Mary Berry's Complete Cook Book - Mary Berry

Can't cook? Good cook? Buy this book, you won't regret it. I used to be a pretty naff cook (even though I say it myself - before anyone else does!), but, like everything else, you get better with practise (hopefully). I just make things up as I go along now (cooking that is), it all seems to come together in the end. But, when I first started, I had no idea, which flour do I use, plain or self-raising, what is gas mark 5 in electric terms? Just the basic stuff really, well, time-saving tips and ideas are plentiful in this book. There are more than 1,000 recipes, each of which are fully llustrated, so you have no excuse for ...  Read the complete review

What a great cook book! A wide variety of recipes from traditional English to more exotic, from simple to more expert. This book includes all sorts of recipes – soups, main meals, desserts, cakes, breads. What I particularly like is that at the start of each chapter, there is a photo index. There is a photo of each dish with a brief description, and a guide to how long it takes to make. There is also a guide to the calories it contains, but I prefer to avoid that bit! I often refer to this book if I want to do something different with an ordinary dish. For example, pork chops. I was getting bored of grilling them with honey or barbecue sauce, so had a look ...  Read the complete review

I really cannot recommend this cookery book highly enough. It is well laid out, clearly written, well illustrated and well designed. It includes all the standard recipes - Spaghetti Bolognaise, Lasagne, Fish Pie etc. - but is also full of some varied and interesting recipes from around the world. I have continued to recommend this book to people because of this fact; it is simple yet no condescending in any way. It is not a 'how to...' kind of book, but the recipes are simple enough to follow even for a novice cook. I have known students embarking on university study who have found this book an essential part of their luggage. The only disadvantage is that the binding ...  Read the complete review

Now as my other half can vouch for me on this one I don’t cook, I never have and probably never will. I probably take after my mother in this respect who after the first trip out to the USA back in ‘78 and eating Clam Chowder for the first time on Pier 39 out of a Sour Dough Bread Bowl decided to recreate our magnificent feast over here in the UK. Can I just point out to all of you in Ciaoland that under no circumstances should you attempt to recreate this dish with Cod. The Cod Chowder was born and it festered on the stove for a good few hours until mother dished it up with the infamous words of “You’ll eat it and like it”. Needless to say us kids sat there and looked ...  Read the complete review