Rating: 
Summary: Divinely Delicious
Review: I am not a 'girly girl'. Babies do not make me coo with delight, I have never been able to finish an issue of 'Cosmo', 'Seventeen', or 'Woman's Day', I do not obsess about my weight and I have no idea what either an empire waist or princess seam is. So imagine my surprise when I flicked on my TV one day, saw someone in a pair of jeans and a nice blouse separating eggs with her bare fingers and whipping up some delicious looking meals, and thought to myself "that looks like fun".That someone, of course, was Nigella Lawson and as soon as I could, I borrowed a copy of 'Domestic Goddess' and decided to give my kitchen skills a workout. I'd never made anything from scratch before in my life and was absolutely terrified but the book made it so easy, so comfortable, so fail-safe, I was trying new recipes as fast as I could scrounge up the ingredients and I had bought a copy of my own within a month. The book itself retains all of Nigella's warmth and easygoing manner; it's like having a British friend in your kitchen with you. She never makes you take the longer, more complicated route through recipes and freely admits to using her microwave to speed up some processes. Since the recipes are mostly for baked goods you have to follow some exactly or risk flat bread and misshapen cakes but once you get comfortable there is plenty of room for experimentation. Blackberries are not cheap and whipped heavy cream is too bland for my tastes so I use Cool Whip and Black Raspberry preserves for the center of my Victoria Sponge Cakes. Depending on how cooking inclined you are you might find yourself having to shop for things like Springform pans and ramekins but the Chocolate Baby Cakes alone are worth the price. All the desserts are excellent and, though a lot of the meat pies and breads are a little too English for most American palates (Game Pie with pork belly anyone?), you're bound to find something you you'd like to try at least once. You owe it to yourself to give the Garlic and Parsley Hearth Breads a chance, the recipe is a bit challenging but the smell it fills your house with, along with the taste of the final product is all the reward you'll need. So while I still have no idea which handbag goes with what outfit or the difference between formal and black-tie, I do think that nothing pulls together an ensemble quite as nicely as an apron.
Rating: 
Summary: Yummers!
Review: I have made several recipes from the book. The molten chocolate baby cakes are amazing!! Lilly's sconces got rave reviews from my co-workers. As for the snicker doodles that the one reviewer pooh-poohed - I agree are not the ones I grew up with but I chalked that up to being the English version. For the American version see the Betty Crocker big red book. The English version are great with tea. The photographs are beautiful and her descriptions make you want to try everything. A great book so read, bake and grab a fork!
Rating:
Summary: Luscious
Review: This is a fabulous book that inspires creativity in the kitchen. Most of my hardcover cookbooks qualify as a good read but don't make it off the bedstand. This one has hardly been out of the kitchen. I really enjoy Nigella's writing style. She uses the most evocative words to describe food. Also the production process is unfussy and for some of the yeast bakery she offers practical tips that make the whole matter of raising dough easier to fit into the rest of your life. The pictures show food that looks good but isn't so perfect it might be plastic. While some English recipes don't work very well with Australian ingredients, I've had great success with Nigella's recipes and I will be trying many more.
Rating: 
Summary: Check yer batter!
Review: I've been making several recipes from this book and they've turned out, but only because I am a professional cook and knew when something in the ingredients list was "off". Primarily, most of the recipes are not sweet enough. I made the banana muffins (so lowfat and moist!) and just added half a cup of brown sugar to the honey the recipe called for. Doubled the sugar in the Snickers muffins. So I suggest you dip in a spoon and try the doughs of the sweet recipes before you go ahead and bake them. It has worked for me. Beware too, of too much salt. 1 tsp in the brown bread is plenty, not the 1T the recipe calls for. Interestingly, a lot of these recipes are better COLD. I still like this book because the pictures and text always make me want to bake them for family and friends...
