Customer Reviews

Cook with Jamie: My Guide to Making You a Better Cook

5 star:		(53)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I bought this book as a last minute Christmas/Birthday book for my boyfriend. I saw it in the store, and knew we'd enjoyed the Bruchetta we'd made from his Italian book, so I figured why not - it was a "good enough" gift.

Initially the idea behind the purchase was that maybe my boyfriend, who works on contract and is thus frequently by himself and/or always eating out, might enjoy some simple meals at home and maybe pick up some new techniques/ideas.

However, as of yet, this cookbook has not left my house, and invariably every weekend we find ourselves headed out to the market to buy local ingredients to try something new.

First off, he's French, and obviously eats meat - and he even remarked how much he's learned from the quick guides at the beginning of each section on choosing meats and preparing them.

But what really potentially "shocked" me the most, were the vegetable dishes we've tried in this book. I have been a vegetarian for 10+ years, and I have a wealth of cooking implements and cookbooks. I expected, you know, "ok" dishes, and yet every time I have been blown away by what we've cooked - every recipe thus far has become a favourite - and must repeat.

The Tomato Salad, for instance, good god. To think I've only eaten vegetables all this time and never tasted a tomato like that. The Honeycomb Canneloni - blew my mind. I honestly snuck back into the kitchen later to eat the leftovers.

This book turned out not to be a last minute Christmas gift, but potentially the most used gift I have ever given. We've had such a blast cooking with this every weekend, and the recipes always deliver and are creatable by somewhat novices :).

Absolutely ecstatic I bought this :).

I just love to watch Jamie on his BBC program, and this is the first of Jamie's books that I've purchased. (I'd now like to order one more of his famous books).

Anyhow, what I simply love about this particular cookbook are all of Jamie's wonderful HINTS and GOOD INFORMATION that Jamie lays out for the reader at the very beginning of each Chapter and also within each sub-category.

Because I've seen Jamie on TV so many times, I am very familiar with his (rather cute) lingo, such as "dollop" and "knob",for example. His lingo does not turn me off,as some have stated, but rather, I like his way of speaking because it makes Jamie seem more REAL to me! .....And because Jamie projects such an approachable personality, the readers (and TV viewers) are, of course, instantly drawn to him and his cooking style.

YES, there is a photo of every single recipe, and YES, that is a good thing!....As another commentator stated, "there is alot to be said for photos of every recipe".

Some of the recipes would be hard for a beginner to duplicate , or even to comprehend. For example, "The Squash Sage and Amaretti Risotto" would be a difficult recipe for a beginner cook to visualize. Yes, the photos are tantilizing, however, some of the combinations may be hard to phathom (from a novice cook's perspective). Another example is the "Squid with Black Pudding stuffing and sticky tomato sauce" (hum???), or the "Perfectly Cooked Crispy Duck with Spiced Plum Chutney". Would a beginner "get it" or be turned off? (Just something for beginners to keep in mind).

However, if a reader of this book has seen Jamie actually cook on TV and has seen how his chosen flavors can actually "work", then MOST of the recipes in this book are very doable,FUN,and exciting! These are some of my favorites:

~~Summertime Tagliarini , p. 68
~~The best Onion Gratin, p. 333
~~Must-Try Red Cabbage, p. 358
~~Overnight SLOW Roasted Pork, p. 174
~~Rib Roast, p. 154
~~White Fish, p. 222
~~Black Cod, p. 226
~~Lemon Drizzle Cake, p.383
~~Easy Shortbread, p. 412
~~Schnitzels, p. 182
~~Baked Ham Shanks, p.162

