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

This was given to me as a christmas gift and is my cookbook BIBLE!!!!!!! EVERY recipe I've tried here has made me feel faint with bliss, yes, every single recipe I've tried has been rediculously tasty, this man is genius at combining flavours. Try the poussins with sundried tomatoes and chianti whatever it was called oh my god you won't be sorry, I ate nearly the whole pot whilst my husband barely got a look in, I just couldn't help myself. The fifteen christmas salad is so, so tasty, and the port chops with apple stilton and sage were utterly divine. If I'm entertaining and need really impressive food, this book is ALWAYS my first port of call.

I like this book tremendously. I'm somewhat of a collector of cookbooks and this is one of my favorites. It has full color pictures of all the recipes, which work with precision every time. (I've already had three people ask me for the Shortbread recipe and I've only had this book a month or so.) I also enjoyed Jamie's tips, such as shaking salad dressings in a jar to emulsify instead of whisking. The attached ribbon bookmark is handy too. One of the main things that I like is that it doesn't take 30 ingredients to make one of the recipes. It's broken down to the basics and the flavors really exhibit themselves. The sections are broken down well into categories such as Fish, Pasta, Custard, etc. There are a few negatives that I've found with this book however. Firstly, Jamie Oliver seems to promote his devices and other books a bit too much for my taste. Secondly, the pages are thin and seem very fragile when splattered with water. Lastly, and perhaps it's an English thing, but he seems to use terms such as "a pinch", "a slight cup", and "a dash" quite a bit. I'd much rather have precision. Overall a very knowledgeable, refreshing read.

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 will always have a soft spot for Jamie because he was the chef that inspired me to become a chef myself. His casual let's make this fun style of cooking got me off the couch watching his show, and into the kitchen with his first book back in 2000. I have every single Jamie Oliver book, including the English version of Jamie at Home that will be released here in October (which I also love). I think Cook with Jamie is the best organized and most broadly informative of Jamie's books. He pretty much covers everything- from great dressings, to cuts of meat, to how to fillet a fish. The explanations of techniques are informative without being overwhelming or daunting. The photography is, as usual, gorgeous. And the recipes I have tried are all great: potato and horseradish salad with bresaola, summertime tagliarini (lemon, olive oil, parmesan, parsley and pine nuts), crab linguini, grilled spatchcocked chicken with new potato, asparagus and herby yogurt, pan fried scallops with lentils, pancetta and lemon crème fraiche, shrimp cocktail with marie rose sauce- you get the picture. You simply cannot miss with this book!!!

I got this from my brother for my birthday (although at first he refused to get it because he hates when chefs "use their own name in the title of their cookbooks", but I'm so glad he caved.) I've started looking more for cookING books rather than cookbooks, to teach me different techniques around the kitchen and it's really a fun book just to sit down and look through. It includes great "how-tos" from picking out meat to differet kinds of chopping, it gives definitions and uses for different herbs and spices, and it does include a ton of very delicious looking recipes. I haven't tried any yet but soon! I can't wait.
If you're the least bit interested in cooking, I highly recommend this book.