Feeding Boys & a FireFighter

Recipes & tips for filling bottomless pits

Book review and chance to win: Notes From My Kitchen Table by Gwyneth Paltrow

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Gwyneth Paltrow has had a lot of stick for being ‘too perfect’. It seems attractive women shouldn’t be too accomplished, and when they are they seem to get shot down in flames.

It seems bringing out a cookery book was one step too far, and there’s been quite a lot of bitchy reviews about it.

So I was really curious to see what it was actually like.

Is it all hype or a book you’d genuinely cook from?!

Another reason I was interested in checking it out was because of the vegetarians in our house and needing some inspiration for delicious but not too lardy meals.

Gwyneth Paltrow is what is sometimes called a flexitarian – or vegetarian who occasionally eats meat. I think that’s what my diet will inevitably become. Although my knee-jerk reaction to the boys’ vegetarianism is to currently order steak whenever I eat out! But I digress… back to Gwyneth’s recipe book!

Who is it for?

She says it’s recipes that all the family will love, something for every meal and every occasion. If you express your love through cooking delicious meals for your loved ones then you’ll really like this book I think.

It’s fresh and fairlynhealthy cooking, but not dull or spartan which is what I was half expecting.

It’s very reflective of her Californian upbringing so it’s bursting with colourful and tasty dishes.

Easy to follow?

Each recipe has icons to sign post suitability for making in advance, quick recipes, vegan/vegetarian, one-pot meal and dress-up meal – so you can pick out a meal to suit you at-a-glance.

I like the ‘If you don’t have… you can use…’ page – GP favours some niche products like Vegenaise that are pretty tricky to get hold of, so she lets you know the best alternatives. She’s been criticised quite heavily for her use of wacky ingredients in the book, but with a thoughtful page like this you can’t really complain.

Family friendly?

Loads of the recipes are simple and more than suited for putting in front of the entire family. GP also lends a hand by making suggestions of how to make some of the meals more suited to a younger palate.

Roasts, pastas dishes, muffins and chocolate brownies are all bound to please the little ones. This is not complex or fancy cooking.

There is also an entire section with tips on how to get kids involved in cooking. She firmly believes in letting her kids help out – to the point of giving them quite grown-up jobs with careful supervision to make them feel trusted and boost their confidence.

Most likely to cook

Slow-roasted tomatoes – it’s something to make at the beginning of the week and stash in your fridge to liven up a salad or throw in with some pasta. I’ll def be doing this with the tomatoes from the allotment once they start ripening. They pop up throughout Gwyneth’s book so are certainly worth making if you’re going to get into her recipes.

Broccoli and cheese soup, and cold pea and basil soup both sound lovely ways of getting your veg count up. The slow-roasted tomato soup sounds like a brilliant fresh alternative to the canned soup my kids are hooked on.

The salads are all amazing looking, a real Southern California vibe, the panzanella with roasted peppers, tomatoes and basil look like the perfect summer’s lunch – or BBQ side.

There’s an entire section on burgers and sandwiches to work through – with some great-sounding veggie options like portobello and slow roasted tomato burgers.

Spaghetti limone parmeggiano sounds fresh and perfect family fodder. And the enticingly golden crispy potato & garlic cake looks pretty wicked too.

Least likely to cook

Caramelized brussels sprouts – she claims it will convert sprout cynics, but I’ll pass on that thanks!

Would you buy it for a friend?

Hmmm I’m not sure! Celebrity cookbooks are a tough one to give to the right person. I’d have to sneakily find out first if they thought Gwyneth was irritating or not.

On the basis of the recipes alone though I’d certainly lend it to my friends so they could see how fab it is and to cast their prejudices aside!

Rating out of 10

9

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed reading this book. There are some real gems in here and I definitely think it’s a keeper.

Notes From My Kitchen Table is published by Boxtree

Thanks for my review copy! 

*****THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED*********

WIN WIN WIN!

