Nights Out At Home - Jay Rayner

I've always enjoyed Jay Rayner's restaurant reviews so was happy to accept a review copy of this book, expecting to enjoy it. I'm still surprised by how much I love it. It's an easy book to dip in and out of, though once you start reading it's even easier to just carry on. Rayner, I imagine, must be an engaging host or dinner companion; amusing and generous with his knowledge, serious about what he does but not taking himself too seriously here, and delightfully enthusiastic about the the food that has hit the spot. 

Nights Out at Home is a collection of 60 recipes and all sorts of stories from 25 years as a restaurant critic and perfect for any foodie that likes to try and recreate a good meal out back at home. Some of the dishes in here are complicated, but they'll make you a better cook (and so will having a good look at some of the carefully chosen restaurant menus) some are perfect in their simplicity, and one sets out to create a luxuriously home made version of the Gregg's steak bake - an endeavor that so strongly reminded me of someone I used to work with (an amazing cook) that I'll be sending him a copy of this. 

We don't sell as many cookbooks as I'd like in Leicester, and Amazons ratings have this at number 10 in women's biographies which is impressive but confusing. My overall feeling though is that it's not quite getting the attention it deserves. As a practical cookbook it wouldn't be my first choice, but as a really enjoyable read with insight into the role of a restaurant critic, professional kitchens, and the people who run and work in them it's a treat. 

It would make an excellent Christmas present, not least because it's going to be perfect reading both in anticipation of Christmas lunch or dinner, and then on a full stomach whilst it all digests. I've had a thoroughly lovely weekend reading it in between pottering around cooking a little more elaborately than I have in a while - bad weather blew out our plans for a good country walk followed by a pub lunch so we went all out at home. Which is another thing to like about this book - its enthusiasm for other cooks and their work is inspiring me to pull down a couple of so far underused books and give them more attention too.