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Kitchen Coquette Katrina Meynink, ISBN 978-1-74237-681-3, Allen & Unwin, RRP$39.99
OK, so maybe you’re not one of those people who needs a cookbook that devotes a chapter to food for “awkward moments”. That’s OK. This is really a fun book with lots of interesting dishes to pep up your life in general. This is Meynink’s first cookbook. She has a Masters in Gastronomy from Le Cordon Bleu and the University of Adelaide and is in her final stages of training to be a chef and has received scholarships from the James Beard Gastronomy Foundation and The Culinary Trust. She blogs and has a business La Petite Miette so she lives food. This book will see you through first dates with fare like Prawns with candied pancetta and gremolata, Chorizo Wellington with capsicum salsa and buttered spinach and an Apple crumb soufflé. So you have to bring a plate? Fill it with White chocolate and rosemary brownie biscuits or Blue cheese grissini sticks – the latter for a divorce party. One- pan chorizo hash brown will alleviate part of the hangover blue, Pastitio will soften the edges of grief, and Roasted lam rack with smoky eggplant puree and three tomato salad is good for a family reunion. As the blurb says, “Katrina has isolated the experiences in your life that can leave you scratching your head, and put an outstanding recipe alongside it.” There are simple dishes, ones with a wow factor and plenty of nourishment in between. A great gift for busy but caring people. Stop press: Kitchen Coquette by Katrina Meynink has just been awarded the Best First Book (Australia) in the 2011 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards!
Stephane Reynaud's Barbecue Stephane Reynaud, ISBN 978-1742662404, Murdoch Books,RP $49.99
Well, it’s no good going to make a recipe and finding out you should have started preparing for it well in advance – like ordering your 20kg suckling pig for spit-roasting. Not to mention marinating it, stuffing it, sewing it up, swathing its ears in foil and persuading Uncle Jack to come along and carve the beast. Reynaud is an unabashed carnivore and his previous cookbooks include Terrine, Ripailles, Rotis and 365 Good Reasons to Sit Down and Eat. First up he deals with all the manly essentials like the right gear, maintenance, building a barbecue, the hotplate, basting, rubs, salts, sauces, dressings and general paraphernalia. Chapters cover skewers, yakitori, sausages, fillets and roasts, burgers, rib and cutlets, barbecue XXL (whole roasts - such as the aforementioned pig), fish and shellfish, the bits on the side. He also has a little tongue-in-cheek fun at the expense of those who manage to turn a spit-roast into a sauna, who serve raw meat in a charred coat, or who have multi-storey BBQs and even include a UV lamp for tanning on the job. That’s the endearing thing about Reynaud – his sense of humour which is reflected in Jose Reis De Matos’s quirky drawings, complemented by Marie-Pierre Morel’s photography. And in recipes like that for the beef rib cutlet which is best cooked and eaten “with no one. I’m eating the lot myself, end of story.” What drink to serve with it? “None of your business.” The food ranges from basic to very imaginative with plenty in between for tong-wavers who love a bit of showmanship. This is high on my list of great books for Christmas giving. I can see the blokes happily mulling through this one on Christmas day, planning menus for the sunny days ahead.
MoVida Cocina Frank Camorra and Richard Cornish, ISBN 978-1741968996, Murdoch Books, RRP $49.99
This latest book from chef Camorra and food writer and TV producer Cornish gives a closer look at the people and venues that have become favourites with Melbourne diners. Shared plates are now so much a part of the dining scene and have removed a lot of the plate envy formerly generated by a la carte dining – you know, when everyone else’s choices look so much better than your own. These days we happily graze from the platters that take our fancy, leaving Bella to the octopus and Fred to the deep-fried brains. Here, then, is a happy collection of 70 new recipes. The more adventurous can have a shot at sous vide dishes that don’t necessarily require fancy cheffy equipment. Or play with meat glue that will bind the protein in meat or fish as in the recipe for elegantly refine cubes of Prawn terrine with romesco sauce. But for those who like the rugged good look of more rustic fare, there is plenty to tempt – food like Smoked eel croquettes with horseradish or potato salad with alioli, pickled garlic and short breadsticks to poke into the creamy goodness. It’s all about pushing the boundaries, fusing local and international flavours and feeding customers with dishes they will long remember – and now can create at home. I’ve enjoyed cooking from the previous MoVida titles and this one has me writing my shopping list.
Planet Cake Celebrate: Cake Making for All Occasions Paris Cutler, ISBN 978-1742665856, Murdoch Books, RRP $29.99
That aside, I know there are thousands of people who love producing tiered stands of edible art and a whole industry of accoutrements has been spawned. This beautiful book will certainly become a bible for the cake makers in our midst as it is packed with lots of ideas for making more than 20 cupcakes and mini fudge cakes for parties, charity fund-raisers, family celebrations and sharing the joy of making little works of art. There are plenty of good tips for achieving professional looking results and I was interested to see the lovely results achieved by simply using a variety of shaped cutters and commercially available decorating dusts and glitters. I can see decorating cupcakes could become the main party activity for some young people. There is a useful section covering the tools and ingredients required plus a small recipe section including vanilla, chocolate and gluten free cupcakes, icing and caramels. Cutler takes 10 special occasions – ranging from baby showers to kids’ parties, school fetes to team building competitions and gives ideas for creating appropriate masterpieces. A great buy for someone with a passion for producing beautiful works of cake art – plus some valuable troubleshooting advice for people like me.
