Thursday, November 08, 2012

Jamie Oliver's Great Britain by Jamie Oliver


Jamie Oliver's Great Britain:  130 of My Favorite British Recipes, From Comfort Food to New Classics by Jamie Oliver
Copyright 2011/2012
Hyperion Books - Cookbook
407 pp.

Jamie Oliver is by far my favorite television cooking personality for two reasons: 1) Everything we've ever attempted from his cookbooks has been delicious -- everything!  2) I love his focus on eating healthy and buying local foods.  In fact, I wish he would fly down here and write a book on using local ingredients from my area.

When I found out Jamie Oliver's Great Britain was going to be available for tour with TLC Book Tours, I signed up as fast as my little fingers could type.  And, I was not disappointed.  The first recipe we tried (with husband doing the cooking) was "Heavenly Salmon Salad".


"Heavenly Salmon Salad" is so packed with flavor I couldn't shut up about it.  I talked about it on Facebook and I tweeted about it on Twitter.  The recipe is too long to copy or I would share it -- and here is where we get into a couple things I love about Jamie's cookbooks.  Instead of just writing the old-fashioned kind of recipe with limited instructions to fit on a recipe card, he goes into great detail about the entire cooking process, including how quickly your potatoes will cook depending upon their freshness, the exact order in which to cook the separate parts and how to put them together.  Here's a peek at the page spread for "Heavenly Salmon Salad".


We had no trouble locating any of the ingredients for "Heavenly Salmon Salad" although we have tried several recipes and one contained a "bottle of something-something that I'd never heard of" according to the spouse.  However, in most cases, the author does mention items that can be substituted and my husband is so crazy about this cookbook that when I asked him to tell me his thoughts about the book he said, "Don't say anything negative," not once but twice.  Given the number of recipes he's tried, the fact that I haven't yet been able to pull the book away long enough to read it, myself, and that repetitive remark about keeping my review positive, I'm pretty sure Jamie Oliver's Great Britain is his new favorite cookbook. If it's not in the cookbook holder, it's in his hands.

The photos and added text in Jamie Oliver's books are always a treat.  I can't wait to actually read the book from cover to cover.  I've flipped through and read some random bits.  "My Nan's St. Clement's Cake" begins with a paragraph about older folks coming into his parents' pub, the man always asking for a pint of bitter for himself and a St. Clement's ("a simple orange juice and lemonade combo") for the wife, how the name of the drink came from a nursery rhyme and then a bit about texture of the cake and the fact that it's great in cupcake form.  Then, he dives into the recipe.

The book is crammed full of photos; it is absolutely gorgeous! Even if you have no interest in British recipes, if you're an Anglophile you'll want to grab it to sit and read.  It's every bit as good as a travel memoir, perhaps even better because Jamie's Great Britain is written with affection about his own country and people.

Back to the recipes.  There are thirteen chapters: Breakfasts, Soups, Salads, Pub Grub, New British Classics, Afternoon Tea, Seaside, Pies and Puddings, Sunday Lunch, Wild Food, Vegetables, Puddings and Condiments.  Nice variety, beautifully laid-out with at least one photo of each finished item -- usually a full-page photo.

One of the other recipes we tried was "Pale Ale Fondue".  If you've ever made a Welsh rarebit (a beer cheese on toast), this is similar but the ingredients are a little more upscale than what we've used in the past and, again, the flavor was perfect.  There's a list of twelve suggested items to use for dipping, "but really the sky's the limit".

The bottom line:

Highly recommended.  My husband did the cooking and it's been nearly impossible to wrestle the book out of his hands, but it's so beautiful that I'm anxious to read the book from cover to cover.  Detailed recipes with excellent results, tons of gorgeous photos and lots of extra material about Great Britain (text and photos) make for a fantastic cookbook that is gorgeous enough to set out on a coffee table.

Cover thoughts:  Perfect, perfect.  You can't miss the Union Jack's statement, "Here is a British book", can you?

Giveaway:  

I don't usually do giveaways because they're a bit too much work but in this case I'll make an exception because my husband and I are so crazy about Jamie Oliver's Great Britain.

The rules (you must do *everything* on this list to qualify):

1.  Tell me the title and author of your favorite cookbook
2.  Leave a contact email address that works!!!
3.  US/Canada only, no P.O. boxes.

Giveaway closes at midnight on 11/14/12.  The winner will be contacted on 11/15.


©2012 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

34 comments:

  1. This cookbook sounds amazing! I used to love watching Jamie Oliver's cooking shows when I lived in England years ago and he was called The Naked Chef - pukka tukka! I would love to win this cookbook - thanks for hosting such a great giveaway! As for my favorite cookbook, it would have to be Ina Garten's, Barefoot Contessa At Home - I love that one!

    frogs13 (at) gmail (at) dot (at) com

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    1. I'd completely forgotten he used to be called The Naked Chef! It's been a while, hasn't it? Thanks for your suggestion!

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  2. I'm a huge Jamie Oliver fan too. We have 'Jamie's 30 minute meals' it is BRILLIANT, and so is the show the recipes are based on. I really recommend adding that to your collection!

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    1. I don't think we have Jamie's 30 Minute Meals. I will definitely look into it, thanks!

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  3. Don't enter me cause I reviewed it too. Isn't it awesome? I made the Early Autumn Cornish Pasties and my British husband thought they were perfect. I've done them several times since and have a ton more recipes marked. I think the commentary is as interesting as the recipes are.

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    1. Oh, if your husband says they're perfect, you know he's done something right! Very cool! I'm hoping to get around to reading the entire book from cover to cover, soon. Wish me luck. I'm not kidding about my husband carrying it off when he's not using it. He is crazy about the book. Yes, it is totally awesome!!!