`Cook with Jamie, My Guide to Making You a Better Cook' by the British culinary wunderkind, Jamie Oliver, is a long drink of cool water for fans of Oliver, and a joy to read for any dedicated foodie, who enjoys reading cookbooks. It is a special treat to read two manuals on `how to cook' in the same month from such distinguished practitioners such as Oliver and Alice Waters.
At 447 pages, plus fabric bookmark sewn into the spine, this is obviously a serious book, especially since it lacks some of the graphical razzle dazzle and cutie pictures which have cluttered some of Oliver's books in the past. As Jamie himself says, this almost seems like it should be his first book instead of his seventh. Oliver even goes so far as to hope he has created `a timeless, modern-day classic' manual on how to cook.
The book has much which would qualify it for consideration as a `timeless classic'. Unfortunately, the bar for `timeless culinary classics' is pretty high, set, among others, by Oliver's compatriots, Elizabeth David, Jane Grigson, Claudia Roden, and Nigel Slater. So, while I don't believe it achieves those Olympian goals, it is still a very, very good cookbook, especially for younger readers and students.
The thing which sets Oliver apart from practically everyone else who chants the `fresh, seasonal, organic, local' mantra is that Oliver is committed to these principals in his heart and soul. He is not just repeating a party line. And, that commitment jumps off of almost every page in this book. This and his overall `joie de vivre' are simply infectious, and they bring his cookbooks alive with enthusiasm. Like many of his other books, especially `jamie's Italy' and `jamie's kitchen', one is almost surprised at how many original culinary insights one encounters on his pages. Given the pedagogical objectives of this book, they are more common (and certainly more highly expected) in this book than in his others.
My five favorite sections in this book are:
The Salads chapter. I would line this up with the comparable chapter from salad specialist, Alice Waters in `The Art of Simple Food', and I believe Jamie would match her point for point. Oliver and Waters both arrive at roughly the same place, but Oliver has the skill of getting points across just a bit more dramatically than Miss Alice.
The Fresh Egg Pasta section. Oliver here does things which are missing from even the best pasta instructions from Marcella Hazan. Hazan may demonstrate the basic technique more effectively, but Oliver gives excellent pictorial instructions on making six (6) classic fresh pasta shapes.
The Selection of Dried Pasta Recipes. This, of course, is Oliver's real forte. With his apprenticeships with Gennaro Contaldo and London's River Café, I believe his selection of pasta dishes is second to none in tastiness and originality.
The Diagrams on Cuts of Meat. Almost all other diagrams of this sort you see are more complicated, and the diagram of the chicken cuts is a bit misleading, but the simplicity of the hoofed animal parts is remarkably illuminating, especially in the way the loins are depicted.
The Vegetables Chapter. Oliver rhapsodizes about vegetables with as much or more virtuosity he applies to salad greens. Sir Jamie cleverly concentrates his attentions on those vegetables which are most familiar to UK, Irish, Aussie, and American tastes, with several different recipes for potatoes; carrots; peas; leeks and onions; broccoli and cauliflower; cabbage and zucchini.
I must also give honorable mention to the sections on custards and meringues in the chapter on desserts. The chapters on pasta, vegetables, and salads alone are worth the price of this book. Everything else is pure gravy.
For those of us who have not seen Sir Jamie since his `Jamie's Kitchen' TV series, the introduction brings us up to date on his `Fifteen' project where he subsidizes the culinary educations for deserving teens who have had something of a tough time of it in the world. There are now five `Fifteen' restaurant / apprentice shops, with three in the UK, one in Amsterdam, and one in Australia, and all the profits from this book will go to support that endeavor.
While I love the book, overall, it is not quite the great tutorial on how to cook that Jamie may have been aiming for. It has great insights, fine sections on choosing equipment, food safety, and herbs and spices, but it simply does not cover everything you would expect in a textbook. The treatment of pastry, breads, shellfish, soups and stocks and egg dishes is too light. There is very little on serious knife skills, and there is no bibliography. If I were to recommend a single culinary manual to an earnest, inexperienced amateur, I would suggest Waters' `The Art of Simple Food' unless the person had a serious Jones for Italian cuisine or they were in high school or middle school.
But that does not mean this is not a dandy book. More than any of Jamie's earlier efforts, this one really deserves your attention if you love food, and especially if you teach younger people about food. Aside from its snappy insights, the rich photographs are more likely to appeal to an inexperienced cook. The only thing which may be lost on a newbie is the great originality of so many of Oliver's dishes, many of which were developed in the `Fifteen' kitchens. For this virtue, the book stands as a great cookbook in itself, even if you ignored the pedagogical material.
My final word on Jamie's book is that unlike most writers, Jamie can evoke in the reader with his enthusiasm those special flavors and sensations so important to working with food. He does not have the literary elegance or encyclopedic range of Elizabeth David, but he certainly gives Nigel Slater and Nigella Lawson a run for their money as a pretender to David's throne.

I fell in love with Jamie Oliver during reruns of his show on Food Network. He's the everyday guy who gives back - and seems to really know how to cook casually. So, I probably would have rated this book higher (particularly since the proceeds go to such a good cause), but for two things:

1) I bought Tom Colichio's Think Like a Chef at the same time

2) There is a big difference in how europeans cook - or at least, how Jamie cooks that will probably mske his book less appealing to aspiring American cooks than other book options (not that it doesn't have appealing ideas)


Here's my best example (from a veggie, fish lover): Both Colechio's book and Oliver's have a very similar recipe: Basically - Salmon cooked in sea-salt. Jamie's has a whole fish, eyes and all (and recommends not cutting the fish). Tom's uses a salmon filet. Jamie talks about how to buy the best fish and types of fish, Tom talks about basic techniques you can build upon to create great dishes. I prefer Tom's "no eyes" on my fish and shrimp approach.

Both books are laden with colorful pictures of the finished dish, and step-by-step instructions... Oliver's is filled with dishes that don't look particularly appealing. (Could be all those whole fish - and seemingly over-cooked veggies). Tom's is filled with "starter" recipes you build upon - that look scrumptious. (Pan roasted mushrooms - YUM!)