Zumbo Adriano Zumbo, ISBN 978-1741968040, Murdoch Books, RRP $49.99
For many of us his name is permanently associated with macarons and he shares his technique and some of his favourites, from licorice to Vegemite, Kalamata olive to rice pudding and chololate mayo. But there’s more to Zumbo than macarons. Some of his cakes are complicated and can require at least half a dozen recipes for the component parts. And there are ingredients that start to sound like an apothecary’s inventory. But for people who want to graduate from carrot cake to a truly awesome creation, this is the book to get the juices flowing. Chapters cover Zumbarons, chocolates, pastries, gateaux de voyage, cakes and desserts. One thing that’s evident from the recipes is that there’s a lot of flavour going on. These aren’t architectural wedding cake structures covered in bland icing but rather a smorgasbord of shapes and tastes. Little wonder the book has quickly reached the top of Murdoch Books' best seller list. No doubt someone will set themselves a blogging challenge to work their way through the book’s recipes. It won’t be me - it requires a team approach. But I’d love to read it.
Home Made Yvette van Boven, ISBN 978-1742663999, Murdoch Books, RRP $49.99
The author divides her time between Amsterdam and Paris and is a freelance food stylist, artist and recipe writer and is co-owner of a restaurant and catering company in Amsterdam. It’s interesting reading a cookbook from across the world and noting the subtle differences from Down Under cuisine. Home Made starts with breakfast and lunch. There’s tea and cakes, cocktails, soups, preserves, pasta, roasts, salads - all simple, authentic and healthy. I like the chapter on cheese making and the one of making a smoker – the sort of touches that give a meal individuality. It’s a lovely book to dip into and a series of menus for cover various occasions from Sunday brunch to a lunch buffet for 10, high tea, dinner for two – or another for 12. There are even ideas for cooking for a funeral including sage and lemon tea to calm the nerves. The author's husband, Oof Verschuren took the photos and van Boven drew her own quirky illustrations and prepared the food. A good one for a Christmas gift.
Cooking with Beer Paul Mercurio, ISBN 978-1741968453, Murdoch Books, RRP $34.99
There’s the de rigueur Beer 101 chat to get the reader a little more informed and in the mood for beery things and then Mercurio glides into the very important business of snacks that go well with beer. Not 50 metres from my home there’s a Victorian terrace house where the lads gather under the verandah on an assortment of 60s op shop chairs at the weekend, watch the passing pedestrians and swig on their beers. I am sure they’d love to snack on oven chips, rosemary and garlic pizzas, spicy chicken wings and beef jerky. Maybe I can’t see them making caramelized scallops, crisp prosciutto and hollandaise de la beer or onion, stout and goat’s cheese tarts but there’s a one-pot three-bean eggs dish that they would love for breakfast, brunch or a late-night snack if anyone kitchen-literate was at hand. Moving on to more substantial fare prepared on the stove, Mercurio takes in a dark ale lamb tagine, chicken and leek pie, beef beer bourguignon, chilli, risotto, pasta dishes, fish pie, curry and cassoulet. Thjere’s an equally tasty selection in the oven chapter – rabbit and stout casserole, Boston baked beans, a baby goat shoulder braise, lamb shanks, oxtail, braised octopus. For warmer days there are selections for the grill and barbecue, salads. There are even desserts and cakes. Mercurio has done his homework on suitable beers to go in the dishes or accompany them. This is definitely a book for people who like their food as much as their beer. Father’s Day is coming up…
Winter on the Farm Matthew Evans, ISBN 978-1742662275, Murdoch Books, RRP $49.99
Benson stayed on the farm while the book was still a dream and captured the essence of the winter months with his camera. These photos are a great counterpoint to those of the heartwarming fare Evans is serving up as an antidote to cold months in Tasmania. Looks like one woman’s boarding school horror is Evans’s breakfast delight. There was a pudding we called “toothpaste” and there it is in the brekkie fare. Maybe his warm milky gruel made of coarse semolina and served with a dollop of raspberry jam appeals to a man of the land. No doubt it’s a far cry from the tasteless glug we were served with watery jam. Give me his corned beef hash with poached egg, however. As Evans steers a wheelbarrow full of hay over wet puggy ground overlooking his pig run, he’s no doubt considering a steaming bowl of soup. I am not sure I like the look in his eye as he contemplates a couple of pristine baby lambs, however. It will be a while before they finish up in the oven with wild fennel and potato. The meat section has substantial fare from tagine to meatloaf, roasts and braises. This isn’t prissy food. Evans’s winter vegetable collection is a sturdy match for the meat dishes. Even Brussels sprout haters could be converted by his caramelised sprout colcannon. Roasted onions and goat’s cheese baked custard is a substantial vegetarian dish while fried cauliflower with chickpea aioli is a nice combination of flavours, freshened up with a squeeze of lemon. Evans’s hands look like they have a way to go before they are rough and calloused like some of the sandpaper farming paws I have shaken over the years. Maybe he is in training for the CWA. There are some good old favourites in his baking section. Delicious puddings ensure no one will leave the table needing just a little more. And some hot toddies and a couple of snacks are good for a late night contemplating the fire’s embers. From substantial soups to rib-sticking meals, this book is a reminder that winter has its compensations, even if we aren’t down on the farm.
