Cooking Lessons
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Manufacturer: Quadrille Publishing Ltd
Publisher: Quadrille Publishing Ltd
Author: Daisy Garnett
Cooking Lessons Description
Binding: Hardcover
EAN: 9781844006151
Format: Illustrated
ISBN: 1844006158
Label: Quadrille Publishing Ltd
Manufacturer: Quadrille Publishing Ltd
Book Pages: 256
Publication Date: 2008-09-05
Publisher: Quadrille Publishing Ltd
Studio: Quadrille Publishing Ltd
EAN: 9781844006151
Format: Illustrated
ISBN: 1844006158
Label: Quadrille Publishing Ltd
Manufacturer: Quadrille Publishing Ltd
Book Pages: 256
Publication Date: 2008-09-05
Publisher: Quadrille Publishing Ltd
Studio: Quadrille Publishing Ltd
Editorial Review of Cooking Lessons
Customer Reviews of Cooking Lessons
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Delicious
Review: Recipes are dotted around Daisy Garnett's varied experiences of life, food, friendship, and cooking and acknowledge eating's connections with life beyond the basic function of fuel: sustenance, joy, love, companionship, comfort, learning, living. The colourful Daisy's stories chart, I think, her growing up and parallel her gradual maturity in cooking. The recipes themselves and Garnett's matter-of-fact, this-is-what-I-found presentation (plus advice on equipment when relevant) invite the reader to have a go in the kitchen. What a difference from the tried-and-thrice-tested, list-dry format of the usual cookbooks -- though I wouldn't deny that each has its place in the cook's library.
The only disadvantage to this book is reading it on the train -- for it's the kind of book that will make you forget the drudgery of the daily commute, especially in these dark winter days -- and enjoying Daisy's adventures then coming to a recipe that immediately calls you to the kitchen. Just as you get to your stop for work! An enjoyable (cook)book.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A different kind of cookbook
Review: My shelves are full of cookbooks, but it's very rare that I read one from start to finish. Cooking Lessons is a bit different in that it is the story of Daisy Garnett's journey from thinking that food is just something to keep the energy levels up to becoming absolutely passionate about food, both cooking and eating.
It's quite wittily written and very easy to read. Some of it, such as when she is sailing to Europe, is in the form of a diary, others are more autobiographical prose. Scattered thoughout the book are various recipes that Daisy has cooked or had cooked for her, some of which are her favourites from other cookbooks (all noted in case you are inspired to investigate further) some that are cooked by family, friends or the various housekeepers that came and went as she was growing up.
The recipes range from simple dishes that she prepared from the various ingredients found in the galley of the boat she was sailing on as she tried to use ingredients before they went off, to more exotic dishes - all with anecdotes and instructions, even down to the kind of bowl you "must" have to make the chocolate souffle.
I haven't cooked anything from the book as yet, but I'm definitely going to keep it to hand.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Enjoyable Reading For Anyone Who Loves To Cook
Review: I really enjoyed reading this book. The author describes her journey to discovering her love of cooking starting from when she was on a boat, sailing across the Atlantic with four men and elected to do the cooking and her attempt to roast a chicken - something she had never done before. She describes her first cooking experiences and how over time, and perseverance, she learnt to love the art of cooking.
The book is filled with recipes, hints and tips that Daisy Garnett has discovered over the years. This book is a wonderful book to give to any food lover with a passion for cooking and experimenting in the kitchen. The style of the book is modest, with lots of lovely quirky illustrations, but not of unnecessarily artistic, but impossible to achieve presentation plates of food. The author writes passionately about food, but also writes about the practicalities of cooking and how every cook secretly also has a load of kitchen gadgets - some very expensive and unless and others that are used constantly.
The book gives you lots of ideas as well as recipes to try such as Lemon Pound Cake and Ham Cooked In Cola. The recipes are randomly scattered throughout the book and follows different themes throughout the book of family get-togethers, when the author lived in New York and London and when she was on the boat, however you can look up the recipes in the index. If you like books by Nigel Slater, this is a book worth reading.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A book of wisdom
Review: Yes - it has recipes in it. Yes - it's about food. But this is a book about so much more, interpreted through the medium of food.
It is full of Garnett's warmth and wisdom: the feelings that food gives us; the binding it makes between family and friends; the creative satisfaction of the cook; the joy of giving pleasure; and the obsessiveness that is close to the surface in most of us.
I probably won't do many of the recipes. They tend to be a bit overcomplicated for me, requiring special ingredients to be bought in, and I'm not that kind of cook. I'm more a kind of "grab what's there, throw it in a pan, and make something smashing quick" person. But I shall have great pleasure dipping into the lovely prose, as if it were a sort of winter broth, finding delicious gobbets.
The recipes look great though, and if you fancy experimenting with something more special than I do, will suit you well, no doubt.
In any case, you will like it if you like food and cooking - and especially if you feel stressed: it's a book of Zen-like calm.
Just one caveat - but it's almost a deal-breaker. If detail is so important (quite right - olive oil does NOT make good mayo), how come the book is so full of spelling mistakes?
Walter de la Mer was quite charming in its way, and Helmet Lang downright funny. But loose for lose (multiple offences), administer for minister, draft for draught, Province for Provence, fushiony for fusion-y, forteen and so forth just make Garnett look stupid - which she very clearly is not.
Shoot the editor! Shame that such a lovely lovely book has been short-changed in this way.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Unique way to feed both mind & body!
