» Nigella Feasts: Nigella Lawson, the AntiSlop Options

[Ima Pilgrim]

One of the great features of her cookbooks is the narrative that accompanies each recipe. The writing is very similar to her spoken explanations on the show. I think she's a genuine case of "she is what she is, take it or leave it".

Her cookbooks, to me, are some of the most enjoyable reading material I've ever had, she writes beautifully, and she has an artist's eye for texture and form, which is what makes her descriptions so vivid. She is so far beyond 'fake sexy t & a show' that the FN seems to love these days it's not even funny. Maybe after hearing everyone' s feedback they will finally understand where the fine line is between enjoyable and obnoxious.

I don't care for the idea of shards of cinnamon stick in my food either, I did cringe when she made potatoes with whole spices and although they were probably tasty, probably also a lot like eating dirt and sticks with the potatoes, I don't think I'd care for the texture or for fishing them out before I choke on them. =

[skeezix]

I'll second that I sit down and 'read' her cookbooks because I love the narratives she writes for each recipe. And that she doesn't use the same phrases over and over again.

[minneapple]

I have to admit to being confused about how she added the cinnamon stick and cloves. They really never get soft enough to be edible, I can't see breaking a cinnamon stick and leaving the shards in the dish and I know I'd be the one to choke on a clove.

This is actually how real Indian pilaf and some styles of rice for Indian biryani are made -- with broken-up cinammon sticks and whole cloves. It's how my mother, mother-in-law and grandmother make it, anyway. In my grandmother's recipe, you boil the water with the spices in it and then add the rice (and then add a couple saffron threads on top). You're just supposed to sort of eat around the whole spices, I think. I always did.

The Mughlai Chicken recipe looks really, really, really good. I may have to try it one of these days.

[lvmb123]

This is actually how real Indian pilaf and some styles of rice for Indian biryani are made -- with broken-up cinammon sticks and whole cloves.

Learn something new every day. I've eaten Indian food many times, but never made anything beyond a very basic curry (which I use a base that I buy in an Indian/Pakistan store not too far from where I live) so I had no idea about adding the whole spices.

I'm going to give the Mughlai chicken and rice pilaf a try this weekend.

This post has been edited by lvmb123: Sep 13, 2007 @ 3:00 pm.

[rafjel]

My mom always makes pilaf with whole cloves and cardamom pods. I used to hate it when I was younger, because I would inevitably eat one here and there...I now take the time to pick them out. Luckily I have to do no such thing with biryani.

[peachpye]

Same here regarding Indian food; you learned just not to eat the whole spices. It was not uncommon to have a little pile of sticks and spices left on the side of the plate when finished.

I will say though, that when Nigella broke up her cinnamon stick she did it in smaller shards than I'm used to seeing. I usually just snap mine in half, hers broke into more pieces than that. I wasn't so concerned about eating around them, just that the pieces themselves looked sharp in case you did mistakenly bite down on one.

[Homerun89]

From this week's Gourmet newsletter:
<snip>
The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, a U.K. government agency, recently conducted research on five celebrity chefs' recipes and concluded that Nigella Lawson used too many long sentences and Delia Smith used confusing measurements. Gordon Ramsay, however, could be understood by most seven-year-olds. Is this an indictment of female recipe writers? The British education system? Ramsay's potty mouth?
<snip>
Too many long sentences?! Nobody utilizes the subtle nuances of the language like Nigella. She's a pleasure to watch. Though "Feasts" is in like its third showing on Food Network, I still watch every single one. No way would I do this with any other TV chef. That's why her cookbooks are so delightful: She writes like she talks, and she talks so beautifully. I sure hope FN picks up "Express" after it's shown on the BBC. One can only hope.

[Lura]

I LOVE Nigella Lawson. She is more put together than most women of any age. She seems to have risen like a Phoenix over her tragedies and has kept going with grace in spite of them. She has a darling sense of humor in which she invites the audience to chuckle along with her. With all the flash and splash attending so many of our homegrown female chefs, Nigella seems to work quietly and steadily without the need of fancy gimmicks or waving arms or running around the beach to attract attention and snag viewers. Although a few of her recipes have turned me off (potatoes with tomatoes smashed in them), she manages to cook interesting dishes and satisfy the audience with her techniques, all the while not boring us. I wish the FN would stock its host pantry with more like Nigella.

[TylersMom]

I sure hope FN picks up "Express" after it's shown on the BBC. One can only hope.

I read in the "TV Guide Fall Preview" that FN was going to run "Express." It will be in Nigella's regular time slot on Sunday mornings.

[Sonyad]

I've seen cinnamon sticks maybe broken in half, but I've never seen them broken down into shrapnel for your gums.

[Ms Chicklet]

Nigella's cups runneth over (NSFW)

[skeezix]

Bah humbug on that study, I certainly have better reading comphrension than a 7 year old so why wouldn't I want to read her beautifully written recipes? If we really needed to have 7 year olds cook then Amelia Bedilia would write cookbooks.

[Ima Pilgrim]

I've seen cinnamon sticks maybe broken in half, but I've never seen them broken down into shrapnel for your gums.

That worried me, those little stick-y pieces hiding in the rice. Has anyone tried her potatoes with whole spices? That looked to me like eating potatoes coated with dirt and gravel, I can't imagine that, while flavorful, it was a pleasant dish to eat. Did I just say something negative about my heroine? GASP....

Loved the photo, what an unfortunate photo op, or fortunate, I guess, depending on whether you live for the chance of near-wardrobe malfunctions.

[xii]

Nigella seems to work quietly and steadily without the need of fancy gimmicks or waving arms or running around the beach to attract attention and snag viewers.

To be fair, she does have her own gimmicks -- the most obvious one being her trademark late-night refrigerator raid in her jammies. I don't think it's possible to have a show on the Food Network without having a toolbox full of gimmicks.

--Gah, why doesn't 'refrigerator' have a 'd' like 'fridge'?

This post has been edited by xii: Sep 21, 2007 @ 8:51 am.

[polpetti]

Nigella has a new cookbook coming out November 1st called "Nigella Express: 130 Recipes for Good Food". It's available for pre-order on Amazon. I'd link but don't know if it's ok to link to retail sites. I don't know if she'll have a series to accompany it but I'm hoping so.