Jamie's America

by Jamie Oliver

Jamie will try real American food and meet the most interesting cooks and producers that this vast country has to offer. His epic journey will take him to the heart of America: its people, culture, music and, most importantly, its food. Along the way Jamie will be getting his hands dirty - meeting hunters, cowboys, fishermen and local producers - as he finds out about the best (and strangest) ingredients on offer. He won't just be sampling, he'll be getting involved: entering a gumbo 'throw-down' in Louisiana, fishing in California and sampling bison in Montana as he joins life on a ranch. As well as being a visually stunning journey, "Jamie's America" is a practical cookbook, with each chapter focusing on the food and recipes of a different state. And the food will be as varied as the landscapes - from spicy Mexican in the desert to freshly caught Alaskan salmon. With 120 brand new recipes, and Jamie's diary narrative running alongside, this will be a celebratory cookbook of a country with a wide food heritage.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Nonfiction, Reference, Cuisine, Foodie

359 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

James Trevor "Jamie" Oliver, sometimes known as The Naked Chef, is an English chef and media personality well known for his growing list of food-focused television shows, his more recent roles in campaigning against the use of processed foods in national schools, and his campaign to change unhealthy diets and poor cooking habits for the better across the United Kingdom.

Reviews

[Angel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had some mixed feelings about the book. First, the positive. The photography in the book is excellent. The recipes overall do look pretty good an appetizing, and Jamie's short essay segments are pretty good to read. The negative? This is not a book for those who need to or want to follow a healthy diet. I think that it is a bit of a sharp contrast to Jamie's more recent healthy eating campaign (just look up his TED talk to get an idea what I mean). But ok, I can do go along with that. What I really did not like is that a lot of the recipes call for ingredients that you are not likely to find unless you shop at Whole Foods on a regular basis (and that assumes you even have a Whole Foods in town, which we do not where I live now). So, that seemed to make the book a bit less accessible to me in terms of recipes I may have wanted to try making.

Having said the above, Jamie does give a pretty good look at American cuisine overall, showing it as the diverse canvas that it is from big cities like New York to the bayous of Louisiana to the Arizona desert. And what he is doing is giving those traditional cooking ways his own touch as well. I think this is a book people will enjoy, maybe make a recipe now and then as a treat, but it seems more enjoyable as a coffee table kind of book, i.e. very nice to look at.

[The Book Whisperer (aka Boof) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loathe cooking but I love books (and food!). My husband loathes reading but loves cooking - et voila! I read the book and tell him what yummy foods I want him to cook and he gets down and dirty in the kitchen while I bark orders. Perfect!

Did I mention I hate cooking? Well, I really do. I am totally crap at it. However, I can spend many an hour drooling over a good cook book like Jamie's latest offering. In this one he has toured America and experienced local cooking for himself and in true Jamie style added a few twists of his own. There are sections on food from New York, Louisiana, Arizona, Georgia, Los Angeles etc and each section comes with at least a 2 page spread about his time there and who he met that inspired him, complete with lots of pictures. He then dedicates each section to dishes from that region, which all look totally scrummy, and tells us how to cook them rather than just listing the ingredients and bullet point instructions.

I have had 3 dishes from this book now, all lovingly prepared while I sit with my feet up, and I can give it a huge thumbs up so far.

[Nat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to say I wasn't a huge Jamie Oliver fan but I watched every episode of Jamie's America and some of the meals sounded so good I had to buy the book. This is now one of my go-to books for something tasty when I need to live up to the reputation that I can cook! I've made the odd change here and there to fit the taste buds of the people I'm feeding and because I'm not always able to source the exact ingredients he mentions. I thoroughly recommend the Best Baked Beans. I soak 3 choices of beans overnight, start off in a pan and then transfer to the slow cooker. We eat it as a main meal with freshly baked sour dough loaf...The Southern-style pork is the best thing here though - I saw my husband of 23 years eat fresh chillies for the first time and love them - that'd be the mint, which this book is!

[Justin Walshaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entering what can only be called his Bruce Springbean phase of midlife crisis, our hero Mr Oliver boldly wears a white t-shirt to a chilli cook-off and accidentally dismantles the military-industrial complex whilst looking for a lavatory in the White House

[Margie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have marked so many pages in this cookbook - the recipes are interesting, not complicated, and making my mouth water going through them. Bourbon Pecan Tart, Chile Cheese Corn Bread, Southern Pecan & Apple Salad, Peruvian Ceviche . . . I can't wait to try these and many more.

And it's not just recipes in this book. Jamie Oliver states in the beginning of the book that he wanted to get out and satisfy his lifelong curiosity about America: the people, the country, and the food. He includes stories about people and life in New York, Louisiana, Arizona, Los Angeles, Georgia, and the Wild West. These stories are warm, funny, and authentic. I enjoyed these little insights to different parts of the US; and looking forward to enjoying some of these recipes!

