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Title: Nigella Bites: From Family Meals to Elegant Dinners -- Easy, Delectable Recipes for Any Occasion by Nigella Lawson ISBN: 0786868694 Publisher: Hyperion Press Pub. Date: 16 October, 2002 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.32
Rating: 4
Summary: a fun cookbook with mixed results
Comment: I approached this cookbook skeptically. It can be difficult to separate the cooking from the cult of personality, so to critique the recipes is to critique the woman. The cookbook has lots of chatter and lots of white space, but Nigella Lawson is a charming woman, so the chatter is friendly and companionable, and the book has lots of white space but it is slender and elegant and filled with beautiful photographs of every dish. Sections are organized as Breakfast, Comfort Food, TV Dinners, Rainy Day, Trashy, etc. These are more colorful than helpful, but one can find recipes by name or ingredient in the well-constructed index. No nutritional information is given for the recipes, but that's just as well.
I've tried eight recipes so far (and have many more marked to try). Of those eight, I would say three were resounding successes: the icing for the chocolate fudge cake will be at the top of my list whenever I need an airy but flavorful frosting; the sweet corn pudding was very good; and the double potato and halloumi bake was delicious though I couldn't find the sheep's milk cheese required for two of the book's recipes, even at a gourmet cheese shop. Two recipes were servable if not very exciting. And three of the eight recipes did not work for me at all. My Mozzarella in Carrozza, for example, never resulted in a stretchy warm concoction that I could pull lustily from my teeth, my neck outstretched in voluptuous splendor, though I tried several times.
Three additional comments: Several of the recipes I tried benefited from the addition of spice. Secondly, recipes have been lazily retooled from the metric units originally used, so instructions often call for multiple multi-measurement ingredients -- 1 cup + 2 T flour, 1/4 cup + 1 t sugar, etc etc. Finally, quite a few recipes call for self-rising flour; you can make the equivalent of 1 cup of self-rising flour by mixing 1 cup of all-purpose flour + 1-1/2 teaspoons of baking powder + 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
Ultimately this is not a flawless effort, but Nigella has the charm and talent to pull off a successful personality cookbook, and though results might be mixed, the good recipes are archetypal. That ain't bad.
Rating: 3
Summary: A Matter of Taste
Comment: Like all cookbooks, success or failure depends entirely on the recipes contained therein. How to Be a Domestic Goddess was absolutely packed with foodstuffs I couldn't wait to tie on my apron and try but Nigella Bites is more miss than hit. It was nice to have full access to all the TV recipes without having to scramble for a pen and scrap paper whenever it came on E! but convenience isn't enought to justify the price tag. As always, the numerous photos are appreciated and let you know whether or not you've gone horribly awry in the cooking process but the many blank pages for 'notes' are a waste of space. No one who's just shelled out twenty-five dollars for a cookbook is going to deface it (Just take notes on bits of paper and tuck them into the appropriate pages like everyone else for heaven's sake, Nigella).
But these are niggling details in the grand scheme of things; whether or not you should buy this book hinges solely on what your eating urges are. Each section is a essentially a 'themed' meal- White Trash, Dinner for Two, Rainy Day Supper, etc- so altogether you only get about 8 different recipes for any given course. Looking for lots of appetizers? Tough. Want a wide variety of main courses? Too bad. Need to satisy your sweet tooth? Invest in 'Domestic Goddess' instead. This book is more your style if you want to try a little bit of everything: A Nigella sampler.
All told, despite being a rabid Nigella food fanatic, I only found about 6 recipes I really wanted to try and I've only gotten around to cooking two of them: Chocolate Pots and Mozzarella Carraviggio. They are both delicious but very rich; any more than one helping and you'll find yourself feeling sick. Mozzarella is the worst offender, being essentially a fried grilled cheese sandwich that sits very heavily in your stomach.
It's more than a little ironic that the book most directly tied into the show that made Nigella famous to American audiences is quite possibly her weakest effort.
Rating: 4
Summary: Not your basic cookbook
Comment: If you are looking for a book that has recipes for cooking everything, then this is not what you are looking for. But what you do get with "Nigella Bites" is a lively conversation with the lovely Nigella Lawson and a handful of great recipes to work into your own repertoire. She has given us recipes that are perfect for the work week, requiring little time and easily obtainable ingredients. And she also has a section for the weekend dishes when you do have the time to linger in the kitchen. The chicken with chorizo and kale, lemon risotto, salmon fishcakes, corn pudding and linguine with pancetta and garlic oil are all integrated in my meal rotation.
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Title: How to Be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking by Nigella Lawson ISBN: 0786867973 Publisher: Hyperion Press Pub. Date: November, 2001 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
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Title: Forever Summer by Nigella Lawson ISBN: 1401300162 Publisher: Hyperion Press Pub. Date: April, 2003 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
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Title: How to Eat: The Pleasures and Principles of Good Food by Nigella Lawson ISBN: 0471257508 Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Pub. Date: 22 August, 2002 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
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Title: Barefoot Contessa Family Style: Easy Ideas and Recipes That Make Everyone Feel Like Family by Ina Garten ISBN: 060961066X Publisher: Clarkson Potter Pub. Date: 29 October, 2002 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
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Title: Happy Days with the Naked Chef by Jamie Oliver ISBN: 078686852X Publisher: Hyperion Press Pub. Date: October, 2002 List Price(USD): $34.95 |
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