chef -- Jamie Oliver (Hardcover - Michael Joseph - 3 September, 2001).

Jamie's DVD & Video (and Music).

Jamie Oliver - The Naked Chef -- Jamie Oliver (DVD - Vision Video Ltd. - 13 November, 2000).

Jamie Oliver - The Naked Chef - Vol. 3 -- Jamie Oliver (VHS Tape - Vision Video Ltd. - 17 March, 2003).

Pukka Tukka [2000] -- Jamie Oliver (VHS Tape - Video Collection Int. Ltd. - 6 November, 2000).

Nigella Lawson Books

HOW TO EAT, The pleasures and principles of good food - Chatto & Windus, 1998

Amazon Review................
Nigella Lawson has long been among the most realistic as well as the most readable of writers on food. Her description of a three-star dinner really is a good second best to actually eating it yourself. But equally she knows the inestimable value of a bacon sandwich on sliced white. This wonderful book combines both of these talents as she sets out on the ambitious task to impart no less than "the Pleasures and Principles of Good Food". The book is neatly divided into categories--cooking in advance, weekend lunch, low fat and so on--each with its own passionate and intelligent introductory essay.

Delia Smiths Cookbooks Learn more about Delia Smith here.

Delia's How to Cook Book One

Delia Smith, Miki Duisterhof (Photographer) (Hardcover - BBC Consumer Publishing (Books) - 12 October, 1998)

In an age when everyone can literally shop around the world for ingredients at supermarkets, where they can buy instant meals or their salads and vegetables ready prepared, when every other shop in the high street is a take-away or fast food outlet. "Delia's How to Cook" returns to the roots of cooking to rediscover the joys and simple pleasures of food. In this, the first of two volumes, Delia starts at the very beginning, explaining in detail the staple ingredients of all cooking - eggs, flour, potatoes, rice and pasta. Here, she guides beginners through many of the basic techniques that will serve them for a lifetime of cooking, right from boiling and poaching an egg, through bread and pastry making, to sauces and cooking all kinds of rice perfectly every time. For those who have mastered the techniques - and for those who are already accomplished cooks - the book provides a collection of recipes, incorporating new ideas such as fat-free white sauces, chips you don't have to fry and soufflés that don't collapse.

Delia Smith's Christmas

This collection of Christmas recipes from Delia Smith includes five different Christmas cakes, a complete vegetarian menu, recipes for gifts such as chocolate truffles, and many traditional favourites. There are also ideas for festive occasions from drinks parties to dinner parties, with dishes such as roast goose with potato, sage and apple stuffing; caramelized orange trifle; and a terrine with four cheeses.

More Delia Smith Cook books.

A New Edition for the 1990s -- Delia Smith (Paperback - BBC Consumer Publishing (Books) - 5 March, 1992).
Delia's Vegetarian Collection -- Delia Smith, Victoria Wood (Foreword) (Hardcover - BBC Consumer Publishing (Books) - 17 October, 2002).

And a Delia Smith Video

Delia's How To Cook - Part One [1999] -- Delia Smith (VHS Tape - BBC Worldwide Publishing - 6 September, 1999)

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