Cookery classic from Delia stands most of the tests of time (Delia Smith's Complete Cookery Course - Delia Smith)

Member Name: Neenawneenaw

Product:	Delia Smith's Complete Cookery Course - Delia Smith
Date:	01/05/09 (32 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Pretty comprehensive, clear recipes and background - and no annoying trendiness!

Disadvantages: A few recipes showing their age - particularly token 'ethnic' inclusions

Ah, Delia - mention her name in our house and the immediate response is a giggly 'Where are you?' thanks to a somewhat tipsy TV appearance (nothing to do with cookery and a lot to do with Norwich football club!) some years ago.

But what about the cooking? Well I have very little time for her how to boil an egg, or spending almost as much time creating a shepherds pie from expensive instant ingredients as it would take to make one from scratch that would taste much nicer. But these are more recent outings for Delia that smack of trying to eke out a few extra £££ from a well-known brand.

In contrast, the Complete Cookery Course has been around for donkeys' years and in my view is Delia in her prime doing what she does best. This book provides a fairly comprehensive collection of recipes for all occasions. They are clearly explained and easy to follow. I agree with another reviewer who says if you own one cookery book and can't really cook much, then make this the one!

As well as the individual recipes, each section has useful general information. For example - there's chapter on roasts, and it describes the best cuts and pros and cons for roasting or pot roasting for beef, lamb and pork, as well as giving general cooking times. Things like this really help you get to grips with the principles of cooking - whether it be a roast dinner or making pastry and cakes. Which means that as you get more familiar and confident you can expand to do your own thing rather than just copying one particular recipe slavishly.

Now of course it's not perfect. It's not particularly exciting - Delia's never made any pretence of being fashionable. And it is old (I don't see much difference between the new and old editions), with some recipes seeming quaintly old-fashioned - some things which must have seemed terribly exotic and daring at the time (curry anyone?) now appear as tame and unauthentic compared with the superb books on world cuisines available now. But some recipes have come pretty much full circle - I need no longer feel ashamed to consult on '70s classic coq au vin for example!

My mum, who's an excellent cook, has had a copy of this for as long as I can remember. I bought a copy when i left home, gave it away a few years later when I went off travelling (I thought I knew it all by then!). It was the only book I got rid of that I missed when I was back home, so I now have a newer, but still well-thumbed copy on the shelf!

Summary: A great one-stop shop for the home cook - from the incompetent to semi-competent!