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Joined: September 25th, 2009

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November 11th, 2018

Keralan Veggie Curry with Poppadoms, Rice & Minty Yoghurt from Jamie's 15-Minute Meals

The dish itself, the flavours, at least how I made it, that's a solid four star rating - it was delicious! Everything else - the time management, the style of writing, the layout, - oh, and did I mention... read more >


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friederike's Reviews


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Cookbook Reviews

121 books reviewed. Showing 101 to 121Sort by: Rating | Title

Simple Chinese Cooking

By Kylie Kwong
Michael Joseph Ltd - 2006

April 6th, 2010 (edited 6th February 2011)

This book is quickly becoming one of my favourite cookbooks, mainly because most of what I have cooked until now tastes like the food we had at home when I was young - or even better. Additionally, most recipes are prepared very quickly, although you'll need some concentration to get it right. What I also like is that most ingredients are fairly easy to get (where I live) - that in contrast to several of my other Chinese cookbooks.

Slow Cooker Cookbook: Over 220 No-fuss Delicious One-pot Recipes for Relaxed Preparation

By Catherine Atkinson
Lorenz Books - 2008

November 29th, 2009

The recipes sound delicious and look absolutely beautiful – but I am experiencing major problems in prerparing them. The problem is that they are written exclusively for electrical slow cookers, and the book features no tempreature conversion tables for using other equipment at all. All you get are instruction such as "Cook on Low for 5-7 hours." This makes the book quite useless for me and my clay pot. At the moment I am trying to figure a system of temperature conversion, and am hoping for a better book for christmas.

Snowflakes and Schnapps

By Jane Lawson
Murdoch Books - 2010

January 25th, 2013 (edited 26th January 2014)

I haven't cooked from this book yet, so I can't review it properly, but a few things have definitely caught my attention:
1. For most of the recipes, you will need lots and lots of time; for many recipes, you will need a big budget as well. Veal and lamb are all over the place; there are a lot of recipes for game; also truffles and foie gras have been featured.
2. It's a very impersonal book. I don't think the author directs a single word to the reader. Not a word where a recipes comes from or why she chose them. Basically, it's just a more or less random collection of recipes.
3. It's great as a coffee table book - the photos are beautiful!
4. The layout is less great for cooking, especially if you have difficulties reading under less than perfect circumstances - the text is light grey on a white background. Whoever came up with this idea must have forgotten that a cookbook needs to be used.

Edited 26 January 2014:
I've made four recipes since; nearly all of them were quite nice. But it has been very difficult to choose a recipe that is actually doable in both effort and budget.

In set-up, it's very comparable to Roast Figs, Sugar Snow. Both books are very nice, but if I had to choose, I'd choose Roast Figs, Sugar Snow, just because it has so many more useable recipes, it's more personal, and it's a lot easier to read! Unless you are actually looking for something fancy (ie. for Christmas dinner), then Snowflakes and Schnapps might be more what you're looking for - but expect to spend a lot of time in the kitchen!

Soepkalender

By Anya van der Wetering
Uitgeverij Snor - 2011

November 3rd, 2012

Just a short note, not a review: As this is a calendar, it doesn't have page numbers. Instead, I'm using the format mmdd as a substitute.

Sophie Grigson's Country Kitchen: 120 Seasonal Recipes

By Sophie Grigson
Headline Book Publishing - 2003

August 11th, 2011 (edited 3rd December 2011)

I'm not really enthousiastic about this book. Recipes until now have worked but weren't particularly special. I like that the book is sorted by season, but that the titles are set in multi-colored, handwritten-style fonts just kills me. Maybe this would be different if I had kids (haha, ask me in ten years again).

Spanish Food and Cooking (Food & Drink)

By Pepita Aris
Lorenz Books - 2003

August 1st, 2012

I'm on the fence with this one. The recipes with the better ratings we prepared several years ago, and I'll admit that we probably have become quite spoiled with great dishes and great books in the meantime. It might be an okay cookbook, it might not be brilliant, but in anycase I believe there must be a better book than this one.

