When I first made a recipe by popular food blogger The Minimalist Baker (Dana Shultz), it took me over 2 hours — but please don't let that scare you off. Firstly, it was absolutely worth it, and secondly, I can now whip up that very same recipe in less than 40 minutes.
On average, I use Minimalist Baker's Everyday Cooking (£21, originally £29) at least once a week, and no matter what I cook, it always gets the tick of approval from my meat-loving other half.