Delia's How To Cook Book One - not recommended for complete kitchen novices! (Delia's How to Cook Book 1 - Delia Smith)

Member Name: foxylou1980

Product:	Delia's How to Cook Book 1 - Delia Smith
Date:	05/03/09 (381 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some lovely recipes and useful information; Delia obviously knows her stuff!

Disadvantages: Some recipes would be too difficult for a complete beginner, heavy on the fat!

I have just been looking through this book again after submitting my version of one of the recipes in it. Quite scarily I have just realised that I have had this book for 10 years; I got it as a present from my step-mam when I was 18, I don't know what she was trying to get at...

Anyhoo, the title of this book is a little misleading I think; it suggests that the recipes contained within are very easy, when in fact some of them are quite complicated, even for the accomplished cook I am today (well, I can definitely boil an egg these days anyway!)

The book contains some lovely recipes; I have just written a review on Souffled Macaroni Cheese which is absolutely delicious. The book is split into chapters:
1) All about eggs - including how to boil, scramble and poach an egg! My personal favourite recipe in this section is Eggs en Cocote with Morcel or Porcini Mushrooms, which sounds very complicated but is actually very simple and quick to make.
2) The art of the omelette - some lovely recipes here, simple and quick to make, including Melted Cheese Fritatta with Four Kinds of Mushroom, yummy!
3) Separate ways with eggs - meringues and custard recipes mainly, less difficult to make than you might think!
4) Rediscovering bread - basic bread and pizza recipes, as well as more complicated recipes, including Parsnip, Parmesan and Sage Bread.
5) First steps in pastry - basic pastry mixtures, quiches and tarts, including a recipe for Old-Fashioned Engliah Custard Tart, which is delicious!
6) Cakes and biscuits for beginners - useful bakery tipe, and an Irish Whiskey Christmas Cake which is on my list of things to try out!
7) Flour-based sauces and batter - basic sauce recipes, and foods to use them in, gravy recipe.
8) Real potatoes - different types of potato and what they're used for, recipes using potatoes as their main ingredient, including Stuffed Jacket Potatoes with Leeks, Cheddar and Boursin (which deserves it's own review, so I'm going to do one next!)
9) All kinds of rice - different types of rice and dishes to use them in, including Old-Fashioned Rice Pudding, which is gorgeous!
10) Pasta revisited - including the afore-mentioned Souffled Macaroni Cheese!

If you know someone who is a complete cooking novice, then I'm sure there are cokkery books out there which would be more suitable than this one, as some of the recipes are quite complicated, and some ingredients used could be a little difficult to find in your local supermarket! That said, there are some beautiful recipes in this book, and Delia's passion for food and cookery really shows. The book also has some really interesting information for cooks, including how to tell if an egg is still fresh (apparently a very fresh egg will sit horizontally in a glass of water, whereas a stale one will float in a vertical position!)

Summary: A fantastic cookery book with some lovely recipes; probably too difficult for most novices though!