Melbourne is not only a good food destination. Locals like to share their knowledge and here are three books to delight dedicated trenchermen and women. The Age Cheap Eats 2011 edited by Nina Rousseau and Simone Egger, ISBN 978-0-14-301178-1, Penguin, RRP $24.95 With more than 600 reviews of Melbourne’s best meals under $30 in this 25th anniversary edition, diners on a budget have plenty to choose from. And, mercifully, the editors have seen sense and reverted to listing establishments by neighbourhood rather than alphabetically. I’m still eating my way round my own ‘hood and I’d hate to think I’ve missed a place just because I haven’t walked past it. The $30 threshold is for food only and, as the editors state, in most places in the book this will buy two courses, or you will eat well if you stick to snacks. Symbols identify vegetarian restaurants or those with a wide variety of meat-free dishes, places that serve excellent breakfasts and bars that sell bar snacks or meals. Places serving great coffee are also flagged, as are kid-friendly establishments, late night venues and places with outdoor seating. The scoring system is one, two or three stars. There’s also a section on best bars. The reviews are succinct, giving a good taste of typical fare at each place and signalling specialties and quirky offerings. A good bible to consult when you want to dine on a budget – and still have cash left for a beverage or three. Cheap Eats is also available as an iPhone app for $7.49. The Age Good Cafe Guide 2011 Matt Holden, ISBN 978-1-921486-34-0, Fairfax Books, RRP $14.95 Matt Holden and his team of reviewers have scoured Melbourne to put together a guide of over 280 reviews on the best coffee being brewed. All the technical stuff is there – the coffee, the machines. And if you’re not just there for the caffeine, the short reviews look quickly at the sort of food served and the special dishes to try. And if you need a further excuse, each establishment has a reason why you should go there, be it the friendly feel, the kooky décor, the bean roasting, the courtyard. Best coffee award this year goes to Seven Seeds in Carlton, best café Auction Rooms in North Melbourne. A good book for planning your weekend roving and weekday fix. The Age Good Food Shopping Guide 2011 Roslyn Grundy and Emma Miller, ISBN 978-1-921486-41-8, Fairfax Books, RRP $14.95 If you care about what you eat and like to know the provenance of your food, here’s a book offering 250 of Melbourne’s best food shops. Need the buzz on the best bread, the pick of the pastries and cake, choice cheese and dairy, fish and seafood, coffee and tea, confectionery, Asian food, fruit and vegetables, Indian, Italian or Middle Eastern food, fruit and vegetables, meat and poultry, delicatessens, organic and health food, wine and liquor or general food stores and markets? It all here. There’s a locality index and an alphabetical one so you can see what choices are available in each neighbourhood. And just to whet your appetite, each business listed incudes a top buy which might be a rich earth Napoli sauce, streaky kaiserfleisch, unusual mushrooms, whole candied clementines, individual lemon tarts, bright orange jalebi, mini rolls stuff with fresh cray, kangaroo tails – there’s inspiration at every turn of the page.
Quinoa 365 - The Everyday Superfood Patricia Green and Caroline Hemming, ISBN 978-1-74266-453-8, Murdoch Books, RRP $29.99
Not only is it a superfood, it’s also a super crop. It can germinate in cool temperatures and grow at high elevations in drought-like conditions. In fact it comes from the Andean mountain regions of Peru and Bolivia. Four cups of quinoa seed will grow an acre of these extremely hardy plants the height of a man. And it comes with its own built-in pesticide, saponin, which should be rinsed off before proceeding with a recipe. Quinoa is available as seeds (or grains as they are sometimes called), flour and flakes. And it’s one of those ingredients that can go sweet or savoury. I first encountered it about 15 years ago when I was making bread regularly and tried assorted flours. I’ve been using the seeds for almost as long. Quinoa is mostly imported though Australia’s first crop was harvested in Tasmania last year. I recall a fellow food writer dismissing it as a “post-hippie fad” in the late 90s. Rather than a fad, I think it has become mainstream and in this book sisters Patricia Green and Caroline Hemming have come up with a wide-ranging collection of more than 170 recipes. They start with breakfast. What better way to greet the day than with a protein-packed quinoa omelet stuffed full of vegetables and cottage cheese? Or the flour can be used in waffles and pancakes. The next chapter deals with appetisers, sides, snacks and salads. Tabbouleh made with quinoa has been a family favourite for at least a decade. It’s also good in hummus, guacamole, meatballs, stuffed mushrooms, as an alternative to rice in risotto-type dishes, and as part of a salad. Quinoa adds protein to soups and is great in vegetarian stews. It also adds interest to everyday meals – Moroccan chicken on quinoa, as a stuffing for chicken breasts, in a tuna casserole, in burgers and Mexican dishes and in pizza crusts. Sprouted quinoa is also good in sandwiches. In the bakery section it features in muffins and the flour comes into its own in shortbread, cookies, biscotti. There’s also a tempting dessert section. Some of the recipes incorporate a small amount of cooked quinoa so it’s probably a good idea to cook up a batch of the seeds and freeze the excess for when you need some for a dish. It you want more of this superfood, this book is an excellent place to start.
Dinner Secrets - Gluten Free Pamela Moriarty ISBN 978-1741968811, Murdoch Books, RRP $39.99
This time she has come up with a delicious collection of dinners that can be enjoyed not only by those with coeliac disease and gluten allergies, but also by their family and friends. The 101 recipes featured ranged from great dinner party dishes to casual meals. Each recipe includes shared secrets and cook’s tips for varying recipes, substituting ingredients plus ideas for presentation. The food is vibrant and colourful and lucky guests would be hard-pressed to guess this was gluten-free fare. I like the salads – baked beetroot, feta and pistachio; blood orange, fennel and olive; cannelloni beans and chorizo; roasted vegetable salad. There are dips, nibbles and a great appetisers like the smoked salmon rosti rolls, stuffed black grapes, Thai chicken patties on cucumber. A bevy of beautiful soups includes a sophisticated Jerusalem artichoke soup topped with seared scallops and a hearty peasant broth. The meat and fish dishes are equally inviting – chicken poached in ginger broth, sesame-glazed salmon with pickled ginger rice, porsciutto-wrapped chicken with leek and ricotta filling, sage and citrus quail. Tasty side dishes and desserts complete the offerings. Matt Page’s styling and Jacqui Way’s photography certainly play their part in making this an attractive publication. If you have a gluten-intolerant friend, buy them this book and wait for an invitation to dinner.
