Richard Carroll

Very comprehensive, but poorly organized and frankly, some of the recipes just don't turn out.

The recipes are organized by type: Hors d'oeuvres, Pasta, Rice, etc... but each section has subdivisions including desserts that are not included in the table of contents, so it can be extremely difficult to find what you're looking for. As for the recipes: Some are spot-on. Most of the curries are utterly delicious, but the vegetable curry is a little uninspired. The baked goods, which are generally the hardest recipes to mess up, are kind of not good. The muffins turn out a bit tough and flavorless- I don't know what he's done, but he's made some kind of baked-good gaffe. There is an enormous dessert section, but it is mostly devoted to homemade chocolate and ice cream- very intriguing, no doubt, but how often does one actually make those things at home? Meanwhile, the fig and mascarpone cake is good but waaaay too rich, and the baked apple cheesecake which sounds so amazing is actually a bit bland.
Aside from that- although I realize this is purely a regional issue, and that the book must be british or something- he calls red peppers "capiscum", which took me forever to figure out.
Overall, this is a hit-and-miss collection.… (altro)