Delia's How to Cheat at Cooking - Delia Smith

How did I ever manage without this book? You have guests for dinner in two hours time, no time to search for and prepare those all important ingredients and want to make something special. I keep this book in the kitchen within easy reach; it's saved me so much time. So what if it asks for packet mash and tinned mince meat! The finished meals always seam to satisfy, and get me compliments. Yes! I know, sometimes even Delia cannot save my bad cooking and they are just being kind. ( On those occasions I like to blame the oven.) I suppose the book isn't about how to cook, its more about stopping ... more

First things first, I can cook to an average level, but I am certainly no chef! I was also a student for five years so have tried just about every combination of microwave, packet, frozen and "just add water" food available. When I saw this book trailed like mad on just about every TV channel and in all the newspapers a few months ago we decided to give it a try. After all, even though I do enjoy cooking, I rarely have the time or inclination to do anything too complex, particularly during the week. The Author The book is written by the rather legendary Delia Smith OBE. I think most people ... more

I bought this book with high expectations, having found many of Delia's other recipes so successful. However, I was abit disappointed: many of the 'recipes' are just a combination of convenience foods - you're not really cooking at all, just mixing things together and heating them up. It also makes shopping for the recipes very expensive and often the specified ingredients are only available at certain supermarkets, with two or three specified supermarkets in one recipe; any time saved by using a jar of Waitrose roasted peppers is offset by the time trekking over to tesco to find some 'tomato ... more