Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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271 of 312 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Same title, brought up to date, after 37 years......, 28 Feb 2008
....'How to Cheat at Cooking', if you simply haven't got the time or maybe haven't got the experience and/or confidence.
From the introduction:-
'....What is included in these pages is not going to win you any Michelin stars, but if you are afraid to cook or you're a very busy person, it will - at least some of the time - revolutionise your life. Interested? Read on.'
Durable plastic cover opens to:-
256 high quality shiny pages, with 140 recipes split over 12 main chapters:-
(1) who peels the potatoes?: anyone but you
(2) capers in the larder: not the naughty sort
(3) laid-back lunches: lighter stuff
(4) cool!: as in summer
(5) uncool: what mums used to make
(6) chicken on the run: real quick
(7) Asian express: Oriental gravy training
(8) lazy braising: duvet days
(9) veggie?: so now you tell me!
(10) pronto Italiano: bye bye pizza take-aways
(11) such a tart!: tricks and treats
(12) sweet cheats: ending on a high
sandwiched between an introduction, a list of all the recipes, sections entitled:-
'a new way to shop'
'hidden servants'
'life from the freezer', the 'top cheats' lists, stockists (including phone numbers and website addresses) and a full alphabetical index.
Each recipe has its title and opens with some relevant text written in typical 'Delia' fashion, followed by the list of ingredients and a clearly defined method. Any notes or variations are included, along with the number of servings.
Recipes include:-
luxury seafood pie
Mediterranean fish stew
Black Forest ham & lentil soup
eggs Benedict
pamboli
asparagus with no-panic Hollandaise
my mum's macaroni cheese
steak and kidney easy
amazing moussaka
memories of goulash
banana bread pudding with toffee sauce
Caribbean chicken with salsa
dhal curry
Asian steak sandwiches
Sicilian sausages with tomatoes & fennel
boeuf Bourguignon easy
cauliflower cheese and broccoli soup
lightning lasagne
wild mushroom risotto
classic quiche Lorraine
American coconut cream pie
chocolate cupcakes
5-minute panna cotta with fresh raspberries
cheat's Eton mess
rhubarb & ginger beer jellies
The 2-page spread of 'top cheats' at the back of the new publication is a compilation of Delia's 'personal favourites' and these equate to 'basics' and are split into three lists:-
Storecupboard
Fridge
Freezer
These lists cover most of the major 'supermarkets' and some named brands.....but I am sure that any equivalent size would be suitable in the recipe.
It would be fair criticism, I think, to worry about how up-to-date the latter pages will remain over time, in respect of the smaller businesses.
Another possible criticism is that, although there is colour photography throughout, there are relatively few of the finished dishes which might be negative to those of us less experienced cooks who like to see what we are aiming for on the plate!
In my opinion, this cookery book is aimed at those of us who want to cut a few corners, but still want to achieve a good result. Delia has added a new dimension to this updated publication by sourcing what she feels is the best 'short-cut products'...... but, I think, it would be safe to say that these should be taken as guidelines only. Therefore, if a can of M&S tinned minced lamb is on the recipe list and an M&S food-hall is not just down the road, the same size of another brand will be just as good...or fresh minced lamb... or a piece of lamb, freshly minced........whatever you like best and whatever suits your budget.
I guess it all comes down to what one thinks is 'cheating' at cooking, and most cooks do it from time to time, I would imagine?
Personally, I am presently guilty of owning a bottle of 'Garlic Infused Olive Oil'.....just in case! Without trying to sound like Peter Kay and his 'Garlic Bread' reference, I am sure that there will be those out there who think that it is criminal not to have a bottle of extra virgin oil and a clove or two of garlic to hand, all the time?
I would certainly recommend the KENWOOD Mini Chopper, which Delia uses in her recipes.
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52 of 60 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Came upon it by accident, 28 April 2008
I came upon this book after reading two other books which led me to the genre: "The Kitchen Diaries" by Nigel Slater, and the hilarious take-off on cookbooks called "Barring Some Unforeseen Accident" which actually has a cookbook in it, just probably not anything you're going to want to make.
Delia Smith's DELIA'S HOW TO CHEAT AT COOKING hit the spot for me mainly because my life is always a mess and I need quick and easy ways to make things--foods that are different from the same things i've been eating for years.
Granted, there's been a bit of hoopla about the ingredients she suggests, but I've had no problem finding them or thinnking they're unhealthy. Delia doesn't profess this to be a "gourmet" experience, so if you're looking for that, go elsewhere. It is what it is---a book for people who want to cheat at cooking, hence the "tinned" lamb. If you had the time or wanted gourmet cooking, you wouldn't be buying this book anyway! Basically, I enjoyed trying out 95 percent of what's here. But then, I've never gotten a cookbook where I've wanted to make every single dish.
I'd highly recommend this along with FRUGAL FOOD.
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222 of 267 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
So much outrage!, 9 Mar 2008
Deary me. Delia's latest really has upset a lot of people, hasn't it? The howls about tinned mince, the wails about frozen mashed potato, the gnashing of teeth at the thought that Delia might have 'sold out'. But the thing that no-one is mentioning is what the food is like. Check the ingredients on the items that Delia recommends and they're not full of hydrogenated fats or preservatives; they're good quality well-made versions of stuff you could make yourself *if you had time*. And the clue's in the title--this isn't a book about cooking, it's a book about /cheating/ at cooking. Would everyone have been happier if it has been titled "cooking by standing on the shoulders of giants"? She's quite clear that cooking conventionally is best, but let's be practical, people: we don't always have the time or the inclination to cook, and in those circumstances we all rely on pre-prepared food. How many of those who wrote negative reviews would think nothing of using dried pasta? Don't they know they should be making it from scratch?! And that's what all the noise is about really--much to a lot of people's annoyance, Delia has pointed out that these days there are pre-prepared ingredients out there that are at least as good as you could make yourself, and that if you cook with them you'll get perfectly acceptable results without having to slave in the kitchen for hours. That's her crime, not the food. Prove it to yourself: get the book, make the shepherd's pie with it's M&S tinned lamb mince and Aunt Bessie's frozen mash, then tell me that she's wrong.
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