Nigel Slater presents over 350 creative, delicious and nourishing recipes and suggestions for those who’d rather spend more of their time eating than cooking. From simple snacks to dinner-party desserts, all the dishes in “Real Fast Food” can be ready to eat in 30 minutes or under.
Find out more and buy at Amazon
Come Dine with Me, How to throw the Perfect Dinner Party
The Channel 4 TV show Come Dine with Me and it’s Celebrity spin off have released a book for all of us aspiring for the perfect Dinner party. Subtitled “How to throw the Perfect Dinner Party” this is much more than just a recipe book.
Planning the Party
The first 60 pages of the book focus on the planning of a dinner party, it may sound easy but the book makes you sit back and think what recipes complement each other, difficulty, timings and little hints such as keeping track of what you’ve cooked for who in case they come around again!
But planning a party isn’t just about food, this section of the book reminds you to think of drinks, how clean your house is, setting the table, and common cookery mistakes to avoid. Even a few tips for being the perfect host or guest.
The Recipes
The final 130 pages show winning recipes from the series, split into starters, mains and desserts. Plus the top ten winning recipes. The recipes contain a clear list of ingredients and simple numbered instructions. The only negative is that not all recipes have accompanying images of the dish and while they have clear cooking times there isn’t an overall preparation time, but I suppose everyone cooks at different speeds.
My favourite recipes
Some of my favourite recipes from the book are
Starters
Mains
Desserts
To be honest I had trouble getting them down to just three favourites (especially the desserts). If you’re planning a dinner party this is a great book to have to hand for fantastic recipes from the TV series and good tips to ensure your party is a success.
Now I just need to find more excuses for dinner parties!
Welcome to our weekly look at new cookery programs on British TV. For the week of 23rd March – 29th March 2009. Here we look at new Cookery programs on Terrestrial and Freeview TV (No repeats are listed).
Monday 23rd March 2009
Taste The Nation ITV1 17:00 to 18:00 (1 hour long)
Nick Hancock hosts the cookery show that pits county against county in a nationwide cook-off amongst amateurs coached by celebrity chefs. Today, Perthshire takes on Leicestershire and Rutland in an incredibly close competition. The judges must decide which of the mouth-watering offerings, including roast loin of Perthshire lamb, prosciutto wrapped saddle of rabbit, and plum bread and butter pudding with spiced pink champagne sorbet, is the worthy winner.
Click here to go to ITV’s Taste the Nation website, catch up on the program with the ITV player, find out more about the chef’s and judges and download the recipes.
Tuesday 24th March 2009
Taste The Nation ITV1 17:00 to 18:00 (1 hour long)
Nick Hancock hosts the county vs county cookery competition, in which amateurs are mentored by celebrity chefs. Today Cheshire competes with Wiltshire, and the menus include an exciting mix of traditional fare like Cheshire cheese and apple cake and ham hock cakes, alongside more contemporary dishes such as venison carpaccio and burnt custard with poached pears. Will everything go to plan for our amateurs?
Click here to go to ITV’s Taste the Nation website, catch up on the program with the ITV player, find out more about the chef’s and judges and download the recipes.
Heston’s Roman Feast Channel 4 21:00 to 22:00 (1 hour long)
Heston Blumenthal is on a mission to use myth, science and history to create the greatest feasts ever known. Ancient Roman cuisine meant theatrical, devious and orgasmic food. The Romans had few boundaries and unusual appetites, eating everything from flamingos to parrot tongues and jellyfish.
Click here to go to Channel 4′s All about Heston’s Feasts website, read his blog, get the reciepes and more
Wednesday 25th March 2009
Gastronuts BBC 1 16:05 to 16:35 (30 minutes long)
Can We Eat The Same Food As Animals?.
Food fanatic Stefan Gates and his intrepid Gastronuts go on wild culinary adventures to discover the truth about how we eat, what we eat and where it comes from. Stefan and the Gastronuts find out what animals from dogs to lions, and penguins to pythons eat in their diet. They try their hands at eating the same things, sampling the fare of dogs, penguins and the king of the jungle.
Taste The Nation ITV1 17:00 to 18:00 (1 hour long)
County takes on county in the cookery competition where amateur chefs are tutored by celebrity captains. Today, it is Surrey v Suffolk, and regional ingredients feature strongly in dishes like Tillingbourne trout and Suffolk cure bacon. But judges Henrietta Greene, Richard Johnson and William Sitwell are divided. Nick Hancock hosts.
Click here to go to ITV’s Taste the Nation website, catch up on the program with the ITV player, find out more about the chef’s and judges and download the recipes.
