Pukka grub mate! (Jamie's Dinners - Jamie Oliver)

Member Name: englishdavid

Product:	Jamie's Dinners - Jamie Oliver
Date:	06/06/09 (117 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Simple, unfussy meals

Disadvantages: None to speak of

Jamie's Dinners was first published in 2004 and, as with most of Jamie's books, it was accompanied by a complimentary BBC series which focussed on a slection of recipes from the book, delivered in Jamie's characteristic fashion.

It is squarely aimed at the average family and aims to provide unfussy meals which can be recreated at home without any hassle, special techniques or hard-to-find ingredients. The book is logically divided into 11 main chapters which each deal with a particular style of cooking or group of ingredients. So, as you would imagine, there are individual chapters on Meat, Fish, Pasta, Soups, Vegetables, etc. Interestingly, however, and decidely non-snobbishly, there's also a section entitled "Sarnies" which details with the fine art of sandwich making. In the introduction to this part of the book Jamie talks about his mate John who has a taste for peanut butter, banana and bacon sanwiches! Thankfully, that perticular recipe isn't covered in any more detail but Jamies own invention of a "Double-decker cheddar cheese sandwich with pickled onions and crisps" is! You can't call the man a food snob.

Another interesting chapter (the first one, actually) is called "The Top 10" and comprises of 10 fairly simple recipes which Jamie counts as his favourites. So we are presented with "The Best Sausage and Mash with Onion Gravy" (which I attempted and was fabulous), "The Ultimate Burger and Chips", "Apple Pie" and "Chicken Tikka Masala". All the recipes are presented as you would imagine - unpretentiously and with Jamie's usual charm. Directions are simple and straightforward and even a novice like me had fun preparing the recipes.

A large format book, Jamie's Dinners, The Essential Family Cookbook is currently available through Amazon for £18.99 in hardback or £8.61 for the softback version which I own and which feels like it will last. For anyone who would like to improve their diet by cooking simple(ish) meals at home, this book is recommended as a good place to start.

Summary: Excellent book for any aspiring chef