You may be thinking 'not another celebrity cookbook' and, if so, I don't blame you. If I didn't know Aggie MacKenzie I'd probably be thinking that too.But it may surprise you to learn her background is in food rather than hygiene - I used to work for her on Sainsbury's magazine and Good Housekeeping before she became famous for How Clean is Your House. So the cooking thing is not just made up to trade in on her fame.
And this is a real family cookbook. Of things she cooks, her sons cook, her mother cooks and even, her ex and her late mother-in-law cooked (now that is saintly!). It's as if your best friend who's a fantastic cook just handed over all her favourite recipes.
There's lots of fun stuff that's suitable for kids too like 'My take on chicken twizzlers' and Clissold Fried Chicken (a Stoke Newington version of KFC) and tips on how to get your kids cooking. The baking section is particularly good - I'll be posting a recipe later this week, hopefully - but love the sound of Tear-and-share Cheesy Rolls, Scottish Morning Rolls and her 'legendary' Granny's Scones.
The reason why I'm reviewing it on this blog is that - unusually for a celeb - she keeps the cost of food very much in mind, witness the Baked Chicken Casserole she makes "when I need to see off those lonesome bits at the bottom of the fridge", A Great Veg Dish for Leftover Cheese and Eggy Bread with Fudgey Plums "dead quick when you haven't planned a pud." And there are loads of useful tips on meal planning and saving money when you're food shopping.
This is a brilliantly down to earth cookbook that you'll use again and again. You can currently buy it for just over £11 on Amazon but even at the full price of £20 it's well worth the money. One for the Christmas list, defo.
sounds right up my street, I'm going to get a copy.
ReplyDeleteIt's great for anyone with a family. Hope you enjoy.
ReplyDeleteI met Aggie at an event at the modern pantry, neither of us could decide which breakfast option to order so we ordered one each and split.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't known until then of her food background, and all the time she spent on magazines and food editing/ writing.
Much more up my street than the cleaning and hygiene stuff.
Great information! It is very useful for family and restaurant.
ReplyDeleteI did know that Aggie came from a food background, but sort of forgot after her stint on the "how clean is your house" show.
ReplyDeleteGlad she's returning to food, and at £11 will certainly give this book a go.....Thanks.
sounds like a really good family cookbook, I'll have to add this one to my list!
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