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The Ultimate Student Cookbook - Fiona Beckett
by sun-is-shining
As you can see from the title I am not too keen on 'the ultimate student cookbook' - putting peas into a pasta carbonara is like going jogging in high heels. When I finished high school I moved to Milan in Italy to live with an Italian Family for one year. On my first day (and mind you, I not speak much Italian beyond 'ciao') the lovely ... but fairly intimidating Italian nonna thought me how to cook proper pasta. With her not speaking English at all it was quite an entertaining day. The one thing I learnt was definitely NOT to put peas into any carbonara sauce. But we digress here...
The 'ultimate student cookbook' is another book in the endless line of books aimed at students that had their parents cook for them until now. They usually all follow the same scheme - cheap and easy recipes that can be prepared without much effort and, unfortunately, much creativity. I would simply love to see one student cookbook without the obligatory 'toast & cheese'. But alas, I do not think that's ever going to happen.
The book features an introductory section including shopping lists, kitchen essentials and general advice. The actual recipes are divided into a few categories depending how difficult/expensive they are to prepare. Throughout the book indicators show if the recipes include veg (very important), how much it costs to prepare (even more important) and finally the time needed for prep and cooking (time is the one thing you do have as a student). I found the indicators to be fairly accurate in terms of time; however most dishes could have been prepared much more cheaply.
- - - - Quick & Easy Meals for 1 or 2 - - - - -
Right, let's get started on the recipes - and of course one of the first is 'Cheese & Toast'. I mean, honestly even as a student you do not need anyone to tell you how to do this. I would have appreciated some more variation, maybe something like 'curry cheese & toast' which is just a simple and tastes so much better. (In case you wonder, simple grate cheese, add cream and curry powder and stick in the oven - it's lovely!)
The recipes get more adventures throughout the section with my favourite being Spaghetti & Bacon & Cockles. Still, there was nothing in there that screamed 'cook me'. If you read my review about the 'Levi Roots Cooking for Friends' book you know that I simple had to prepare some of the dishes the very day I got that book. Here it is just a lukewarm reception of dishes that we could try but probably would not bother to go out for to buy any ingredients for.
- - - - Cheap & Tasty meals to share for 3,4 & More - - - - -
This section includes dishes that can be prepared in bulk for quite a few people or frozen in smaller portions to keep for later. Dishes include all time favourites like pasta with bolognese sauce and mac&cheese. Right, these are fairly simple dishes that can easily be prepared in any student kitchen. I don't really see the point in following a recipe for pasta bolognese - it's so straight forward that I would not waste my time looking it up in the book. This might be just me but most dishes are so basic and intuitive that I just would not bother looking them up. Special dishes from a different cuisine - yes, I would look them up any day and take the time to understand them. But honestly, we are talking about mixing minced meat with chopped tomatoes.
There are of course also some quite nice recipes including Greek shepherd's pie and cottage pie with guiness (which is very nice).
- - - - Flashy, Show-Off Recipes - - - - -
Well, this is just the most pointless section possible, If I want high end cooking I'm certainly not going to look in a student cookbook for help. Recipes like hair-dried duck and slow roasted lamb are neither possible to be prepared in my kitchen nor does my budget allow for them. I'm not saying that these are bad recipes but certainly not something that a typical student can afford regularly.
- - - - Yummy Puds, Cakes & Cocktails - - - - -
I'm not a big fan of baking and our oven is only a poor excuse for a working one so I cannot really comment on this section. The recipes look nice enough but would not tempt me to try any of them. The cocktail section is limited to the very basics and really nothing to get excited about. I do like my cocktails but honestly, I have yet to go to a house party where we actually mixed cocktails. But this might just be me and my mates...
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This is actually quite a tough review for me. The Ultimate Student Cookbook is a book that I simply dislike without being able to pin it down to anything specific. It is more little things that annoyed me throughout the whole book and are responsible that its only function is to look good in our kitchen. I share my student house with 6 other people and let me tell you - no one ever uses this book. Whereas our Levi Roots, our Da Nonna and our veggi cookbook are in regular use. I love cooking and I like trying out new recipes and experience new cuisines, but in this book there are no interesting things that warrant the effort to look them up.
