The first review of a cookbook on the site, I plan to do many more, but lets start with the Ovenbijbel review. A cookbook I got for my birthday in 2020 from a friend. The story at the backside of the book promises that this cookbook is THE book for everyone with an oven. From classics to basics to traybakes it’s all in there.
Data Ovenbijbel Review
The recipe in the book are made by Chickslovefood. This book is part of the larger Bijbel-series, more on that later. The makers behind Chickslovefood are Elise Gruppen-Schouwerwou and Nina de Bruijn. It’s one of the most popular foodblogs in the Netherlands. They met as journalism students and started the website in 2010. What’s unique about them is that they have simple recipes with only 5 to 6 ingredients.
Carrera culinair is the publisher of the book. ISBN-number of the book is 978 90 488 580 19. I have the hardcover version, there’s also a softcover version.
Bijbel-series
Bijbel means bible in Dutch. It’s a series of cooking books that are meant to be used as standardized works. Each book is designed in the same style as the other books. They’re all written by different authors. Carrera culinair contracts the best (Dutch) chefs and foodbloggers in each subject to make that particular book. There’s one already on pasta, cookies (I own that one also), soups, bread and so on. Each year more are added.
Contents
The book has 428 pages and is written in Dutch. Most of the recipes come with a photo. I love it most when I have pictures of a recipe. I judge the title and picture to decide whether I’m interested in the recipe. Then I’ll check the ingredients.
The cookbook has 12 chapters with recipes. The chapters are as follows: basic recipes, classics, casseroles 5 or less, skinny casseroles with 6 ingredients, comfortfood, savory pies, traybakes, party, steam oven, healthy bakes, bites and pastry classics. Each chapter starts with a short introduction and the recipes it contains.
Further there’s a foreword, a small chapter on Chickslovefood, a chapter how to use the book and a chapter on which kitchen utensils to use.
Recipes
Mostly on one sometimes on two pages the recipe is given. The photo has a separate page. Each recipe has the title printed large, underneath that is a short intro to the recipe. The instructions are directly under the intro. The ingredients list and preparation time are to the right of the intro. Some recipes also contain a tip.
What I’ve Prepared and My Experience
So far I’ve prepared 15 recipes, from Hasselback potatoes to Pesto Lasagna. For some examples of the recipes I made see week 10 2021, week 11 2021 and week 12 2021. The first recipe I tried out was Oatmeal Cakes with Blueberries.
Our favorite recipes so far are the Italian Filo Pastry Pizza, Pesto Lasagna and Pizzasticks. We devoured these and all 3 of us found them really delicious. The Apple Pie for Breakfast was a bit dry, I liked the Savory Breadpudding, Paul not so much. When I prepare the Mexican Sweet Potato Casserole again, the sweet potatoes need to cook longer, since they were still a bit hard.
That’s All On the Ovenbijbel Review
Hope you’re as enthusiastic on this cookbook as I am. Looking through it again for this review, and I’ve scheduled several recipes for the coming weeks, such as in Week 15 2022. The recipe are easy to follow and most are simply delicious.