I've never been a fan of Jamie Oliver to be honest but for some reason, I've been drawn to this book like a Hungry Jenny to a beef pie. The hype around the book and his whole 'pass it on' saga and clever marketing probably helped to shove it in my face. And I swear every time I went to browse through it in bookshops in recent weeks, a faint waft of chicken floated out, making me desire the book even more. (Though when I was given it today as a surprise from boyfriend-who-took-the-hint Matt, I smelt it and realised that it's what fancy paper smells like, rather than being a scratch-and-sniff type wonder.)I just can't get over how beautiful it is inside and every page I turn, I salivate a bit more and wish to try out the recipe immediately! That's a sign of a good cookbook.
Over the last couple of months, I've taken a real interest in wanting to experiment more with my home cooking - not so much trying out extravagant dishes, but just branch out to what I don't make at home. Which is exactly what is given here - no 'flash' recipes but simple dishes using everyday ingredients that won't blow the budget too much. Of course, I'll be buying ingredients that I have not really bought in the past but I think it's the perfect way to have a bit more fun with my cooking. I love taking time to make a good dinner but do get bored of cooking the same dishes over and over again.I've been itching to do another one of Gordon Ramsay's Cookalongs but the recipes have not been budget-friendly at all! Last week, I wanted to try the main dish only of duck breast with port and cherry sauce. I don't particularly like cherry sauce so planned to substitute it for a honey-style sauce. But when I got to the supermarket and found that two duck breasts costs £8, I changed my mind! I was expecting it to be pricey but simply couldn't justify paying that much for one part of one meal. When I'm feeling less cash-poor, I'll definitely do it as I'd really like to try it.
This week, he is doing steak diane, which I'm still deciding whether to do or not. In the meantime though, I have a lovely new cookbook for inspiration and a wealth of pictures to drool over (of the food, not Jamie Oliver). One of my workmates says she has pretty much gone through all of the recipes already and I'm determined to do the same!
I too decided in January to purchase Jamie's Ministry of food book to compliment my new year's resolution 09 of cooking more fresh meals from scratch.
ReplyDeleteWhat first attracted me from the cover implying 'anyone can cook within 24-hours' seemed to jump out at me from the shelf and so I decided to be a traitor (or so I felt) and brushed past Gordon's cook books-who I always admired food wise but could no way justify buying; because of the food complication and utter confusion and failure I would feel at messing up the whole menu.
Plus I did not have enough wine in the house to compensate for the situation of diaster that would occur!
Anyhow, as I opened Jamie's book I was met with beautiful food images and step by step pictures- my head was saying 'buy,buy,BUY and so I did.
A little wary at first, it is now nearly March and I weekly create a Jamie classic and enjoy my time in the kitchen.
I have expanded my ingredients and cupboard to now hold, groundnut oil, sesame oil, lentils and ingredients I had only ever thought Chefs and good cooks should stick to.
I've have created many a fabulous dish such as chicken and leek stroganof, beef in blackbean stirfry,chicken rogan josh, special fahitas, thai green curry, 'chilli from scratch carne' and this weeks dish yet to be decided!!!
I tend to get excited now also when I know its 'Tuesday Cook night' and prepare the kitchen table for a feast as well as presenting the food in some interesting Jamie ways!!
I now feel I can cook and enjoy cooking from scratch- I have also shared Jamie's recipes with others and so have fallen into that person Jamie is indeed talking to in his book!
One day I may get into bed with Jamie and GORDON as my culinary expertise may reach progression and I can buy that Gordon Ramsay Book!! Thanks Jamie Oliver!
Hi Culinary Chef Pippa!
ReplyDeleteI'll be completely honest and say I've only tried a few recipes from his book and they all went slightly wrong so I've been scouring the net for new recipes instead - the BBC Good Food website is very good, as well as nibbledish.com.
I still like to read through his book every now and again for inspiration but never seem to follow through with his actual recipes but I like to know he's there as a backup :-)
You must send some photos in so that we can see your beautiful food...
Keep cooking!
Hungry Jenny x