A Potted History of Vegetables Lorraine Harrison, ISBN 978-1-74237-735-3, Allen & Unwin, RRP $24.99 Do your kids suffer from lachanophobia? What’s that? If you bring a bowl of broccoli or Brussels sprouts to the dinner table and they start pulling those nasty little faces, roll their eyes and make puking noises, chances are they do. It’s a fear of vegetables. Fortunately they often get over it as they near adulthood. Some even become vegetable fanatics once they realise the dreaded eggplant can become a very delicious smoky dip and even a cauliflower is a star when bathed in a browning, bubbling cheese sauce. A genuine attack of lachanophobia can cause irregular heartbeat, nausea and sweating along with rapid breathing. Some people suffer from rarefied species-specific versions including lachanophobia mycosis (fear of mushrooms) and lachanophobia lycopersicum (fear of tomatoes). This is a delicious little book is one for dipping into randomly for dozens of interesting vegetable facts, myths and superstitions. Legend has it people with warts could wrap a pea in paper – one pea per wart - and bury it while reciting “As this pea shall rot away, so my warts shall soon decay.” English coal miners believed accidents were more likely to happen below ground when bean plants were in flower. The souls of the dead were thought to live in bean flowers. There are tips for saving our own heirloom seeds, planting and harvesting advice. Vegetables harvested during specific phases of the moon were often accredited with healing powers. Radishes, for example, if harvested as the moon waned would cure corns and warts. And of course various vegetables are said to have aphrodisiac qualities. A Potted History of Fruit Mike Darton, ISBN 978-1-74237-736-0, Allen & Unwin, RRP $24.99 A companion volume to the vegetable book and following a similar formula. It, too, features beautiful illustrations from earlier lithographs and copper engravings. A good pair for the enthusiastic cook or gardener.
Eating for the Seasons Janella Purcell ISBN 9781741754087, Allen & Unwin RRP $39.99
In this book she focuses on seasonal food and covers the gamut from healthy breakfasts through to sweet temptations. This is an interesting collection of recipes because it makes used of a store cupboard that includes a wide variety of grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, Japanese goods like kombu, miso, dashi, natural sweeteners and the usual spices. Purcell also recommends freezing leftovers and scraps for stock-making – even herb stalks, pea shells and broccoli trimmings. Anyone following a sensible, well-balanced diet will enjoy the guilt-free dishes, packed as they are with flavour. This certainly isn’t joyless fare, it’s food to be relished and attacked with a healthy appetite. Here’s a random choice from each season. Spring includes herbed salmon with barley and chickpea salsa; asparagus, cauliflower and white bean salad; smoked trout, broccolini and lemon pasta; vegan chocolate cheesecake; Moroccan mint tea. In summer it’s buckwheat, smoked tofu, daikon and arame salad; cured Thai kingfish; tempeh burger; barramundi in a banana leaf, Thai style; nasturtium salad; caramelised figs. Autumn is time for nori rolls; spelt-crumbed fish fingers; stuffed zucchini; the traditional Lebanese dish loobia featuring beans in a tomato sauce; pump[kin sesame tarts; chocolate cherry friends. A winter’s day could start with amaranth porridge. Then there’s lasagnes; lentil hotpot; a basic curry to add your own creativity to; Japanese millet and quinoa balls; Middle Eastern rice pudding. There are dairy-free, gluten free, vegan and vegetarian choices and these are thoughtfully listed under those headings in the index for anyone wanting a quick look for food they can eat. Dyed-in-the-wool carnivores will find there are plenty of good options for their meatless days. Author’s website www.janellapurcell.com
Livwise: Easy recipes for a health, happy life Olivia Newton-John, ISBN 978-1742662251, Murdoch Books, RRP $39.99
It’s a collection of simple, wholesome tasty recipes – ones she likes to make for her family. Some have been created in her own kitchen and others have been contributed by friends and chefs at her Australian health retreat, Gaia in Byron Bay. Newton-John has made numerous eating choices over the years. She’s been a vegetarian at times, followed a strict macrobiotic diet on occasion, restricted her dairy and wheat intake on and off and has now returned to a more balanced diet that includes chicken and fish and occasionally some red meat. Livwise reflects what she calls the “commonsense diet” – the recipes include a good range of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, nuts and seeds, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy, legumes. The dishes are fresh, appetising and wholesome and move from breakfast to shakes, smoothies and juices, through to starters and snacks, salads and dressings and on to mains and sweets. Vegetarians would enjoy many of the offerings but there are interesting fish and chicken meals for the rest of us. Natasha Milne has taken the attractive food photographs.
