Delia Smith's Summer Collection: 140 Recipes fo (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Delia Smith is a British phenomenon. Offering confidence-inspiring cooking instruction on TV and in print--more than 11 million copies of her books have sold--she's a U.K. culinary superstar known to cause national product shortages when she plugs ingredients. Delia Smith's Summer Collection, the American edition of her British bestseller, offers more than 120 easy recipes plus menus for a wide range of hot-weather dishes. It also includes innovative suggestions for grilling, meat and vegetarian barbecue strategies, and a selection of formulas for fruit preserves, among other light-handed instruction. Smith's friendly, in-the-trenches-with-you volubility and her evident food savvy should make the book a happy addition to U.S. cookbook libraries.

Recognizing the trepidation with which Americans may approach British recipes, Smith asserts the fine taste of her formulas and her intention to proceed "with lively optimism." She needn't have worried. Recipes such as Roasted Tomato Soup with a Purée of Basil, Barbecued Sardines with Summer Herb Sauce, and Angel Hair Pasta with Thai Spiced Shrimp make for happy dining here. Especially noteworthy sweets include Summer Fruit Millefeuille, Lemon Meringue Ice Cream, and Compote of Fresh Figs in Muscat Wine with Vanilla Custard. Though Smith offers some "returned-to-you" American recipes that can't be said to advance the culinary argument, even these are well conceived, and who would reject her hot fudge sundae, blueberry and pecan muffins, or half-pounders (more than a quarter-pound improvement on our burger specialty). With 50 color photos of the food in all its glory, this large-format book is as easy to welcome as its popular author. --Arthur Boehm --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Smith's name and face may be unfamiliar on this side of the Atlantic, but she has entered British households for years via a television program and numerous culinary volumes. Serving as her introduction to Americans, this beautifully produced book is filled with recipes highlighting warm-weather ingredients, such as asparagus, bell peppers, berries, fresh herbs, and crab. Although the fare displays a gourmet touch, instructions are clearly written. And, unlike more esoteric cookbook authors, Smith sometimes simplifies a recipe but still maintains its essential character. Considered by many to be Britain's answer to Martha Stewart, Smith, with her down-to-earth style, is as refreshing as the food presented here. Alice Joyce

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult (May 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670861529
• ISBN-13: 978-0670861521
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,541,539 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful!, September 4, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Delia Smith's Summer Collection (Hardcover)

You have to try the Roasted Peppers recipe - it's easy and I continually impress all dinner guests with the simple dish. The Chicken Basque is delicious and although the fresh fruit terrine needs 24 hours to finish, it tastes great, looks delicious and impresses everyone. It is my favourite cookbook!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delia Rocks!, October 31, 2006

By	voracious reader "m wivell" (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Delia Smith's Summer Collection (Hardcover)

I've been using this cookbook for a few years and checked to see if she'd written anything new. The recipes are delicious. The cooking instruction is clear. She adds a special touch with her comments that make me feel that I have an expert guiding me in the kitchen. This American cook loves Delia Smith! My family, guests and neighbors love the recipes I prepare with this book and Delia's Winter Cookbook.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Cook Book Works!, November 20, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Delia Smith's Summer Collection (Hardcover)

If you are frustated by reading colourful and glossy recipes that turn out disasterous the delicious Delia is for you. Her recipes always work. Her UK television programme back room staff ensure that, as most if not all are demonstrated on TV, and even the most acknowledged cooks in the UK will tell you that it will, yes will, work the first time. My wife, a proffesional cook, makes no excuse for always having her volumes at hand for that sudden emergancy. Typical of the main stream of modern British cuisine in the mid 1990s, full of the feeling and flavours of that oh so elusive English Summer.