Category: Kitchen Chatter

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Recipe Books

I got very excited yesterday when I saw that Lisa Faulkner’s new cook book is half price on Amazon at the moment to pre-order!  I loved her on Masterchef and I always prefer people who aren’t necessarily trained chefs but cook because they love it.  Like Nigella, who I also hear has a new book/series in the pipeline! VERY exciting!

So if, like me, you have an addiction to buying recipe books, why not try this one?  

I also treated myself to another recipe book.  The Book People do brilliant discount books and include new releases.  I ordered the hardback of Mrs Beeton’s How to Cook – a modernised version of the Mrs Beeton classic. Released in October 2011 it is just £7.99 down from the rrp of £25.00.

Both Lorraine Pascale books are on there too for about £6.99.
Happy shopping!
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Julia Child

Julia Child

On recommendation of BFF I have just watched the film Julie/Julia which is about two things I love, no – make that three.  Blogging, Cooking and Feisty Women.  I am resisting the urge to buy the cookbook now, having already hopped straight on to Amazon.  I have appeased myself by buying the kindle version of her life in France, but am quite keen to get ‘Mastering the Art of French Cooking’ although I doubt I will cook from it as much I suppose.  I bought Elizabeth David’s ‘At Elizabeth David’s Table’ after seeing a docu-film on her and haven’t actually cooked from it although I do like to read it and think about her very interesting life (another feisty woman!).  I have a feeling Julia Child’s book may be too Americanised in its measures (I really don’t get ‘sticks’ of butter) and doubtless too meaty.  As a recent carnivore after 18 years of vegetarianism I still struggle to deal with meat that looks like it’s origin.  So I don’t think de-boning a duck is a likely occurrence in my kitchen!  However, I will put it on my birthday list – nobody ever knows what to get and it is something that I would really like to add to my cookbook collection.  Browsing through a cookbook with a pile of post-its and a cup of tea is always a good way to waste time.

A few days later……


Have decided not to be such a wuss and bloomin’ well cook a recipe!  Have spent more indulgent minutes browsing through Elizabeth David and reckon if I start off with something simple, I might even be able to work my way up the trickiness scale!As homage to Julia Child, I am making Beouf Bourguignon this weekend although, alas, not her recipe as I haven’t got the book!  Definitely laying large hints for my impending birthday……Lorraine Pascale it is (love her!)
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Nigella and Me

As with all good ideas…somebody’s already thought of them, acted on them and blogged about them.  So I make no pretence to be original here – this is really an indulgence for myself.  I love cooking but am really not very good at it.  Don’t get me wrong, I am much better than when I tried to woo my husband and burnt the soup, but John Torode is definitely not head-hunting me.
So here I will blog about my cooking, which for most of you will be the ideal alternative to Nytol, but really this is a blog just for me and will stop me inflicting pictures of my cupcakes on my facebook friends.
I attribute my love of cooking to Nigella Lawson.  It was she (through her TV programmes and recipe books) who inspired me.  She, who is not a trained chef, writes with humour, personality and genuine love of food and is generally fabulous.  She also shares my love of kitsch! Whenever I have those moments of kitchen panic I think to myself…What would Nigella do?