Hour Books: Cook With Jamie

I've followed Jamie Oliver's tv career since it launched with The Naked Chef in the late nineties. It's been amazing to watch how he's taken his philosophy regarding food and created an empire of good food and eating well. One of his recent books, Cook with Jamie continues to build on his philosophy of maximizing the character and flavour of food.

I'll admit it... I devour cookbooks. I love to see how people play with traditional recipes and put their own unique stamp on food. I've read all of Oliver's books because I enjoy the "voice" he writes with and how he puts recipes together. I always find myself bookmarking half of the book for future dinner parties. I could honestly see myself cooking my way through Cook with Jamie in a similar fashion to the character Julie in the movie Julie and Julia.

Another thing I liked about this book is that it is designed to help people who may not be well-versed in the kitchen accomplish more than just toast and boiling water. I'm always on the look out for cookbooks that would suit my friends who are not so comfortable in the kitchen, and I think this book offers readers a good basic look at preparing some ingredients that might scare novices in the kitchen, such as squid, mayonnaise fresh pasta or cake that doesn't come from a box.

The photography is amazing and makes the book, which weighs in at over 400 pages) a treat to flip through. There are a few recipes in the book that have become "go to" recipes in my kitchen, such as the recipe for the lightest potato gnocchi, the mushroom risotto, the roasted cauliflower with cumin, coriander and almonds and Oliver's nan's lemon drizzle cake.

If you're looking for an addition to your cookbook collection or just like drooling over food photography, check out Cooking with Jamie. When Jamie Oliver appeared on The Hour he cooked George up a little gem of a dish in the office kitchen... check out his "masterpiece". Then once you've regained you equilibrium, check out what happened when he sat down in the red chair to chat with George.