Recommended Cookery Books

[Jaxom]

My recommendation for two excellent cookery books are The River Cottage Cookbook and if you ever spot it The Dairy Book Of British Food.

This was in Recommended Gardening books but I thought we needed one for cookery as well so here is the new thread.
Lesley I have ordered the The Dairy Book Of British Food on your recommendation so I look forward to more Good British Grub. Just went back to the kitchen for an early supper of Chicken Cawl with herb dumplings which now tastes better than it did at 6 PM.
Cawl is Welsh Thick Soup that takes days to make and a very short time to eat. Cawl can be made with any meat. Years ago families in Wales would make big cauldrons of Cawl. A big pan was put on the back of a range and allowed to bubble away for days with extra ingredients being added as the week wore on. Soon all the flavours in the pot took on a life of their own and no two pots of Cawl is ever the same.
Jax

[sewer rat]

Jax
Good idea on the cookery book front
I'd like to give a mention to my favourite - "Hotch Potch" by Elizabeth Craig. ISBN 0 00 435137 1 . The author was born in 1883 and this is a collection of a lifetimes favourite recipes - mostly but not all scottish. Covers everything from soup'n'starters to sweeties !
Rat

[dragonz]

The You Are What You Eat Cookbook, loads of delicious recipies using lots of veg and some meat. Very good section on soups

[Lesley Jay]

Jaxom I am really surprised that they are still publishing The Dairy Book Of British Food. It was first published in 1988 and as my Husband worked at a dairy then I got one of the first copies. It sold out really quickly. It is a really interesting book but unless it has been updated the background history of the different areas finishes in 1988. Try the beef in stout recipe -it is lovely.

[Jaxom]

Lesley, the book is coming second hand from Amazon. total cost £6 of which £2.75 is P&P. I buy a lot of books second hand. even with the add on cost of P&P they are mostly cheaper than buying brand new.
The exception was "Which Gardening Guide to Growing Vegetables" Amazon could not supply new at £18 so I had to buy second hand and it set me back £25. cover price £16.99.
It's a very good book and I read it a lot so don't mind so much.
Jax

[NEWTO THE PLOT]

HI
Just wanted to mention i think river cottage family cookbook has been the most used gift this xmas except the laptop.

[Lesley Jay]

Yes it is a really good book and the way it has been written means that youngsters can follow the recipes as well. All the River Cottage books are excellent. The cookbook, family cookbook, meat book and year book.

[Jaxom]

English Food by Jane Grigson

Jane Grigson reveals the richness and surprising diversity of England's culinary heritage that shows two things, she loves her food and is willing to cut the political correctness and get down and dirty when it come to talking food at it’s best. When it comes to food she insists that it be cooked well with out any pretence or airs and graces. The book is full of the author's own opinion regarding food preparation and ingredient suggestions. Jane Grigsons no nonsense approach looks at the history behind English food and celebrates the fact that English food has developed over time and not been afraid to adopt ideas from other cultures. As Jane Grigson points out, we borrowed from the French who borrowed from the Spanish who borrowed from the Italians who in turn borrowed from the Greeks who borrowed from the Egyptians add infinitum.
This book is well thought out and deserves its place in the kitchen of any person who wishes to taste the cornucopia that is in fact English food.
Jane Grigson made my heart glad when she writes that in her opinion Welsh Cakes are the best there is, and little can come close to them. For that I can forgive her for calling the book English Food when in fact it should be called British Food as she includes some Scottish and Irish food as well.
I think that this book is going to become well thumbed and used.

[Birdie Wife]

If you can find it, get the "Moro" cookbook, great recipes for Moroccan/Lebanese/Turkish cooking. i think they have a new one out last year, but my brother bought me the first one for Christmas a while back and it's amazing. A few ingredients you might struggle to find (at least I do, being 100miles north of Inverness) but mostly just earthy, good wholesome cooking.

[nick the grief]

The Pudding Club Cook book - Has to be my favourite with all those steamed puds that sick to your Ribs & expand your waistline but only served with Birds Custard!! It does say on the front how many hundreds of gallons they have made, but I can't remember.

"Our" favourite is Sussex Pond Pud, I do a variation to the recipe but the original is good.

[lynnew]

Nigel Slaters new book The Kitchen Diaries is a wonderful book to dip into. Full of seasonal recipies but basically just a lovely read.

[andrewo]

Nigel Slater's Kitchen Diaries is excellent, well used recipes, I can also recommend the Victorian Kitchen - which is an excellent book.

[Pook]

Elizabeth David

Elizabeth David's books are excellent - she has a real respect for fruit and vegetables and they still make really relevant and interesting reading

[andrewo]

Did you see the drama of her life? I missed it as I was away...heard it was very good

[Pook]

missed a treat

Yes it was very good... you missed a treat