Looking for a decent family meals cookbook

Peem

Hi

I've just got the Bill Granger Every Day book. I haven't done much out of it yet - just 2 recipes - but these were great. And there looks like there'll be more that the kids will like. I'll let you know how I get on.

Often I get books and fall in love with them for a few weeks and then find they're not so great after all.

Delia's good for some stuff,but I find she just uses too many ingredients. I can't be bothered doing the shopping for all that she wants me to buy.

Nigella "how to eat" has some good stuff in it - you have to dig into it a bit,there are no glossy pictures. I found the section on babies really good when I was weaning my pair.

thriftlady_2

cheerfulness4 wrote:

Why not 'test drive' some cookery books from the local library. I order all mine on the library online ( which have all the latest) and then take notes and pick my favs out of each. If a books exceptional then it goes on my buy list.

How do you go about doing this Cheerfulness ? I use my library a lot but not online (I expect it's pretty obvious ) I would save myself a fortune if I could look at all the new books from the library first.

Counting_Pennies_2

If you pop into Tesco or Sainsburys there are some fantastic BBC Good Food books.

Best of all they are really small, so sit on the side when you are cooking without taking up space and can be rested open by a spoon.

I have made nearly every other recipe in the book I have got which is rare for me as I normally end up cooking just one recipe out of the celeb cook books I read.

I have this one
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Good-Food-101-Cheap-Eats/dp/0563488417/sr=8-1/qid=1163750489/ref=pd_ka_1/203-7013131-0903119?ie=UTF8&s=books

"Good Food": 101 Low-fat Feasts Cook Book Tesco £4.49 ISBN 0563488409
Good Food", 101 One-Pot Dishes ISBN 0563522917 Tesco £4.49
Good Food", 101 Meals for Two ISBN 0563522992 Tesco £4.49

The ones I have on my wish list for Christmas are above.

Hope this helps

Chipps

When I was first starting out I checked the library out the old fashioned way! I just went along, looked on the shelves in the cookery section, pulled out the books that looked hopeful, looked through them briefly in the library, then took out the ones that seemed most likely.
Then I copied out the recipes I liked into a hardback notebook. I've still got it.
The other thing I still do is to copy recipes I find online and put them into plastic wallets & in an A4 file. Before the internet, that file was used for recipes I cut out of magazines, again, I still do that occasionally. Nowadays, if I copy recipes from library books etc, they are typed out on the computer & go into the file. I probably use the recipes from my file more than any other recipe book.
Every so often I go through and cull all those recipes that I have printed or cut out, that I thought would be nice, but have never used. That keeps the file from becoming too fat!

patchwork_cat

I have loads of cookery books and find that I never pick up 90% of them, but those that I do are Mary Berry complete, Good Housekeeping and Bero.

I do find a lot of recipes on line and although I find Delia faffy to watch and much prefer the James Martin and Jamie Oliver approach - ohh about this much, put it in 1 pot, leave it to it. Delia's recipes are rated and she is very precise if you like that sort of thing. I think I would recommend her for new cooks - Delia online. com is great.

I also like Annabel Karmel for family meals.

saving-grace

Counting_Pennies wrote:

If you pop into Tesco or Sainsburys there are some fantastic BBC Good Food books.

Best of all they are really small, so sit on the side when you are cooking without taking up space and can be rested open by a spoon.

I have made nearly every other recipe in the book I have got which is rare for me as I normally end up cooking just one recipe out of the celeb cook books I read.

I have this one
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Good-Food-101-Cheap-Eats/dp/0563488417/sr=8-1/qid=1163750489/ref=pd_ka_1/203-7013131-0903119?ie=UTF8&s=books

"Good Food": 101 Low-fat Feasts Cook Book Tesco £4.49 ISBN 0563488409
Good Food", 101 One-Pot Dishes ISBN 0563522917 Tesco £4.49
Good Food", 101 Meals for Two ISBN 0563522992 Tesco £4.49

The ones I have on my wish list for Christmas are above.

Hope this helps

These really are good little books. I have some in the series and I have bought others for my DDs. Generally straightforward everyday recipes. They're £3.99 at Sainsbury's (or they were when I got them). I think they make great gifts too - nice looking glossy little books and inexpensive

Alfietinker

I got a beginners cook book for Xmas last year and it's got the type of things you mention in it. (Not saying you're a beginner though). It has lots of basic stuff, from eggy recipes, to pastry to casseroles. All really simple things from scratch.

It wasn't a branded book, I'll get the name of it tonight.

saving-grace

Peem wrote:

Delia's good for some stuff,but I find she just uses too many ingredients. I can't be bothered doing the shopping for all that she wants me to buy.

Nigella "how to eat" has some good stuff in it - you have to dig into it a bit,there are no glossy pictures. I found the section on babies really good when I was weaning my pair.

I much prefer Delia's earlier recipes (as in Complete Cookery Course). I find them pretty straightforward and sensible in terms of ingredients. I think its her later books(e.g.Summer Collection, Winter Collection, even How To Cook) that are too fussy and not so suitable for ordinary everyday cookery.

Nigella I enjoy reading but I think some of her recipes aren't as well tried and tested in terms of reliability as say Delia's or Good Housekeeping

thriftlady_2

saving-grace wrote:

I much prefer Delia's earlier recipes (as in Complete Cookery Course). I find them pretty straightforward and sensible in terms of ingredients. I think its her later books(e.g.Summer Collection, Winter Collection, even How To Cook) that are too fussy and not so suitable for ordinary everyday cookery.

I so agree another good Delia is Frugal Food. Written in the 70s. full of simple, cheap, family fare.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Frugal-Food-Delia-Smith/dp/0340712945/sr=1-1/qid=1163756835/ref=sr_1_1/202-4560088-2422211?ie=UTF8&s=books

Penelope_Penguin

Hi, another vote for Delia's Complete Cookery Course. Don't know if anyone's already mentioned this (sorry if they have and I've missed it), but a lot of her recipes are available on line. I find her completely infuriating to watch, but this book is always in use in my kitchen.

I also am hoping to find Hugh F-W and his Family Cookbook in my stocking. Love the book and the pics, but haven't tried any recipes yet. DS and her granny made the turkish delight, and it didn't set. So, like Thriftlady has found, the recipes might leave a bit to be desired, if you're a beginner.

Penny. x