I have TWO copies of Gwyneth’s book to give away to my readers…

1. For a chance to win please comment on this post telling me about your favourite celebrity cookbook

2. For a second chance to win please tweet this post “Win Gwyneth Paltrow’s cook book: Notes From My Kitchen Table @cookingkt (insert URL of post here)” and comment HERE telling me you have done so along with your twitter username

3. For a third chance to win please follow me @cookingkt on Twitter and comment HERE to tell me you have done so.

*****THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED*********

This giveaway is open to all readers with a UK mailing address. The winners will be chosen using an online randomiser and announced in a subsequent post. As I am allowing multiple entries the randomiser may choose the same person twice, in this case I shall pick another winner until there are two separate winners.
When commenting please leave your e-mail address so I can contact you if you win.

I am running this competition on behalf of Pan Macmillan who will be responsible for sending the prizes to the winners. Their decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

There is one main way to enter and several ways to get bonus entries. You must leave a separate comment for each bonus entry otherwise they will not be counted.

Closing date: 10pm Thursday 7th July, 2011

Good Luck!

*****THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED*********

Comments

  1. Jane Willis says

    Assuming Hugh F-W counts asacelebrity, my favourite is “River Cottage Everyday” which I turn to over and over again.

  4. Caroline Elmhirst says

    My fav celeb cook book is Sophie Dahl because she has some lovely but simple recipes – like pea purée and scallops – delicious! Have followed and retweeted @CazzaE

  5. Aveen says

    Does it count if they’re a celebrity chef? In which case I’d choose Nigella’s How To Be a Domestic Goddess. Least favourite would be Sophie Dahl’s book, I just found it very uninspiring and it went off to the charity shop.

    Gwyneth’s book has been getting great reviews so I had a flick through it in WH Smith and thought it looked lovely 🙂

  8. Marina Wilson says

    Hi, I like the original BBC’s Delia’s Complete Cookery Course, published in 1978. Its great for all family meals, freezing and everything. It explains HOW to do stuff easily and there isnt a ‘tin’ or packet in sight!!

    I’m not sure if this is a duplicat. My computer playing up also. if it is, please ignore second entry

  11. James says

    I’ve shared the link and liked on Twitter (@wxcat)
    I would like to say Nigella as I really enjoy the shows, but it has to be Delia, the one I actually use day to day to do cooking in the kitchen. Sensible realistic recipes mostly.

  13. Margaret says

    Tweeted and following @angeldaisy2002

    I love Lorraine Pascales – Baking made easy.
    Got some great cake recipes as well as some savory dishes too.

  14. Mikki says

    I’m not sure if celebrity chefs count as celebrity here but I love Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage Everyday and Jamie Oliver’s Jamie At Home books.

  15. Ren Behan says

    My favourite ‘celeb’ cook book is quite a old one now, Fay’s Family Food, by Cold Feet actress Fay Ripley. I maintain that it’s an excellent cook book if you have young kids/enjoy family cooking although there have been a few recent close contenders!!! I am intruiged by this book, great review and have read a few other very positive ones so I would love to win a copy 🙂

  16. carole says

    following and tweeted, i git a few of jamie olivers books ,jamie at home so pretty good

  21. capsigirl says

    I find Jamie a bit hit and miss although there are some individual great recipes in his books – the same with Nigella, I wonder if all their recipes are properly tested

    So my fave would have to be another vote for HFW – the man’s a curly haired pocket moppet 🙂

  28. Kasia says

    I love River Cottage books, not sure if they count as celebrity cookbooks.

    RT and follow you @ biedooness

  29. FionaLynne Edwards says

    I love Nigella Lawson’s “How To Be A Domestic Goddess” but my fave would have to be Linda McCartney’s “Vegetarian Cookbook”. I use it all the time – the recipes are simple, easy to follow and delish!

  32. Caroline French says

    Cant beat the original Delia Smith complete cookery course book passed down to me from my mum! use it again and again especially for the simple things like egg boiling times, sponge cakes and various sauces!

  41. Andrew Timms says

    Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, I don’t agree totally with all he stands for but he does appear to have great quality of life down in Dorset something I’d like to achieve and his recipes are simple and easy to prepare yet very tasty which is great!

  45. kim B says

    i love baking and cooking my fav book if Jamie
    Olivers I have a good selection of his book & find his dishes so tasty and recipes easy to follow.

  55. Renae Shaw says

    Jamie’s 30 minute meals is great when you come home from work to get a great meal on the table that you know will be eaten and enjoyed.

