Customer Reviews

Nigella Express: 130 Recipes for Good Food, Fast

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I couldn't wait. I was in London right after Nigella Lawson's newest cookbook was published, so I bought my copy immediately. The only real difference between the UK and American edition, I'm sure, is the measurements (grams versus ounces, etc.) so you get the benefit of the fact I've been cooking from this book for the last several weeks.

This new cookbook, which accompanies Nigella's new series on the FoodTV network (at a really dreadful, inconvenient hour on Sunday), follows in the now-popular "make a decent sit-down dinner in half an hour" theme. Unlike Rachel Ray (to whom I have no objections, but also no particular tropism), Nigella's idea of "in half an hour" is not necessarily in consecutive minutes. That is, if something takes a short time in the kitchen, but bakes for an hour, it's fair game. That works just fine for me -- I telecommute full time, so slow-cooked fast food is compatible with my lifestyle -- but those who rush to the store on the way home from the office and still have a desire to get dinner on the table by 7pm may sometimes be a teensy bit disappointed.

That might, however, be the only real disappointment in this rather exhaustive set of recipes. Because, based on the handful of things I've cooked from this book so far (and a careful reading of the rest of the book), these are just darned good meals. They aren't the special dishes she included in Feast: Food to Celebrate Life -- for holidays when spending all afternoon in the kitchen is part of the pleasure of the meal -- and they take a lot of shortcuts that Nigella admits freely *are* shortcuts. But they're far better than a takeaway meal, and it's good food, fast. (Duh.)

Everything is organized in meals or moods rather than subjects. That is, there's no chapter for appetizers, another for desserts, etc. It works well given the theme of the book -- who has time to construct a whole menu during the week? -- and also because she can tell you that, while the meat is underway, turn your attention to the vegetables. So "quick food slow" collects recipes that can be prepared ahead to save time later; "instant calmer" offers super-fast soul food; "get up and go" is for breakfast at breakneck speed.

So far, as I said, I've made a few things. Orange French toast is pretty simple -- your basic French toast, but with a syrup made with orange marmalade and juice -- but made a special brunch for visiting family. Her prawn and mango curry uses stuff that I mostly have in the house, such as frozen shrimp, a can of coconut milk, cilantro and bottled red curry paste. With some mango, lime juice, and butternut and sweet potato cubes (apparently available in pre-made packets in the UK, though I've never seen such things here)... in about half an hour we had a great dinner. Truly excellent. Her "sausages with sauerkraut" is a much simplified choucroute garnie and... well, that one was okay. It might have been excellent if I had made the trip to the German grocery for better sausages... or maybe some things shouldn't be simplified *too* much.

There's plenty more here to try: chicken in Riesling (looks like under an hour to the table, with half that in chicken-simmer time), Swedish salmon (with dill and mustard, served with a cucumber salad and potato salad). She has lots of quickly-prepared desserts too, but since I generally shy away from refined sugar I don't pay that much attention to them; nothing personal, Nigella.

Great cookbook. Recommended.

I love Nigella Lawson's recipe books. She writes so well that the books are a pleasure to read as well as being a good source of recipes. She always makes everything sound so delicious that you can't wait to try it. The photography in this book is also excellent and every recipe is illustrated.

The theme for this book is good food fast. The "fast" is somewhat loose (I can't see how her version of coq au vin could be turned around in less than an hour, which rules it out as an after work option in our household). Besides evening meals there are breakfast options, party foods and (as always with Nigella's books) plenty of cakes and sweet things. If you try to follow a low fat diet, this is probably not the cookbook for you. Her instructions are easy to follow and she suggests substitutions for hard to find ingredients.

We have tried and enjoyed the mustard pork chops (though I prefer pasta as an accompaniment rather than the potato gnocchi that she suggests), the mirin glazed salmon (though I already had similar recipes that were similar and equally good) and the quick calamari. They were all very simple to prepare and went down well with the family. I had less success with the croque monsieur bake which emerged burnt at the edges (although that could possibly be the fault of my oven). And while the chocolate peanut butter fudge sauce went down well with my children, it was too sickly sweet for my and my husband's tastebuds.

