Recipe Book Help..

[A]

Hi all

So as some of you know, I'm a complete beginner when it comes to cooking! I felt quite adventurous today so bought Mary Berry's How to Cook. I'm not sure if this book is as great as it seems (the words 'foolproof recipes' on the cover convinced me, lol) so I'd love some honest opinions on this. It does have a lot of pics and techniques which I thought might come in handy.
Are there any other books I should get?
Does anyone have any tips for me? (I'll be cooking for 4!)

Many thankis in advance

mioliere

Don't worry; we all have to start somewhere! I would recommend any books by Jamie Oliver, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, and Nigel Slater (who currently has a TV series but I can't remember when it's on)! If you're not sure about buying books, try ordering them from the library first; that way you'll know which ones are worth investing in. You can also find their recipes online. They all have websites with lots of free recipes and tips.

Have fun; it does get easier at time goes on!

[A]

Thank you for your very helpful post

I suppose i'm just a bit nervous of messing up, I've made a note of those names and will have a look next time I'm in The Works

Millie2008_2

Just relax and have a play, I find that the more stressed I get cooking, the more likely things are to go wrong. Echo have a look on line for recipes, there are some really good (and simple) ones. I like the BBC food site I am another Nigel Slater fan- I really like his recipes

[A]

Thing is- I start getting stressed when looking at long ingredients lists! It makes me feel like maybe I can't do this after all

Oh well, i've just gotta be brave! Wish me luck!

VJsmum

Delia's how to cook is pretty good for beginners. My mum taught me the basics of how to cook - and economically. A student flatmate taught me how to be more adventurous and cook things like spag bol - everything else came from Delia.

meritaten

hun - I was lucky in that my nan was a brilliant cook and tho she wouldnt allow me to do any cooking, she let me watch! my school also had real 'cookery' lessons! i learned a lot there - despite the teacher being a crabby old beeetch!
Then I was given a 'Good Housekeeping' recipe book for a wedding present - and I still have it! 34 years on - its minus its cover and its sellotaped like an egyptian mummy...........but, its still my go-to book for basic recipes and explanations of techniques!
my daughter swears by her Nigella Express book!
my SIL loves Delia Smith - Basic Cookery
borrow some from the Library and browse them - see which recipes catch your eye and whether the book explains in ways you understand.............no ruddy point the recipe telling you to blanche something - if you dont get told what blanching is!
oh and charity shops are usually a great source of cookery books - everything from the basics to the wierd and wonderful! I found one with 50 recipes for potatoes!

tesuhoha

I usually look on line for recipes. I find BBC Good Food excellent because the recipes are very well presented and they have videos of the required techniques for each recipe so you can watch over and over again if you want to.

sophistica

I agree with Nigel Slater and Jamie Oliver. I have about 500 cook books and the ones that I go to time and time again are: Great Dishes of the world - Robert Carrier (you need to be experienced for this one), "Real Fast Food" by Nigel Slater and Delia Smith "One is Fun" (no good for you). My suggestion is to go to charity shops to find cook books that you like - every charity shop I go into has the minimum of 3-5 good cook books for approximately £1-£1.50 each. When you want to spend more money go to https://www.bookpeople.co.uk where you can pick up good books for the price of a magazine. If you want to check them out first, look them up on Amazon. As a beginner, you may want to read the ingredients list and also the technique before you buy, the longer these are the more complicated the cooking (in general).

MaggieBaking

For simple wide ranging recipes I'd avoid any celebrity cooking books for now, and go for a Good Housekeeping one. I have about 20 recipe books and this is still my very favourite http://www.amazon.co.uk/1001-Recipes-Every-Occasion-Housekeeping/dp/1843402637 9/10 recipes turn out lovely, and a lot of recipes get copied by my family who try them.

The no-cheese, no-cook lemon cheesecake solidified my belief makes the book worth the money in itself!

Covers all occasions too like snacks and lunches, dinner parties for 10 etc.

angeltreats

I wouldn't really call Mary Berry a celebrity cook! She's been around for years, probably as long as Delia. It's only recently she's been on TV doing the Great British Bake Off (although I think she did some sort of cake-related programme years ago). Her Ultimate Cakes book is one of my favourites and when I was at catering college my patisserie teacher used to copy the recipes from this book and hand them out because he was convinced they always worked (and they did).

I don't have her How To Cook but I do have her Complete Cookbook, which my kitchen-phobic husband has successfully used quite a few times to get something decent on the table when I've gone on strike. It's a bit dated now but a really good book all the same that explains everything in simple terms.

Stick with Mary, she's fab