River Cottage Every Day: [A Cookbook]

With the hundreds of cookbooks on the market that proclaim to teach you simple cooking, this is (almost) the only one worth buying. And that is because it does not teach you the kind of "simple" cooking that is so prevalent on American TV in general, meaning the dump-and-stir shows of Rachael Ray, Sandra Lee, Paula Deen etc. that are all about convenience foods.Hugh F.-W. does not tell you to use processed, genetically enhanced plastic food like dehydrated potatoes, frozen veggies, powdered orange juice or instant everything to make a quick meal. Instead it is about fresh, seasonal, preferably local ingredients for meals that do not have to take hours to make from scratch. With foods that can easily be found in your garden (if you have one), at a farmer's market or the local butcher.This book will not give you any new and ground-breaking recipes, but uncomplicated kitchen staples that have been around for a long time and are doable for everyone. The one-star review mentioned deviled lamb hearts (so what?) as proof that this book is not about simple cooking, but the recipes also include grilled chicken, burgers, vegetable soup and roasted carrots.P.S.: If you are lucky enough to catch Hugh's River Cottage shows on TV, they are worth checking out. They tell you a lot more about his philosophy of bringing real home cooking back to the kitchens.

I love cookbooks, I buy them like most women buy purses or like men buy power tools. I can't get enough of them. So it was easy to talk myself into buying this new cookbook by River Cottage. I am becoming a groupy. Oh well.I love the fact that most of the recipes have a picture and a story. That helps me to fall in love with the recipe, to know a little about it. Then the recipes themselves are very simple and easy to prepare. There are some items that we either don't have easy access to, or I won't use (pigs liver), so I will sub something else, no big deal.I am working my way through the cookbook and am excited to report back on the recipes as I prepare them. If you turely want to cook at home and make dinner time family time this is a great place to start. Get eveyone involved and bring the family back to the table.

What a fun book to read and enjoy. I think I'll have more fun reading this cookbook and looking at the photos than actually making the recipes. Most of the meat recipes are not anything I would make, partly because some of the types of meat featured is not readily available where I live. Several of the breakfast and dessert recipes I will try, and I have already made the vegetarian hand pies, which were quite good. I have signed up for the River Cottage newsletter, so if nothing else this book got me more interested in the River Cottage brand, which is an accomplishment. If you're an adventurous cook who really likes having well-presented and clever cookbooks in your arsenal, then this book is for you.

I’ve watched every series of River Cottage I could get my hands on (the Australian version is good, but not as gleefully ‘country’), in fact rewatching them any chance I can.The food Hugh and his crew prepare and serve is always outstanding and this book reflects those amazing dishes perfectly.Although he has released books solely concentrating on one subject, this has a marvellous sprinkling of everything, fish, meat, veg, sweets etc.I’m a huge offal fan and the deviled kidneys are mouth watering, I can’t recommend them enough, in fact I’d find it tough to find a section where I couldn’t instantly recommend half a dozen recipes.Their are cheaper books around, but honestly, you get what you pay for.

I have the authors 'VEG' book, and it's terrific. This current purchase is so full of food information as well as fabulous recipes that I began cooking from it straightaway. Love it all around. A keeper. And I have a LOT of cookbooks.........

My daughter is a vegetarian and I saw this book in her kitchen - she made a delicious dinner for us from that book and I was intrigued - lovely book - interesting reading and entertaining author. Wanted to add it to my library and wasdelighted to find it. It arrived on my doorstep one day before your shipment (pretty speedy)

Book was in excellent condition, and excellent value for money, as there are a lot of dishes you could prepare with what you have in ones larder by just going through the book. True it takes up space in ones bookshelf, and collects dust, but it is there when you want to use it.The computer is a handy tool, but one must know what you want to cook. To us it is just a tool and it should be used as such.I am now awaiting the delivery of Jamie Oliver's 15 min: meals.Maurice Lourensz.

Good, homestyle recipes. Makes me nostalgic for England!

I bought this as a present for my wife. She has a whole array of cookery books...Ramsey...Lawson...Oliver etc etc. The only one missing from her collection is this one.As with all cookery books I think as a reader you can take what you want from them. This is the book with recipes with both meat and vegetables as I myself am a meat eater and would much prefer recipes with meat than without.. Hugh also does another book titled River Cottage Veg Everyday.What else can I say...the book is well written, easy to follow, and has lots and lots of mouth-watering pictures. Recipes on the left hand page...pictures on the right. I suggest you do though carefully think about what type of recipes you want - as if you have seen his TV programmes, I'm sure you will understand. Some of the recipes are not for the faint hearted as he does use a whole array of different types and meat and veg - very much themed around sustainability. This is and would be useful to add to anyone's collection of cookery books.Highly recommended.

I often find that when following recipes it never quite meets expectation, always blaming it on the fact I cooked it and food always tasts better when someone else prepares it. Hugh's book has been the most used cook book on my shelf, I had to pack a charity bag for the other less/never used books. I am the only vegetarian in my household and as the main cook I always want to ensure that veggie meals are tasty for us all.Hughs soup's have been a comfort throughout the winter, homemade pot noodles are still my favourite for quick work recipes, his bread dough recipes works a treat every time and we always make our own pizza bases without fail. The dough goes a long way. The caponata recipes is lovely. These are the recipes off the top of my head but I love this book as it is wholesome, hearty, rustic cooking, right up my street and most likely to have the ingredients in my cupboard which make it so much easier when looking for spontaneous inspiration for a dinner idea.I used to be the veggie that would hate being near meat or anyone eating meat so Hugh took a while to grow on me as his meat prepatations appeared quite brutal at face value however over time I have grown to love what he stands for so when he decided to do the everyday veg series I knew I would love it.I have a family I want them to make their own decision in the future about whether or not they want to eat meat. So I do prepare meat for them a few times a week, what a turn around, and thanks to inspiration from Hugh's programmes I know the best meats to source and the importance of the ethics surrounding the life and death of the animal providing the meat...But I am still veggie so this book is for me and I love it, I am so pleased he wrote this book.

I own a lot of cook books, but this one I actually cook out of. My kitchen regularly smells of baked chicken curry. The recipes are quick and straightforward and focus on pumping flavour into simple foods. I love that it uses a core staple of ingredients frequently. If you have cumin, fennel and coriander seeds, garlic, lemon and thyme in your pantry you'll be all set. It's also great for gardeners like me who want to use less usual ingredients like gooseberries and rhubarb. Its a nice, practical book which is packed full of good recipes and the odd paragraph about Hugh's values and philosophy of good.

Good book. Came in great time thanks to "World of Books" . I like Hugh,s books because he keeps things simple. He lives on a farm and tells you the origin of things. You know what the ingredients are and where to get same. Hopeless when you look at a book and wonder what on earth are they talking about.

I'm not much of a cook myself, but my friend whom I gave this as a present to certainly is, and the reception was amazing! She has a lot of cooking books so I was very happy to see that this one got a permanent spot in her kitchen. She said it's always giving her good ideas when she doesn't know what to make, even if she has to improvise when she doesn't have all the ingredients handy. She loves the sketches and she is very happy with the instructions, as they've never let her down. The book layout is nice and the elegant hard cover is a bonus if you're planning to offer it as a present. It arrived safely wrapped and well on schedule. Very happy with this purchase!