Review: It is a novel-styled recipe book. It has a wonderful collection of memoirs experienced by the author Daisy, which provide an insight into part of her life and how she established her relationship with food.
It is a kind of food diary, which one would love to maintain.
In addition to her experiences, the author has also shared some of her delicious and home-style recipes. No doubt these recipes appear simple and are worth trying. Also, the fact that every recipe is preceded by a small story makes the journey of reaching that recipe even more interesting.
All in all, it is definitely a fresh way of writing a cookbook.
Review Summary: Delicious
Review: Recipes are dotted around Daisy Garnett's varied experiences of life, food, friendship, and cooking and acknowledge eating's connections with life beyond the basic function of fuel: sustenance, joy, love, companionship, comfort, learning, living. The colourful Daisy's stories chart, I think, her growing up and parallel her gradual maturity in cooking. The recipes themselves and Garnett's matter-of-fact, this-is-what-I-found presentation (plus advice on equipment when relevant) invite the reader to have a go in the kitchen. What a difference from the tried-and-thrice-tested, list-dry format of the usual cookbooks -- though I wouldn't deny that each has its place in the cook's library.
The only disadvantage to this book is reading it on the train -- for it's the kind of book that will make you forget the drudgery of the daily commute, especially in these dark winter days -- and enjoying Daisy's adventures then coming to a recipe that immediately calls you to the kitchen. Just as you get to your stop for work! An enjoyable (cook)book.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A different kind of cookbook
Review: My shelves are full of cookbooks, but it's very rare that I read one from start to finish. Cooking Lessons is a bit different in that it is the story of Daisy Garnett's journey from thinking that food is just something to keep the energy levels up to becoming absolutely passionate about food, both cooking and eating.
It's quite wittily written and very easy to read. Some of it, such as when she is sailing to Europe, is in the form of a diary, others are more autobiographical prose. Scattered thoughout the book are various recipes that Daisy has cooked or had cooked for her, some of which are her favourites from other cookbooks (all noted in case you are inspired to investigate further) some that are cooked by family, friends or the various housekeepers that came and went as she was growing up.
The recipes range from simple dishes that she prepared from the various ingredients found in the galley of the boat she was sailing on as she tried to use ingredients before they went off, to more exotic dishes - all with anecdotes and instructions, even down to the kind of bowl you "must" have to make the chocolate souffle.
I haven't cooked anything from the book as yet, but I'm definitely going to keep it to hand.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Enjoyable Reading For Anyone Who Loves To Cook
Review: I really enjoyed reading this book. The author describes her journey to discovering her love of cooking starting from when she was on a boat, sailing across the Atlantic with four men and elected to do the cooking and her attempt to roast a chicken - something she had never done before. She describes her first cooking experiences and how over time, and perseverance, she learnt to love the art of cooking.
The book is filled with recipes, hints and tips that Daisy Garnett has discovered over the years. This book is a wonderful book to give to any food lover with a passion for cooking and experimenting in the kitchen. The style of the book is modest, with lots of lovely quirky illustrations, but not of unnecessarily artistic, but impossible to achieve presentation plates of food. The author writes passionately about food, but also writes about the practicalities of cooking and how every cook secretly also has a load of kitchen gadgets - some very expensive and unless and others that are used constantly.
The book gives you lots of ideas as well as recipes to try such as Lemon Pound Cake and Ham Cooked In Cola. The recipes are randomly scattered throughout the book and follows different themes throughout the book of family get-togethers, when the author lived in New York and London and when she was on the boat, however you can look up the recipes in the index. If you like books by Nigel Slater, this is a book worth reading.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A book of wisdom
Review: Yes - it has recipes in it. Yes - it's about food. But this is a book about so much more, interpreted through the medium of food.
It is full of Garnett's warmth and wisdom: the feelings that food gives us; the binding it makes between family and friends; the creative satisfaction of the cook; the joy of giving pleasure; and the obsessiveness that is close to the surface in most of us.
I probably won't do many of the recipes. They tend to be a bit overcomplicated for me, requiring special ingredients to be bought in, and I'm not that kind of cook. I'm more a kind of "grab what's there, throw it in a pan, and make something smashing quick" person. But I shall have great pleasure dipping into the lovely prose, as if it were a sort of winter broth, finding delicious gobbets.
The recipes look great though, and if you fancy experimenting with something more special than I do, will suit you well, no doubt.
In any case, you will like it if you like food and cooking - and especially if you feel stressed: it's a book of Zen-like calm.
Just one caveat - but it's almost a deal-breaker. If detail is so important (quite right - olive oil does NOT make good mayo), how come the book is so full of spelling mistakes?
Walter de la Mer was quite charming in its way, and Helmet Lang downright funny. But loose for lose (multiple offences), administer for minister, draft for draught, Province for Provence, fushiony for fusion-y, forteen and so forth just make Garnett look stupid - which she very clearly is not.
Shoot the editor! Shame that such a lovely lovely book has been short-changed in this way.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Unique way to feed both mind & body!
Review: It is a novel-styled recipe book. It has a wonderful collection of memoirs experienced by the author Daisy, which provide an insight into part of her life and how she established her relationship with food.
It is a kind of food diary, which one would love to maintain.
In addition to her experiences, the author has also shared some of her delicious and home-style recipes. No doubt these recipes appear simple and are worth trying. Also, the fact that every recipe is preceded by a small story makes the journey of reaching that recipe even more interesting.
All in all, it is definitely a fresh way of writing a cookbook.