[HarperCollins Canada · Rating 5 out of 5]

We've hit stop #11 on our Summer Passport tour: The United States of America!

Unlike so many other countries that have distinguishing features in their cuisine, USA cuisine is not so easy to define. Jamie Oliver thought he knew was to expect from American food, but discovered that once he explored outside of the major cities into the smaller communities the food was diverse and delicious! America has a lot to offer the taste buds and Jamie has narrowed down his favourite 120 dishes that he found or was inspired to create on his American travels.

Find out more about Summer Passport by checking out our tumblr site: http://summerpassport.tumblr.com/#

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's so cool to get an outsider's perspective on American cooking! Although Oliver doesn't cover all of the regional varieties available here, I'm excited to try his twists on some Southern, Western, and Cajun classics. I also enjoy Oliver's writing style. He gently reminds readers to balance the unhealthier options with light sides, and to only eat the heavy stuff as a treat. He also sprinkles his sense of humor throughout the book. This is a beautiful book filled with delicious-looking pictures, and there's a fair amount of writing in here in addition to simply recipes.

[Terri · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars because for those who live in the Commonwealth, a large portion of the recipes aren't practical for us.

[Rianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

38/52 books read in 2018.
14/20 bookshelf reads in 2018.

Part 7 (and the last part so far) of the "OMG I need to figure out what to cook for Christmas" search... 7 books in total to get through (at least).
Conclusion: Definitely not suited for this year's Christmas.

So I have had this book for ages, but never wrote a review of it? Strange. I think I bought this volume at the beginning of my GR journey or something, so that might be the reason why it never ended up here.

This is a cookbook filled with a ton of delicious recipes. Like some of Jamie's earlier books, it tells the story of one of his cooking adventures. I think they also made a TV show about it.

Unfortunately the order in which the recipes are written down is a little bit disorganized. They are grouped according to his travels: all of the recipes from Chinatown are together, all of the Native American recipes, all of the food from his Louisiana adventures, etc. Because of this format, it also reads like a biography, but it makes finding the perfect Christmas dish a little bit of a hassle.
There is a register at the back, so if you know what you need, you will find it in no time.

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

A different sort of cookbook. I enjoyed reading his take on American food, trying to debunk the myths that the British have with regard to American cooking. Beautiful photography and engaging short articles throughout the book about the places he visited, the people he met and worked with in creating this book.

He covers New York City (Pizza, Burgers), Los Angeles, Louisiana (New Orleans - Cajun), Georgia (BBQ), Arizona (which incorporates Native American dishes as well as Mexican food), and Wyoming (cowboy food). He completely leaves out the North, which has their own Scandinavian food traditions, and the Midwest, which has their own brand of cooking.

Some of the ingredients I've never heard of, and I don't know too many people that would be willing to cook alligator. Some of the dishes are more simple, like his version of Waldorf Salad or Peach Cobbler. His use of organic ingredients is hit or miss with each dish. There doesn't seem to be any consistency there. His use of British words (i.e. Liquidizer for Blender) can be confusing.

An entertaining read, but I won't attempt more than a few of the recipes.

[Ina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I confess I'm addicted to Jamie. That's why I normally buy every new book of him. Last time I didn't cause I knew most of the recipes in 'Ministry of Food'. This time there were lots of new and promising ideas in the book. The appearance was appealing as always - designed in the usual solid (Jamie)style: Great pictures, clearly arranged recipes and some enjoyable stories. But after trying the fist ones I recognised most of the things were just not my taste. I liked the wild west rice (p 320)and of course the NYC cheesecake and the velvet cupcakes, but I would have been more satisfied if Jamie would have picked some other states for his book. It'll clearly be the underdog amongst my other cookbooks.

[Kerri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jamie's America is a lot "prettier" of a book than Food Revolution because it not only details recipes that he's learned from various grouped regions of America, but it also highlights photos of the landscapes and people he meets along his travels to discover the best of what American cuisine has cultivated.

The recipes in Jamie's America are for a more advanced and cultured palate than what may cater to fans of Food Revolution, however he does include some staple comfort foods along with the more adventurous treats.

Not my favorite or a go-to book by any means, but I do enjoy pulling it out when I'm looking to jazz up the ordinary.

[Eling · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't expecting much out of this, and found myself pleasantly surprised. While I'm not particularly fond of Oliver's chatty "it's like I'm right there talking to you" writing style, I love the concept behind his book almost as much as I love his lightened up versions and takes on classic "American" recipes.

Also rates exceptionally high on my desire for as many photos as possible in a cookbook -- there are accompanying pictures for EVERY recipe.

Got this at the library and have already made and really enjoyed a dish. Will be picking this up for our cookbook collection.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book, there are a lot of great ideas and I tried making a lot of them. The one big inconvenience about this book was that the measurements were ridiculous. I live in Ireland, we have the metric system here, why am I buying a cook book in a shop in ireland where I have to go home and look up on google the equivalent of 1, 2 cups in grams. That was very annoying, and made me want to give up in this book. But after making the burger from the New York chapter, I was curious.