For REAL cooks (I'm a novice's novice) this may be fine. Some of the basic instructions on herbs, creating a salad, diagrams of meat cuts, what equipment you need for your kitchen and Jamie's unpretentious style - still make Oliver'sa worthy choice for a novice chef. Other, more ambitious illustrated topics, like how to deal with a squid, make other starter books a better choice for true amateurs.

BOTTOM LINE: If you're looking to learn cooking - this has some good insights - but you may be turned off by the European flavor of receipes. Between the two books, for a foodie amateur chef, Colichio's is a better choice. Or --- just grab both for a whole education.

I just bought this book over the weekend on a whim. Holy moly - out of the 40 or so cookbooks I own, this is the first that I have decided that I *must* cook every single recipe within, a la Julie and Julia. This is a great reference manual (not for the absolute-beginner cook, however), but the recipes contained within promise excellent meals, and probably a 75 pound weight gain over the next year.


UPDATE: So a few years later, I'll admit, I never cook from this book. None of the recipes really worked that well - and to echo some other reviews, were labor intensive without being very good at all. It is a pretty good reference book, but I definitely prefer cook's illustrated/ATK books. But it *is* a pretty book to look at.

Regarding the comment on this review? Uh, the 75 pound weight gain remark was a bit of hyperbole in order to emphasize how enjoyable I thought the recipes would prove. Weird.

Jamie hits the nail on the head when he says he is worried about the state of mass food production. The amount of toxins we put into our bodies due to eating fast and over processed food is staggering. Oliver wants us to keep personal cooking traditions alive and purchasing this book is a step in the right direction. His never pretentious approach to the kitchen makes everything seem simple and relaxed. Recipes like Honeycomb Cannelloni, Fifteen Chocolate Brownies and Pork Chops with Apple and Sage are inventive without demanding ridiculous ingredients. A fantastic addition to any kitchen library!

It sounds ridiculous, but there's really something to be said for a picture on every page. The recipes in this book are for simple, un-intimidating, beautiful food. Everything we've made so far has been delicious.

My son Chris really likes to cook. He's very precise when he tries a recipe, so it is always guaranteed to turn out exact. He is a big fan of Jamie Oliver, having met him when he was here in Seattle a couple years ago. He saw this latest book while at the mall Christmas shopping. He came home raving about it, which of course gave me the idea to get it for him for Christmas. Chris and Jamie chatted about one of Jamie's recipes that my son made out of a previous cookbook of his. Jamie was intrigued by my son, who was 17 years old at the time. I remember Jamie asking him how old he was; he seems to have a soft spot for the younger generation, particularly the ones interested in cooking. This latest book breaks it down so simply, which my son is excited about. Good eating doesn't have to be complicated. The more we learn about basic cooking and eating, as Jamies's latest book breaks down for you, the more we can enjoy quality food without breaking the bank! I think as a society, we can be lazy about cooking, myself included. There seems to be no time after work to cook a quality meal. This book explains step by step how by having a few basic ingredients stocked in your home, you can turn out a quality meal in no time. Highly suggest this book.

I had a dinner party a couple of nights ago & cooked 3 recipes from this book, & it was fabulous! Jamie is really genuine in his love of food & writes so passionately about it. His simple, friendly (not too 'chef-fy') tone makes his book a pleasure to have & read.

I have to admit, I resisted Jamie Oliver's charms vigorously over the years, but after watching his Food Revolution show where he attempts to upgrade the British School versions of school lunches in both nutrition and flavor, I came to realize that he is one celebrity chef who really cares about food. I find myself thinking like him, or how I believe he thinks with regard to every aspect of my meals and how they came about. For instance, do I want a sandwich made with Wonder Bread, or, would I prefer to make my sandwich with the wide variety of freshly baked loaves from a local bakery where, not only do they provide better taste and nutrition, they are not made with additives and preservatives that make bread last for two weeks? I choose the latter. So....I bought this book, and I have to say that I have enjoyed it. Though, as of now, I have only actually made two recipes in this book, both have turned out very well. For years, I avoided making steaks at home, until recently when I tried Jamie's version of prime rib steak with rosemary potatoes. Afterwards, I felt like I had eaten at a 5-star restaurant! It was a lovely meal and was all the more satisfying to know that I had prepared it myself. A televised review of this book gave him credit for having a picture of every recipe inside and I suppose that helps folks to visualize the end results, but, for me it is helpful but not necessary. I have also made his shortbread recipe and that turned out quite good as well. Jamie's european background sometimes takes some getting used to from the standpoint of a North American-some of the terminology and names of items must be translated, but, all-in-all, this is an excellent book for both reference and recipes. Lastly, I have to say that there is something about the British sense of humor, or, humour, that comes across vividly in Jamie Oliver's shows and cookbooks that I love dearly.