Book
Reviews

Best-sellers
Children's
Food/Wine
Health/Family
Home/Garden
Literature
Sport

More books

Featured Authors

Ainsley Harriott
Delia Smith
Dr Atkins
Eoin Colfer
Gary Rhodes
Gordon Ramsay
Jamie Oliver
J K Rowling
J R R Tolkien
Nigella Lawson
Philip Pullman
Rick Stein
RHS

Browse

Books
Music
Videos
DVDs
PC/Video Games
Software
Electronics &
   Photography
Kitchen & Home
Toys & Kids

Information & Services

About us
Awards
Comments
Legal
Links
Privacy

Delia Smith
Save up to 50% on all books ordered online

This easy-to-use interactive cookery book is the first Delia Smith release on DVD, combining a wide range of recipes from Delia Smith's popular television series and the accompanying best-selling book collections - Summer, Winter, Christmas and How to Cook. The 134 easy-to-follow recipes on the "Ultimate Delia" DVD all come complete with their own television clip and are divided into four discs. Each disc covers a particular group of recipes: dinner parties, traditional favourites, family meals and party ideas - making this the definitive DVD guide to cooking. The searchable DVD format enables cooks to select recipes and follow the step-by-step instructions at their own pace, with hands-on guidance from Delia. Viewers can search by recipe or ingredient and can choose to view recipes alone or accompanied by the relevant television clip. Extras include printable recipes and an index booklet so that users can quickly access the recipe they need. Ultimate Delia is the Delia Bible on DVD.

From roast pork to gammon, bacon and ham, pork is the most versatile of meats, as Delia Smith demonstrates in this scrumptious collection, "The Delia Collection: Pork". Delia takes readers through the different processes of roasting, baking, grilling, frying, braising and casseroling, with a separate chapter devoted to cured pork. Some old favourite cuts of meat are revisited, to remind the cook how luxurious pork can be, from "chined" loin and shoulder, to belly of pork. And more recent influences are not forgotten. New recipes include Smoked Loin of Pork with Citrus, Rum and Raisin Sauce and Roast Tenderloin of Pork with Mustard and Crème Fraiche Sauce. Also featured is Classic Roast Leg of Pork with Crackling, Sage and Onion Stuffing and Eliza Acton's Oven-Baked Apple Sauce, a dish inspired by Delia's favourite cookery writer of the 19th century.

Italian cooking has become an essential part of the British scene: cooks here are now as familiar with lasagne, Bolognese sauce and antipasti as with roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. In "The Delia Collection: Italian", the fifth book in the series, Delia Smith offers her individual and very tempting selection of Italian recipes for every occasion, which will suit both confident and less experienced cooks. Readers are taken through antipasti, such as the classic Tomato Mozzarella and Avocado Salad with Herb Vinaigrette, and Minestrone Soup, to Pasta, Risotto and Gnocchi, Fish and Meat and Puddings. There is room here for contrast, from the simple Pasta Puttanesca (known chez Delia as "tart's spaghetti"), to the exotic Tiger Prawn Risotto with Lobster Sauce. And the puddings are irresistible. Who could say no to Peaches Baked with Amaretti or the famous Italian apple dessert, Torta di Mele? And true to the Delia tradition of never assuming that people are familiar with even the most simple cooking techniques, she of course includes fail-safe advice on how to cook perfect pasta.

Is there a more versatile ingredient for a host of recipes than chicken? Delia Smith is in no doubt of the centrality of chicken to many really tempting dishes and "The Delia Collection: Chicken" will clearly be one of the most popular volumes in the four-volume "Delia Collection". These recipes are culled from Delia's many years and, as in "The Delia Collection: Fish", Delia tackles everything from the straightforward, such as an easily realised Oriental Chicken Waldorf Salad, to the more ambitious (a tempting Thai Creamed Coconut Chicken with Thai Green Rice). But nothing here is over-ambitious and with Delia's straight-forward approach, everything here is easily achievable. The food is never plain though; some recipes are mouth-wateringly exotic. Chicken Kebabs Marinated with Whole Spices, Yoghurt and Fresh Coriander Chutney, for instance, is a winner.

Few would argue that chocolate is the indulgence of choice for most of us. In "The Delia Collection: Chocolate" Delia Smith plunges us right into the choccie fray with a very serviceable recipe for Chocolate Fudge Cake, with wholemeal flour used to give an extra special moistness to the cake. Typically, the recipe gives us just the bald, unvarnished facts - Delia's speciality as a chef. Similarly, even more indulgent recipes perform a canny balancing act - describing the most outrageous of recipes in simple, unaffected prose. How about Squidgy Chocolate Cakes with Prunes in Marsala? This most seductive of treats is surprisingly made without flour. Very little in this volume will do much for your waistline, but don't we all deserve a little indulgence? These are not recipes for every day, after all.

While Delia followers will find much here to stimulate, this is an excellent entry-level book for those new to the doyenne of TV chefs. "The Delia Collection: Fish" confines itself to the main categories: white fish; salmon; trout; oily and other fish; and smoked fish. The recipes varying from the concise, such as a very straightforward Fried Plaice Fillets, to the more advanced (a mouth-watering preparation for Fillets of Sole Véronique). A particularly attractive recipe is that for Smoked Salmon Tart, which is an object lesson in concision and practicality - if the pastry isn't - we're told - rising in the centre, we should prick it a couple of times and press it back down with our hands. Instructions are as direct and uncomplicated as one would expect and up-to-date conversion tables are included, along with an impressive section on fish extras, making this an invaluable and user-friendly guide.