The Urban Cook: Cooking and Eating for a Sustainable Future Mark Jensen, ISBN 978-1741967234, Murdoch Books, RRP $49.99
More and more people are taking a much greater interest in where their food comes from and Jensen provides an interesting insight into food production and the whole business of cooking and eating for a sustainable future. He set out to write a book containing straightforward answers to the questions many people have about how our food is produced. “Most urban chefs struggle to now the provenance of their produce. Chefs are in the business of satisfying customers, and to achieve this, good produce is generally the foundation of their success.” But for chefs and home cooks alike, while some consider the origins and sustainability of their food, for too long the main consideration has been the price of our food, says Jensen. He hopes this book will affirm that good food, sustainably and ethically grown is worth paying for. The largest chapter covers vegetables. While many of us choose the main meat protein component first, he urges us to instead choose the vegetables first, drawing inspiration from the seasonal produce at the greengrocer’s. I like this approach myself as a quick scout round the vegetable stalls at my local market can be far more inspiring than trays of meat, fish and poultry. Jensen likes to maintain only one degree of separation from the food he eats, so prefers to buy from growers’ markets. “Have you ever asked a supermarket team members a question about the fresh produce and got an accurate answer?” His vegetable recipes are fresh, attractive, colourful and inspiring. A bright carrot, orange and blackcurrant salad, green papaya salad with snake beans, tomato and a lime and chilli dressing, sweet and sour capsicum, pineapple and basil, a green tomato salad with lime, palm sugar and a black pepper dressing or brown lentil casserole with vegetables and thyme. Many would be satisfying enough on their own. In this and following chapters – seafood, poultry, pork and lamb, beef and veal, desserts – he discusses the pertinent issues and things we should be considering when buying from each group. It’s good to have these spelled out and see where we align ourselves on the produce spectrum and whether we should be more thoughtful in our choices. Hansen discusses chicken rearing, commercial fishing methods, changing meat production, primary and secondary cuts, dairy food, product labelling and various regulations. It’s factual without being preachy. Of course the accompanying recipes are all pretty inviting and embrace a range of ethnic cuisines. There’s a small but interesting bibliography and a list of links to useful websites.
Hopscotch and Honey Joys: Family Food with Lisa McCune and Di Thomas Lisa McCune with Di Thomas, ISBN 978-1-74237-415-4, Allen & Unwin, RRP39.99
Lisa McCune is a mother as well as one of Australia’s most popular actresses and here she has teamed up with long-time friend Di Thomas for this thoughtful and lively collection of recipes to share with friends and family. Each has three children so they are well aware of the pressures of providing healthy meals. The collection kicks off with snacks. I am all for that. I’d like a dollar for every time I found a son in my own kitchen looking hopefully through the pantry, fridge and or freezer for something to curb the inevitable hunger pangs. Active kids need a little something to boost their energy after a busy day of school activities and here is a great collections of bite-sized food to keep them going. There’s French toast, wraps, veggie stick and hummus, biscuits, stuffed potatoes, mini croissants with tasty fillings and more. Lunchboxes are always a dilemma and sometimes getting the kids involved in their preparation makes lunch seem that much more interesting. And it’s also a chance to introduce them to the joy of cooking. Choices include zucchini slice, pasta salad, pizza scrolls, pinwheel sangos, muffins, carrot cake. A feasts section deals with dinners for family and friends. From personalised pasties to restorative chicken and corn soup, tacos, pot pies, spanakopita coil, bright and beautiful beetroot risotto, lots of pasta, yummy pastitsio, chicken parmas, curry, spiky Greek meatballs, lamb shanks, Sunday roast… And what kids don’t enjoy fish and chips, particularly when it’s fresh fish cut into finger-sized piece, cooked with a crispy crumb coating and served with hand-cut chips. There’s food for parties and special occasions, including birthday cake along with ideas for party games. And the collection ends with sweet treats. Here are two women who genuinely understand the demands of providing fun food for families – recipes that will keep both kids and adults happy.
Whispers from a Lebanese Kitchen - A family's treasured recipes Nouha Taouk, ISBN 978-1741968224, Murdoch Books, RRP $59.99
It transported me back to my teens when we moved next door to a wonderful Lebanese family. At the time six of the seven daughters were still living at home and there was nothing I liked better than to hover in the kitchen as the mother made dinner. It was all wonderfully new to me as she deftly prepared the lamb for a large tray of kibbeh, whipped up a bean and rice dish or filled some of the leaves I’d picked from the grape vine that grew over our garden shed. When a Lebanese restaurant opened in my home town in the 90s it smelled just like that lovely home next door. Nouha Taouk is a Lebanese Australian from a vibrant family with a strong cooking tradition. She was the first Australian-Lebanese girl of around a hundred grandchildren. Her Citi (grandmother) had emigrated to Australia with five of her children in the late 1970s to join her husband who they hadn’t seen for 10 years. Nouha’s mother Joumana had preceded them to look after her father following an accident in 1973 that left him hospitalised for months. She was 14 at the time. The book tells the stories of the family matriarch, Citi Leila, and her daughters - Nouha's mother and aunts. The women shared their culinary secrets as they kneaded bread, moulded falafels, pickled vegetables. Then there was the magic day when the young Nouha was given a mortar containing some garlic cloves and a little salt and charged with the responsibility of pounding, drizzling, stirring and producing her very first batch of taratoor – garlic sauce. The five-year-old was so eager to do well and so proud of the finished result – made just as she had seen her mother, grandmother and aunts make it. She was hooked. Nouha introduces family members and their recipes. Along the way we learn about the rituals that are followed in welcoming a guest into the home and the food that accompanies Lebanese festivals and celebrations. There are 80 recipes, from laben to labneh, fattoush to kibbeh in its several guises, falafel to kebabs. Plus there are sweet dishes for those who still have room. This is another of those books (like Turkey - see below) that keeps luring me into the kitchen because I want to taste the recipes for myself. With the cooler weather ahead, there are plenty of tempting hearty meat and vegetarian casseroles to try. Whispers from a Lebanese Kitchen is very much a family affair with the lovely photographs taken by Noula Taouk’s husband Johan Palsson.
