Rating: 
Summary: No Clothes Required (Well, Perhaps an Apron)
Review: The Naked Chef is a fresh, no-holds-barred approach to cooking. Jamie Oliver is a young, down to earth chef who subscribes to the theory that cooking is fun and that a recipe is only a guideline. This book is for people who love lots of olive oil, garlic, sea salt, fresh herbs, fresh herbs and more fresh herbs. Low fat dieters beware! Read the recipes carefully as they are often so laissez faire that they become confusing; nevertheless, the end result will ALWAYS taste great. As Jamie would say: This book is "Pukka".
Rating: 
Summary: A book that changed my life
Review: Recently, a friend asked me if any books had changed my life in the past year or so. I thought for awhile, and responded, "Why, yes, I guess you could say 'The Naked Chef' has changed my life. Now, I love to cook!"What I love about these recipes, besides that they're delicious, is that there isn't a lot of fussiness: no exact measurements (except for the baking recipes, of course), no tricky little "tie each noodle in a bow" steps, no sinks full of dirty pots and pans (many of the recipes are "one-dish"). This cookbook also possesses a couple of attributes that make meal planning easy: great photographs, and an extensively cross-referenced index. I now own all 4 of Jamie Oliver's cookbooks. (...)
Rating:
Summary: A Model of Life in Love with Food and Cooking. Buy It!
Review: Jamie Oliver's first book, `The Naked Chef' was published shortly after his success with the short run BBC series of the same name, when Jamie looks to be not much more than 20. While it was easy to understand the quality of his fourth American publication, `Jamie's Kitchen', it is a little surprising to encounter the quality in his very first book, until you read of his culinary apprenticeship under both Antonio Carluccio and Gennaro Contaldo (of the Neal Street restaurant) and Rose Gray and Ruth Rodgers (of the River Café) in London plus a journeyman's stint with a major restaurant in Paris. Young chefs do not get stints with these venues without some serious abilities above and beyond their three years at the Westminster Catering College. His working to Carluccio certainly explains his love of fresh ingredients. His visits to the local greengrocer and other markets are not a TV gimmick. A `Gourmet' magazine writer was visiting the London open air markets collecting information for a story when they ran into our boy Jamie, off camera, doing exactly the kind of ingredients collecting he does at the beginning of each of his TV shows. I also understand the background of his simple approach to food after having reviewed three cookbooks from the River Café duo Gray and Rodgers. This first book was done not long after he left their service and in many ways it reads like another Gray / Rodgers effort, except that our Jamie has added a few good touches of his own to enhance the material.
As the flyleaf clearly explains, the `Naked' moniker refers to the style of food preparation practiced and promulgated by Monsieur Oliver and not a comment on his attire while cooking. Be very clear about the fact that this is not the same as fast or even easy, however most of Jamie's recipes are relatively easy for a moderately talented home cook. `Naked' primarily means dishes which are prepared from ingredients which are as close as possible to the soil, the sea, and the pasture. And, it means that the food is prepared with a minimum of fuss and measuring. Jamie firmly believes in the maxim that good cooking is acquiring the very best ingredients and doing as little as possible to muck them up.
The first indication that this book is not about fast is when Jamie gives us two recipes for homemade pasta and goes on to give many, many recipes which use this homemade fare, with the full expectation that you will take the time to make these yourself. True to his River Café roots, there are many good pasta dishes in this book. The homemade ravioli and tortellini recipes alone may be worth the price of admission. The seafood recipes are a close second in their simplicity and appeal to the mind's taste buds.
The chapter on meat, poultry, and game broadens Jamie's horizon to include pork and lamb dishes inspired by American, British, and North African cuisines. There are four variations on roast leg of lamb, a real boon to lamb lovers like myself. Roasted chicken and duck get a turn in Jamie's oven as well. Jamie returns to his Italian inspiration at the end of meats with a rather elaborate meatball recipe that includes just about every spice in the Italian pantry plus the usual bread, egg, cheese, and mustard for mortar. This recipe is a perfect example of where Jamie may be overlooking some finer details for the sake of simplicity. The meat is simply `meat for grinding or bought ground meat'. There is no suggestion of beef and pork and veal mixtures. The simplification goes further in suggesting that unground meat can be made ready by giving it a whizz in the food processor. My favorite foodie nerd Alton Brown gives detailed instructions for grinding meat in a food processor, as a heavy finger on the `On' button can easily turn your choice chuck into choice mush.