The image of soup has undergone something of a transformation in recent years, becoming a chic accoutrement of many a dinner party. In "The Delia Collection: Soup" Delia Smith divides her recipes seasonally and the variety of soups available here is surprisingly wide. In spring, Delia presents such basics as Carrot and Coriander Soup, alongside more ambitious recipes such as Shiitake Broth with Sesame Toast. Summer sports some unusual and tempting recipes such as Chilled Almond Soup. For Autumn, there's a piquant Wild Mushroom and Walnut Soup, perfect for the colder weather, while Winter has such delights as Slow-cooked Root Vegetable Soup and The London Particular (which is a yellow split pea soup). As with the rest of the "Delia Collection", not a word is wasted, and adjectives are kept to an absolute minimum, but seasoned fans of Delia will be delighted with the originality of the recipes whilst newcomers will appreciate her friendly and approachable style of writing.

In response to her millions of followers, Delia Smith has selected a collection of vegetarian recipes from her existing books as well as over 50 recipes which have never been published in any of her books before. The result is "Delia's Vegetarian Collection", an illustrated title which contains over 250 recipes and 200 colour photographs. This book should prove useful for anyone wanting to eat well without meat or fish; for those who like to cook vegetarian dishes occasionally or as part of a meal; and for those who want to cook for vegetarian friends or family.

"Delia's How to Cook - Book 3" continues and completes Delia Smith's journey through the fundamentals of cooking, revising traditional areas that are all too often overlooked, as well as exploring more contemporary concerns for the modern cook. With over 120 great new recipes, illustrated with stunning photographs, the principles remain the same - to rediscover the simple pleasure of food, to take beginners through many of the basic techniques, and to offer inspiration to even the most accomplished cook. Those with "Book 1" and "Book 2" cannot afford to be without it, and those who don't can start right here.

In "Delia's How to Cook - Book 2" Delia Smith takes us forward through the fundamentals of dealing with fish, meat and poultry, fruit and vegetables. As in Book One, the aim is the same - to rediscover the simple pleasure of food and to guide beginners through many of the basic techniques that will serve them for a lifetime of cooking. As well as a shopping list for the "serious cook's store cupboard" the book contains 120 homely and flop-proof recipes, with detailed photographs and clear and simple explanations. Serious cooks are likely to enjoy the book as much as beginners.

The aim of "Delia's How to Cook - Book 1" is help readers to discover the pleasures of home-made food. Starting at the very beginning, explaining in detail the staple ingredients of all cooking, the book explains many of the basic cookery techniques, right from boiling and poaching an egg, through bread and pastry making, to sauces and cooking all kinds of rice perfectly every time. For those who have mastered the techniques - and for those who are already accomplished cooks - the book provides a collection of recipes and photographs which will inspire: moussaka with roasted aubergines and ricotta, wild mushroom tartlets with poached quails' egg and apricot galettes with amaretto.

"Delia Smith's Book of Cakes" provides straightforward information about the ingredients and equipment needed for making cakes, and presents a collection of over 100 traditional favourites and new recipes. It is perfect for people who are not used to baking, giving a clear description of the major does and don'ts when it comes to cakes. Baking times, oven tactics and the conventional weights and measures are also covered. So, if you are not confident with cakes then this is "must have" book. And for the people who love baking it's another great reference book to add to your personal collection!

If you want to learn the basic concepts and theories of quality cooking, "Delia Smith's Complete Illustrated Cookery Course" is an ideal book. An illustrated version of "Delia Smith's Complete Cookery Course", it offers instructions that are clear, comprehensive and pretty near infallible. Completely revised and updated, this cookery "bible" still contains all the established favourites, such as flaky fish pie, christmas pudding and the secret of crunchy roast potatoes. But Delia has also added some new recipes, like roast stuffed goose with prunes and armagnac, along with advice on new ingredients such as easy-blend yeast, filo pastry and fromage frais. Providing all you need, and more, for a lifetime of cooking and entertaining.

The introduction to the classic "Delia Smith's Summer Collection" opines that "Summer is a special time for cooks, a dazzling time when fresh ingredients present themselves in rapid succession, some of them so briefly that we need to snap them up to enjoy them at their best." Devoted to the joy of being able to eat something grown close to home when it's at its peak, this illustrated book contains imaginative ideas for light lunches, barbecues, buffets and summer teas, putting a new slant on traditional favourites with exciting flavours from South-East Asia, Italy, Greece and California.

"Delia Smith's Winter Collection" provides a host of recipes for wintertime, using ingredients from a progression of produce available from October to April. This inspired collection features sophisticated home cooking, including both meat and vegetarian dishes, that will satisfy the heartiest of cold-weather appetites. In addition to tried-and-true British classics updated for today's tastes, it offers many dishes that reflect the enticing and varied flavours of France, Italy, Spain, California, the Caribbean, India, and the Orient. Whether you are a kitchen novice or an experienced cook, you will find this solid, trustworthy volume a welcome addition to your bookshelf.

"Delia Smith's Christmas" takes the mystery and misery out of Christmas cooking. This timely collection of easy to follow Christmas recipes is designed to ensure that everyone can enjoy the big day. It includes five different Christmas cakes, a complete vegetarian menu, recipes for gifts such as chocolate truffles, and many traditional favourites. There are also ideas for festive occasions from drinks parties to dinner parties. Armed with "Delia Smith's Christmas" you can deliver the goods (and the pudding) and still stay in the Christmas spirit!