Articles about the Food & Drink

I hesitated for a while over buying this because I'm actually quite a decent cook and I own a lot of cook books already. I eventually bought it in the hopes that it would give me some good ideas for routine day to day meals and I was not disappointed. I particularly enjoyed the section on salads where the principle of salad construction and dressings are explained and the section on curries as these are something I've only bought as ready meals or take-aways before.

I'm definitely going to buy more copies of this book for friends who are less able cooks than I am as I'm confident they can pick up lots of basics from this.

I can't praise this book enough.

I have accumulated plenty of cook books over the years that have been slowly gathering dust, as the receipes in them just don't fit my busy family life.
This book is different. Here, you will find a no nonsense practical approach to cooking affordable nutritious meals for the family, as well as hits and tips on tempting fussy children without giving them junk food.

You will not find gourmet recipes to feed a dinner party.
You will not find long lists of ingredients and even longer lists of preparation details.
What you will find are recipes for tasty meals with a minimum of fuss, and simple ingredients that are readily available.

I could go on and on about this book. Just take my advice. If you are the cook in a family or feeling the pinch or just generally too pushed for time to bother cooking decent food, buy this book!

This book enters without faltering into the Nigella Classics. I feared it might be a rush, flimsy job, like Forever Summer, or the slightly disappointing Nigella Bites. But I needn't have - this is a beautifully put together (you sort of want to sit there and stroke it) brilliantly written (I read mine cover to cover like a novel, a bit tragic, but there you go) and, needless to say, the essential thing, full of recipes and menus that make you feel crazily Christmassy, and greedy.

The red centre pages, marking the actual Christmas Day menu, are a well though out touch. Nigella is typically luscious and bosomy looking, I just want her to come and cook my Christmas lunch for me. Not least because I am, in an awestruck way, a bit terrified of her Christmas menu. It is so all-encompassing and grand and generous, that I feel daunted by even making the bread sauce - there's just so much to do! She helps the pathetic like me by putting in a very authoritative cooking schedule. But, still.

I'm going to let myself in gently by making goats cheese and pumpkin lasagne this weekend, followed by maple glazed cheesecake. How totally delicious.

Bravo Nigella! Please come and live with me.

Fantastic recipes, nothing beyond the average cook and amazing value, best little cookery book I've seen in a long time, I will be buying the others in the series for me and sending some to my sons (even they could cook well using these recipes).

This girl knows her baking! If cakes, breads and pastry are normally a struggle then look no further. Rachel Allen shows you how to get top results and best of all she makes it easy.Recipes That Really Work

Growing up with a Chinese mother who cooks the best chinese, I have developed a very good palate. I consider myself a foodie and relish in cooking, but always go back to the basics, which is Chinese.

This book is an excellent source of inspiration for people who can cook and also easy enough for beginners. A review here said the food was bland and I beg to differ. Growing up in Hong Kong, the Chinese I know relied on the freshest ingredients to deliver the best flavours. Spices were used minimally. Only when you travel inland to Szechuan do you truly encounter the fiery stuff.

Ching has given us classic recipes and more modern westernised ones. She allows you to use your common sense, you are able to add more or less of what you like. She is playful, personal, light and very likeable.

I didn't give it full marks as I found it lacked in the dessert department. The Chinese do make wonderful desserts and are excellent bakers. Other than that, this cook book is highly recommended.

It's my first Nigella's book and it's truly wonderful. Easy to make and follow recipes and beautiful pictures. Not to mention her enchanting writing style.

So far I have tried couple of recipes and they all have turned out great.

One thing which I'd complain about a little, Nigella doesn't really season her meat but adding salt and pepper is my contribution to the recipes :).

This is the book when you want to fix something yummie for dinner but you're running out of time.

This book is full of inspiring and easy to follow recipes, delicious photography and lots of personal touches and anecdotes which make it a 'real' book. I like the way the dishes are made using accessible ingredients as sometimes celebrity cook books are full of ingredients which are difficult to come by or expensive. In fact I love the old fashioned and 'simple food' element, but above all the recipes are for 'proper' good food, ideal for family meals and social gatherings without days of worry and preparation beforehand.
A must have for everyone who loves to cook good food with simple, quality ingredients.

This is a fantastic little book if you want ideas for rustic and seasonal foods. The complaints about not having certain recipes that were in the programme is kinda silly. If you were just interested in 2 recipes why buy the whole book?
If you like to friends coming over for a nice pot of something or to impress somebody with a lovely duck breast, this book is worth purchasing. The recipes are not complicated, although there are certain aspects you must follow to achieve the climax you want.

After reading the very mixed reviews on this page I was eager to see what all the fuss was about with this book. I am not overly concerned about the whole argument on whether or not it is right or wrong to cheat at cooking - although I might add that I am surprised at the anger from those who sit firmly in the latter camp (if you feel so strongly about it, why on earth would you buy a book entitled 'how to cheat at cooking' in the first place?) Personally, I bought the book on the basis that it might provide me with some after-work ideas for a quick meal. Flicking through the book, I have only really come across a couple of recipes that appealed to me and most of them contained so many specific ingredients that I felt it was not worth the bother. The ones with a shorter list of ingredients seemed to be so pointless as I felt it easier and cheaper to just buy the dish in a ready made version! Sorry, Delia, I know you are trying to move with the times, and I for one appreciate that, but I couldn't get on with this book, it's definitely not one of your best or one of my favourites.