The Official Downton Abbey Cookbook Gift Set

I am a huge fan of Downton Abbey, and I collect cookbooks. When I saw this one, I immediately ordered one! I enjoy the recipes, photos, and history of the era. Of course there are references to the show and the characters that I appreciate.

I bought the Official Downton Abbey Cookbook last week, and cooked from it yesterday.To begin with, these are the recipes I made:Oysters au GratinLobster CutletsSole à la FlorentineRaspberry Meringues (aka Pavlovas)Champagne JellyI made all of these the same day, for the same dinner, to essentially create a ‘Downton Abbey Dinner for Two.’None of the recipes were exceptionally difficult, and if I had been making these individually (not on the same day), I think I would have felt they were extremely manageable.Doing them all in the same 8-hour period required a little work and planning, since I don’t have a kitchen staff to assist me. I do have my husband and Dachshund…but they’re more help than hindrance ( they mean well).In a nutshell, I liked all of the dishes.There are things I would have done differently – less sauce on my fillets, making sure my fruit didn’t bob to the top of the mold (or what ends up being the bottom)– maybe my fruit pieces were sliced too thin and hence too light?I also had to put the jelly in the freezer for an hour because I didn’t see the part about the jelly being in the fridge for at least 8 hours. It worked, and the Champagne Jelly really does end up keeping the Champagne taste (or Prosecco in my case).For the Lobster Cutlets, I used a mix of lobster from the Seafood counter and canned crab meat (as the author said was an acceptable substitution in the book). I DID want the little ‘legs’ though, and I didn’t have any claws, so I used the reddish part of the lobster meat and sliced thin sticks to somewhat resemble what was shown in the book’s photo.I thought the cutlets were really good.If I were to have a party in the future, I might make mini versions and serve them as appetizers. I think some kind of seafood-y dip would go well with these.The Meringues were delicious, and the Raspberry Fool that fills them is very easy to make, and very light and tasty.Make sure you set your oven to the right temp, I accidentally baked my first batch at 250 vs 200 and ended up with mocha colored meringues (still very good, and I’ll use them with chocolate ice cream). But I did have to make them over for this dinner.The Sole Florentine is easy to make, and very delicious. I liked the poaching in wine method the author advised. I used my leftover Champagne Jelly Prosecco for poaching (I still had some leftover after pouring myself a glass, also author advised ‘if the time of day is right.’I would make any of these dishes again.And next time, it would be much easier.Just a note, I always like things I can make ahead of time, and most of these recipes had components that could partially be done the day before, or at least earlier in the day, were you to have a dinner party.I’m looking forward to using this book quite a lot.

When I ordered this book, I was looking for something cool to get my mother for Christmas. I had spent a few hours on Amazon, flitting from kitchen utensils to bookshelves to movies (I sometimes liken Amazon browsing to falling down a rabbit hole and discovering Wonderland), when this book randomly popped up. Instantly, I was like "Wow, that's so cool! It's perfect!" My mother is a HUGE Downton Abbey fan, and she collects cookbooks, so I knew I couldn't go wrong with this.But I didn't actually take a look at the details in the product description when I bought it. I was anticipating a simple book with some photos of the show and some recipes that may have been mentioned in some of the episodes. I was stunned when this book arrived!It's absolutely beautiful! And big! So many recipes and pictures, bits about the show that I never knew, and backstories about the recipes! I learned so much about the time period and the food people ate back then.I eventually had to force myself to wrap this book and put it under the tree so that I would keep my hands off it. And I fully intend to buy my own copy soon! It was worth every penny for the several days I simply got to browse through it, and even more so to witness the joy and excitement it continues to bring my mother!

A must have companion for any Downton fan!You will not be disappointed in this big, hard cover volume. Beautiful photographs blend in with recipes from upstairs and downstairs.Also included is in depth information about how political, social, economic etc changes affected the characters on the show, how they ate, as well as their class in general.This is all written very well in a highly enjoyable fashion, you will not feel like you are reading dry history.The recipes are an excellent combination of ones that the average person would absolutely make-to ones that maybe not so much-but are a necessary addition for historic accuracy, and are fun to read about!This book transported me back to the time of the show!With holidays upcoming-this would make an excellent gift for any Downton fan-or a fan of Victorian/Edwardian England.Enjoy!

perfect condition and i bought this as a gift but i will be ordering one for myself!!

I loved the show and bought this for a gift and she loved it. I like that it had so much more in it than the recipes….. you’ll have to order it!!

This is a lovely book to own. It contains so much more than recipes. The researched detail into social and regional influences on 'English' cooking is a real pleasure to read. I have almost given up on recipe books as there is so much variety on the internet these days, but without a long search the internet won't give you the information which is packed into this brilliant book; an indulgence perhaps, but so worth it.The American Accent relates to the possibility that the book has been written solely for an American audience. The first recipe I looked at was the Vegetarian Curry, where I found references to 'rutabaga' and 'fava' beans. Mrs. Patmore wouldn't have known a rutabaga if it fell in her lap, and fava beans were only ever broad beans in the UK. Still, at least she'd have had Cora to interpret for her. I did find a reference to rutabaga (swede) when I read the book from cover to cover, perhaps a small American/English list of ingredients might have helped. A tip: if you need to shell fava/broad beans, remember to wear gloves; the lining of the pod will turn your fingertips black.Don't hesitate: buy this book, enjoy it, it really is a treasure.