Thursday 26th March 2009
Taste The Nation ITV1 17:00 to 18:00 (1 hour long)
Nick Hancock presents the cookery competition which pits county against county, each captained by a celebrity chef. Today is the last chance this week to reach Friday’s cook off, and Graham Tinsley leads Carmarthenshire against Rosemary Shrager’s Northumberland team. Tempting the judge’s taste buds will be a cheese souffle, Northumberland lamb, and a cream liqueur chocolate tart.
Click here to go to ITV’s Taste the Nation website, catch up on the program with the ITV player, find out more about the chef’s and judges and download the recipes.
Friday 27th March 2009
Taste The Nation ITV1 17:00 to 18:00 (1 hour long)
Nick Hancock presents the cookery competition that pits county against county, each captained by a celebrity chef. We reach another Friday gourmet feast as the week’s eight teams are whittled down to four. Today the amateur chefs must come up with their own recipes, and the judges are replaced by a team of inspectors. The menus feature hare, loin of pork, wild duck and venison. Only two counties will go through to the next round.
Click here to go to ITV’s Taste the Nation website, catch up on the program with the ITV player, find out more about the chef’s and judges and download the recipes.
Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA Channel 4 21:00 to 22:00 (1 hour long)
Black Pearl.
Gordon Ramsay visits a struggling seafood restaurant in Manhattan. The Black Pearl is hampered by debts, and the problems in the kitchen are multiplied by three different owners: Brian, David and Gregg, all of whom are trying to run things. The result is chaos and confusion, above all for the staff trying their best to make sense of it all.
Click here to go to Channel 4′s Kitchen Nightmares website, find the recipes and learn with Gordon’s training videos
Saturday 28th March 2009
Saturday Kitchen BBC 1 10:00 to 11:35 (1 hour and 35 minutes long)
James Martin presents another menu of mouth-watering recipes, great chefs and celebrity guests, including top chef Bryn Williams and West End musical star Lee Mead, who faces his food heaven and hell. Plus helpings of the Hairy Bikers, Rick Stein and Keith Floyd, another dramatic omelette challenge and more top wine choices from Olly Smith.
Click here for the Saturday Kitchen Website and fin out what’s cooking
Rachel Allen: Bake! BBC 1 11:35 to 12:00 (25 minutes long)
Recipes and cooking tips with Rachel Allen. Rachel makes a wonderfully rich baked cheesecake with blueberries, and visits virtuoso pastry chef Gerhard Jenne who shows her the spellbinding secrets behind his magic cakes. The cookery school students get to grips with choux pastry to make the ultimate teatime treat: eclairs.
Click here for the BBC’s Rachel Allen Bake Website, see whats coming up or rewatch episodes on the Iplayer
Sunday 29th March 2009
Come Dine with Me Channel 4 20:00 to 21:00 (1 hour long)
Four competitive cooks from Huddersfield take it in turns to host their idea of the perfect dinner party over four nights. When kitchen designer Neil Hemingway invites his prized pooch to sit at the table it puts hair salon owner Christine Wright, who hates dogs, off her food.
Click here for Channel 4′s Come Dine with me website.
Shop at the BBC Shop for all your favourite chef’s cookery books, dvds and more, or subscribe there to BBC Good Food and never be lost for Kitchen ideas. Click here for the BBC Shop
This year Denby are celebrating their 200th birthday. In 1809 production of salt glazed pottery begun using clay from a local seam discovered in 1806. In the late 1800′s Denby diversified into more Kitchenwares and the richly coloured glazes which are now their trademark. Today Denby is still a major producer of quality pottery focusing on Dining ranges.
These are a few of their most popular sets available today.
Denby Imperial Blue 16 Piece Boxed Tableware Set
Denby Imperial Blue has vibrant blues and crisp whites making the perfect combination. A modern classic, both bold and confident, if you want to make a statement then Imperial Blue is the tableware for you. Click here for more information and to buy
Jet Black 16 Piece Boxed Tableware Set
the Jet collection combines matt and gloss finishes for a contemporary look with timeless appeal. Whether serving coffee or hosting a dinner party, Denby Jet adds eye catching style. Click here for more information and to buy
Denby Caramel Stripes 16 Piece Boxed Tableware Dining Set
The Caramal Stripes range is good enough to eat, Caramel by Denby is the ultimate feel-good range, available in a selection of drinking, eating, serving and cooking pieces. Add a dash of Caramel Stripes to create an appetising look for any dining table. Click here for more information and to buy
If you want to find out more about Denby the book Denby Pottery 1809 – 1997 is a great resource to discover the history of the company and more about the ranges. Click here for more information and to buy.
Denby Pottery 1809-1997: Dynasties and Designers