Well done Jamie, but please be considerate of your European customers when writing measurements.

[Sandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've made about a quarter to one half of the recipes in this cookbook. Maybe buying a cookbook on American cooking by a Brit was a mistake. I'd say that this cookbook favors pics over precision in the recipes and the lack precision which was frustrating. I followed the peach cobbler recipe precisely and it ended up a mess (though it did taste good)

. Do not, let me repeat, do not even attempt the "Cowboy Apple Pancakes"---what a disaster. The gumbo recipe isn't bad. If you don't know how to boil H20 for pasta, I'd stay away because you'll need
more instruction.

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone who is most likely to boil pasta and toss it with spaghetti sauce and call it a home-made meal, I can say I probably won't be attempting very many recipes out of this book. Despite that, I found the stories that came with each recipe interesting, and they were some that really caught my eye (I've already started bugging my boyfriend to make the apple pancakes). I wish I was willing to spend more than 30 minutes or so in the kitchen, cause a lot of the recipes look delish.

[DianeER · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, I found 3 or 4 recipes in here that I copied for adaptation and later use, but somehow I'd thought this might be something other than just a cookbook, not sure why. Never saw the TV series, but I usually like watching Brits work their way around the USA and find their comments enjoyable and sometimes highly insightful. Maybe I'll see if I can find the TV show streaming somewhere so I can engage in armchair drooling.

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite Jamie book to date! Love the recipes and stories. It gives a real look at American cooking and opens people to the idea that its not all doughnuts and pizza! Love the fact that there's viable suggestions for ingredient substitutions for things just not available on this side of the pond, although chorizo will never replace real andouille in my book! ;)

[C · Rating 3 out of 5]

A flip through showed some REALLY tasty looking tex mex and americana good-eats. Looking forward to trying a couple recipes.

Edit 10/29/10
I probably won't try any specific recipes, but a few have inspired other ideas. I recommend the book for Jamie Oliver fans or as a coffee table book. The recipes look good, but ... I got sidetracked.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've always LOVED Jamie's books (his show and books taught me to love cooking), but as an American I always found his recipes a little challenging due to their European slant. This book takes American favorites and presents them in the way I can fully grasp.

This is a library book, but it's on my 'to purchase' ASAP list!

[Scottsdale Public Library]

This beautiful book is an enjoyable illustration of a British chef's take on American culinary tradition. Recipes are interesting and relatively simple, and Mr. Oliver's recounting of his experiences with the everyday Americans who inspired many of his dishes is entertaining as well. A fun read for Jamie Oliver fans.

-- Meagan

[Alien Citizen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read, even for two vegetarians. My boyfriend liked reading the stories about Jamie's experiences across America and accused me of liking it just for the cute pictures of Jamie out in the American wilderness, sometimes trying to look like a trucker but too cute to even pretend to have the edge of someone who lives a hard life like that.

[Patrick Wasik · Rating 2 out of 5]

In my opinion, ALOT of the recipes don't work well, but the pictures and illustrations work well as a coffee table book. It is a good icebreaker to grab a persons attention that may not be involved in your other conversations. However I must add, had this book not been 80% off in a bin and I didn't recognize Jamie, I definitely would have kept walking past it. Meh!

[Felicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the physicality of the book, the weight of it and the paper. I would love to display it as a coffee table book one day. I found Jamie's curiosity about American life and cuisine to be heartfelt and sweet without being cloying. And of course the recipes are outstanding, I'm going to enjoy making them!

[Henry C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Years ago Jamie has a great cooking show on the Food Network. I watched regularly and learned a great deal creating flavor from simple ingredients. This book is a must read for any serious foodie who's looking to try a different approach to some old time standards of American food.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the design and the photography and Jamie mixing it up with the locals and their fare, but I only really gravitated towards a couple of recipes... but the Awesome Apple Pancakes are FANTASTIC. It was worth a check out at the library.

[Alison · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh...there wasn't really much I wanted to make in this (though I did try a few things), and the design drove me insane. Is it so much to ask cookbook authors to make a table of contents?!?! Especially when there are SO MANY RECIPES.

[Stephanie Graves · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love his cookbooks.
Don't judge me.
And yes, I know it's ridiculous to buy an "American" cookbook by a visting Brit.
Whatever.
The Dan dan noodles and Candied Bacon Salad alone are worth your derision.

[Libraryassistant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely adored this book-- had it from the library and was possessed by the desire to go out and buy it. He completely makes the people and places come alive! And when you add to that the photos and the wonderful food...this is my kind of road trip!

[Rosann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like to read AND use my cookbooks. Jamie Oliver's love story to both America and American cooking was a lovely read, and chock full of good ideas, helpful asides, and personal notes. Great inclusion of wine suggestions with each dish.