Turkey: Recipes and Tales from the Road Leanne Kitchen, ISBN 978-1741965995, Murdoch Books, RRP $69.99
No surprise, then, that when my copy arrived I could barely wait to get into the kitchen. The food looked tempting and, patient soul that I am, I wanted it now. The first recipe I tried was a baked dish of leeks with lemon, currants and tulum cheese – I substituted some good feta instead. Simple enough but delicious with chicken thighs, the currants, cheese and lemon all working together with the great leek flavour. Then came the tomato, pomegranate and sumac relish. It’s days like this I am glad I have a well-stocked store cupboard. Kitchen’s recipe for this side dish has a subtle amount of pomegranate molasses and enough sumac and lemon juice to impart a slash of tartness to a satisfying mix of fresh roma tomatoes, red onion, chopped parsley and coriander leaves. In the book it is served with semolina-crusted whiting. I tried it with trevally. The green tomato and celery relish appears in the book with fried haloumi, but I enjoyed it as a side salad with some poached chicken. I’ve now peppered the book with Post-It flags pointing to more dishes to try. Turkey has certainly surpassed my idea of what qualifies as a cookbook worth having – one that contains at least 10 recipes I want to make. It’s an approachable book. It’s not one of those sleek coffee table cookbooks that will doubtless never leave the coffee table because the recipes look like they will take a day to prepare. Turkey is full of good rustic food that delivers flavour. “Turks are extremely proud of their culinary culture and rightly so,” writes Kitchen. It’s a rich, varied and venerable cuisines. It is borne of many influences and sources.” It ranges from courtly Ottoman-derived dishes through to humble Anatolian peasant fare that relies on the land and the seasons. Modern Turkish cookery, says Kitchen, embraces fare from seven incredibly diverse regions, distinct culinarily. On top of that there are areas with unique dishes, produce and even cooking styles. Fortunately for us, Kitchen has travelled the country finding the best of Turkish food and hospitality. The book’s contents cover meze, soups, bread, pastry and pasta, vegetables and salads, rice and burghul, fish and seafood, poultry and meat, and dessert. And it’s largely good, healthy food - fresh made-from-scratch meals that are full of flavour. Kitchen writes evocatively of her travels and the book is superbly illustrated with her own location photography. The beautiful food photographs are by Amanda McLauchlan. This is definitely a kitchen bench book, one that will keep inspiring me to cook for a good while yet. *Leanne Kitchen has some 10 cookbooks to her name, including Grower's Market and the 'Providore' series (The Butcher, The Baker, The Greengrocer and The Dairy). She travels regularly, and is particularly passionate about the food and cultures of the Middle East. Read an interview with the author >>
The Age/Sydney Morning Herald Good Wine Guide 2011 Nick Stock ISBN 978-0-14-320495-4, Penguin Books, RRP $26.99
This Age/SMH Good Wine Guide makes it easy for us to compile a little list for next time we head to the bottle store or go online to top up the wine cellar. Wine critic Nick Stock has started his guide logically with the Best of the Best. This year just 92 of the 1238 wines reviewed scored the elusive three-glass rating, gaining 96 points or better. Only two of these managed the perfect century – the $5000 Krug Clos d’Ambonnay 1996 Champagne and the $299 Seppeltsfield 100 Year Old Vintage Para Tawny 1910. Next are the Best of the Rest, two-glass wines that he says still stand out from the rest of the pack. “These wines represent the heart and soul of great Australian wine, and many are on a trajectory towards three-glass status,” Stock says. Within this list are some of the greatest-value bottles. Plus there is a list of best value wines $25 and under. Particular highlights of the year are chardonnay and pinot noir, as well as a very strong contingent of Margaret River white blends and cabernet-based red, Stock suggests those with an interest in fragrant cool-climate wines should start watching the Canberra District closely over the next few years as it has demonstrated an impressive trajectory towards high-quality wines. The 2010 vintage report says above-average quality and smaller-than-average yields were the case across most of Australia’s wine-growing regions. The total harvest was down 12% on the previous year – “good news for our infamous supply and demand balance.” You learn something new every day and I was interested to read, in the decanting notes: “It’s worth noting that decanting can really open up the gills of young white wines, especially oak-fermented and/or matured ones – just a few minutes before you serve them will usually get them humming along. Old bottles of white really freshen up with a few minutes in a decanter too, in much the same was as old reds. “ The main part of the book is listed by wine varieties, making it easy for the fickle among us to look for guidance when switching from shiraz to rose to Semillon. New Zealand wines are included. Tasting terms are unravelled for the innocents and, overall, wine rookies won’t be too daunted by the general tone of the guide. Well worth forgoing a bottle of wine to add this book to your library.
