recipe book recommendations please

catznine

lucylou wrote:

I've ordered the Be-Ro book and hope it will be coming soon!:j

I ordered mine 10 days ago (for 99p) and am keeping my fingers crossed!

squeaky

lucylou wrote:

thanks Squeaky

Yours hopefully
Lucylou
p.s. are the recipes similar to the ones on their website?

Yep

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trace-j

Mine has to be 'Practical Cookery'. I've got an older version from when I went to Catering College 10yrs ago. Don't be put off though, its all back to basics. How to make sauces, soups, prep veg, prep fresh meat and fish, desserts and bread.

Because the recipes are basic you can substitute ingredients according to dietary requirements. e.g. my mum was on a no sugar, wheat, yeast diet. we dug our various receipes and substitued where possible, like flours.

I've got loads of cookery books, but this by far gets the most use.

Loadsabob

I recommend Mary Berry's Ultimate Cake Book.

I'd never made many cakes, but every recipe from there has turned out wonderfully, and I know two people who've bought it since me, tried recipes I haven't, and still had the same success. When looking for recipes for parkin, gingerbread and chocolate eclairs, on different occasions, I have found them all in there. I really trust that book!

I also use the first white Delia "How To Cook" book for basic things, and find that very helpful.

I want to use Cranks more, but a couple of the baked items have turned out really badly for me, which is quite unusual, I'm lucky to have very few kitchen disasters. One batch ended up in the bin, and I NEVER throw things away if I can help it! I've heard such good things about Cranks that I really can't understand where I'm going wrong with them! They always seem FAR too dry, but I hesitate to change the recipe to add more liquid, as I assume it's intentional in the recipe!! A chick-pea dish from their book was lovely though.

r.mac_2

I am sending off for the Be-RO book today. My Mum has a copy and I grew up on Be-Ro recipes. In particular their chese scones. Yum....

I have lots of cookery books, but my favourites are;
1. the collection I have amassed from this site - thanks squeaky for a fab index
2. Dear Francesca - a book by Mary Contini to her daughter showing her the basics of good talian cookery. It's wonderful!
3. Goode for One, thanks to a very kind fellow mse'r

I use the others for individual recipes, but havn't found an all encompassing book I like. Think I am choosy. I use one for conversion tables, one for baking, one for pasta, one for the 'how to' section etc etc.

Edinburghlass_2

My daughter was given the Classic 1000 Beginners' recipes by Carolyn Humphries, paper back priced on the back at £6.99 but I think I have seen the range of these in Tesco for less than £4.

Loads of tips at the start with everything from equipment needed to terms that are used and basic ingredients it is useful to have, along with menu planning.

The actual recipes range from the very quick, easy and simple to more complicated dinnerr party recipes.

Allexie

The cookery books I use most are:-


Rose Elliot's - Gourmet Vegetarian Cooking
Madhur Jaffrey's - Eastern Vegetarian Cookery
Modern Home Cookery in Pictures - given to my mum by my gran in 1954
The Bero Book (of course!)

the last two are in a disgusting state, all tatty and dogeared with pages stuck together - but I guess that's a sign of a good well-used cook-book

sarahmelita

I have loads of recipe books - they are my weakness! The ones used most often are:

The Dairy Book of Family Cookery
Covent Garden Soup Company's books
Nigella's books

Plus there's always ukfood.tv for any recipe you could ever want!

Murtle

trace-j wrote:

Mine has to be 'Practical Cookery'. I've got an older version from when I went to Catering College 10yrs ago. Don't be put off though, its all back to basics. How to make sauces, soups, prep veg, prep fresh meat and fish, desserts and bread.

So is mine!! also from Catering eduction.....I'm on my third copy as people keep borrowing it long term and never returning them

It's fantastic though!!

bluesnice

I love the Delia How to Cook collection. Especially great if you are new to cooking

Nigel Slater -Appitite is fantastic. Its rustic and yummy.

Jamies Dinners - (Jamie Oliver) is really good and my favorite at the moment. There are some great ideas in there for lunch boxes.