Real Cooking

Nigel Slater is the god of sticky things. He loves bones you can gnaw, the crispy bits from the bottom of the roasting pan, squishy things to eat on crusty bread with juices dribbling down your chin. Unctuousness. This is the man who made greed sexy. His cooking is determinedly domestic, to be consumed alone, or as an intimate supper with a loved one (in Slater's case, it seems, often the cat), occasionally rising to the heights of an informal dinner party. Within these self-imposed bounds, he's unbeatable. In Real Cooking he continues the campaign he began with Real Food, the essence of which is that a baked potato can, if prepared with love and attention, be as satisfying as any more elaborate confection. Real Cooking represents something of a broadening of scope, though, with the emphasis firmly turned to the cooking process:

Real cooking is about making ourselves something to eat that involves a bit of simple roasting, grilling or frying. Nothing complicated. Nothing that is not within the grasp of a novice cook. But it is cooking, rather than opening a packet or a tin.

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This is the best cookbook by the best cookbook writer..... - Rated
I adore Nigel Slater, not only does he write very readable books but an added bonus, his recipes are absolutely foolproof, demonstrating how easy it is to prepare delicious nutritious food without breaking the bank. I first discovered Nigel's 'Real Fast Food' 10+ years ago. Many cookbooks later, I've yet to find a duff recipe. All of his books are brilliant, but this is the one I use most, it has a good range of recipes that satisfy both me (mostly veggie)and my (confirmed carnivore) hubby. Tonight we had the mushroom and spinach lasagne - scrummy!!

Superb book - Rated
This is the type of book that is just right for the home cook. How to make tasty food without the fuss and with readily available ingredients. Many of the recipes are just ideal for making when you come home from work. If you want to cook like meals like Gary Rhodes don't buy this, if you want to have a selection of recipes some of which will become your favorites then buy this and get a copy of The River Cottage Meat Book at the same time.

So why 4 stars not 5 stars, well if you are beef lover you going to be disappointed that no beef recipes make an appearance.

a recipe book that actually gets used - Rated
This is a great read, Nigel clearly has a passion for making good things to eat. I bought this book as most of the recipes are for 1 or 2 people, unlike most recipe books which seem to think we all have families of 6-8 nowadays. My main reason for writing the review is that Nigel inspired me to roast my first chicken (I'm 35)which turned out to be easy, yummy and made me feel very clever as I was able to make sandwiches and soup out of the leftovers like my Mum. Most of the recipes I've used are uncomplicated and rewarding, the easiest being dipping a leftover sausage into a jar of mustard, very happy-making.

A really useful bible - Rated
A really helpful bible of all those things you want to make in a hurry... i regularly get home from work and can roast a piece of cod with salsa verde, served with a bit of mash and it looks and tastes like professional restaurant cooking... one of those mainstays of any collection for the everyday great tasting things.

Brilliant!!! - Rated
My favourite non-fiction book of all time. Used as much to simply sit and read as a cook book. For everyone who got fed-up with the Masterchef approach (you know, everything piled up in a neat tower in the middle of the plate)this is a must-read. Nigel is obviously in love with food and cooking to him is only a means to an end. The photography here is a revelation also - it shows cooking as it really is, unlike the faked stuff in most cook books. Nigel is a genius and the best "celebrity" chef around today!!