  57. suzzee langton says

    My favorite celebrity cookbook HAS to be THE HAIRY BIKERS….OMG these guys are hilarious geniuses in the kitchen! love themmmmmmmmm

  58. Steph Armstrong says

    Jamie Oliver ‘Cook your way to the Good Life’ Fab, easy to relate to & follow – just what I need.

  60. @littleboo_21 says

    As I live in east anglian I suppose I have to say Delia Smith but I like Phil Vickers from This Morning he does wonderful desserts

    @littleboo_21

  63. Chris Bay says

    The River COttage Cookbook. Great food and just the kind of stuff I enjoy cooking and eating.

  66. weasel6 says

    For me it’s Nigella Lawson’s How To Eat. I was cooking averse before that book, I like the fact that it’s about cooking to your needs rather than showing off.

  71. Emma Clarke says

    In spite of myself I love Eva Longoria’s cookbook “Eva’s Kitchen: Cooking with Love for Family and Friends”. My Mum bought it for me for Christmas, knowing that I love to eat rich Latin inspired recipes. I was a bit dubious, but there are some lovely dishes within its pages, like home-made tortillas and Spanish rice.

  75. Nancy Bradford says

    I love the Hairy Bikers cookbook. Lots of interesting stories, etc. as well

  76. david cavender says

    I like Lawrence Dallaglio’s My Italian Family Cook Book. It’s a book of his favourite Italian family receipes.

  80. Frankie Tuck says

    Celebrity Chef is Jamie Oliver hands down as he is so inspiring and has the most mouth watering recipies.

    Non chef would be Lawrence Dallaglio. His recent book is full of really simple, tasty recipes.

  81. Eleanor Jones says

    My favourite celebrity cookbook has to be Jamie Olivers American Cookbook. It’s full of weird but wonderful recipes and I have discovered a new obsession with jambalaya!

  85. susan willshee says

    My favourite celebrity cookbook is Seriously good! Gluten-free Baking by Phil Vickery. The recipes really are ‘seriously good’ and are impressive enough to serve to none Gluten Free friends.

  92. Katherine Coldicott says

    Sheryl Crow’s If It Makes You Healthy is a good read as well as a good cookbook.

  99. Sarah Ballantyne says

    Fay’s Family Food is my favourite book – I always have her pasta sauce in the freezer for quick meals and the chicken with thyme rice is a real family favourite. I’m not a great cook so love all the simple recipes.

  103. Hazel rush says

    My favourite celeb chef is Jamie Oliver he has inspired and taught me and my partner alot!

  104. Paula Smith says

    Tana Ramsey’s Family Kitchen- Lots of gorgeous food, I have a small obsession with recipe books and this one is great, lovely pictures as well. Not sure if she’s classed as a celeb though 🙂

  109. liz martens says

    tough one, so many to choose from, but fave celeb cook book, assuming we are talking celebs and not chefs that have become celebs, would be eva longorias cooking with love for family and friends

  112. Michelle Rayner says

    I love the student handbook as the recipes are quick and inexpensive

  114. Kaytofu says

    Does Sarah Kramer count as a celebrity? She wrote How It All Vegan, which is my favourite cook book. It’s so handy, versatile and easy. It’s my go to book when I want to make something special.

  121. Kate Rampersad says

    My fav one must be Levi Roots ‘Reggae Reggae Cookbook’ – reminds me of all the goodness from Caribbean islands. @katekat_raz

  124. Claire says

    My favourite celebrity cookbook is Heston’s Fat Duck cook book simply because it’s so well presented, and the cover makes it enticing to read!

  127. deborah davies says

    my favoraite celeb cookbook is quite an old one its Ferns Family Favourites by Fern Britton iv tried doing most of the meals in it and find it very easy to follow and the meals are loved by me and the family. :o)

  128. Kelly Koya says

    My absolute favourite is Madhur Jaffrey’s curry bible, everything I have cooked out of it is fab

  129. KULWINDER LOMBARDELLI says

    My fav book is the Hairy Bikers Mum knows best book. Has some great tasty and easy to follow recipes.

  134. Kathryn Casbolt says

    Jamie Oliver – 30 minute meals

    My challenge is to actually make one in 30 minutes – haven’t done so yet!!

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