It
wasn't my intention to pick yet another 'home cooking' book, it just
happened that way! I decided to pick Nigella's most recent cookbook
as I received a copy of Kitchen: Recipes from the Heart of the Home from Mum and Dad for Christmas and Mum was
coming out to stay so it seemed appropriate (and I thought it would be
fun for us to cook from it together!). On top of that I did already
have a copy of this book but due to the size and weight of it, it has
had to stay in Scotland, however that just makes things even better as it means Mum
can use it when she goes home and I have a copy for when I'm back home!
Nothing like having 2 cookbook libraries!
I
think pretty much everyone is familiar with who Nigella Lawson (aka
'The Domestic Goddess') is so I don't think there is any need to
introduce her or her culinary background, however what you might not
know is that this is her 8th book and just like the
majority of them this is a huge book packed with almost 200 recipes
(although it seemed like there were many more, but I wasn't about to start counting!). Being such a big book
it didn't take me long to have bookmarked way more recipes than I
could possibly try in a month but there are just so many recipes that
I want to try which is always a good start to reviewing a book.
True
to her usual style this book is full of recipes that are fuss-free,
with zero stress but still delicious to eat. There are 2 sections to
the book – Kitchen Quandaries (which is packed with recipes ideal
for the reality of everyday home cooking) and Kitchen Comforts (full
of more leisurely, relaxed recipes when you have more time to spend in the
kitchen). One of the best parts of the book (in my opinion) however,
is that with a lot of the recipes there are additional recipes and tips for
using up any leftovers. To me that is fantastic idea as I know that is a
common complaint for a lot of people. Finally, just when you thought
you couldn't get any more out of this book, to make it even more user
friendly for the every day cook, as well as the normal index, there
is also a second index at the back of the book listing all of the
recipes within the book that are 'express' recipes, in other words
recipes that take 30 minutes or less to make and serve. So the
practicalities of the book are great, the lay out is great, but what
about the recipes?
