H-alphaFox
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Post by H-alphaFox on Dec 13, 2021 10:45:45 GMT
I need to pad out my Christmas list so anyone have some good food related book recommendations?
I'll start.
The Curry Guy books by Dan Toombs are essential for all Indian takeaway fans. The recipes are spot on. The Thai book is pretty good too. You can also buy his base sauce as a powder but that takes half the fun away .
French Pâtisserie: Master Recipes and Techniques from the Ferrandi School of Culinary Arts
If you love pastry and cakes then this book is pure pastry porn, you'll probably want a Kitchen Aid after reading it too. Be warned the book is massive.
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Post by Danno on Dec 13, 2021 11:02:10 GMT
Can recommend -
Hawksmoor at Home
The Ginger Pig Meat Book
Too Good to Waste ( has some great leftover ideas)
River Cottage Handbook - Curing and Smoking
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Post by dfunked on Dec 13, 2021 11:03:51 GMT
The art of fermentation is supposed to be great if you're into that sort of thing.
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Post by knifeyspoony on Dec 13, 2021 12:03:33 GMT
Second The Art of Fermentation, great book. I would also recommend Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat.
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Post by Tonka (🐑,🪤) on Dec 13, 2021 12:07:57 GMT
These are really good for making sure you've got the basics covered www.saltfatacidheat.com/and The Food Lab by Kenji Lopez-Alt |
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H-alphaFox
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Post by H-alphaFox on Dec 13, 2021 12:20:29 GMT
They made a Netflix show around Saltfatacidheat I think.
My biggest take away from that is that we don't use enough salt or use it to it's full advantage. Since then I am much more liberal with using salt, seems like they have a point.
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Post by 😎 on Dec 13, 2021 14:55:39 GMT
Obligatory recommendation for Franklin BBQ and Franklin Steaks
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Post by smoothpete on Dec 13, 2021 15:17:39 GMT
I used Delia's "complete cookery course" more than any other tbh. It's really handy for a huge array of basic stuff like how long your goose is going to take, things like that. People have bought me sooo many cookbooks but the majority just get a bit of a browse then it's back to my homegirl Delia
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Post by freddiemercurystwin on Dec 13, 2021 15:28:42 GMT
Whilst it may not be contemporary to mention it, Delias Complete Cookery is brilliant for the nuts and bolts of cooking, the methods/recipes just work really well, pancakes, cooking rice, pies, roast potatoes, sponge cakes etc if you're a bit lacking in some of the basics. And actually everything else in there is pretty good too, I've not done that many proper meal recipes form that book but never had a failure when I have.
edit: Damn you pete!
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Post by dfunked on Dec 13, 2021 15:30:39 GMT
I have a Delia cookery book that's probably as old as I am. Tried looking up a recipe for pastry recently and ended up googling it instead. She did love a bit of margarine and lard...
/edit
Haha, it's four years older than me
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dam
New Member
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Post by dam on Dec 13, 2021 15:39:50 GMT
Will look up some of these.
This year I've enjoyed the Dishoom Indian restaurant book. It's a chain I've never been to, but can recommend this. They could save a few trees by cutting out all the stuff that isn't recipes, but they are all very good and not too much faff. Their naan recipe was the closest to a good curry house's that I've managed.
Anything by Fuchia Dunlop, eg Every Grain of Rice: Simple Chinese Home Cooking - proper Chinese food.
I made a lot of lockdown bread, started with Flour Water Salt Yeast by Ken Forkish.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 13, 2021 15:40:53 GMT
Obligatory recommendation for Franklin BBQ and Franklin Steaks Seconded. If you have any interest in BBQ these are great to have. |
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Post by smoothpete on Dec 13, 2021 15:53:30 GMT
As you say, it's great for fundamentals. The page with the pancake recipe is absolutely covered in my batter, I can tell you.
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Post by elstoof on Dec 13, 2021 16:30:26 GMT
Raymond Blanc kitchen secrets is my usual go to
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Post by Sarfrin on Dec 13, 2021 18:07:33 GMT
I used Delia's "complete cookery course" more than any other tbh. It's really handy for a huge array of basic stuff like how long your goose is going to take, things like that. People have bought me sooo many cookbooks but the majority just get a bit of a browse then it's back to my homegirl Delia We've got both Delia and Mary Berry's Complete Cook Book and I use the latter more. It's similarly good on the basics but more nicely formatted. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 14, 2021 22:33:18 GMT
Joshua Weissman - An Unapologetic Cookbook
It's great.
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Tomo
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Post by Tomo on Dec 14, 2021 22:53:21 GMT
Our faves (my GF is veggie):
Hugh – Veg Every Day
Rick Stein – India
Rukmini Iyer – The Green Roasting Tin (mostly all-in-one in one tray in oven, so amazing if you have had a long day and want easy recipes)
Meera Sodha – Fresh India
Meera Sodha – East
They are deffo Top 5. 90% absolute banger recipes.