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  4. My new favorite would have to be The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman. I bought this one recently and absolutely love it.

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    1. I've never heard of that one. Thanks!

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    2. I have yet to see this one but I am betting is it CRAZY GOOD! Nancy, you really should visit the smittenkitchen.com website! glorious.

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  5. Would love to win this one. Right now, my favorite cookbook is Recipes for the Good Life by Patti Labelle. The pork tenderloin recipe is my favorite.

    Thanks for the opportunity!

    fforgnayr@yahoo.com

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    1. Hey, Ryan! Patti Labelle, the singer? I'll have to look into that. Thanks! Glad you're joining in! :)

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  6. 1. Tell me the title and author of your favorite cookbook - I adore Tyler Florence's ULTIMATE cookbook - everything Dennis has made from this has been A.MAZ.ING and I like the cool green tile of his kitchen's backsplash. Or, I could say Ken Haedrich's PIE book. if I have to. I will make every pie in this cookbook or I can't die. something like that...
    2. Leave a contact email address that works!!! - You know me! ok, BkClubCare [at] gmail. good enough?
    3. US/Canada only, no P.O. boxes. - I live in a COMMONWEALTH which happens to be also considered an American state...

    Pls consider me entered?

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    1. LOL I do know where to find you and I think Massachusetts does pass the US/Canada test. ;) Thanks for the two suggestions! And, feel free to send me any recipes Dennis cooks that turn out fabulous. We are always looking for something new to try.

      Gotta look up that book so I can see the backsplash, too.

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  7. When I got married in 1959, one of my shower gifts was the Betty Crocker Cookbook, first published in 1950. I don't know if mine was a first edition, but I got it in the decade it was published. I used it to learn to cook all sorts of things, enough so that I now feel confident in throwing together things I have on hand, knowing what tastes good together. In other words, I don't often use a cookbook anymore. Part of that has to do with the Internet, where I can find something I've heard about and want to try. Maybe it's time to get back to using a cook book again.

    emerging DOT paradigm AT yahoo.com

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    1. That was our go-to cookbook, back in our newlywed days, too. We had the kind that was like a 3-ring binder and it actually went to pieces from use. Thanks, Bonnie! I did get both of your messages. I no longer use word verification. Need to change that message at the bottom of my posts.

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  8. It would be fun to see what the recipes are like. I've only had a few traditional pub foods when we went to England. My favorite cookbook is Mark Bittman's Kitchen Express - we've gotten several meals that are in our permanent rotation from that book.

    akreese at hotmail dot com

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    1. Same here. I tend to go for the vegetarian option in pubs -- and it's always been so good I find myself urging the husband to try to reproduce whatever I order.

      Thanks for the suggestion and for joining in!

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  9. Anonymous5:40 AM

    I love my Ina Garten cookbooks )I've got all of them except for the newest one & I also enjoy the pictures in my Pioneer Woman cookbook! Thanks for hosting this giveaway! I'm excited to enter! Stephanie @ www.stephanieswrittenwors.com

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    1. Stephanie, I do believe you've got a typo in that address but, fortunately, I know where to find you if you win. ;) I've got the Pioneer Woman cookbook, somewhere. I don't know if we've even used it, yet. I'll flip through it when I locate my copy. It's no doubt in one of the squillions of boxes lying about.

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  10. I discovered your blog through this hop! I adore Jamie! My favourite cookbook is The Breadbaker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart -- hardcore bread baking, delicious! Who knew you could do so much to bread!

    readerrabbit22 at gmail.com (in Canada)

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  11. I'm so glad you enjoyed this one! Thanks for being on the tour.

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  12. I should try one of these cookbooks at some point. um... I wanted to do the give-away, but I don't know what my favourite cookbook is!

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    1. I thought of something!! Cake Pops!! I even blogged about it here: http://myreadingbooks.blogspot.ca/2012/10/weekend-cooking-cake-pops.html

      Same email that we communicate with regularly. I live in Canada.

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    2. Yay! And, I remember that post!

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  13. OK, I'll try my luck for this one! It looks like a winner!

    My (current) favorite cookbook is Trisha Yearwood's Home Cooking. I have found so many wonderful recipes in this book. I also like Ree Drummond's Pioneer Woman's Cookbook, but so far, most of those recipes are geared toward people who work on ranches. In other words, high calories!

    You've got my email. :)

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    1. It is definitely a winner, Les.

      I thought much the same about the Pioneer Woman's cookbook, but I just flipped through it -- we haven't ever tried anything. Trisha Yearwood's recipes in this week's Sunday magazine (umm, can't remember the name of the news magazine) looked interesting.

      Cheating, not adding your email!!! Although, yes, I do know where to find you. ;)

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  14. My favorite cookbook is Everyday Pasta by Giada. Many thanks. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

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    1. Oh, that sounds good. I'm a bit of a pasta freak!

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  15. What a wonderful giveaway. My favorite cookbook is The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com

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    1. I've never heard of that one. Thanks, must look it up!

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  16. My number one favorite cookbook is John Folse's Encyclopedia of Cajun & Creole Cuisine (followed closely by any of my Jamie Oliver cookbooks, which is why I'm dying to get this new one!).

    moecatj [at] msn [dot] com

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    1. Another new title to me! I only like *some* Cajun and Creole recipes, but my husband and sons are kind of crazy about the spices. Will have to look that one up, thanks!

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  17. I really loved this cookbook too! No need to enter me into the giveaway!

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    1. Aren't his recipes awesome, Marg? So full of flavor.

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