Comment by frereubu

I remember a conversation in my 20s with a friend who said "Jamie Oliver's recipes all work" and I was nonplussed by it - I figured that all the recipes in recipe books had been tried and tested, but boy was I naïve. The ones I know which always work are: any Jamie Oliver, any Anna Jones, Ottolenghi's Simple, River Cafe Easy, and The Intolerant Gourmet (a great book of recipes even if you don't have food intolerances). Leith's Cookery Bible is also good - there's a particulaly good one for boned stuffed chicken - although some of the recipes are a little dated now.