Overall a beautiful recipe book which I'm happy to add to the collection. I'm sure it will get a good workout over the pre-Christmas period.

I was actually surprised that Nigella came out with this new cooking concept, making her favorites with short cuts, suddenly being impatient and saving time while still having parties and cooking dinners ever night for her family. Honestly I never found her recipes hard, I enjoyed making everything the proper way but I have to say its fun to find way to cheat I guess, making mousses without all the fancy work, creams and cakes and stews with minimal effort, without hours of baking and slow cooking, using less ingredients ( saves tons of money) and still eating something tasty.

Basically this book is filled with recipes one can make for any occasion, best yet for dinner after a hectic day of work, using 4-5 ingredients, simple and still having something to put on the table that is not the same old saver we turn to. Too often it's easy to fall into a comfortable rut and cook the same thing; with this book it is really easy to gently shake things up. Sometimes I read it at work, photocopy pages, stop at the store on my way home and make something new that's different and doesn't require me to spend 2 hours cooking and then washing lots of pots and pans. I think to write this book requires more effort, it's easy to make a complex dish using thirty ingredients, but hard to make something simple that takes the least amounts of effort but is edible. I often pick one recipe, and then make a side of my choice even if it's steamed veggies and dinner is on the table in no time.

I have been using this book since last November and some of the my favorites are;

Mustard Pork Chops page 11- any meat can be used but pair it with white cannolini beans, simplicity ( 5 ingredients! ) at its highest, actually writing about it now made me decide to make it for dinner tonight, yet again.

Steak Slick with Lemon and Thyme - great on some toasted ciabatta bread the next day or as an elegant supper, lemon and thyme seems to be a classic combination, not I make all my steaks this way.

Cheese Fondue - Gruyere, Brie, Emmental and Camembert melt into a spectacular and easy dip for anything you can find in the fridge. Some white wine in the sauce and then in the glass to drink with completes this fun dinner.

Chocolate Croissants - more fun then I thought to make, sometimes I just make four, with this book there is no need to make thirty servings of something, I often make enough for just one day.

Moonblush tomatoes page 126- sour, tangy, roasted and great side to savory dishes, my new favorite. I find it goes great with eggs for breakfast!

Irish Cream Tiramisu - wow, interesting and make sure to reserve a nap after, packs a punch!

There are stir-fries, galettes, cakes, burgers, all sorts of meats and pastas, each page has a tiny recipe with a gorgeous picture, and this book is actually very useful and makes cooking fun especially to see how the short cuts turn out. I mean if the short list of ingredients doesn't make one want to cook out of it then the pictures will, and it's nice to have a cookbook that is always used versus having one recipe in it that I have to turn to. Nigella throws things together in a beautiful way, after reading and cooking her recipes to me they are as natural as breathing and they pretty much always turn out perfect! Now that is a feat, I haven't had to apologize for making something new to anyone and it's easy to see that her ingredient pairing choices are well through out and put together.


- Kasia S.

I do love Nigella Lawsons cookbooks. In a world of going green, eating right and watching intakes and outtakes Nigella expresses herself and her food in a unapologetic way. I can already tell you that many of these recipes will become staples in my household.

Very simple instructions to follow. I will say that on occasion I stumble on an ingredient that is hard to find which makes the recipe daunting. For the most part I have all ingredients in the pantry and love every mouthful.

On a side note if you do not have her recipe for Chocopots...GET IT...it is a recipe that cures all evils and should be in everones household. The world would be a better place.

I really wanted to like this book. It has beautiful photographs, and Nigella is so cool and all. But everything I've made from this cookbook has gotten the "thumbs down" from my family. The asian-fish chowder was too fishy tasting. The meat loaves were too dense and greasy. The salad dressings seemed off. Oh, and I made some squash casserole that tasted very strange. And a lot of the ingredients are hard to come by. I live in the New York metropolitan area, so I thought I could track down just about anything, but even I couldn't find some of the items she calls for. And she doesn't offer any alternatives. I don't know what people would do if they didn't live in a metropolitan area with tons of international groceries.

Maybe quick cooking just isn't her thing. I think Martha Stewarts Quick Meals is a much better book in this category. And it's arranged by season, so you never have trouble finding items in the grocery.

