Customer Reviews

Home Cooking Made Easy

5 star:		(166)
4 star:		(35)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Having purchased Lorraine Pascal's previous book Baking Made Easy I was keen to try this one. This is even better thanks to the inclusion of more pictures.

The recipes are inventive and varied, it is lovely to try different flavours without having to give up because the ingredients aren't readily available. The book follows the logical order of:
Starters,Soups,Canapes & Snacks
Breads
Mains
Vegetables & Vegetarian
Deserts
Cakes & Cookies
Sweets, Jams & Other Good Stuff
all with pictures and full fool-proof instructions. I have already tried the Bacon & Mature Chedder Cheese twisties along with the Paprika baked sweet potato wedges with honey-glazed bacon & herby creme fraiche. Both were absolutely delicious and disappeared extremely quickly. There are many recipes that appeal to me so I'm sure this book will be as well used and enjoyed as her previous one.

I haven't cooked much from this book yet - the recipes I have done have been fine, BUT I'm not sure whether an editor has been anywhere near this book. One recipe calls for the oven to be preheated, but it's never actually used in the recipe. Another asks you to fry some potatoes and set them aside, but they are never added to the final dish. And those are just the ones I've noticed so far. Perhaps watching the series was essential to understanding the book. I don't doubt the ability of the chef, but the book is not brilliantly put-together, meaning you have to guess a few of the steps. Personally, as a disliker-of-pears, I find there are far too many recipes which contain pears.

Generally I love amost of the recipes I have tried in Lorraine's book. It's great to have been inspired by many recipes and her natural enthusiasm (sometimes I have been inspired to the point of obsession!)
With Christmas coming, I've been impressed with a few turn outs that an pass off as special presents, presented in jars etc- the marshmallow fudge (foolproof) is a must!!
However, why I feel I cannot honour it 5/5, the book has frustrated me from time to time with some of the vague instructions- one example comes to mind, "bake until smell cooked," which isn't exactly useful, alongside an approx cooking time.
Hopefully my feedback will help perfect Lorraine's future books, which I still look forward to buying!

I bought this book as soon as I heard about it as I bought Lorraine's previous book Baking Made Easy and this one is just as good. The recipes are easy and simple to follow - the photographs stunning - making me want to try each recipe as I turn the pages over. Was not sure if the 21st Century Bread would work without yeast but I was not disappointed - it was lovely. If like me you are a simple cook - liking uncomplicated recipes - then this is the book for you

I am twelve years old and Lorraine Pascale is the chef that I first got interested in cooking from her 'Baking Made Easy' book, I started out baking and then I started cooking every Friday after school for dinner. I loved her 'Baking Made Easy' and I was incredibly excited when 'Home Cooking Made Easy' came out and have been very successful with it, the chocolate fudge has become my friend's favourite and I recently made it for them as xmas pressies - they LOVED it. Being a inexperienced cook this book is perfect for me as it is very detailed and clear, e.g. cook the onions on a medium heat. For me this book is so much better than the others, as it has a chapter on main dishes and as I am cooking them all the time I now have plenty to choose from. She is a clever and imaginitive chef and I believe anyone would be blessed to have this book.

I have read some other book reviews and have been disappointed that some customers are unsatisfied with this book, so for those that are unsure after reading the mixed reviews, I say give this book a go as there are plenty of recipes and you are guaranteed to like at least 10 recipes (If I'm wrong - don't blame me)

In my eyes, she is an absolute legend and I love the TV series. My only complaint would be that on a few recipes she used shop brought ingredients, e.g Winter Swiss Roll Bowl Cake is made with SHOP BROUGHT chocolate swiss rolls and SHOP BROUGHT ice cream which I think is more assembeling something rather than making. However, that is only on a few recipes and the others are wonderfully created.

Enjoy!

Very excited to receive my copy of Lorraine's new book on Saturday. Knowing how impressive and easy to follow the recipes were in the first book, I picked a few recipes from the new book to make that evening when having people over for dinner. I made the "creamy pancetta pasta with mushroom and parmesan" with a rocket salad and "my big fat tipsy trifle" for dessert. They were both so easy to make and they looked amazing! Usually when I am cooking for a few people, I really stress myself out but the the recipes are so easy to follow - all of the ingrediants were easily found in my local supermarket and Lorraine describes how to do each step very simply, yet still the finished products look so complicated and skilfully made. My mates were very impressed - ha! Lorraine is my secret weapon!

Well done Lorraine! Had pre-orded this book before it was released and it wasn't a disappointment. Very straight forward, without any fuss like some of the TV chefs.
Book is divided into sections - starters, breads, mains,desserts etc. and in this book Lorraine presents more savoury recipes than in the first one. Have tried some recipes already, everyone loved them.
Although some recipes require some skills e.g. in the chocolate cheesecake recipe base with the filling cannot be too cold in order to keep chocolate topping at the right temperature for feathering, otherwise it may start to set instantly ), all together the book is spot on and cannot wait to crack on with other recipes!

The reason this book and Lorraine is so good, is that she concentrates on fairly simple food, without many long complicated processes, which makes it an ideal gift for somebody setting up home for the first time. It is not an intimidating cookery book, with ingredients you have never heard of, and complicated involved instructions. The author has designed the book so after flicking through, there are so many things which make you think 'Ooh that looks easier than I thought!'

I have tried a number of the recipes, and have been really happy with all of the results, and the clear explanations. It is true however, that some things are left up to you to decide when it is cooked. Perhaps slightly more specific instructions on what to look out for might have been helpful.

The only slight downside, is that the author does seem to be slightly obsessed with certain ingredients, which then appear an incredible number of times. Pears, Parmesan and Prosciutto all tend to feature rather heavily. Whether this is a negative or positive depends on your individual taste I suppose.

Appearance of course, is not as important as contents, but it is worth mentioning that the book looks and feels nice with good quality paper. The book also compliments the matching 'Home Baking' book from Lorraine nicely too.

I bought this as a present for my sister, and she loves it! After flicking through it, I liked it so much I purchased a second for myself.

Some really imaganative interesting and tasty recipies described in this book but I found most of them a bit too challenging for a novice like me, so I don't quite agree with the "made easy" part. I think Lorraine tries her best to make it sound easy but assumes that the reader is quite an accomplished cook already (some of the basic steps not explained at all). Having said that its a good book, worth the money and got some great personalised recipies that you won't find anywhere else. I particularly liked the "my dad's really very good lasagna" Excellent!

Having watched the TV show, we found that the recipes revealed some details omitted from the programme. Fascinating and mouth-watering recipes, and we're looking forward to working our way through them.