Delia Smith's One Is Fun! (Coronet Books)

I tried one recipe from this book and it was awful - simply inedible. This cookbook is now in the re-cycling bin.

Just as much fun...... (131/131 people found this helpful)

...cooking for one!

(This text refers to the hardcover + D/J-1985 version)

'In 'One is Fun!', Delia has brought her thorough, detailed and commonsense approach to the problems of shopping for, storing and preparing food for one. No longer will single cooks have to wrestle with dividing ordinary recipes for four (how do you cope with a quarter of an egg anyway?).
Here is a treasury of specially devised, ready-made recipes for one.............This imaginative collection will positively encourage you to get cooking.
It goes without saying that it is also a book for all Delia's other followers. It is simplicity itself to adapt these recipes for up to four people, making them a valuable addition to all those that have become family favourites throughout the country.'

224 high quality, shiny pages, split over 10 chapters:-

Solo Soups
Simply Eggs
Fun Fish
One Man's Meat...
Prime Pasta and Rice
The Lone Vegetarian
Singular Salads and Sauces
Vegetable Variations
Super Snacks
Happy Endings

sandwiched between conversion tables, an intro, equipment, ingredients, notes on healthy eating and an index.

Unfussy format, easy to read text, with a handful of full page, colour plates along with some black and white ones.

Each chapter opens with some relevant text written in the typical unpretentious `Delia' fashion, passing on, at times, the tips of other famous food writers, e.g. :-

`Fresh Root Ginger :
This I have used extensively in this book, as it has such a wonderfully pungent and fragrant aroma. Buy it in small quantities: it keeps well in a cool place, wrapped in cling-film, for about a week.
If you want to store it for longer, Elizabeth David in her book `Salts, Spices and Aromatics' recommends peeling it then storing it covered with sherry in a small screw top jar. I have used this method and it works like a dream for several months. I keep mine in the fridge and just grate off as and when I need it.'

The recipes are clearly laid out with an opening note, a list of ingredients and the method, along with any serving notes and additional relevant information.

A taste of the recipes within, all fully tested:-

Ten Minute Stock
Scrambled Eggs with Bacon and Mushrooms
Eggs baked in Smoked Haddock
Chilled Salmon with Tarragon Sauce
Foil-Baked Fish with Lemon Sauce
Gratinée of Prawns with Avocado
Braised Steak au Poivre
Piquant Liver with Sherry Sauce
Kofta Kebab
Stuffed Pork Chop with Fennel
Chicken Chasseur
Gammon Steak with Honey and Mustard Sauce
Poulet Basque
Spaghetti in the Mediterranean Style
Vegetarian Moussaka
Risotto Vongole
Mushroom Curry
Vinaigrette
Cheese and Onion Rosti
Crumpet Pizzas
Poached Pear with Caramel Sauce
Individual Bread & Butter Pudding
Chocolate Mocha Mousse
Muesli Biscuits

Terrific, it taught me to cook (112/126 people found this helpful)

I bought this book fifteen years ago when I first started living on my own. I'd been through the whole student experience of living out of packets and wanted to start cooking some decent meals. After using this marvellous book for while, I suddenly realised that it had stealthily taught me to cook. There are recipes that show you how to make a white sauce, choux pastry, a soufflé, soups, chocolate mousse and lots more. The recipe for chicken in preserved ginger sauce is my favourite dish and I serve it to everyone when they come to dinner for the first time. I love this book so much that over the years I've given countless copies to friends as presents (in fact I think I paid for that conservatory that Delia cooks in on TV). My own copy is well-worn and splashed from much use. Even today after all these years, most of my weekly menus come from 'One is Fun!' Viva Delia!

Not a beginner's cookbook, but excellent in its class. (49/88 people found this helpful)

For those cooking meals for only one or two people, it is refreshing to find a cookbook that doesn't assume recipes should be for four or six people. It's much easier to take a recipe designed for one person and double it (or multiply it as appropriate) than it is to try to divide one down. The book provides a good variety of recipes; they're not for the rank amateur, but someone with a bit of cooking experience shouldn't have any trouble at all.

Delia Smith's One Is Fun! (Coronet Books)

Delia Smith

Reader Reviews:

No fun (0/2 people found this helpful)

Just as much fun...... (131/131 people found this helpful)

Terrific, it taught me to cook (112/126 people found this helpful)

Not a beginner's cookbook, but excellent in its class. (49/88 people found this helpful)

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