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disappointed so far Mar 05, 2010 liked the pics and the overall idea
I tried 3 recipes so far; greek salad, matchstick courgettes, and the squash.
My disappointment comes from the fact that there are no warnings for potential
pitfalls; for example, the squash gets squashed and mushy if you mix it, and the water didn't really drain off in my mini oven; plus, it was really spicy when done.
The courgettes (are they not zucchini?): I didn't cut them really thin (they were thin, looked like matchsticks to my untrained eye), and they fell apart during cooking - I got a bunch of brown, loose matchsticks that tasted ok.
You should really be told that you need to cut them really thin and squash them together; otherwise forget about them staying together as an omelette-like body.
I'm still not giving up on it, but it seems too loose, like something thrown together at the last moment. Maybe he can't put himself in the mind of a novice.
Young bachelors who cook will love this Jan 10, 2010 I actually bought this for my brother a few years ago as he was looking to get into cooking for himself. After he used it for sometime I was over and browsed through it more myself. As a young bachelor it's probably the best cookbook I've leafed through so I bought it myself. Excellent recipes, great advice on how to choose cuts of meat, and a light but comprehensive overview on cooking methods, equipment and everything in general. It's all geared at the very natural in foods and combining great tastes. Few if any recipes contain anything that is processed as an ingredient. Most everything has a sub-recipe for the sauce/condiment/base.
Pros: If you're not necessarily looking for recipes that are "family" orientated or "In Under 20 Minutes" you'll seriously enjoy this cookbook. All the recipes do work well for families of course, but you're not going to get 30 pages of how to make different Rice Krispie treats. Great pictures of the final dishes for nearly every recipe. "Jools' Favorite Saturday Afternoon Pasta" may be one of my favorite new dishes and has been an absolute hit for everyone that has tried it.
Cons: A few of the ingredients can be hard to come by if you're not near a farmer's market or a well-supplied grocery store. Similarly, some of the advice relies on obtaining the ingredients from their nearest harvested state. I live in the Midwest, not too many fish mongers around here... Lastly, he seems to enjoy wrapping things in bacon quite often as well, and while this isn't necessarily a con, understand a solid 5% of the entree-type recipes are bacon wrapped or somehow involved with bacon.
Still 5/5 for the best cookbook a single guy can own.
Another great cookbook from Jamie! Jan 10, 2010 I have many of Jamie Olivers books, and this one is nicely different. I so appreciate how he changes his types of books but keeps his style of inventive yet practical recipes. Very good addition to my cookbook library.
1 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Huge let down - pretty pictures, but bad recipies Dec 22, 2009 I bought this book because of all the excellent Amazon reviews. A lot of people have commented on the nice pictures, which is true, the pictures are very pretty. I also like Jaime's cooking style and commentary because it makes the food seem like it's going to be good. But when you try to make the food, even following the directions to a tee, it never TASTES very good, which uh, is the reason why you bought the book, right? Even as an only semi-experienced amateur cook, even I know what wouldn't taste good in a dish, yet the recipes require it. I've tried cutting the weird ingredients in half, and it still tastes bad. I've now made 5 recipes, and none of them have turned out as good as something from Cook's Illustrated or even [...]. Don't waste your money...
Love it! Oct 23, 2009 I really wanted a cookbook with pictures, and my fiance really loves Jamie. Neither of us have been disappointed. I'm extremely impressed. The beet and pear salad was AMAZING. I really do think we're learning to be better cooks -- or at least get more adventuresome with goat cheese and gorgonzola.
There are some amazing risotto recipes in here. (We loved the spinach risotto and I can't wait to try the one with apples and walnuts.)
I really recommend this cookbook.
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