The Home Cookbook Monty and Sarah Don, ISBN 978-1-4088-0439-1, Allen & Unwin, RRP$49.99
Gardeners who can write are even better and Monty Don and his wife Sarah have put together an excellent collection of more than 300 recipes. These are arranged by meal times and celebrates British domestic cooking. As the publicity blurb states: “The food that Monty and Sarah Don eat at home at Ivington is more in the tradition of Women’s Institute than the celebrity chefs. They try to eat food that is as local as possible (often harvested from the back garden) and has a good story.” Those who like the feel of a bit of good earth under the fingernails will welcome this collection of good honest fare. There’s a pasta dish with simple chard dressed with olive oil and lemon juice, a rich creamy sauce and an unexpectedly successful addition of mushrooms. Some very ripe mushrooms are roasted and emerge on roasted bread with plenty of parmesan and basil. No gilding the lily there. A parsley glut can soon be transformed into a bright green soup, simply flavoured with a leek and a potato. That cornerstone of Brit food, the beef roast, is there, nestled with Yorkshire pud. So is elderflower cordial, newly discovered by chefs on the world circuit. The pork pie recipe reminds me of the creations I used to make for family New Year’s Day picnics when my sons were small. The book is a happy blend of nostalgia tempered with more recent food trends as old favourites are rescued from the past and given present-day flourishes. There are grandmother specials like drop scones (pikelets), ordinary scones, soda bread, Welsh cakes and Dundee cake. The puddings chapter has several sweetly simple favourites. For those hankering after scrumptious, ordinary family fare it’s a great collection for chefs of all ages.
What to Cook and How to Cook it Jane Hornby ISBN 978-0-7148-5901-9 Phaidon, RRP $59.95
Open this book and you’re stepping into her kitchen. All the ingredients for a recipe are laid out on the bench. You can see the utensils that are used. There are step by step instructions with accompanying photos to show progress and then there’s the finished dish. Individual ingredients might be discussed – the recipe for Mexican spiced beans with eggs explains what chipotle paste and pinto beans are and suggests substitutes if these are unavailable. Chapters cover all the bases – breakfast and brunch, light lunches, simple suppers, food for sharing, weekend cooking, side dishes, desserts and baking. Plus there’s a section on menu planning, a glossary and basic preparations. It’s a very thorough book and, at more than 400 pages, a weighty one. Most of the 100 or so recipes run over three or four pages reminding me of Julia Child’s painstaking efforts to give thorough unambiguous instructions. This is the sort of book that will make a novice cook feel comfortable in the kitchen.. If the recipe says four eggs, that’s what is shown in the photo, providing a visual check that nothing is left out. A cucumber is shown peeled, halved, deseeded and sliced so written instructions can be clearly interpreted. Finished dishes are attractively presented, fostering skills in that area. Nothing is left to chance. This would be a great Christmas gift for anyone taking their first steps in the kitchen, whether they’re youngsters working under supervision, teenagers doing their night on family cooking or young people leaving home for the first time. Even adults who have been kitchen avoiders might be goaded into action seeing a recipe demystified. This is certainly an excellent addition to Phaidon’s growing portfolio of attractive and comprehensive cookbooks. Jane Hornby is an experienced food writer and cook. After training as a chef, she worked as cookery writer and food editor on the BBC's bestselling Good Food magazine for five years. The magazine is renowned for its clear, step-by-step style and for its totally foolproof recipes which are tested many times. She has also edited several of the BBC Good Food's bestselling 101 recipe books.
Miguel's Tapas Miguel Maestre, ISBN 9781742570600, New Holland, RRP $45.00
A little rest until it’s time for a 6pm “afternoon tea” of empanadillas. Dinner at 9pm and some chicken cabbage parcels, veal sweetbreads and lamb shanks and maybe Marc Singla’s deconstructed Spanish omelette. It’s 3am and time to head home with a wild rice popcorn snack along the way and maybe manchego cheese sticks with tomato jam. Miguel Maestre has the day covered with his glamorous new cookbook. The man who kept the grazers happy in the Emirates marquee at the 2010 Melbourne Cup is now sharing his recipes as well as his food – more than 75 dishes span morning, noon and night, including his own original fare plus signature Spanish tapas. These little shared plates have nudged larger more formal dishes off many menus as we seek variety and plenty of flavour. We’ve embraced this style of dining where it’s possible to have just a taste of a dish and not have to commit to a whole daunting slab of meat. Maestre’s recipes deliver both visual appeal and flavour. Think about a sweet and sour shallot circled with a black and a white anchovy, skewered and drizzled with olive oil. Or rice-crusted sardines with green beans and chorizo. Nothing bland and prissy but honest, assertive flavours. Spanish born Maestre began cooking at 21 when he ventured out to see the world. He arrived in Australia in 2004 and has worked in a number of premier Sydney kitchens and has appeared in the Boys Weekend TV series. He has also worked with Ferran Adria at El Bulli. He now has his own restaurant, El Toro Loco where he produces great tapas and his signature seafood paella. His dishes are beautifully created for this book and both food and kitchen action are cleverly captured by Karen Watson Photography. This is a great book to have on hand as summer approaches and we plan a few lazy unhurried meals in the sun. Maestre delivers “love and garlic…and a little chilli for those spicy moments”.