Rating:
Summary: Love the writing, the recipes need work
Review: I love Nigella's writing in this book, and the pictures are mouthwatering. I love reading cookbooks in general, and hers in particular. It makes me want to try every recipe. However when I did try her recipes, they were less than successful. I've tried 7 dessert recipes (and I'm not a novice baker) and only one was successful (almond danish), although it took forever to make. I also made: almond cake (ok), Boston cream pie (cream was runny, cake had "no flavor" according to husband), chocolate loaf cake (completely unbaked in center), chocolate cherry cupcakes (just not sweet enough for me), Granny Boyd's cookies (awful, not chocolatey at all, and a strange dry consistency), PB squares (I think the chocolate overpowered the peanut butter, and they were hard to get out of the pan). I am so disappointed by this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Love Nigella- Hate the Book
Review: Nigella is a beautiful and intriguing creature who honestly makes cooking look fun and pleasurable. Unfortunately, this book is a sour disappointment and makes even "accomplished domestic goddesses" frustrated and disgruntled. On more than several occasions I have tried to make different desserts from this book and every one of the recipes have been some degree of terrible to okay. For example, I have tried the "simple" almond cake, white chocolate raspberry tart, snickerdoodles, and black berry galette and all of them have been disappointing. The almond cake did not rise, the snickerdoodles were dry, the chocolate tart was extremely bitter, and the blackberry galette contained too much cornmeal and was mushy. Now, while I am not a gourmet chef, I do know my way around a kitchen and follow "recipes" everyday as a scientist, leading me to believe that my experiences with Nigella's recipes are not simply attributed to technique. Therefore, I must conclude that either there is some discrepancy in the ingredient quality between Britain and US, the measurements given, or the equipment used (or sadly, that the recipes are just bad). I am sorry to say that I will not buy another Nigella cookbook but will spend my money on dependable recipes from authors such as Ina Garten, "The Barefoot Contessa".
Rating:
Summary: Not your ordinary cookbook
Review: This book is not only a great baking book but a wonderful, entertaining read as well. Anyone who thinks they could NEVER be a domestic goddess should buy this book. It has seduced me to the pleasure of baking--from a loaf of bread to the accomplishment of making a cheese cake. I have gotten so many compliments on the desserts that I've made from this book. I love Nigella!
Rating:
Summary: My First "British" Cookbook
Review: I must admit that I am an "American Cookbook Snob" and I literally refused to even look at this book until my sister urged me to do so. Our satellite TV company does not get the Style Channel, so I am unable to see Nigella's show that my sister talks and talks about. Obviously, I gave the book a try (thanks to my public library) and I was very pleasantly surprised. Ms. Lawson writes about food as if she is writing you a personal letter from her kitchen. She really does make the food sound attractive and "lures" you into baking something. . . anything! In addition, as a mother, I was extremely impressed at how often she talks about her daughter(s) and the joy she has with them in the kitchen - that was great to read. Most of the baking is divine. However, the cooking (savory) section is a bit too Brit for my taste; our family just doesn't eat that kind of food, but if you like that kind of stuff I'm sure you'd enjoy her recipes. I am purchasing this book for myself for Christmas simply because those cupcakes and Madeira cake (without Maderia!) sound just too delicious to pass up.
Rating:
Summary: worth the buck
Review: This is my favorite cookbook, even though it had more sweet than savory dishes. All of the recipies i have mad out of it worked out perfectly, i especially liked the Cheese danish, coconut macaroons, The best blueberry muffins EVER!, raspberry lemon muffins, apple walnut cake among some,and the Gateau Breton (its all about the butter, so do use a good quality, like a french butter) is soo easy yet its the best cake in the world for me.
Rating:
Summary: Baking porn
Review: Can't give this book five stars yet because I've only made one thing so far (cream cheese brownies and they were GOOD). But it is a lovely, lovely cookbook with terribly attractive color photos that I feel are integral to any good cookbook. If you're a fan of Nigella's TV style, you'll enjoy her written recipes and advice. This really could be a coffee table book, but I'm sure mine will be all stained up after a few years of use.
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