Forever Summer

The cover of Forever Summer features Nigella Lawson posing in a convertible car with luggage piled behind her, as though driving along the Riviera. Her beaming smile, however, betrays a hint of strain. Can she be wondering whether success and fame constitute something of a treadmill? Given that she has attained iconic single-name status, will she ever be able to return, should she wish, to the humble obscurity of serious journalism?

If treadmill it is, it's one she continues to work with considerable panache. What she never lacks is poise: her effortless blend of the artless and the deeply considered does not fail, here, to beguile. Nigella's appeal is, of course, a lifestyle thing--you, too, could be at once an intelligent modern woman and an old-fashioned vamp, draped in pashminas and liable impulsively to pop off for a run down to Monte. In all this, and especially if you take her television persona into account, the food can seem a little incidental. But it is of course at the heart of the project. Nigella Lawson seems to have a knack of thinking creatively about food which allows her to turn a recipe over in her hands, as it were, give it a tweak and turn it into something livelier and fresher than it was before. So her Greek Salad marinates the red onion and omits the sapid cucumber, substituting sliced fennel. Barbecued Sea Bass is stuffed with preserved lemons (pickled, incidentally, in a usef! ully unusual way). Roast Potatoes are given in their Swedish Hasselback form (sliced nearly through, so they fan out in cooking). The section on ices is adorned with Margarita Ice Cream ("surely what angels would eat at their hen night"), while Nigella indulges her inner slapper with Slut-Red Raspberries in Chardonnay Jelly. Above all, she communicates, through dozens and dozens of recipes, the ideals of freshness, simplicity, spontaneity and immediacy, a combination it's hard to resist. --Robin Davidson

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Truly scrumptious - Rated
Quite simply, Nigella Lawson will enable you to gain a reputation amongst friends for being a brilliant cook. What your friends won't know is just how effortless it all is when you are in Nigella's capable hands. Her narrative is just as eulogistic as her other books, which means that recipes you would normally overlook end up being firm favourites, thanks to her powers of persuasion. As a stand alone read, this book is well written and colourful, even out of the kitchen. Don't be put off by the summery title, these are just foods that remind her of summer. Most of these dishes could be cooked or adapted to suit any time of the year. That's another good thing- she doesn't mind if you mess about with her recipes to make it suit your own taste. She often recommends alternatives and is very rarely bossy and only when she needs to be (twice I think). I tried the Chocolate Peanut Squares and used pecan nuts instead of peanuts. I also used dark and white chocolate instead of milk chocolate. Whatever I used, the plate was cleared and colleagues and family were begging for more. It's now a firm favourite and I can now pretty much rustle it up now without needing the book. I also tried the Braised Little Gem Lettuces and was amazed to find they taste like a nutty version of asparagus when cooked this way. The Pasta al Sugo Crudo tasted nothing like I expected Italian Tomato-ey pasta to taste. It was fresher, more fragrant and tasted much lighter than I would have imagined. If you, like me, think life doesn't get better than a gathering of friends and greedy portions of superb food and great conversation, then buy this book.

A Must Read for Food Lovers with an Edge! - Rated
I love this book! Colourful, easy to follow - the recipes are so interesting and brighten up any dinner party! It is hard to choose a favourite but the Keralan Fish Curry just pips everything else to the post. This book also boasts a fantastic lip-smacking selection of delicious desserts from Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova (a slight variation of an old classic) to the creamily delicious White Chocolate and Passionfruit Mousse ... Witty, Interesting and thoroughly creative from start to finish - Bravo Nigella!

Much better than it looks - Rated
I am a reluctant convert to Nigella Lawson - all the cult of the personality stuff irritates me enormously - but damn the woman, her recipes are good, even the ones that aren't hers. This book weirdly came out mid-autumn last year and it took me a full six months to overcome my dislike of the look of it to pick up a copy, first from the library and then finally to buy it. Boy am I glad I did!
These are cracking recipes, the book is well structured and, as long as you skip the crinch-makingly twee intro, very readable. To be fair to the woman, she also properly credits ideas and recipes she's pilfered from other writers and cooks like Jane Grigson and Ruth/Rose of River Cafe fame. I did throw away the lurid dust jacket and can reveal that underneath is a very well-designed jacket of water washing over sand. It could be a metaphor for the whole book.

Sumptuous - Rated
Try her Slut-Red Raspberries in Chardonnay Jelly (on page 198).

She's absolutely right in saying that it is heaven on a plate. Go for this particular recipe and you will unexpectedly find that you want to dive into it, paddle deliciously around in it and then float on it in ecstatic appreciation.

I'm not a pudding person but I could jump into a swimming pool full of this one.

(It's a really easy recipe too!)

Brilliant! - Rated
This has to be the best of Nigella's books. What I love the most is that her recipies are not too complicated. I hate recipies with a long list of ingredients, these don't. She's stylish and makes cooking relaxing rather than stressful. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in cooking.