Author(s): Jamie Oliver
Publisher: Hyperion
Publication Date: 2004-11-03
Pages: 336
Review: I’ve been getting into family-themed cookbooks lately and purchased Jamie’s Dinners having looked at it many times in the bookstore. Made The Ultimate Burger and Chips (p.6) last night. Prior to this recipe, I used the master recipe from another well-known cookbook. I had always received the usual: “thanks mom, that was good.”
My family came to me after having Jamie Oliver’s burger dinner and said: “We’d Like to Thank JAMIE OLIVER”. That was a first! It was one of those devour-experience-swoon kind of experiences. If it’s any indication of what the cookbook offers, it is a very good start indeed.
The burger/fries preparation was different to what I was accustomed to. I wondered if the burgers were going to hold up to the heat because the patties (fries were parboiled) had several wet ingredients introduced to it. They came out perfectly moist and flavorful and had minimal shrinkage in the pan. These burgers stayed flat instead of morphing into round pucks in the pan like most burger recipes.
It was a pleasure to prepare this recipe - I’m of the camp that looks at a recipe and, to use Jamie Oliver’s word, - uses a “glug” here a “glug” there - this is the kind of recipe book that has an easygoing but basic straightforward approach to cooking and isn’t whacking you on the head for “perfection”. One doesn’t feel the need to fret or worry about how it’s going to turn out. It turns out all good and to me that is the essence of the family meal experience.This is my ultimate favorite in recipe books. The recipes are easy and the instructions perfect. Jamie is one of the best chef’s of his day. He just keeps surprising us with everything he does. These days he’s gone organic and is gardening is own vegetables and fruit…excellent. I have other books by him too but this one I really like because the recipes are soooo easy and there are so many ideas for variation. Well done Jamie (once again)!This is a great, fun book. It really captures Jamies love of cooking, and presents it in a way that isnt hard to understand or intimidating at all for the novice cook. The recipes are very relaxed, the presentations are real looking in the photos. and there are photos of everything in the book..I sat down and read through the whole book like it was a novel. The only reason i gave four stars is that i tend to agree with another reviewer who said some of the ingredients arent readily available to us here in the US. I personally dont live in a town with a fresh food market, although i wish i did! All told, i was certainly inspired to try serveral of the recipes right away..yum! It gave me a new perspective on what i buy in the grocery store-fresh is best! This was a gift for my daughter’s birthday. She tells me she loves this cookbook!i got this book a few years ago when i first wanted to cook professionally. i am now a dinner chef at a cafe, and this is my go-to cookbook when i cant think of the last dinner special or salad for the night. everything is presented in an easy to follow, throw together style, and you rarely have need for a mesuring device other than your hands. i dont think ive made any recipe in this book that i havent liked. i have bought this book as a present on a few occassions for cooks of all levels. i definately recommend this book to anyone.
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