Supersalades

By Jane Lawson
Uitgeverij Terra Lannoo - 2011

August 11th, 2011 (edited 13th September 2011)

I bought this book specifically to have a good source for lunch box meals. Most of the recipes listed sound very good, so there is enough to choose from. So far, most of the salads made turned out fairly well. I think it's great that the book contains a section of salads specifically for lunch boxes, although many of the other salads can be used as well (with some tweaks, occadionally).

This is a translation of Tossed, though not all recipes are included.

Tapas

By Susanna Tee
Parragon Publishing - 2005

December 27th, 2011

This book is not identical to the other book called Tapas. A Culinary Journey of Discovery, written by the same author and published by the same publisher - more than slightly confusing, I know. Other than that, these might have been meant as a complement to one another - different, complementing choice of dishes, same - low - level of recipe reliability. I'm sure there are better books.

Tapas. A Culinary Journey of Discovery

By Susanna Tee
Parragon - 2007

December 27th, 2011

This book is not identical to the other book called Tapas, written by the same author and published by the same publisher - more than slightly confusing, I know. Other than that, these might have been meant as a complement to one another - different, complementing choice of dishes, same - low - level of recipe reliability. I'm sure there are better books.

Tarte Tatin

By Jasmin Schults, Anaisa Bruchner
Uitgeverij J.H. Becht - 2007

July 26th, 2011

Basically, a very nice book. I love the idea of a cookbook focusing on Tarte Tatins, and all the things they could come up with, not only sweet but also savoury. There were some problems with the second tarte I made, though, like missing ingredients and serving information.

Taste: A New Way to Cook

By Sybil Kapoor, David Loftus
Mitchell Beazley - 2003

March 27th, 2010 (edited 27th March 2010)

I absolutely love the concept of this book, going by flavours as opposed to course, and explaining how we actually perceive flavours, how they work and how we should built up flavour in a dish. Very unfortunate, then, that the first dish I tried from this book (Curried Caribbean-style Fish, not yet reviewed) completely failed on the account of being too sour! Nevertheless, the second dish turned out very well, and I've learned a lot about flavours and cooking.

The Technique of Chinese Cooking

By Qiang Mai
Tang's Publishing Company - 1974

April 24th, 2010 (edited 24th April 2010)

This is a very funny book. Publsihed in the 1970's as a bilingual edition (Chinese and English), it features more recipe than you will usually find in a Chinese cookbook nowadays, although I probably wouldn't prepare some of them for a number of reasons (Shark's Fin as Peacock, Seacucumber with Pork or Stewed Turtle with Chrysanthemum, anyone?). And it's typical for the time it was published in - it's full of monosodiumglutamate (also known as MSG) which, although thought a typical ingredient in Chinese restaurant food, is actually a quite modern addition. But I suppose you could get by with just omitting the MSG, and try one of the easier recipes to begin with...

Tender: Volume II, A cook's guide to the fruit garden

By Nigel Slater
Fourth Estate - 2010

January 7th, 2011

The first volume covered the growing and cooking of vegetables; Vol. II does the same for fruit. Of course you can expect quite a range of desserts, cakes, you name it. But it also includes quite a number of meat or fish dishes. As the first volume, it is written and illustrated beautifully, and I'd even be happy to have it if I couldn't cook any of the recipes. It's probably a very useful book for gardening too, but having an interest in gardening is by no means necessary to enjoy it.

Just as the first, each chapter in this book is about a different kind of fruit, mostly (?) fruit that Nigel Slater grows in his own small urban garden in London. There are some musings, some general information on the fruit, his 'garden diary', useful tips for cooking, ingredient combinations, trivia, photos, and several recipes per chapter.

Tender: v. 1: A Cook and His Vegetable Patch

By Nigel Slater
Fourth Estate Ltd - 2009

April 17th, 2010 (edited 17th April 2010)

I only bought it today, but I already love it! It's a brick of a book, with a beautiful layout, beautiful photos and lots of text. Well written text, in true Nigel Slater fashion. Informative text, even if you don't grow you own vegetables.