The chapter on vegetables covers a lot of familiar Mediterranean territory, but it also branches out to the Orient for a stir-fry recipe and a vegetable tempura. Jamie really dips into his love of the Mediterranean cuisine by devoting an entire chapter to legumes. I would expect a true Brit to talk up potatoes, but not our Jamie. And, he will have nothing to do with canned beans. All recipes in this and other chapters call for beans soaked overnight. This fits the `cheap and easy, but not necessarily quick' theme of the book. The stars in this chapter include cranberry beans, chickpeas, yellow split peas, green lentils, black-eyed peas, lima beans and cannellini beans.
Another paean to the Mediterranean is the next chapter on risotto and couscous. I'm really surprised to find that Jamie's favorite risotto recipe includes both rice and beans; however, a little reflection reminds me that this is simply another marriage of foods which have been complementing one another for centuries. The couscous recipes touch the high points with two hot dishes and a salad.
Jamie's chapter on bread is another sign that his style is all about simplicity and not speed. His basic recipe is pure Italian, using classic Italian techniques and durum semolina flour. I have done Oliver bread recipes with great success, so I heartily recommend his contributions to everyday bread baking. For a relatively small book, the variety of bread recipes is really impressive. Compared to the bread chapter, the dessert chapter is rather short and sweet, focusing on conventional English and Italian standards.
Jamie Oliver is not giving us quick cooking. He is not even aping River Café works and giving us good, simple Italian cooking. Jamie Oliver is promoting a lifestyle based on good cooking from basic ingredients.
Jamie's recipes may be a bit too simply stated for a complete novice, but I am ready to sign up for his view of home cooking with naked ingredients. How about you?
Rating:
Summary: Jamie Oliver revolutionized my cooking style
Review: If it weren't for Jamie Oliver, I'd probably still be eating beans out of a can with rice for dinner on a very regular basis. The great thing about the Naked Chef cookbooks is that even though I don't use the recipes everyday, I have learned some basic principles from the books that I use consistently in so much of my day-to-day cooking.
If you are from the United States, one thing to be aware of is that I believe we have larger produce here on average than in Great Britain. There have been a number of times when I followed Jamie's recipe to a T, but still felt there was quite a bit too much lemon, lime, veggie, etc. So just be aware that if Jamie says "the juice of a large lemon", that might really mean a medium lemon for an American.
If you know a little about cooking but are ready to take it to the next level and make some very tasty meals, the Naked Chef cookbooks just might be for you. They are especially good for those who, like me, highly enjoy Mediterranean-style food.
Rating:
Summary: A book that changed my life
Review: Recently, a friend asked me if any books had changed my life in the past year or so. I thought for awhile, and responded, "Why, yes, I guess you could say 'The Naked Chef' has changed my life. Now, I love to cook!" What I love about these recipes, besides that they're delicious, is that there isn't a lot of fussiness: no exact measurements (except for the baking recipes, of course), no tricky little "tie each noodle in a bow" steps, no sinks full of dirty pots and pans (many of the recipes are "one-dish"). This cookbook also possesses a couple of attributes that make meal planning easy: great photographs, and an extensively cross-referenced index. I now own all 4 of Jamie Oliver's cookbooks. (...)
Rating:
Summary: the recipes LOOK more complicated than they really are
Review: when I first got this cookbook, I leafed through it, marveling at the gorgeous pictures, and laughing at his breezy tone. the problem I initially had with is was that for what proported to be "stripped down fair", the recipes seemed really intimidating (can it really be "simple" to roast a whole stuffed chicken?) and exotic (skate wings?), so for a long time it sat on my coffee table as simply eye candy. then one day, I got up the courage to try out some of his recipes. they turned out FABULOUS. everything I have tried from this book has been deceptively simple and delicious. (that roasted chicken in particular). plus, the easy, conversational feel basically talks you through everything. I'm definately going to cook more from this book, and let is sit around less. I'm only giving it 4 stars because of the initial intimidation factor, otherwise, it's a great cookbook!
[update] I've been cooking from this book more and more, and the more I do, the more I want to recommend it to people. I just tried his fabulous Tomato and Sweet Chilli Pepper Soup, and it was WONDERFUL. If you're on the fence about this book - definately buy it!
Rating:
Summary: A sensible guide to eating well without fuss
Review: Once you get past the self-hype and focus on the recipes, you'll find this is a good cookbook. Oliver aims to show you how to eat well without spending a day in the kitchen, and he succeeds. Some of the recipes are off--the beer bread, for example, has way too much salt to be palatable--but most are tasty treats.
Rating:
Summary: the Naked Now..
Review: Jamie Oliver is one of those Food tv staples that is both informative and entertaining and makes almost any dish look simple to do. He has a great fan base and this is one of his books that any would-be cook would enjoy. It makes a great gift for any friend or family who loves to cook. Pure and simple cooking for anyone.
|
