Kitchen Garden Forum

We have bought a whole load of new books over the past twelve months, mostly middle-eastern which I am getting very into. My favourite at the moment is Dhruv Baker's Spice. His recipes are inspired by Indian and Middle-eastern cuisine for the most part. It's not "spice" in the sense of hot-and-spicy, rather more delicate flavours. I probably make two or three of his dishes each week. I like to make at least three new things every week.

I have so many cook books & I do leaf through them regularly for inspiration & ideas. I move from book to book but have a favourite author rather than book as she is a cook not a chef & seems like me to like in wanting things mixed up, comfort, quick, unusual, foreign or just different. It is Donna Hay & I currently have 6 of her books.

On a similar topic my favourite web site is taste.com.au - some are normal but then you find a gem of mixed up cultures & just have to have a go. Loads of chard (silver beet) recipes for a start!

Westi

The best one the wife has and like most femails she has a fair few is an old one thats falling apart that used to belong to her great grand mother I think or it could be her grandmother which ever its old, she swears by it

I love looking through recipe books. My main problem is that I buy some exotic ingredient that I intend to use, then forget which recipe it was for, so it lurks in the cupboard or fridge until its expiry date is long passed.

I'm a big fan of Tom Kerridge's recipes at the moment - although they don't overtake the love of my life James' of course.

My husband is the adventurous amateur chef in our house so I think my favourite recipe book would have to be his iPad where all his favourite recipes, new and old, are copied, typed out and stored.
We have a bookcase full of cookery books so it's not always easy to remember where a particular recipe is stored, so this is one way technology makes life a lot easier.

I just have to remember not to offer to help and accidentally use the iPad as a chopping board

I just love Nigel Slater's recipe books which are so much more than just recipes. I read Tender and Tender II from cover to cover as they as much gardening books as cookery and he writes so beautifully. I have Kitchen Diaries I & II on my Christmas list and am on a promise.

Primrose wrote:My husband is the adventurous amateur chef in our house so I think my favourite recipe book would have to be his iPad

Interesting, I wonder if he has a simple way of transferring Internet recipes into 'notes'. We have lots off cookbooks and I'm also the adventurous cook though I don't have favourites. I like the idea of a book specialising on spices and herbs particularly if they are well researched, if I find a recipe using curry powder or mixed herbs for example I yawn.

Thanks for the recommendation Alan but I don't have room for more books and my one time favourite Madhur Jaffrey goes from one extreme to another when it comes to ingredients and techniques.

Mostly all my cooking starts with, "I have green beans, what shall I do with them".

I wonder how many of you cook for one person, or maybe two ?

I like Nigel Slater's writing too and have all of his books and follow him on line. My other current fan is Ottolenghi as his salads are amazing and I love his books.

Tom Kerridge's recipes are full of flavour and based on really simple ingredients. Galton Blackiston, Michael Caines, Nathan Outlaw and Glynn Purnell are my other food heroes.

Then there's James Martin..................aaaghhh. Much more than a hero. He's a god!

Tigger wrote:
Then there's James Martin..................aaaghhh. Much more than a hero. He's a god!

Really ?

I can't watch him. He irritates me and he's rude to people.

Morning Richard, i just have the slightest of feelings, that you might be on a losing battle here.... regarding Tigger, anyway.

Very kind of you to point that out OH, I noticed that James Martin and Mr Hollywood both command a female audience though I don't know many blokes who are interested in cooking/baking.

I recently read an article by a lady journalist who claims to, "Have the hots" for any chef.

Over here in a rarely used property owned by a self-appointed 'Hyacinth Bucket' I often see builder-types arriving on her every visit. Truth be known she loves the attention she gets as the builder-type hopes for an-earner though I also fancy she has the hots for a bit of rough.

It takes all types, for all types.

I still refer to my old "Farmhouse Kitchen" book by Dorothy Sleightholme. And my ancient Be Ro book.
I have a Jamie Oliver cookery book which I never look at, though I like watching him on TV as he doesn't faff about. Then there are the Hairy Bikers....I do like them, especially Si.
I'm afraid James Martin doesn't do much for me....sorry Tigger.

Ah, the BeRo flour book, tall and narrow, but full of good recipes.

Penguin cookery book, the publisher before we get am6y Falklands jokes, is a good primer.