The book is sorted by vegetable. You'll get a general section with Slater's thoughts, then information on growing the vegetable, often including Slater's 'garden diary', then a text on cooking with that vegetable, useful ingredient combinations, trivia, and of course lots of recipes. And knowing Nigel Slater they are usually good.

Vegetables from an Italian Garden: Season-by-Season Recipes

By Editors of Phaidon Press
Phaidon Press - 2011

March 14th, 2014

This is quickly becoming one of my better resources for vegetable side dishes, and vegetarian mains. It contains a lot of not too complicated, interesting and diverse dishes. I also bought it because I enjoy cookbooks that sort vegetables seasonally, but unfortunately, what is in season in Italy is not necessarily in season in the Netherlands at the same time. Still, it's a very useful resource once you've checked your own local vegetable calendar (I've stuck a printed copy of mine in the few pages of the book).

vegetarian

By alice hart
- 2000

October 11th, 2012

This seems to be a bit of a hit-and-miss book - either the dishes were really nice, or they weren't enjoyable at all. Or I've just had bad luck; a colleague of mine owns this book as well and hasn't had a single failure to date. If only I could bring her to join cookbooker! :)

The Wagamama Cookbook (Cookery)

By Hugo Arnold
Kyle Cathie - 2004

August 11th, 2011

I rather like the Wagamama restaurants, at least the one I've been to (there seem to be huge differences internationally, or so I have been told). The more I was surprised to find that the recipes in this book haven't been as convincing at all.

An extra problem is that I had always thought that Wagamama served Fusion cuisine - most of the recipes in this book however call for mainly Japanese ingredients which I can't get as easily as eg. Chinese ingredients. Not really dramatic, just makes it more of an effort.

Werken met vis

By Bart van Olphen
Amsterdam Carrera - 2012

October 15th, 2013 (edited 10th February 2014)

This is a brilliant book, the amount of information that is amassed in it, and the beauty with which it is presented is truly impressive. It'll tell you all about fishing regions, -techniques, seasons (did you know that fish and seafood have seasons, too?), and how to tell if the fish is still fresh. This is followed by an extensive overview of kinds of fish (and seafood) you'll be able to get in Europe, then a section over how to prepare the fish, including cleaning and netting, then cooking techniques with basic recipes, a section on sauces, and finally a few elaborate recipes. It's very similar to the books on seafood written by Alan Davidson, but possibly just more beautiful.

That said, I've noticed that I find it hard to choose a recipe from it - probably because may recipes feature several kinds of fish and seafood in one dish, and aren't really easy or quick dishes. So if you were considering this book because you'd like to incorporate more fish into your everyday menu, then move on.

World Food Spain (World Food Series)

By Beverly Leblanc
Thunder Bay Press (CA) - 2003

August 1st, 2012

None of the recipes in this book have impressed me yet. The photos of Spanish landmarks are okayish, the food photography hasn't impressed me. Not recommended, there are better books out there!

Yan-Kit's Classic Chinese Cook Book

By Yan-Kit So
Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd - 1987

March 27th, 2010

This book was given to me by an old family friend who had spent years in China, and she insisted that I receive the 1984 edition (or a later reprint), but not the 2006 revised edition.

It's an excellent cookbook that will not only provide you with many authentical recipes but also with a longish section about the the more exotic ingredients, equipment and techniques of chinese cooking, including explanations of why these techniques are used. Highly recommended!

Yan-Kit's Classic Chinese Cook Book

By Yan-Kit So
Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd - 1987

March 27th, 2010

This book was given to me by an old family friend who had spent years in China, and she insisted that I receive the 1984 edition (or a later reprint), but not the 2006 revised edition.

It's an excellent cookbook that will not only provide you with many authentical recipes but also with a longish section about the the more exotic ingredients, equipment and techniques of chinese cooking, including explanations of why these techniques are used. Highly recommended!