What a great book!, 03 Apr 2008
I use this book all the time and several recipes have become staple meals in our house, try the cauliflower cheese soup - so easy but utterly delicious; or the baked cod on spring onion mash - real gastropub stuff but again so easy. And it's stuffed with little tips which influence your own cooking - I always do my roast potatoes a la Nick now! This book has really made me fall in love with cooking.
You don't have to be Scottish to enjoy this book!, 17 Apr 2005
This is a great cookery book with a real mix of recipes that will appeal to all palates. Although Nick Nairn emphasises the use of Scottish ingredients, I'm sure that virtually everything can be found in most UK supermarkets, so buy this book with confidence even if you live south of the border. Rest assured there is no mention of haggis - the Scottish things are all yummy stuff like salmon and raspberries.
The recipes are pretty straightforward - a good thing for me as I am not in any way an accomplished cook. My sons could not wait to help me make the chocolate tart.
Nick Nairn Scottish Cookery Book, 17 Nov 2004
I really love this book and use many of the tasty and easy to follow recipes. Most of my guests enjoy them too!!!
Loads of recipes, and not so stuck up anymore, 02 Jan 2003
This is a beautiful cookbook with lots of great recipes and mouth-watering pictures. The approach to cooking is simpler than in Nairn's earlier books, making it easier to follow for those of us who have to make do with a less than perfectly equipped kitchen.
The emphasis is on achieving great tasting meals with the use of fresh ingredients. Perfect for those of us brought up on mum's home cooking and wanting to keep the best of tradition and yet be a bit more adventurous when it comes to using spices and herbs.
Any Nick Nairn fan will enjoy this book.
The best Thai fishcakes ever!!, 08 May 2002
I've enjoyed all of Nairn's books and had to buy this when it came out. The recipes are much simpler than his previous books, but by no means less tasty. I have a collection of favourites that my family love- the really authentic tasting thai fish cakes and the salmon with peas lettuce and bacon are high on the list. Most don't need a recipe for scarmbled eggs and salmon, but you don't lose out- Nick's little anecdotes make it a good read too. Highly recommend it....
Salmon made exciting, 21 Mar 2002
This is an excellent book, the recipes are clearly layed out and easy to follow. The ideas are novel and don't just rely on tomato sauces. Ideal for anyone who wants ideas on how to jazz salmon up without destroying its delicate taste.
Great if you are looking for a change from Spag bol, 26 Oct 2008
Great and easy to follow.
I would say that this book is aimed at people who are at about my level.
i.e. Know your way around the kitchen but don't often have time to prepare fancy food and tend to leave it for special occasions. You can cook a few things but are just looking for some new ideas.
If you are an experienced cook and have several cook books and are at a stage where you can put things together yourself, you're happy swapping ingredients, you don't need to follow things step by step - and you have cooked a lot of chicken dishes already, then you might find that this book doesn't offer too much new inspiration for you. After all, take one chicken dish, swap two ingredients and you have a different chicken dish.
If, however, you just want some easy, tasty ideas as a change from your normal established meal then you will definately find something you like in here. Come home from work, want something quite quick to prepare and not too fussy, and enjoy the rest of your evening.
That's not to say the book is all about snacks. It caters for all types and the food would be suitable for any occasion. It's just that the majority of the dishes take less time to prepare than you might think.
Sauces, Salads, Soups, Starters, Snacks, Pan fried meals, Rice, pasta and noodle dishes, Casseroles and oven cooking. Something for everyone.
Comes up trumps again and again., 13 Oct 2006
This book is great. I never have enough time to take hours over cooking and it has some really yummy wholesome recipes - especially the sauteed stuff. I picked it up in a supermarket a few years back and despite having Ainsley, Jamie and Nigella also on my shelves, this is the one I use by far the most. I love the chicken with spinach & potato (so quick), paprika & red pepper (yummy), butternut squash & bacon...Just great and tasty. We just defrost chicken in the microwave and work from there. Brilliant for home cooking when you're late in from work (as usual) and really hungry.
Didn't think much of this, 06 Jan 2005
I love new recipe books. Usually I scan the book first of all, over a leisurely cup of coffee. I make a note of what to try - on average about 6 recipes jump out of the book at me.
I excitedly narrow my selection down to just one and then write my shopping list, dash off and prepare a (I hope) lovely meal that neither of us have tried before.
Well, with Nick Nairns's chicken book I could not sum up the enthusiasm to select anything. I suppose so many hundreds of chicken recipes have been produced over years that there really is nothing new. This is an uninspiring book and he is not a patch on Nigel Slater
Perfect for when you're stuck for ideas, 28 Jun 2004
I purchased this book to help me better plan my dinner parties, as so many of our friends only eat chicken, and I'm always stuck for ideas. I'm STILL stuck for ideas though, because the book is crammed with amazing dishes - from simple starters to hot, spicy dishes that I can't wait to try out.
Quick & Easy Dishes For Every Occasion!, 19 May 2004
It was my mum who first brought this book when it first came out, and as i am not at all he best of cooks, when i had to cook a meal, i asked if i could borrow this book, and believe me, it was a tremendus help, and really saved my bacon.
The book is split into eight chapters; Stocks & Sauces, Soups & Starters, Salads, Pasta Rice & Noodles, Sauteed & Pan Fried, Hot & Spicey, In The Oven, and finally Casseroles. Each chapter gives loads of great recipies which are suitable for any accasion, wether it be a dinner party, a roast dinner, or simply a family meal which you know everyone will love.
Probably the best thing about this book is the simplicity of all the one hundred recipies, which allows some of the world's worst cooks (me being one of them), to create a gormea dish, which will have peoples mouths watering.
All the recipies are set out in a simple, easy to understand way with each step numbered, so that if you are not used to cooking often, then there is no way that you can be confused. Also on the left hand side of each recipe it clearly lists the ingredients, the time it takes to prepare and how many people it serves in total, again, so there can be no confusion.
Overall a very good cooking book, which is definately suitable for people who are maybe not so good at cooking as other people. I can't say wether it would be good for experienced cooks, but its definately worth getting if only as a good quality reference book. Thanks Nick!