Persiana/Sirocco by Sabrina Ghayour are worth a look too, but not as rapid for cooking.
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Post by Danno on Dec 14, 2021 22:57:13 GMT
I used Delia's "complete cookery course" more than any other tbh. It's really handy for a huge array of basic stuff like how long your goose is going to take, things like that. Oh thank god. I've had it up to here with those bastards that refuse to tell me when my goose is cooked. Fuck you, Batman, Delia's got my back! |
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Post by smoothpete on Dec 15, 2021 6:30:59 GMT
i was curious if she does actually tell you, not having checked before I said that. Sure enough:
That's why I like her, she actually teaches you to cook
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Bongo Heracles
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Post by Bongo Heracles on Dec 15, 2021 7:46:40 GMT
I know this isn’t a book to buy but bbc good food is where I get 90% of my basic/intermediate stuff. No 3000 word essays on how they discovered this Yorkshire pudding recipe by a vision from god while hiking in the Andes, just ‘here’s what you need, here’s how to do it’. Like this: www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/best-yorkshire-puddingsPerfect every time |
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Post by harrypalmer on Dec 15, 2021 8:20:04 GMT
The River Cafe books are all excellent and easy.
The Silver Spoon contains basically every Italian recipe ever.
Anything by Rachel Roddy or Simon Hopkinson is going to taste good.
The Food of Sichuan by Fuchsia Dunlop involves a massive trip to a Chinese supermarket but some of dishes are amazing.
I second the Curry Guy books too.
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Post by jeepers on Dec 15, 2021 9:13:38 GMT
The absolute worst are Jamie Oliver’s books, especially when he talks about cooking meat. I’ve never made a meat recipe from him where the meat wasn’t woefully undercooked. Either my oven is shit or his oven reaches surface-of-the-sun temperatures.
Plus one to Delia. My go to is the Complete Cooley Course. She’s not failed me yet, the raging alcoholic.
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Post by elstoof on Dec 15, 2021 9:29:19 GMT
Plus one to Delia. My go to is the Complete Cooley Course. She’s not failed me yet, the raging alcoholic. Bit racist from delia, didn’t know she did Asian cuisine either |
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Post by jeepers on Dec 15, 2021 9:40:00 GMT
Plus one to Delia. My go to is the Complete Cooley Course. She’s not failed me yet, the raging alcoholic. Bit racist from delia, didn’t know she did Asian cuisine either Hah! I disown that typo and any responsibility for any offence caused. |
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Post by LegendaryApe on Dec 15, 2021 9:42:34 GMT
The Instant Pot Duo Crisp is on offer on Amazon at the moment. I already have a pressure cooker (never used), air fryer and slow cooker.
Is it worth it?
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Post by Danno on Dec 15, 2021 9:53:29 GMT
The Instant Pot Duo Crisp is on offer on Amazon at the moment. I already have a pressure cooker (never used), air fryer and slow cooker. Is it worth it? You already possess all of its capabilities, so unless you're looking to free up some space I'd pass. |
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dam
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Post by dam on Dec 15, 2021 10:10:24 GMT
I know this isn’t a book to buy but bbc good food is where I get 90% of my basic/intermediate stuff. No 3000 word essays on how they discovered this Yorkshire pudding recipe by a vision from god while hiking in the Andes, just ‘here’s what you need, here’s how to do it’. Like this: www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/best-yorkshire-puddingsPerfect every time I used to be a bit sneery about BBC Good Food, but it's got a massive range of reliable recipes. |
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Post by LegendaryApe on Dec 15, 2021 10:24:16 GMT
The Instant Pot Duo Crisp is on offer on Amazon at the moment. I already have a pressure cooker (never used), air fryer and slow cooker. Is it worth it? You already possess all of its capabilities, so unless you're looking to free up some space I'd pass. That's what I was thinking. You're the wisest Danno I know. |
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EMarkM
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Post by EMarkM on Dec 20, 2021 16:09:07 GMT
I know this isn’t a book to buy but bbc good food is where I get 90% of my basic/intermediate stuff. No 3000 word essays on how they discovered this Yorkshire pudding recipe by a vision from god while hiking in the Andes, just ‘here’s what you need, here’s how to do it’. Like this: www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/best-yorkshire-puddingsPerfect every time I just rage-deleted the GoodFood app because they emailed me, introducing their new subscription model. I'll probably still use the website, though. Oh, and recommendation - years ago I became aware of Barry Lewis via my interest in the Ashens YouTube channel. I have both his books and really like them. |
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Post by Danno on Dec 20, 2021 16:38:11 GMT
You already possess all of its capabilities, so unless you're looking to free up some space I'd pass. That's what I was thinking. You're the wisest Danno I know. I won't ask how many you know |
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