Verdict: Feast by Nigella Lawson

Here it is, her most-latest (and in my opinion, the best) of her cookbooks. I was given this for Christmas 2005 and so far, it's been Very Helpful, not only in the recipe department, but also in providing general information about worldwide holidays, traditions and religions. Interesting.
There were a couple of different covers printed for this, and I'm so glad I have the one I have. The alternate covers feature her in a red jumper looking inane, and the word Feast is in very non-feasty font and also has a weird placement. I probably wouldn't be so happy with this book if it had a different cover. Shallow? Mmm, probably.

Most-cooked recipe: The Green Bean and Lemon Casserole on page 33 (Christmas section). It ain't no casserole, it's just beans, butter, lemon and salt, but we cook it All The Time (really, at least once a week) and it has become a real favourite. We do it with Greek-style lamb chops (garlic, rosemary and yoghurt on the side) or with pork. The lemon really cuts through the rich meat. The Chocolate Malteser Cake also has been given a workout, I must admit. Many recipes from this year's birthday dinners have come from or been inspired by this book, including the Aromatic Lamb Meatballs on page 441 and the Lemon Roast Chicken with Lazy Mash.

Recipe I haven't tried, but it was one of the reasons I bought the book: Pretty much everything. It's all so incredibly rich, lush and fabulous-looking that if I read this for too long, I have sudden urges to rush to the shops, pick up some gear and cook us up a Major Feast...
I'd really like to try the keema, the kedgeree, the lokshen pudding, the baked sweet potato with marshmallows, the Nana's hachapuri, the honeyed almond and orange cake with figs, the stuffed roast leg of lamb, roast quinces with pomegranate seeds and the cardamom chicken. Quite a list. She gets so chatty that you feel as if none of it would be too taxing, and it's very easy to choose something great from such an extensive, far-reaching and comprehensive recipe collection.
Rejected recipe: I looked long and hard and honestly can't find anything to reject. All is great, all is good.
General good things: The breaking-down of the recipes into sections is excellent, as is dividing them by occasion rather than meal order. At first I was a little perturbed by the inclusion of Funeral Feasts, but then I thought, well, if I ever have to cater for a funeral, I'll know where to turn. The feast sections are appropriately multicultural and inclusive and have made me want to know more about some of these special occasions from other cultures.

• Thanksgiving and Christmas
• New Year
• Meatless Feasts
• Valentine's Day
• Easter
• Passover
• Breakfast
• Kitchen Feasts
• Kiddiefeast
• Cut-Out Cookies
• Chocolate Cake Hall of Fame
• A Georgian Feast
• Eid
• Ultimate Feasts
• Hallowe'en
• Rosh Hashanah
• A Venetian Feast
• Festival of Lights
• Partytime
• Midnight Feast
• Wedding Feast
• Funeral Feast
  

General bad things: She always gives measurements by weight, not by cup sizes. I KNOW that this is the proper way to do it, but it STILL annoys me because I just want to get on with it, not get out the scales, find the scale container, measure out annoyingly weency amounts of stuff, scrape out, weigh again, blah blah blah, wipe down the scales, etc. I'd rather just pour everything into a cup and then start cooking. Obviously also, a lot of stuff is sometimes not so easy for us to find in Brisbane as it is for her in the UK. Pomegranates? Sprue? Mangetout? Give some options, please, don't make me have to go looking up definitions and culinary substitutes for foreign ingredients.

Lameness factor: Maybe a 1, just for the homey girly guilty tone she seems to cultivate sometimes. Nigella, don't get all confessional about loving deep-fried and alcoholic treats- everyone feels like that sometimes and your readers aren't going to give a fig.

Overall rating(from 20): Yep, 20.