While looking through it I was reminded that Mary Berry was one of the authors of The Hamlyn All Colour Cookbook (HACC), published in 1970 it appeared in our house sometime later that decade. There was a picture of every dish, in colour! As the name implies! I suspect a lot of people had this book, but haven't realised that Mary Berry of Great British Bake Off fame was one of the authors.
Mary reminds me of a kind, motherly, but strict teacher of Home Economics. You don't mess in class and she will bring the best out in you as if you were her own child. Her recipes are straight forward and she isn't afraid to take short cuts, in particular her use of bought puff pastry.
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| While Mary has grown older and wiser her smile remains the same |
A recipe for chicken caught my eye in the new book, Peppered Tarragon Chicken.
Was there one for it in the HACC book? Yes, there sort of is a similar recipe for Chicken with Orange & Tarragon.
The older recipe contains frozen orange juice and sour cream and is made with chicken quarters. The new one uses black pepper cream cheese, chicken fillets and crème fraiche.
To compare the recipes is not fair, but there are really no new recipes. Just a reworking of ingredients.
There are new or now easier to get ingredients in Mary Berry Cooks, which she takes full advantage of.
Every kitchen should have a Mary Berry book and this one is going to be well used in many households. A great gift for someone getting their first kitchen, it also has sections on menu planning and how much to cook and a section on how to use your freezer properly. Something lacking in many super cool, extra beautiful, I couldn't make that in a million years, chef's cookbooks!
Eating real home cooked food is a joy and we should take our time to enjoy real food, so this Mother's Day lets do that. No matter how simple a meal, make it with love!
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