Rating: 
Summary: chaotic
Review: This recipe book was a gift and I am from the UK so I was excited to make some good british recipes but the format is so erratic and all over the place that it is hard to read. Maybe I am just used to Delia's books where if you are looking for an appetizer, you look under appetizer and voila but it takes ages to find what you are looking for. I would forgive that if the recipes turned out as described but I have made the fudge surprise cake twice now and followed the recipe to the tee and they were both a watery disaster, if you leave it in the oven for longer to dry it out, it comes out like cement and still has water floating on top. Dissapointing when you spend a small fortune to use valhrona and $$powdered cocoa.
Rating: 
Summary: Savor this book for the recipes and writing style
Review: The recipes in this book are spectacular and simple (though the ingredients are a little exotic and pricey at times). Lawson's writing style and choice of words are wonderfully mellifluous, and the book is as much a pleasure to use as a cookbook as it is to read for pure enjoyment.
Rating: 
Summary: A good read, but not a great cookbook
Review: This book is indeed a good read. I love Nigella's philosophy on eating and cooking and her excitement for both is clear throughout the anecdotes and conversation-like "instructions." You can get some good pointers in this book, if you're in search of some that is, on how to find pleasure in eating, cooking, and life in general. As to the actual cooking aspects, this book does give you a good start as to what to do about some of the basic stuff on cooking, such as making stock, sauces, roasting, freezing and storing foods, etc. But other than the basic stuff, the other recipes are just not very appealing, and some just sound wierd--not what you would really make for everyday home cooking. I like the book, and will keep it as a reference, though I doubt I will refer to it regularly.
Rating:
Summary: The Thinking Woman's Cookbook
Review: I am a Nigella Lawson groupie. I too am a forty something woman who juggles career with a love of eating and cooking. I only wished that I looked like Nigella!
I first purchased this book two years ago and I have used it many times since then. Her recipes are written with insight and humor (and how many times can you say a recipe has insight). You want to make her dishes-a superb roast chicken, a delicious lemon fettucine alfredo, a flourless clemintine cake-not just for company but for yourself and your family. I also enjoy reading and rereading her passages on how to think about food and eating. She made me think of ways to improve my palate.
I would recommend this book for intelligent women and men who enjoy cooking, eating, and reading about cooking and eating.
Rating:
Summary: Fun to read, funny..inspiring... the total package.
Review: I really like cookbooks that are more than just lists of ingredients. I think there are far too many of them around. While I see them to be helpful, as a textbook is helpful...there is something missing. A heart, maybe..or just a voice...I am not sure. This is one of those cookbooks that fills that something with the joy of cooking and eating...the sensousness of ingredients and the whole cooking and entertaining experience. The total non-guilt about the joys of eating... She seems to look at food the way a young child looks at life... With each ingredient being a total sensory experience. Its such a resfreshing contrast from most books. Just the shear joy of it is contageous... I havent tried any of the recipes yet altho looking thru it I cant see any reason why they wouldnt work. For me this was was more of a total reading package....as opposed to a straight cook book. I find her personality all though the book and her joy is contageous.
Rating:
Summary: Charming, Brilliantly Written, Perfect Title!
Review: Like so many, I was drawn into the Nigella cult by her TV show, "Nigella Bites". It is rare to find such a combination of keen, sharp intellect, sophisticated yet girlish sense of humor, and sheer camp sensibility on TV, let alone in the guise of an English woman who looks like a full-figured, slightly unkempt Elizabeth Hurley. But she COULDN'T write well too, could she? Oh yes. She does. "How to Eat" sets as its goal exactly what the title says: To suggest that our relationship with food can be healthy and rich, and that the act of cooking can be as enjoyable as the act of eating. To that end, she explores her own relationship with food, showing us how she feeds herself and her children, family and friends. She shares recipes that she associates fondly with her late sister (the book is dedicated to the memory of this sister and her mother, as well as to her children and now-deceased husband); she drops a hilarious anecdote of a Florence restaurant she went to both for the salsa verde and its typical clientele of drag queens; she writes passionately and intelligently about feeding children so that they learn to love good food and don't develop bad food habits. The recipes certainly reflect both her English heritage and her love of Italy, but she avoids true exotica in favor of cooking that is manageable by everyone. As befits a working journalist, she carefully cites sources for her recipes and suggests vendors of less-available ingredients. Her writing style is chatty, yet every word is carefully and exactly chosen. The recipes work well-- and she lets you know when amounts are instructions or mere suggestions. The menu ideas she offers are delightful; she sets forth two- and three-course meals (starter, entrée and dessert), then explains what makes them work together, and when necessary gives a timetable for preparation. This is a brilliant book, and immensely enjoyable to read. It's good literature as well as a good reference source. Nigella Lawson has added a thoughtful, entertaining volume to the cookbook shelf, and it's well worth owning.
Rating:
Summary: YUMMY
Review: I purchased this book last year and every recipe that I have tried has been absolutely fabulous. I tried the mixed mushroom one recently and ended up spending about $60 on mushrooms but it was well worth it. The pea salad year-round is a winner and I couldn't recommend this book more highly.
Rating: 
Summary: Awesome - but not a picture book!
Review: This book is what I consider the "Nigella Basics Training" - lots of recipes included here are basics, staples and/or 'mainstays' of cooking. For those who only enjoy cookbooks that have lots of pictures, this book is not for you. I can go either way - the pictures are fun, but it's kind of like pictures of food at McDonalds - the 'real' end product often looks nothing like it, but tastes fine either way. That said, this book is filled with valuable recipes and bundles them together into full meals. If you're looking for a single recipe, the index has them all, but I really like that she makes recommendations for dishes that go well together and have gone over well in her own cooking experience. You'll likely find yourself reading the book leisurely, which is exactly the intent - take your time, enjoy the process, and have a great time in the kitchen! (If you must have pix - "Nigella Bites" and "How to Be a Domestic Goddess" have plenty!)
Rating: 
Summary: Great Expectations
Review: As a devoted fan of Nigella Lawson, I had high hopes for this book. The chapters are laid out by menu, not by food category. Her desserts are great, but to be honest some of the main courses have been simply awful, like the South East Asian Mussels and the Beet greens with soba noodles. Plus there are no pictures in this book. How to be a Domestic Goddess is a more entertaining book.
Rating:
Summary: Pure Pleasure
Review: Before i cooked anything from this cookbook, i was fascinated that it reads more like a lifestyle manual than a typical cookbook. Reading it i could almost hear Nigella saying the words in my head.
The recipies are fun and well thought of, her Macaronie and Cheese is fabulous, and soo easy! I enjoy laying around the house, sipping tea and reading between the recipies, because that girl has a talent for words. I love this book, she did a great job, as usual.
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