How to Eat: The Pleasures and Principles of Good Food 
asked by mike on November 26, 2006 4:16 AM
"Cooking is not about just joining the dots, following one recipe slavishly and then moving on to the next," says British food writer Nigella Lawson. "It's about developing an understanding of food, a sense of assurance in the kitchen, about the simple desire to make yourself something to eat." Lawson is not a chef, but "an eater." She writes as if she's conversing with you while beating eggs or mincing garlic in your kitchen. She explains how to make the basics, such as roast chicken, soup stock, various sauces, cake, and ice cream. She teaches you to cook more esoteric dishes, such as grouse, white truffles (mushrooms, not chocolate), and "ham in Coca-Cola." She gives advice for entertaining over the holidays, quick cooking ("the real way to make life easier for yourself: cooking in advance"), cooking for yourself ("you don't have to belong to the drearily narcissistic learn-to-love-yourself school of thought to grasp that it might be a good thing to consider yourself worth cooking for"), and weekend lunches for six to eight people. Don't expect any concessions to health recommendations in the recipes here--Lawson makes liberal and unapologetic use of egg yolks, cream, and butter. There are plenty of recipes, but the best parts of How to Eat are the well-crafted tidbits of wisdom, such as the following:
"Cook in advance and, if the worse comes to the worst, you can ditch it. No one but you will know that it tasted disgusting, or failed to set, or curdled or whatever."
On the proper English trifle: "When I say proper I mean proper: lots of sponge, lots of jam, lots of custard and lots of cream. This is not a timid construction ... you don't want to end up with a trifle so upmarket it's inappropriately, posturingly elegant. A degree of vulgarity is requisite."
"Too many people cook only when they're giving a dinner party. And it's very hard to go from zero to a hundred miles an hour. How can you learn to feel at ease around food, relaxed about cooking, if every time you go into the kitchen it's to cook at competition level?"
--Joan Price
Reviews
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If I were to keep only one cookbook, this one would be it. Devoid of any pictures, it is loaded with recipes- but not really just recipes, because Ms. Lawson's whole point in this business of cooking is that real cooking is not based on just mindlessly following a recipe, but rather in being able to understand your ingredients and how they will work together, and eventually developing an instinct based on first having developed a good palate. I definitely think there is truth in her way of thinking, because I only really learned how to cook after three or four years of following her lead, to the point where I can take whatever is in season and make it work wonderfully without even so much as looking at a cookbook.
I have to admit, that at first I was a bit put off by a lot of the recipes because they seemed so rich, but everything tastes really good to me and my family. The book does contain many lighter recipes but now I prefer the heavier ones. That's just my preference. There is a little bit of everything here- basic foods like roast chicken and mayonnaise, fast foods like her vesion of spaghetti carbonara and lemon linguine, heavy stuff like a traditional English Sunday meal, light meals and even a chapter with ideas for feeding children. This book is not necessarily about upscale gourmet food preparation and presentation, although there are a few elegant recipes, but I believe it is a staple for any good home cook and has tons of ideas and ways to learn to appreciate good food.
I have to admit, that at first I was a bit put off by a lot of the recipes because they seemed so rich, but everything tastes really good to me and my family. The book does contain many lighter recipes but now I prefer the heavier ones. That's just my preference. There is a little bit of everything here- basic foods like roast chicken and mayonnaise, fast foods like her vesion of spaghetti carbonara and lemon linguine, heavy stuff like a traditional English Sunday meal, light meals and even a chapter with ideas for feeding children. This book is not necessarily about upscale gourmet food preparation and presentation, although there are a few elegant recipes, but I believe it is a staple for any good home cook and has tons of ideas and ways to learn to appreciate good food.
reviewed by jdog on November 28, 2006 5:06 AM
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I am a chef and an avid collector of cookbooks. I find the recipes of this book to be mediocre at best, terribly organized and lengthy. I am not interested in Lawson's endless anecdotes, rather, I would prefer her stories to be replaces by pictures (an essential for cooking books, in my opinion), of which there are none. I was disappointed, and would not recommend this book to anyone. For basic, great recipes, I would suggest any of Ina Garten's books. Her recipes are no-fail and the books are well done.
reviewed by officefan on November 28, 2006 5:14 AM
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I love Nigella's TV show, but was very disappointed in this book. The format is downright confusing and the recipe directions poor. The recipe for Barbados Cream says to mix all ingredients, but she doesn't really mean for you to mix in the brown sugar. Recipes tell you to "beat til fairly stiff but not too stiff" (whatever that means) with no time recommendations. She talks about simple, unpretentious food but includes some very odd ingredients and complicated directions. There seems to be more effort put into the glib tone of the writing than into the food.
reviewed by formula on November 28, 2006 12:33 PM
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I have tried a couple of her recipes and they were knock outs! I can not recommend this Authors work high enough! I just wish that they would bring out her TV Shows in DVD!
reviewed by macfan on November 29, 2006 2:11 PM
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How to Eat by Nigella Lawson is my favorite cookbook of all time, and let me tell you, I have read hundreds of them. This woman is a truly charismatic writer and a fantastic cook. Every recipe is exceptional and has a story behind it or serves a special purpose in the author's mind. I read it cover to cover the first day I opened it and have read bits & pieces of it a hundred times since. It is earmarked, highlighted, paper clipped and worn beyond recognition. I would recommend this book to home cooks & professional chefs alike. Her recipes have become at least a weekly occurrence in my home and my husband, friends & family have never been happier. For all of you newcomers to the world of cooking, there is no better teacher than one whom adores the eating process from shopping for ingredients to scrubbing pots & pans. Bravo - a true masterpiece!
reviewed by learner on November 29, 2006 5:38 PM