Jamie Does...

A new Jamie Oliver book is always a cause for celebration and I had literally been licking my lips and biting my finger nails with anticipation since watching the first episode of the accompanying T.V. series last night. He really brought the food of Marrakesh to life, and made me think again about it. For some reason I thought much of it was very sweet and rich- I didn't know it was also so fresh and vibrant. The Morocco chapter of the book adds a few recipes to those on the T.V. show, such as a very intriguing 'Moroccan Fish and Chips' (spicy marinated fish), Kefta meatballs, grilled sardines and a recipe for making your own preserved lemons. The stand-out recipe of this chapter is the one featured on the show for Vermicelli and Prawn stuffed fish- wow that looks great. I think I'll try it if i can get hold of a nice big sea bass because I'm not sure if we can get dorade here... maybe we can?My favorite chapters are the Morocco, Greece, and Sweden chapters, probably because I haven't cooked much from those cuisines. I think Jamie's book is a perfect introduction to some of the flavour pairings and techniques of the cooking in those countries from which I intend to spring-board off into my own research and exploration and maybe even travel (though this depends on my purse-strings as well as my apron strings!!). I was lucky enough to be in Sweden recently and I tasted a delicious cardamom bun. I had wanted to have a go at making them when I returned but hadn't found a recipe yet until this morning and, whichever way you look at them, Jamie's buns look great.I really look forward to trying some Greek stews, especially the sticky pork one. Last year I bought the fantastic tome 'Vefa's Kitchen' which is a great encyclopedic greek cookbook but to be honest I haven't cooked much from it. I can tell I will cook Jamie's greek recipes and they will lead me on to and open up some of the recipes in Vefa's Kitchen. Jamie is inspirational and this book makes me want to travel, explore, go diving, charm snakes and above all cook fantastic food.When I first heard about this book I thought it sounded interesting but it had the potential to be a little bit like your grandmother showing you holiday snaps... it is in a way like that, if your grandmother just happens to be Jamie Oliver.p.s. O.K., I've just had another flick through and the French, Spanish and Italian chapters are just as good as the rest (!), including a stunning-sounding recipe for Prune and Armagnac ice cream that I'm about to make a start on so it's ready for a late-night treat this evening.

Great recipes and used more from this book than any other recipe book I've used.

I think this cookbook is fantastic. Not only does it provide a bunch of recipes from different parts of the world, but also covers different areas of the meal as well. They look so great in the picture. Now, i'll admit that my plates tend not to look like the ones in the picture, but they are so amazingly tasty. The important thing is to make the recipe when the ingredients are in season and the flavors are so amazing. My favorite is in the spanish section, the chorizo and tomato salad. By far my favorite lunch now, and so easy and inexpensive! Jamie's recipe's are so detailed that if you follow, you can't go wrong.All in all, a great buy to try "foreign" food at home.

This is a really nice cookbook as usual from Jamie Oliver. It has some really interesting recipes which I really like. The book is really well-made with a nice hardcover and it's full of colour pictures of the food. I really like the selection of different countries to look through, and although the book has some time-consuming recipes, none of them are too difficult to make as long as you're willing to put the time in to making them. This book makes a great gift just because of all the pictures and colour inside -it's nice to look through even if you don't want to make anything from it. Also, Amazon offers this at about half the RRP, so it's very good fro the price.

Rediscovered this fantastic book that is a real mix with food that is en-vogue today. The standout chapters for me are: Spain - great Tapas ideas and a decent Paella and great fish. Venice - good risotto, fish and deserts. My favourite Morocco, wonderful Tagines, kebabs and spicy delights and Greece, Fantastic Souvlaki, stews and sweets stuff. Brilliant simple meals made easily with limited kit required. Also you get France (dull) and Sweden - okay but not my thing, though V en-trend I know. One of JO's better books in my opinion as the recipes are accessible and don't require a lot of time or kit. Also, the book is a great read unlike some of his recent efforts. Nice one Jamie.

I bought this book solely on the basis of the Marrakesh episode - I have tried several recipes but I already feel I have my money's worth, with the snakey cakey recipe alone! its fantastic - although not quite as easy as Jamie makes it look! My advice would be to make the snake quite thin, especially at one end which will be the centre of the pin-wheel, keep it well buttered and work super fast. But even a few cracks won't matter - mine was delicious and impressive-looking. Lamb tangia is lovely, as is beef tagine. I will be trying more this weekend, plus tomato risotto and tiramisu from this week's Italian episode. Can't wait.

There are some nice looking recipes in this book,although I havent tried any yet. I was disappointed that there were so many pages of photographs. A cheap way to pad out the book. Jamie Oliver is not the best looking guy, and personally I would have preferred more recipes less photos of him and seemingly unrelated people. I wouldnt reccommend.

Another stylish book from Jamie full of inspirational easy to follow tasty European dishes.If you were inspired by the Jamie Does TV series then you will want to have this recipe book in your libary. The essence of each place is caught up in these recipes and Jamie's love of the food and enthusiam for learning about other cultures and their cuisine is put across in each description.I have so far found all the necessary ingredients but obviously you can be creative and use for example a different fish to that Jamie used in his recipes and still arrive at a delicious meal simply prepared.I will be taking my copy to Spain to try out more of the Moroccan and Spanish and Greek dishes whilst on holiday in a similar environment to that in which he originally created them.