I don’t know when it happened
exactly but at some point over the past several years, cooking and cookbooks
became an obsession maybe even an addiction. Some people get a buzz when they
buy new shoes, clothing or maybe even a game for their playbox thing. Whatever
the thing maybe I’m pretty certain that to some extent most people get some
kind of lift when they buy or receive something new. That is what it is like
for me, when I get a new cookbook or I am able to produce something which has
been particularly elusive in the success department (I get very frustrated and
annoyed when things don’t go to plan and one of two things happen, it either
goes in the bin and I throw a massive temper tantrum, not quite the lying on
the floor kicking my legs type, but close to that. Or I get really angry throw
it in the bin and then proceed to make it over, and over again until I get it
right) A friend of mine asked a few months ago now, which books I would
recommend, which is a difficult question to answer, it depends what it is you
want them for. For example if you are after a selection of decent recipes, that
covers a wide selection of different things including some baking recipes then
I would definitely opt for a Mary Berry (DK publisher) I have several and so
far all the recipes have turned out fabulously. Technically speaking if that’s
all you want it for, then one book like the Mary Berry, although there are
several different types and authors to choose from which I will get to in time.
I enjoy cookbooks and will regularly read them as my night time book of choice,
and I go back to them over and over again. If I am really honest I have started
to deface them slightly, crossing out ingredients I am never likely to, want to
use, changing the weights of some of the ingredient and adding ingredients
where I added something different to what was in the original recipe, (although
I am probably going to stop that, I have only done it a couple of times and it
feels WRONG to do it). I read all my books cover to cover! Learning different
techniques and getting different ideas. This is a comprehensive list of all my
cookbooks why I bought them, or indeed where I got them from, as some I have
acquired, why I love it and whether or not I would recommend them to someone
else.
I am not going to include the
mini-books or magazine recipes/recipe magazines I have or I will be here
forever, in my current state including those as well as the books I must stand
at well over 360 if not more? Now I will have to go count them…… Pfffffft.
So here we go I will be
splitting this up into about 18 posts, give or take, ten books to each one, I
shall capitalize the title and use a different colour so you can see the title
easily and decide for yourselves if you want to read about it!!!???? One last thing before we get started, I have
used the RRP in some places I may have put the price I paid and the RRP, if you
look around you can get these books SOOOOO much cheaper, I have paid as little
as £10 for a book with a RRP of £25, some of the older books I was unable to
get a price for them, RRP or otherwise so I didn’t include those prices and
whilst I have misplaced my price list I made up and can’t rightly remember, I
think in total my books are worth over £2000 but I paid considerably less….. So
please, please shop around, online shops, such as Amazon are brilliant for
picking up a bargain, even if you opt for a second hand Very Good condition
book. Second hand stores if you are lucky are a good place to look or the
market, large superstores such as Giant in America or Target even the dreaded
Wal-Mart which despite the regular ridicule I did enjoy picking up a bargain in
there, here in England, Asda, Tesco and in some cases Morrison’s can be a good
place to pick up books, I also use WHSmith and Waterstones, the latter being
somewhat expensive and used as an absolute last resort, although I am a member
so I get £10 off for every ten books that I buy.
- Cadbury Dairy Milk, 30 best loved recipes This one is meant to be part of a larger set of mini books “30 best loved” I like it and it has some really cool chocolate recipes, but apart from the two I have I didn’t go on to collect the whole set, They aren’t worth the £2.99 price tag per book, with the first issue I only paid £0.99, a promotional price for the pair, but I wasn’t prepared to pay the normal price for just one book with 30 recipes, if you look around you can pick up little recipe books with 200 recipes in them for the same price tag.
- Lyle’s Golden Syrup, 30 best loved recipes this is the other one of the best loved recipes collection, again it has some really good recipes in it but it still didn’t inspire me enough to go out and buy the whole collection.
