Two Fat Ladies Obsessions

by Clarissa Dickson Wright, Jennifer Paterson

You know them from their eponymous hit television series and their three previous Cooking with the Two Fat Ladies , The Two Fat Ladies Ride Again , and The Two Fat Ladies Full Throttle . Restoring passion to cooking and outspoken humor to the world of food, Clarissa Dickson Wright and Jennifer Paterson have brought joy to millions of fans. In Two Fat Ladies Obsessions , they turned their attention to what turns them on, taking an in-depth look at thirty-four of their favorite ingredients, ranging from Oysters, Chicken, Chilies, Lamb, and Olives to Raspberries, Chocolate, Peaches, Salt, Butter, and Coffee. More than 150 recipes -- all written in true Fat Lady style -- reveal not only the history of these foods, but also why they are so near and dear to their hearts.

Jennifer's fondness for Lobster Puffs, Maine Style, stemmed from the time she spent cooking on a boat off the coast of New England, while her Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe was a favorite from a childhood stint in Sicily. Clarissa's first food memory, at age 3 ½, of eating a cold sausage and a hard-boiled egg, leads to a wonderful recipe for Simple Sausage Ragu, and her years spent working on a pheasant farm provide a variety of ways to prepare the bird, including delectable Georgian Pheasant. Other recipes, such as T-Bone Steak à la Castle Floors, Ceviche of Salmon, Duke of Hamilton's Fig Ice Cream, Walnut Pancakes, and Raspberry and Chocolate Millefeuilles, offer a new twist on foods we all love.

Uniquely personal and highly entertaining, Two Fat Ladies Obsessions will delight old and new fans alike and serves as a fittingly robust tribute to the memory of Jennifer Paterson.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food

240 pages, Hardcover

First published September 7, 1999

About the author

Clarissa Theresa Philomena Aileen Mary Josephine Agnes Elsie Trilby Louise Esmerelda Dickson Wright is an English celebrity chef and food historian who is best known as one half, along with Jennifer Paterson, of the Two Fat Ladies. Having trained as a lawyer, at the age of 21, Dickson Wright passed her exams and became the country's youngest barrister. She is also one of only two women in England to become a guild butcher.

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting! The book is organized in short sections according to a central favorite ingredient. There are some recipes I plan to try, and the rest were definitely fun to read about.

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

pretty much the same review for me as Cooking with the Two Fat Ladies...
This book as a little different as it was four or five recipes for each one of their favorite foods preceded by a little write up from one or the other of them why they liked the food so much or memories they had around it. And here are their fav's: salt, pasta, lobster, fava beans, beef on the bone, chicken (surprising because they didn't seem to think much of chicken in previous books), chili peppers, parsley, mustard, olives, snails, anchovies, sausages, roe, garlic, variety meats, cardoons, peaches, butter, apples, chocolate, cream, raspberries, coffee, figs, lemons, walnuts, lamb, salmon, eels, tripe, crab, pheasant, oysters.

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you love to cook, or if you're interested in food prepared in unusual ways, this is a good bet for you. Published after the death of Jennifer Patterson, the book is a sort of tribute to her quirkiness, British humor, and fascination with foods as works of art. Foods are presented with full descriptions of their properties, histories, and current uses. Topics considered run the gamut from lobster and crab, through peaches and raspberries, and on to such obscurities as eel, tripe, and pheasant.

As a collector and obsessive reader of cookbooks, I think this is a treasure that belongs in every foodie's collection.

[Jean · Rating 2 out of 5]

Only copied two recipes from this book. Although my ancestry is British, my tastes aren't!

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this cookbook, there are recipes I look forward to making.