Nigella may bite, but just as long as she doesn't spit...
Written: Apr 30 '02 (Updated May 01 '02)
Product Rating:
Pros: Good practical home cooking described clearly and attractively.
Cons: Some annoying "life style" references, some silly pictures and some unhealthy recipes.
The Bottom Line: While "NIGELLA BITES" is too eclectic to be an "everyday" cook book - there are many interesting recipes to dip into from time to time.
cr01's Full Review: Nigella Lawson - Nigella Bites: From Family Meals ...
Nigella Lawson is one of those annoying "life style" cooks who suddenly springs up on TV, armed with fantastic recipes and a pseudo lifestyle to make us disfunctional paper shuffling mortals green with envy.
ITS LIFE JIM, BUT NOT AS WE KNOW IT...
In Nigella's case, the lifestyle angle is that she is a busy working mother, while simultaneously juggling a succesful and demanding media lifestyle. "NIGELLA BITES" portrays Nigella as harrased but glam with a lifestyle to die for.
Witness some of the glossy photographs in the book -
Dedicated Nigella, still with last nights party make up on, slavishly making breakfast,
Glam Nigella in a pink evening dress, sweating it up over a barbeque,
Tired, but happy and complete Nigella, relaxing with a glass of wine at the end of another busy but satisfying day.
SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE?
In reality, Nigella is a sucessful cook and journalist (who writes for UK Vogue, and has completed a number of TV cookery series). She is also a single mother (her partner, John Diamond was a BBC radio journalist who died of throat cancer, a couple of years ago).
She is also the daughter of a successful UK politician, Nigel Lawson, who handled the UK economy with variable success with Maggie T in the late 1980's. Nigel was always suspiciously regarded as a man with a huge ego - how could he dump his daughter with the unlikely name of Nigella, just to give her a similar name to himself?
SO, IS THERE ANY COOKING?
If you can cope with Nigella's successful and fulfilling life being presented in glossy table top book form, you also get a book crammed with some pretty practical recipes.
Being your typical busy media type earth mother, Nigella has constructed recipes that you can easily cook, after another hellish day at the TV Studio. "NIGELLA BITES" offers the reader fairly practical but stylish cooking. In the great British cullinary tradition, in which we pinch everyone else's ideas, recipes are culled from a number of cultures and styles.
The book is divided into a number of practical chapters, and an index which lists recipes and ingredients. There are even spare blank pages for notes to be hand written in at the end of each chapter
SO WHAT'S COOKING?
I wont bore you with every single heading and recipe in the book, but there is quite a blend of different styles, countries and ingredients to choose from - some of the chapters and recipes are as follows:
ALL DAY BREAKFAST
Includes straight forward recipes for things like:
Orange Breakfast Muffins,
Asian Style Kedgeree (an Indian colonial thing, with smoked fish and rice) and
Bloody Mary, for those alcoholic late mornings!
COMFORT FOOD
Stodgy mainly British style food, for those in need of comfort, reassurance and love...
Mashed Potato
Salmon Fishcakes
Chicken Soup and Kneidlach (jewish dumplings)
Lemon Risotto
Rice Pudding
Chocolate Fudge Cake
TV DINNERS
Quick and easy staples, to pop on when you get home from work... includes
Chicken with Chorizo and Cannellini
Salt and Pepper Sqid
Thai Yellow Pumpkin and Seafood Curry (which appears fairly authentic)
Bitter Orange Ice Cream (yummy and very easy)
RAINY DAYS
Some cooking to really get your teeth into
Pasta with Meatballs
Soft and Sharp Involtini (bulgar wheat, pistachios, capers and aubergines Italian style)
Pasta E Fagioli
Chocolate Cloud Cake
Raspberry and Lemongrass Triffle (with vodka - not to be triffled with)
TRASHY
Yuk!
Ham in Coca-cola
Watermelon Daiquiri
Fried Chicken
Fried Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich (via the King!)
Deep fried coconut chocolate (Bounty) with pineapple
SUPPERTIME
Salmon with ginger soy and rice vinegar
Aromatic Lamb-Shank Stew
Couscous
Creme Brulee
SO WHAT'S THE FOOD LIKE?
I enjoy cooking and entertain a fair bit. Most recipes are clear and unfussy and in many places alternative ingredients are suggested. It is not a recipe book where careful measurement is required. Photos of food are big, colourful and plentiful, so at least you know what your finished creation should look like.
While there aren't enough vegetarian recipes, the ones there are, are imaginative and unusual. Many of the recipes have an Italian feel to them, which is something I both enjoy cooking and eating.
Our "dinner party" set often use "NIGELLA BITES", for at least one of the courses, for interest and ease of cooking and we haven't even had a partial failure yet!
If I had to choose a single recipe book, NIGELLA BITES wouldn't come close to my shortlist, but for a book to dip in a pick out something unusual and straightforward to prepare and present, then it copes admirably.
FOOTNOTE
I note that the US edition isn't due out until April 2003, according to the Eps database. While this means that I will have a long wait to get hits and income share (yeah right!), it might also mean that a big recipe rejig is in operation - that Ginger-Jam Bread and Butter pudding recipe might just not make the US version!
With her charming style, great recipes, bestselling cookbooks, and popular cooking show, Nigella Lawson has become a household name. Nigella Bites sha...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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