161 of 161 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Reading reviews does work, 7 Sep 2005
This review is from: Real Fast Food: 350 Recipes Ready-to-Eat in 30 Minutes (Paperback)
I have always been a good and enthusiastic cook and while I had the luxury of time (read before kids) I would happily spend 2 hours making lasagne or something similar. Now with a family to feed, entertain and maintain, there just is neither the time or the inclination to indulge in long complicated menus.
To find a bit of inspiration for fast but still really good food I was hunting through Amazon. I bought this book on the strength of the reviews and were not disappointed. The book contains a wealth of great recipes and none take long to make and none are particularly compliated (read not too many fancy ingredients). Yet nowhere is taste sacrificed. Really really tasty food.
The book is organised in useful sections, making it easy to flick through and find something suitable for what you have to hand. There are recipes suitable for lunches, snacks, and both light and more substantial dinners. Very user friendly. The writing is as approachable as the recipes.
A must have for anyone who loves food but do not have the time for overelaborate recipes.
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166 of 167 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great book for foodies that are always in a hurry, 13 Jun 2007
If you're tired after work or constatly pressed for time but you enjoy good food buy Nigel Slater's book. His recipes are simple and wonderful and you hardly need any cooking experience to achieve good results. Even if these recipes take a little more time to prepare than 30 minutes (it's usually closer to 45 minutes) they're still worth trying. Recipes are divided into particular ingredients which makes it all the easier to use this book. Recipes are followed by 10 or more other ideas you can put to practice using a particular ingredient.
What I also find invaluable is the section dedicated to what ingredients you should always keep handy in your cupboard to be able to prepare a simple dish after a hectic day at work.
His wonderful recipes include delicious chicken with oranges and black olives (ready in exactly 30 minutes), pasta with olive oil and fresh thyme (simple, fast and yet wonderful) and new potato saute with walnut oil.
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460 of 465 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Delia - eat yer heart out. Nigel's where it's at., 7 Feb 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: Real Fast Food: 350 Recipes Ready-to-Eat in 30 Minutes (Paperback)
I was introduced to this book by a friend back in the mid-90s. Since then, it's become my food bible, and I've shared it with my family & have impressed many a friend who's popped in for a mid-week supper. And, like several of the other reviewers, my copy is like the Velveteen Rabbit: pages are stained, stick together, falling apart, and the more it becomes like this, the more loved it is. It is, quite simply, the best cookbook around. It's certainly the only book that we refer to by name: "what does Nigel suggest?" being a common refrain in our kitchen.
Why is this book so perfect?
Well, for one thing, it's fast and nutritious: we work long hours & don't have the time or energy to slave in the kitchen for 2 hours when we get home (I love Delia but that's the problem with her recipes). And as the alternative is a) eating out, b) pulling something out of the freezer, c) pasta (again), or d) hummus & ryvita, this book often proves to be our Monday-Thursday evening road-map. And even when it is pasta again, Nigel has the best suggestions for fast & interesting sauces/toppings.
Second: Nigel's philosophy of cooking is very similar to mine: I make things up based on what's in the fridge anyway. The thing I like about this book is that Nigel's been doing that for longer than me: he has more suggestions, and some really interesting ones. I'm sure he's made mistakes, but they aren't listed in the book, so I can learn from them without making them myself. Nice.
Third: Nigel's a foodie but not a snob. I love the fact that he tells you to eat the very best of things: chocolate with 75% cocoa solids, greek yoghurt etc, but he also includes chip butties. And which of us doesn't secretly want a chip butty occasionally?
Fourth: Nigel's realistic. His recipes are for 1-2 and he says that this is because it's how most of us live now. He's right. (Delia: again, take note: we're not all families with 3 kids looking to roast beef). Much easier to follow his portion amounts (tho' I've made his risotto for years & still think his amounts for 2 would feed a family of 5).
Finally: I have some of Nigel's other books, but frankly, I'm a little worried that he's following the Nigella-Jamie "Glamour Cookbook" trend with his most recent offerings. Yes, they're gorgeous, and yes, he needed to do something different. But their complexity is a little more intimidating (as is the time needed for preparation), and they don't just prop up on the kettle as easily when I need to follow a recipe while opening the post, answering the phone & making supper in 25 minutes.
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