Even the most organised and skilful cook can find themselves pressed for time when entertaining. The secret lies in clever pre-preparation. This might mean having a bake or a stuffed roast ready assembled in the fridge, ready to be popped into the oven or having an impressive sauce or topping pre-prepared to provide a flourish to an otherwise straightforward dish. In "One Step Ahead", best-selling author Mary Berry gives the answer for the time-poor cook, providing 100 recipes devised to be either worked through in the usual way or taken to a 'holding point' - a stage that will give you a head start when putting together a meal in limited time. Shortcuts are given wherever possible, and Mary helps the reader through any tricky techniques in her usual, inimitable crystal-clear manner. The recipes are divided into Party Nibbles and First Courses, Main Courses, including meat, poultry and game, fish and pasta and rice. Vegetable Dishes, Puddings and Desserts, and Basking are also included to make this the essential guide to inspire confident cooking in a way that makes entertaining fun.

Even the most organised and skilful cook can find themselves pressed for time when entertaining. The secret lies in clever pre-preparation. This might mean having a bake or a stuffed roast ready assembled in the fridge, ready to be popped into the oven or having an impressive sauce or topping pre-prepared to provide a flourish to an otherwise straightforward dish. In "One Step Ahead", best-selling author Mary Berry gives the answer for the time-poor cook, providing 100 recipes devised to be either worked through in the usual way or taken to a 'holding point' - a stage that will give you a head start when putting together a meal in limited time. Shortcuts are given wherever possible, and Mary helps the reader through any tricky techniques in her usual, inimitable crystal-clear manner. The recipes are divided into Party Nibbles and First Courses, Main Courses, including meat, poultry and game, fish and pasta and rice. Vegetable Dishes, Puddings and Desserts, and Basking are also included to make this the essential guide to inspire confident cooking in a way that makes entertaining fun.

Mary Berry is one of Britain s best known and best loved cookery writers. In BBC Good Food magazine the public recently voted Mary third favourite for most reliable recipes after Jamie Oliver and Delia Smith. Since her first cookery book, The Hamlyn All Colour Cookbook in 1970 Mary has published over 60 books selling over five million copies worldwide. She has appeared on countless TV and radio programmes and is a regular contributor on BBC2 s Saturday Kitchen and Radio 4 s Woman s Hour. She is the author of the official Aga Rayburn book, given to every new convert with their oven. She has also worked with her daughter Annabel on the highly successful and award winning range of Mary Berry and Daughter Salad Dressings and Sauces.

2008-07-27 Excellent recipes

This is an excellent book with easy to prepare food, all of which have instructions on how to prepare ahead. I have an Aga, which Mary Berry excels in, but the book is written for anyone with any kind of cooker. Well worth having. I've borrowed a friend's copy, used many recipes, all delicious, and now I have to get my own!