None of the recipes in this book are 'new' or 'interesting' whatsoever. They are mainly the basic things but not tailored to student needs. Well, they are but more towards students that really, really love to cook. If you fall in this category I would recommend you to get a proper cookbook and not this watered down version.
If, on the other hand, you are like me - on a very tight budget with a very old, limited kitchen most of these recipes are not feasible. What we would need is a book (or a booklet would do just fine) that has some interesting and creative things with very few and cheap ingredients. Something that uses ready made things to create something new. Like Tuna pesto pasta - simply mix a can of tuna with pesto in a jar and add to cooked pasta. There you go, that's what a student needs - no fancy cooking but a cheap and tasty dish.
I guess that's my overall opinion - most students do not need a student cookbook. Option one is that they can cook and are much better off with a more in depth cookbook. Option two is that you are not that interested in cooking and are much better off using the internet for the very rare occasion that you want to impress someone.
Reading back on this I am almost sorry how negative it sounds but this is just how I see it. If you are looking for a present to get your child when they are off to uni you are much better off getting them a year supply of baked beans and other tinned goods to use. That's what my parents do - every 3 months a huge supply of pasta, herbs&spices and tinned stuff. All I have to do is stock up on fresh veg and meat.
However, if you do want to get a student cookbook you are better off with buying a different one for several reasons:
The recipes in here are not described very well and assume that you have a variety of kitchen appliances and different sized pots and pans at hand. Our kitchen we share only a few things and our oven is hardly good enough to prepare a frozen pizza. Also, there are hardly any pictures in the book - in my opinion one of the most important factors when deciding on a new recipe.
There are several books out there that teach how to cook with easy and simple to follow step by step guides. They usually include pictures of all major steps to make sure you are doing it right. A book like that would be more useful if you are trying to learn how to cook.
Personally I can only give it 05 out of 10 possible points. It is not a book I would recommend and is not going to move with me in my next house. By bringing it to a charity store I hope somebody picks it up that will appreciate it a lot more than we did.
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The Low GI Diet Cookbook - Professor Jennie Brand Miller
by Neenawneenaw
I've had this cook book for several years now, and quite a few recipes have become regulars in our house. It features healthy Low GI recipes for all kinds of occasions.
Starting with breakfast, a variation of the banana and berry smoothie has become my husband's regular work-day breakfast. I love the breakfast fruit loaf, ... and other recipes such as scrambled eggs with smoked salmon are very simple but add in some nice touches (chives and dill as herby flavourings, plus some spinach in this case).
There are also chapters on lunches, soups and salads, dinner and desserts. There are some particularly nice pasta dishes (favourites include chicken pasta with caramelised onions, and linguine with salmon and peas). There is a nice range of recipes using lentils and pulses, which I love. These include chicken breasts with lentil mash, baked salmon with mixed bean salsa and roast pumpkin and chickpea salad.
Most of the recipes are pretty straightforward and practical for those with busy lives, although there are also some recipes for more special occasions, like the slow-roast lamb with chickpeas. The recipes are all pretty healthy, and give a summary of whether they are Low/Medium GI, the nutritional content (calories, protein, carbs, fibre, fat and sodium). The lovely thing about this book is that they combine healthy eating, practicality and yet stilltaste delicious and don't feel like deprivation diet food - it's all about moderation and it does it very well!
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Mary Berry's Christmas Collection - Mary Berry
by MaryanneH
My kitchen is cluttered with a large number of recipe books, and every one of them has to earn their place on the shelf so they must provide maybe a couple of favourite recipes and generally be interesting to read and give lots of other ideas. Christmas books need to work even harder to earn their place, anything that is generally used ... for less than one month of the year needs to give much more than how to cook a Turkey.
