[.ca] How to be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of ... (ISBN 0676974104)

From Amazon.co.uk:
Those who love comfort food have cause to be grateful for Nigella Lawson's book How to Be a Domestic Goddess. Cause, too, perhaps, to wonder that she isn't the size of a house, since baked comfort foods typically encompass large quantities of butter, cream, eggs, sugar, chocolate, nuts, cream cheese and all the other foodstuffs to which with dreary inevitability attaches the deadly word "sinful". But in Nigella Lawson's hands these dangerous, even feared, substances are transmuted alchemically into the healing balms of the goddess, who presides (perhaps a little ironically) over a harmonious kitchen realm. The recipes are suitably divine, covering cakes, biscuits, pies, puddings, breads, with special sections on cooking for (and by) children and Christmas. Most are sweet, though there is a choice selection of savoury pies and puddings--Pizza Rustica, Steak and Kidney Pudding, Cornish Pasties. The sweet things range from the airy elegance of Pistachio Macaroons, through the luscious spiciness of Norwegian Cinnamon Buns, to the trailer-trashiness of Coca-Cola Cake. Nigella Lawson's poise never falters, whether she is discussing serving mulled wine with mince pies ("Don't fight it") or a strange passion-fruit liqueur required for one of her trifles ("the most divinely camp liqueur you could ever come across"). She plays a kind of game with her readers, insisting constantly on her greed, but really invoking our own. What a fascinating book: hints of obsessiveness revealed behind the beautifully projected personality of a laid-back voluptuary.--Robin Davidson

Nigella is artistry:
In food, and in words. If you enjoy cooking, this book is a complete culinary experience. There are recipies in this book that you will find nowhere else, and if you have a taste for british cuisine, her recipies are the best. Whether you actually cook from this book, or simply read through it, you will enjoy Nigella.

Best baking book ever!:
I love to bake and have purchased many cookbooks. This is my all-time favourite cookbook and one that I keep coming back to. Every single recipe I have tried had turned out wonderfully. The chocolate mousse cake is to die for! There are lots of pictures and Nigella's writing is descriptive and makes you unafraid to try new techniques that you otherwise might find intimidating. This is a cookbook to read cover to cover like a book as well as try the recipes. I've been especially impressed how it is actually possible to make the recipe and have it look *exactly* like it does in the picture. Everybody who loves to bake and wants to make impressive and delicious desserts with little effort should get this book!

Absolutely fabulous!:
What a wonderful book! Nigella's wit paired with her cooking skills make for a great read. Every recipe I have tried has turned out great. It's easy to feel like Nigella is in the kitchen with you, coaching you along. I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest and love for food and cooking!

Deliciously Easy:
So far I've tried about 4 of the recipes in this book, and they are all exquisitely easy. You've got to read this book like a novel before you settle down to the delicious matter of actually baking. Nigella has revitalized my love of baking. What are you waiting on? Go ahead, buy this book, you won't regret it.

A must for all cooks:
I was given "How To Eat" as a gift by my brother...I devoured the book from cover to cover and absolutely loved it's contents. I have collected cookery books since the age of eleven and have to say that "How To Eat" revolutionised my collection. I decided to buy "How To Be a Domestic Goddess" and was a little disappointed that it was slightly less "chatty" than the previous. However, I read it from cover to cover and enjoyed it. I rarely use cookbooks though I love to read them, I use the ideas but not the recipes. I have been told I'm a good cook...but by my own admission a lousy baker. My pastry is dry and boring, my cakes consist of a basic all-in-one recipe I learned by heart years ago and consequently all taste the same. I decided to take the plunge and follow some of Nigella's recipes...wow!! The difference is astounding and I now bake cookies, cakes and pastry using her recipes. I use this book regularly (though curiously have never cooked from her "How To Eat" book). I also purchased "Nigella Bites",I read it from cover to cover in the vain hope of finding it interesting eventually. Sadly this book is not to the same standard and I have never referred to it for any of the recipes or ideas. I would recommend "How To Be A Domestic Goddess" to anyone looking for inspiration for baking, for mothers wishing to wow their offspring with more than just a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, for young cooks and this book makes a perfect wedding gift.