Spec me a cookbook

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AcidHell2 said:
sharp small kitchen knife
steal
frying pan + saucepan look for hard anodised
electric whisk
food processor
cutting board
Electronic scales

All depends how much you can afford. Things like electric whisk, food processor, chopping board, scales asda smart price.

haven't tried them, but should be good starting knifes
http://www.pots-and-pans.co.uk/acatalog/James_Martin_-_Stellar_3_Piece_Santoku_Knife_Set.html
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Excellent, thanks for the suggestions. I'll add them to the shopping list!

Will have to see how the budget fairs over the next few weeks, but I see no reason why I can't pick up most of those things.
 
Pans are the most expensive as I said it depends how much you have. But good pans make such a difference. Can probably get some sort of hard anodised 5 piece set for £60ish.
 
MissMcT said:
Hi there :)

I second the vote for the Good Food 101 series. They're only a fiver each and really good. We have 4 of them: one pot dishes, cheap eats, simple suppers and meals for two. They're easy to follow, and most of the recipes are really straightforward and quick to make. We both lived at home until last year so had our tea cooked for us! These books soon got us into the swing of cooking for ourselves and we are now culinary experts ;)

I'm sure your partner will appreciate the help with you having a little one on the way. Team work will be essential! Good luck :)
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I'll check them out as well, it would be good to get a selection of books, I'm looking at spending about £20.

So I might be able to get a Delia and a Good Food book.

Thanks for the well wishes! :)
 
AcidHell2 said:
Pans are the most expensive as I said it depends how much you have. But good pans make such a difference. Can probably get some sort of hard anodised 5 piece set for £60ish.
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Ouch lol. :)

We currently have a four piece pan set which cost us £8!

I think for the type of meals that I will be cooking initially, that I won't and don't need to spend too much. As long as I can measure and weigh ingredients, and can then cook them, then I will be fine for a good while.

Long term, after things settle after baby, probably will look at investing in some more decent kit.
 
sgx.saint said:
For which book? ... Or did you mean for all of the ones mentioned? :)
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For the goodfood 101 series.
Personally I think delia is far overrated and what ever you do don't get her cheat book. Forget what it's called. I would much rather have a jamie oliver, river cottage. ramsay and actually garry rhodes does good every day eating books.

Also worth considering is
http://www.amazon.co.uk/River-Cotta...=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263850537&sr=1-3
Putting food on the table for the family quickly and economically doesn't mean you have to compromise on quality. This book shows how Hugh's approach to food can be adapted to suit any growing, working family, or busy young singles and couples for that matter. Breakfast, baking, lunchboxes, quick suppers, healthy snacks, eating on the move and weekend cooking for the week ahead - all these, and more, will be covered in River Cottage Every Day. As Hugh says: "I have honed the River Cottage approach to food over a decade now, and I believe passionately that it is relevant to everybody, every day. You only have to decide that food, and its provenance, matters to you and your family, and the River Cottage way of doing things can offer a whole raft of solutions: food sourcing and shopping strategies, thrifty kitchen tricks and, above all, approachable, delicious, easy recipes. This book makes no prior assumptions about where you shop, what you may or may not know about growing vegetables or keeping livestock, or whether you can tell the difference between a cep and a chanterelle. But once you own the book, these things may well begin to matter to you. All you will need to reap the benefit is a commitment to spend at least some time in the kitchen, with fresh ingredients, a few times a week. And if you don't have that at the outset, I believe that a little time spent with this book - perhaps in bed, before you go to sleep - will soon put that right! Above all, I intend to tempt and charm you towards a better life with food - with a set of simply irresistible recipes that just happen to be seasonal and ethical."
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AcidHell2 said:
Pans are the most expensive as I said it depends how much you have. But good pans make such a difference. Can probably get some sort of hard anodised 5 piece set for £60ish.
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Also, get some ovenware - Le Crueset dishes are fantastic, and you can slow cook *anything* without it burning. I use mine to cook everything from fish and stew to simply Portabellos. They're not the cheapest, but they're a great investment and will last forever :)

Also, a kitchen isn't a kitchen without a decent masher :D
 
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Most awesome book (I also have his meat, fish and bread books which are more like cooking bibles). I really like Hugh's ethos when it comes to growing veg, animal husbandry and cooking :)
 
I can't remember the last time I used my food processor. But then I've been chopping stuff with knives for a little while now :p

I'd recommend getting some plastic freezable boxes. If you're going to be cooking there will be many a time you'll have enough to keep a portion or two for another meal.

And you can never have too many mixing bowls :)
 
Cybermyk said:
I can't remember the last time I used my food processor. But then I've been chopping stuff with knives for a little while now :p
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As it's not for chopping, like a knife.

Plenty of dishes need flour/butter rubbed together especially if you have hot hands, it is great for that. Also great for when you have to purée things. You'll find that hard with a knife.

Cybermyk said:
And you can never have too many mixing bowls :)
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This, same applies for wooden spoons.
 
AcidHell2 said:
As it's not for chopping, like a knife.

Plenty of dishes need flour/butter rubbed together especially if you have hot hands, it is great for that. Also great for when you have to purée things. You'll find that hard with a knife.
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Never used one for that, although I do have hot hands. I've just used it for shredding, chopping and liquidising etc.

I'd also start collecting herbs, depending on what's going to be cooked most and a decent salt and pepper mill.
 
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Just been having a look online, and bloody hell, how many Good Food 101 books have been produced?!

Although there is one entirely dedicated to chicken, yum! :)
 
Not a single book, but the Australian Women's Weekly are great cookbooks - they're thin A4 cookbooks that come in a variety of cuisines. They tend to be very reliable recipes, and form the bulk of my cookbooks.

As mentioned above, Delia is a good staple to have (particularly the 3 core volumes), and Nigel Slater also does good stuff.

If you're a seafood lover, have a look at Rick Stein.
 
To be honest, £25-£35 Tefal starter set of pans will do you really well as a beginner. My old Tefal pans have out lasted my expensive set of Meyer hard anodised pans which have proved to be utterly crap when you try and put them through their paces.

No point getting an expensive set for your first ones anyway. If you leave one on the heat by mistake and destroy the non-stick you'll be a lot less gutted if it doesn't cost you £50 to replace it.
 
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