How to Eat

Nigella Lawson has long been among the most realistic as well as the most readable of writers on food. Her description of a three-star dinner really is a good second best to actually eating it yourself. But equally she knows the inestimable value of a bacon sandwich on sliced white. This wonderful book combines both of these talents as she sets out on the ambitious task to impart no less than "the Pleasures and Principles of Good Food". The book is neatly divided into categories--cooking in advance, weekend lunch, low fat and so on--each with its own passionate and intelligent introductory essay. The recipes are straightforwardly presented and the occasional school-mistress tone--"you must keep your stock in the freezer", "I loathe the acrid dustiness of standard-issue sherry"--is always justified by its implication of an entirely proper seriousness and her endless common sense. But most of all Lawson is a greedy eater who knows about food and can write like an angel. "I hate the new-age voodoo about eating", she declares. "The notion that foods are either harmful or healing, that a good diet makes you a good person". Hurrah! How to Eat is the perfect book for anyone who knows that food is more than fuel. --Nick Wroe

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Highly recommended - Rated
if you can only have one food book in your life time, then it'll gotta be 'how to eat'. buy two, one by your bed side and one for cooking use. i don't call it cook book, as it's not only tell you how to cook, but the food philosophy.

Fun at first but never gets used - Rated
When I first received this book, I enjoyed reading through it and the organisation of recipes depending on the event you are cooking for is a nice change. However in practice I never use it. I often pick it up for inspiration but I almost never cook from it. I don't use a recipe book for everyday cooking and nothing in this book is ever quite what I am looking for if I am cooking for a family gathering or a dinner party. Nigella's lemon meringue icecream is now a staple in our house, but not much else. Also, I have to admit that her "Wow, be like me - I am so knowledgable and so fragrant and chummy and just a bit naughty" approach to life gets up my nose and usually ends up making me choose a recipe from a different book instead.

One of my most used books - Rated
I bought this title after Domestic Goddess had enchanted me. Initially the lack of pictures rather put me off, it is a very wordy book, but I've come to see that as an advantage. There's no perfectly presented meal to depress you when your own effort looks as if it were thrown at the plate.
I love the straight forward-ness of the recipes, and like all Nigella books her expectation that you will probably substitute ingredients.
I've made the macaroni cheese from the "Cooking for babies and small children " section so often I've memorised it. I adore the lemon linguine, and the rice pudding is delicious and is the first recipe not to confuse my poor simple brain.

Great from basics to advanced! - Rated
I bought this book last year and the one thing that had put me off was that there were no pictures, so it was difficult to get an idea of a recipe-especially if you were cooking it for the first time.
I then realised it has all the basics that you need to know and things that i was never taught at home (as i'm not english).it was great to get an idea for things such as lunch and dinner.Last night i tried the salmon baked in foil and believe me it was good!
There may not be any pictures but the recipes certainly are fantastic and so much fun to cook!
I really recommend this book as it teaches you everything you need to know from bechamel sauce to a slow roast lamb and its so simple to follow!

This appears to be a minority view - Rated
This book is now gathering dust in my garage. This seems to be a minority view, but this book failed to inspire me. I suppose that if you are prepared to read this book as a novel from cover to cover it may work, but if you don't, then its difficult to find what you want. I tried to use the book as a check on other recipes, but I tended not to trust her version and the tone of the writing can become very tedious.