Nanny Ogg's Cookbook
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Nanny Ogg's Cookbook
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A useful and improving Almanack of Information, including Astonishing Recipes from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld.
From the Publisher
“They say that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, which just goes to show they’re as confused about anatomy as they are about everything else, unless they’re talking about instructions on how to stab him, in which case a better way is up and under the ribcage. Anyway, we do not live in a perfect world, and it is foresighted and useful for a young woman to become proficient in those arts which will keep a weak–willed man from straying. Learning to cook is also useful.”
Now Nanny Ogg, one of Discworld’s favorite witches, is handing down some of her tasty and, above all, interesting recipes. In addition to the delights of Lord Downey’s Mint Humbugs and Spicy Spotted Dick, Mrs. Ogg imparts her thoughts on life, death, and etiquette (“If you go to other people’s funerals, they’ll be sure to come to yours”), all in a refined style that should not offend anyone. Well, not much.

12/11/2003
A lightweight snack for Discworld fans
I've read all the Discworld novels -- so far, since that's a moving target when dealing with a prolific author like Terry Pratchett -- and have been jonesing for additional Lancre witches material. When I saw this book in my local bookstore, I felt compelled to pick it up.The book is a compilation of recipes inspired - a wider variety than perhaps might be plausible, but bringing in the Ankh-Morpork city watch, wizards of Unseen University and other characters broadens this book's focus and appeal -- along with Nanny Ogg's advice on life and etiquette. The recipes are very British -- some of the ingredients are either unfamiliar to American audiences, or have names that will be unfamiliar -- but all look servicable enough.The book shines in the sections later on, where Nanny expounds on life and love. While she keeps her infamously dirty mind relatively in check, the casual arrogance of the Lancre witches is good for quite a few laughs, with the not-so-subtle message that witches (and to a lesser extent, wizards) are above etiquette given that they can ruin the lives of anyone who would object. Not that they would, dearie. It's an amusing reminder that even the relatively benevolent Nanny is something of a terror to the mere mortals around her.Ultimately, however, this is a small amount of new material for the price -- readers who thought "Eric" was a thin work will find this book to be positively anemic in comparison.Recommended mostly for Pratchett fans who have read all his other works, and can't wait for his next novels to come out.

27/02/2002
Laughter and good food! What more could you want?
This heavily edited version of Nanny Ogg's Cookbook made me wish for the days when I was in Ankh-Morpork with me mum and she'd ...OK, so that's going a bit too far. Please forgive me. The recipes are all in metric units but that's no real trouble for a resourceful American cook! I have tried several, they came out quite well! The honey mixture for the porridge is delicious. I also liked Rincewind's potato cakes. The gumbo recipe was amazing! Technically, I suppose that I have also had the Librarian's recipe but that is quite probably splitting hairs.But odds are that you aren't buying this for the recipes. You're buying it for the wit and wisdom of Terry Pratchett. You get that in spades! The way Leonard of Quirm makes a cheese sandwich had me laughing out loud! The sections on etiquette were divine. My personal favorite was about Death but then again, I've always loved that character.Check it out! You won't regret it!

28/09/2001
Strawberry Wobbler, anyone?
To all those Discworld fans out there, especially to the ones that love the witches, buy this book! If you've always wanted to serve Dwarf Bread to your guests (or beat them over the head with it) this is the book for you. I bought mine from the UK and the measurements are often in the metric system (I'm not sure about this one) but overall it's easy enough to understand. Some of the stories will have you rolling... Carrot and Oyster pie comes to mine, which Mrs. Ogg helpfully annotates: "Carrots so's you can see in the dark and oysters so you have something to look at!"Pick this one up for page after page of fun. The more knowledge of the Discworld you have (and it's cusine), the more you will laugh.
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