I've purchased "easy recipe" books in the past and discovered they are not easy or the ingredients are impossible to find. This book is great in both categories. I've tried several recipes and found them to be easy to follow.

What I love too is that she is not saying the whole meal will be done in 30-minutes. It's easy prep time and occasionally may take an hour to cook - but that is easy to me.

I've never seen her show on Food Network, but heard her on a radio interview (The Mountain 103.7 in Seattle) and decided to give her book a try. Glad I did.

I pre-ordered this book from AmazonUK since I too just couldn't wait to get my hands on it. And let me tell you those few extra dollars for international shipping were well spent, for this cookbook is a welcomed addition to any bookshelf already overloaded with cookbooks raging from the classics to the kitschy such as Elvis' "Are You Hungry Tonight?" It's food that is either quick to cook or that is quick to prepare and then you leave it in the oven while you deal with other life messes. I have made quite a few things so far and I have yet to be disappointed. Well.... I should have chosen a better muesli for my "Lazy Loaf," but that is my fault and not Nigella's. Anyway I, a poor Starbucks Barista that just graduated from college, recommend this cookbook to absolutely anyone that loves to eat. Enjoy!

Nigella Lawson begins this cookbook with the statement that: "This is, as the title makes clear, a book about fast food, but it is a book about fast food for those who love eating." Later in the "Introduction," she concludes by saying: "The recipes that follow are not simply quick to cook, they attempt to make the whole of your cooking life. . .easier." In a cookbook, it's the recipes that tell the tale. Let's take a look at a few of those contained in this volume.

One recipe near the start exemplifies what is right (and a bit of what is wrong) with this cookbook--Brandied-Bacony Chicken. Simple to make (as promised), but using bacon and then having the wine bubble up in the bacon fat isn't such a health conscious choice in the process. Nonetheless, this is a delicious recipe.

Do you enjoy bruschetta? I do. On page 90 are dual recipes--one for tomato bruschetta and one for avocado bruschetta. I haven't made these yet, but will do so in the near future. Amazingly simply, but the end result promises to be delicious!

Like omelettes? There is a nice recipe for a frittata (kind of like an Italian omelette), with several options--cheese, chili, vegetarian, and ham--on page 104.

On page 149, Mirin-glazed salmon. A nice recipe for enjoying the Omegas of salmon!

Salad? On page 265, there's a neat hot and sour crunchy salad. On page 291, a simple pasta recipe--linguine with lemon, garlic, and thyme mushrooms. Very quick recipe. The author notes that "This is one of my proudest creations. . . ." I've made this, and boy is it tasty. Simple, easy to make, and delicious.

There are a bunch of high calorie, high fat, high cholesterol recipes, and that bothers me a bit. On the other hand, this does meet the goal of the author--to provide quick but tasty dishes.

After "Feast," which I thought was a disappointment after Nigella's other PERFECT books, I loyally but nervously ordered this. The minute I got it and started reading, my first thought was: "NIGELLA'S BACK!"

I won't go on and on - if you love Nigella, just buy this NOW. You will not be disappointed ... in fact, you're going to be so happy because it's GREAT, with a much better, totally-user-friendly page layout, Nigella's trademark MILLIONS of gorgeous photos and Nigella's wonderful asides.

Thank you, Nigella!

(One super-small quibble ... I made the Caramel Croissant Pudding yesterday and it was AMAZINGLY GOOD. My American croissants were huge tho' - now I wish I just used one. Maybe on some of those items where the size can vary so much more Europe to the US, it would help to say something like "2 cups of stale croissant." But that's a super-super-super small quibble ... and I did "greedily" eat a very large portion. Wonderful stuff!)

I was not too impressed with Forever Summer, but Express delivers. First, it has one of the most important aspects in a cookbook - pictures, one for every dish. Second, the instructions are extremely simple as well as the ingredients. The lay out of the book is very neat and easy to follow. But it would all be for naught if the recipes were of no use. Here is where Nigella really shines. From Party Popcorn, to Tuna and Crab Wraps, to Noodle Soup for Needy People, the average Joe with average kitchen skills can master all 130 of these marvelous recipes. This is a must have for your cookbook shelf!