- 200 Fab Fish Dishes I love this little cookbook, whether you want fishy nibbles like salt and chilli squid, soups like onion bean soup with prawns, a starter such as devilled oysters, or a main course of monkfish wrapped in Parma ham, there really is a fish dish for everyone, assuming you like fish that is. RRP £4.99
- Goodfood 101 speedy suppers (BBC Books) I have three from this collection, that my daughters bought me for Christmas one year, I am not sure how many titles there are in total for this collection, but I am guessing that it stands at well over 50, all are sub-categorised and consist of a lovely selection of triple tested recipes. If you are looking for a few recipes that are “speedy supper” related (or whichever title you may choose) then this is a collection of books that I would definitely recommend, the recipes are easy to follow and assuming you are cooking something that you like and you do follow the recipe or there about, there is no reason why this book wouldn’t be for you. Besides triple tested recipes, they’ve got to be good right? RRP £4.99
- Goodfood 101 more one pot dishes I loved this one even before I opened the first page, “One pot dishes” what’s not to love? It’s full of recipes from around the world; there is something for everyone, pasta and rice dishes, soups and stir-fries or quick roasts and stews. Whether you are cooking for your family or a group of friends, you are bound to find an easy, hassle free recipe in this book. RRP £4.99 although I have seen them slightly cheaper.
- Goodfood 101 best ever curries this has a little of everything, Kormas, spicy lamb, biryani, pilaf, everything in-between and desserts. It’s mostly full of Indian or Thai recipes, but whether you are a veggi, only eat fish (not meat) or enjoy your meat, this book really does cover a wide range of recipes. RRP £4.99, Having looked through a lot of these books in store as well as my own and I have also borrowed some from the local library, I would definitely say that the Goodfood 101 is worth the money spent.
- 100 Best Casseroles and Stews this is a lovely little book. Right at the beginning of the book it gives you some hints and tips as to how to achieve the best results. It has a béchamel sauce recipe and four basic stocks which can be used with various recipes throughout the book. Whether it’s meat, poultry, fish and seafood, or veg and pulses you will find something in this one, each recipe is accompanied by big, clear, colourful pictures, and the recipe is written in easy to follow instructions. RRP £8.00 but I picked it up for £5.00
- Creative food processor cooking I got this one free with my Kenwood food processor, the first one I had which I have since given to my baby sister (not the cookbook though, I am not parting with my books). I’ll be honest I haven’t used this yet, so I can’t comment on the recipes, but it does have some useful information on the first few pages and then a small collection of basic, soups and starter, meat and poultry, fish and shellfish, vegetables, cakes and desserts and finally breads. Obviously each recipe requires the use of a food processor, and whilst it seems like a nice book, clear instructions and some pretty pictures, if it hadn’t been a freebee with my machine I don’t think it would be top on my list of must buys. Amazon are charging between £0.01 - £9.99 although a penny sounds cheap, you have to pay £2.80 PP for a second hand book that could quite easily be sent for the price of a large stamp. Personally I am not sure that it is worth the price?
- The biggest loser, weight loss planner this is one of those mini-book/magazine style ones, that I picked up at the checkout of the American superstore Giant. I bought it with the intention of using the recipes to lose a little weight, of course as with all diets I never got round to it, but the recipes are sound, low in calories and fat and the ones we have tried are delicious. I liked it when I bought it because it still included things like pancakes, BLTs and burgers which are not normally foods you’d associate with weight loss and yet certainly a few of my favourites. RRP $4.99 which is what I paid in store.
- Betty Crocker, cupcakes, cakes and more another mini-book/magazine. If you are a purist and don’t agree with cake mixes and cookie mixes etc. then this probably isn’t the right book for you but if you are like me and don’t really mind using a mix, then this could be a good one to own – it had never occurred to me that cake and cookie mixes could be used in any other way, other than the instructions on the back of the box, this little book though goes onto show just how versatile these mixes can be! RRP $5.99
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