Mary Berry's Christmas book is one of my favourite recipe books, because whilst it does what it says on the cover and tells me how to cook a turkey, mince pies and of course a Christmas cake, there are many recipes in the book that are useful all year round. It caught my eye to review today, in May when Christmas is a long way off, as it was out on top of the kitchen work surface having been used at the weekend.
Introduction
This introduction is excellent; it gets most of the Christmassy bits out of the way in one fell swoop. There is a sample Christmas dinner menu, a shopping list of store cupboard and Christmas necessities essentials, the like of which would certainly make my bank account feel a little ill, Christmas day timings, things to prepare in advance and of course the necessary 'tips' for a stress free Christmas. Got that - good, now we can get down to the important bits in any recipe book the food.
Canapés
With the exception of the mulled wine, which never tastes quite right when made from scratch I usually buy mine ready-made, there is nothing in this section that is limited to Christmas and they could all be equally used for a summer drinks party. Having said that with my particular group of friends canapés tend to be restricted to a bowl of peanuts. There are however some useful dips recipes and a nice smoked salmon canapé.
First Courses
Any one of the recipes in this section works well for any dinner party, or even in the case of the soups for a regular family light lunch. My favourite is a Leek and Stilton soup which is great for using up left over stilton cheese but works just as well without it, I wouldn't buy the cheese specially. The great thing about most of these recipes are they are good ideas to use whilst not following the whole recipe for example there is a lovely asparagus and quails egg starter now there is no way my budget will stretch to quails eggs but it's a great starting point.
Fish Course
I always feel I'm never that adventurous when it comes to fish, there is a lovely parmesan crust salmon recipe that has a rich cream sauce, but we've had it in the spring with a lighter sauce. There is also an interesting fish pie recipe that could be used any time. There are not that many recipes in this section but they are all very approachable.
Poultry
Yes it starts off with turkey, and some lovely ideas for stuffing and trimmings but it is a Christmas book after all. There is also the obligatory turkey stuffing recipe, and the goose option for those non turkey people. Then the book gets onto different things: A glazed duck which we have done and it was lovely and a great red wine sauce for chicken
Meat and Game
Not the most comprehensive meat section you will ever come across but there is a beautiful wild mushroom sauce to go with a fillet steak, which is on our menu for this weekend as it's our wedding anniversary and there is a lovely pork fillet with a madeira gravy. I haven't used this section as much as others as it is meat, and anyone who spends time in the kitchen who eats meat can cook a joint, but it is nice to salivate to and get ideas.
Vegetables and Vegetarian
This section is more to give you the vegetables to go with your Christmas dinner so not the greatest resource for lots of variation, and most people will already know what they are going to do with their potatoes and parsnips. It does have an interesting looking aubergine and nut roast in it, not one for me as Christmas is all about the turkey. There is also an interesting Parisienne potato recipe that I might try as a change one Sunday.
Puddings and Desserts
Ok I'll admit it - my favourite section, and the reason the book was out. In addition to the Christmassy things, pud, brandy butter etc... it has one of my favourite recipes ever in which is an almond and apple dessert cake also works very well with pears and chocolate instead. There is a really rich but very satisfying white chocolate cheesecake and a ginger spiced pudding. I'm afraid to also admit that my copy of this book naturally falls open around the apple dessert page. There is also an apricot brioch tart which, sorry Ms Berry, but from the picture looks like baby sick, the only one I don't fancy making.
Baking
Christmas cake, of course, mince pies and chocolate logs. I don't use this section much as I tend to use other recipes for all of these but no Christmas book is complete without it.
Buffets
The book ends on suggestions for a buffet party and has a lovely picture of what must be the most expensive joints of beef I have ever seen. Some lovely party recipes here.
So there you have it, a Christmas book that lasts well beyond the festive season, if you want to know how to cook a joint and do roast potatoes there are far better, more comprehensive technique books out there. But there are some lovely recipes in here that means this book often makes it off the shelf all year round.
Currently available on Amazon from £3.62 which is excellent value
Thank you for reading
Digbycat aka MaryanneH
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