All you need for a well stocked larder and what equipment you need is also laid out clearly by Ainsley, and the rest of the 192 page book goes through the various delights he loves to cook on a regular basis.
The close up photographs by Juliet Piddington and Craig Easton are outstanding, and to choose just a couple to highlight was quite difficult. The parma ham turkey roulades that take Ainsley only twenty minutes looks fantastic. All you do is wrap well seasoned turkey escalopes in a slice of parma ham and cook for about ten minutes. Serve with salad or pasta and sun dried tomato bread and you have a great looking dish. Another recipe that caught my eye was the chilli-lemon-splashed fish served with the incredibly trendy couscous that is sweeping London right now.
This is an excellent book that deserves to be and no doubt will be a big seller for the charismatic chef.
Most of the dishes included here not only sound delicious but certainly look it as well. If you are heavily into experimentation with Chinese food then this is the book for you. The marjority of the ingredients are available from your local supermarket, but if you are really serious about attempting a lot of these meals then all the information is at your fingertips.
Some of the standout dishes include Honey-soy-glazed Poussins, Bean curd satays and a Ginger vegetable stew with a herb glaze. The grilled pork chops with Chinese spices look good enough to steal. No doubt all of the recipes are exciting, but a few more inspirational photographs would have been a good idea.
Many of the cakes here are well known to most people, but a few are more interesting than others. The Iced Apricot Fruit Loaf and the famous Battenburg Cake recipes are ones that spring immediately to mind.
Berry includes a section on children's favourites, as well as some useful ingredient and equipment information at the front of the book. This is a handy little book for those too lazy to file away recipe cards, and should keep you busy for hours in the coming months.
I liked the look of the Roast Leg of Lamb with Garlic and Rosemary baked in foil, an idea Nairn picked up from top gamekeeper Ronnie Rose whilst filming the Wild Harvest television show. Couscous pops up everywhere these days, and Nairn's North African Couscous with Roast Vegetables will be tested by yours truly immediately.
Anyone who has ever messed up a main course will want to read his introduction quite carefully where he stresses the importance of planning, the use of fresh ingredients and the usefulness of rehearsing a dish before trying it out on friends or family.
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