Delia says cheating is ok.

buxtonrabbitgreen

I am not as old style as I thought then. I never make mayonaisse (38p basic mayo) or custard. I do buy proper tins of custard though. But I have been known to buy a sachet if I cant afford milk as well. Just add boiling water.

saversarn

lilac_lady wrote: »

Deila Smith now says that it's fine to use ready made ingredients in cooking. Does that mean she's helped us waste our time for years? will she fronting the next Iceland advert soon?

Reading the bits in the mail amd online I think it's M & S bankrolling her not Iceland

**purpleprincess**

I hate that it's called "cheating" like we are bad people if we don't make everything from scratch!! I personally think that OS is whatever suits you, your life and your budget

Lord_Lardington

Keith Floyd (get well Keith, he's not been well) is a big fan of saving time if it's worth saving :- Quote: "It's not a dishonest thing to do it's a smart thing to do". He says this as he's cunningly thickening a sauce using dried mashed potato powder.

Agree with a lot of what's been posted here. I did see Rosemary Schrager make puff pastry recently but I've seen countless other chefs (including Gorden etc.) advocate the frozen stuff. I can't see myself ever making it.

Mayonnaise: I did make it once for a special occasion but probably won't again.

If in a hurry I’ll often use a shop-bought product like cheese sauce, but pep it up with, say, some extra cheese and some mustard (again nicked from Mr Floyd, the idea not the cheese).

There are some “convenience” products that I don’t really get like … pancake mix. Precisely how does that speed up making pancakes?

Not entirely convinced by tinned soup. I can almost, but not quite, make a quick veg soup in the time it takes to open a can of shop bought stuff and warm it up. The quality difference between the two more than makes up for the extra 3 minutes it take to produce.

moanymoany

Yes, I think it's unfortunate it's been called 'cheating'.

Real custard is made with eggs, milk and sugar. I think I did it once, I prefer the add boiling water stuff. I do find we don't eat much now as as we've got older the calories hang around longer than they used to.

Real mayo is a doddle if you use a machine, and it is much nicer, problem - it doesn't last.

The French - in my experience - use instant mash. I bought some small packs of ready made hollandaise and beurre blank sauces at Auchon, they are smashing poured over fish or veges then cooking in the oven.

I love tinned tomato soup. I use tinned veg, frozen stuff, all of it is convenience food. And, what about stock cubes? I never thought of fish fingers as convenience. I love them in sandwiches with salad cream - lovely!

One question, do the fish fingers go nasty soggy or nice soggy? The recipe sounds nice.

AnnieH

I bought the mail on saturday cos i wanted the Delia article - what a waste of 70p!:mad:

Shepherds' pie - a tin of minced lamd and frozen mashed potato? You may as well buy a frozen ready meal.

Bongedone

AnnieH wrote: »

I bought the mail on saturday cos i wanted the Delia article - what a waste of 70p!:mad:

Shepherds' pie - a tin of minced lamd and frozen mashed potato? You may as well buy a frozen ready meal.

That is exactly what I thought. She could have picked something that was not a very easy meal to begin with.

I suppose if you where somebody who does not cook then you may be tempted to try that. Then progress onto actually peeling you own potatoes and god forbid browning your own mince and adding a stock cube.

When she was in the Mail a few years back she did beef bourguignon. It is divine and I still make it today. I make it in the slow cooker instead of the oven. It is quite expensive to make so keep it as a treat or for a dinner party. If you don't use a heavy red wine then the meal comes out grey: -

http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/boeuf-bourguignon-easy,1817,RC.html

meanmarie

I don't understand most mixes as they don't seem to me to save any time...but must confess that I started making soup many years ago by using a packet of soup mix and adding bits until I got a satisfactory taste, then withdrew the mix gradually as I became more adept at mixing veg and herbs to give me the tastes I wanted....must confess that I now couldn't eat soup made with a packet to save my life!

Marie

thriftlady_2

Well, I've just bought the book, yes, I know I said I was giving up buying cook books for lent:o but I'm a lost cause:rolleyes: In my defence it was half price at Waterstone's.

OK, the book itself is very smart and modern looking. The recipes look great and easy to make.

The cheating involves using upmarket ready-prepared ingredients like spice blends, bottled roast peppers, tomato sauce, caramelised onions, easy ginger, frozen seafood and fish, frozen fruits, frozen mash (I didn't know there was such a thing), ready prepared fruit and veg, grated cheese and ready-made pastry cases. She doesn't use packet mixes or ingredients full of additives and chemicals as far as I can tell.

It is not a money-saving book by any means because of the nature of the cheat ingredients. I certainly won't be buying frozen mash or any frozen potato product because I can buy 20 kg of muddy spuds for £4. However Delia makes it clear in her introduction that the book is aimed at people who are either frightened of cooking (because they have never learnt how) or who have very little time. Despite the cheating the recipes are for 'real' food.

I'm neither frightened of cooking or time-poor but I found myself thinking 'oh, I'll try that recipe but without the ready prepared mango (too expensive, buy a whole one and cut it up myself)'. In other words the recipes can easily be adapted if you don't want to cheat and still be quick and easy.

I also found myself thinking about the building blocks I keep in the freezer and how I use these in a similar way to how Delia uses her cheat ingredients. Of course you need to spend a little time cooking up a bag of dried pulses for the freezer (Delia uses the frozen ones Tesco stock -way more expensive), or reducing onions and celery to a hash to freeze in small bags, or in making tomato sauce, but if you have the time you too can be a cheat for a fraction of the cost

In short, if you are after a money-saving cookbook this is not for you, but if you like cookbooks and Delia, then you'll enjoy it.

mary43

Someone was talking about this on the radio this morning and suggested it could be helpful to a lot of young people who might be put off cooking due to the endlless cookery programmes on the tele and how people are 'judged' by what they've managed to produce.
I know the young people I care for are all for an 'easy meal'...........life doesnt seem to allow them the time to cook when other things seem more enticing (mates, girlfriends etc.) so maybe, just maybe, if they started doing something like shepherds pie with tinned mince and instant mash at least it gets them away from the microwave and more familiar with the oven.
From that they could then go on to being a bit more adventurous hopefully. I've known it happen with some of the young people we care for. We've had kids who have taken great pleasure out of 'creating' something from oddments in the fridge and cupboard and others who are happier to mess about with anything they feel is more 'instant' and later on, few years down the line, they start to be more experimental and actually take notice of what they eat.