Secrets of Macarons José Maréchal, ISBN 978-1742661285, Murdoch Books, RRP $19.95
Macarons are discussed daily on Twitter as sellers tweet the day’s flavours, foodies and bloggers share their latest finds, connoisseurs argue the finer points of production and the rest succumb to an occasional macaron indulgence. They’re something I’ve been meaning to try making, more for the satisfaction of giving it a go rather than consuming the end result. As a fellow blogger remarked over lunch the other day: “Once you’ve made them, what do you do with them?” Not having much of a sweet tooth, I don’t think I would want more than one at a sitting. That aside, this book is just what the aspiring pastry chef needs to make these little almond, eggwhite and sugar morsels. First Maréchal discussed the individual ingredients. At the heart of the macaron is the tant pour tant (“so much for so much”) mix of ground almonds and icing sugar. Photos show the results in the finished product of using unprocessed and processed tant pour tant. If you want to grind your own almonds, the steps are well explained. The author then explains eggs and their role – how to store them, how long separated whites and yolks last, how to make French meringue and Italian meringue mix. The former, using uncooked sugar, is simpler to make but its use requires more care as the French meringue is more fragile. Italian meringue using cooked sugar is more complex to make but ensures a silkier batter and permits the use of a lower temperature which preserves the colour and shine of the macarons. Colouring options are discussed – powder, paste or liquid? Then there is macaronage or working the batter. Too runny a batter and the macarons will not have their ruffled “feet”. Equipment is next, and most important are accurate scales for measuring the ingredients. Other necessities are a food processor and sieve, electric mixer or beater, thermometer, spatula, piping bags and nozzles, oven trays. Croûtage or drying time is another important factor. Insufficient drying of the piped macaron batter can lead to a cracked surface instead of a smooth one with an even set of feet. Next Maréchal discusses the various kinds of fillings – ganache, butter cream, fruit fillings – and the finishing touches that customise the macarons. Instructions are given for nine classic macarons and some specialty macarons. All-in-all Secrets of Macarons is a comprehensive little bible for those wishing to expand their baking repertoire. The original was written in French and this is a translation. José Maréchal is chef and partner at Cafe Noir in Paris’s 20th Arrondissement. He also wrote Verrines.
The Chef Behind the Bar Scott Thomas, ISBN 9781742570198, New Holland RRP $40.00
He emigrated to Australia from Wales in 1979 with his parents and as a young child in Melbourne’s South Eastern suburbs found the landscape flat and wide after the closeknit cluster of shops, laneways and houses he was used to. The pubs were eerily similar. “The first one we walked into was like walking into an aircraft hangar. It was dull, devoid of history, had no character and no warmth. I was devastated. It would be many years before I would find the kind of pubs that I like to visit and, indeed, call my own.” Thomas spent 10 years living and working in central London at a time that coinincided with the gastro pub revolution. The food was outstanding, the people passionate and innovative. He spent a year working at a pub called The Engineer and found the energy infectious. “It was the sort of place where people dropped in for an afternoon drink and were still there at closing. Back in Australia he and his wife Leah bought The Courthouse Hotel in North Melbourne in 2002. In 2007 he added The Montague Hotel to the fold. In The Chef Behind the Bar, Thomas delivers his vision of the modern pub dining room. This is robust food with plenty of flavour, many dishes definitely ticking the comfort food box. As with his two pubs, there are bar snacks, creative entrees and mains, burgers, Sunday roasts, traditional desserts. A random opening of the pages reveals corned beef with buttered cabbage and mustard sauce; cassoulet of duck and pork; chicken and ham hock terrine; roast beef rump with Yorkshire pud, roast potatoes and beans; carpaccio of beef with a salad of mizuna, nori and sesame, yuzu dressing; char-grilled calamari with chorizo, eggplant and parsley; chicken, tarrago and mushroom pie; smoked haddock croquettes with curried mayonnaise; plus the Monty burger with trimmings including beetroot chutney, pancetta, cheddar, tomato, salad leaves and aioli. Quality seasonal produce is always to the fore. The desserts are inventive with the likes of mango and pineapple crumble with rum ice cream, rhubarb Eton Mess (why didn’t I think of that?), a wicked looking steamed brown ale pudding well spiked with cocoa. Plus there are a few interesting ideas for serving cheese. If you love modern pub food, here’s a chance to do some cheffing behind your own bar and have a night in. As for me, The Montague is within walking distance and I’ll be trying it soon…
The Making of a Chef Luke Mangan, ISBN 9781741108156, New Holland, RRP $29.95
But for most of them, it wasn’t all handed out on a golden platter. They had to do the hard yards. From Ramsay to Bourdain they’ve slaved many long shifts in sweaty kitchens and they’ve refused to give in where many of us would have had a flash of sanity and got the hell out. Luke Mangan says he’s not the best chef in the world. “Hell, some would argue that I’m not even the best chef on my street.” He hated much of his apprenticeship and the tedium of dishwashing, vegetable prepping, the verbals, the kick up the bum, the little push into line. But these days, on reflection, he says he was fortunate enough to do his apprenticeship under Hermann Schneider “one of Australia’s finest chefs in the 70s and 80s.” “As a young kid doing your apprenticeship you don’t realise that this is one man’s business. His life. His reputation. Every morsel that leaves the kitchen puts his reputation on the line and could mean the difference between a restaurant that closes its doors and one that flourishes every service. If I put that in jeopardy, then I deserved a bollocking.” One service changed his life forever. He was nearing the end of his apprenticeship and it was his time to step up to the plate and cook on the meat and sauce section next to Schneider. “I just put my head down and shut the whole world out… I was sweating bullets … we worked hard, we communicated on every dish and we got everything up onto the pass and out to the diners. It was probably the first night he hadn’t criticised me for something… anything. The stony silence made me nervous, like a storm was brewing.” Afterwards Mangan headed outside. Schneider appeared, put an arm round his shoulders and said, “You didn’t think you could do it, but you did. Good job chef.” “It was a defining moment,” Mangan writes. He was an underachiever at school and had taken to wagging. But he discovered his creative streak in woodwork classes and his teacher in turn learned that the young Luke enjoyed cooking and encouraged him to make a cake and bring it to woodwork class to share. “It was the first thing I ever enjoyed doing at school.” That sowed the seeds and in turn led to his apprenticeship. Next he landed a job with Michel Roux in London after initially being turned down because there was a two-year waiting list. In the end, Mangan persisted and offered to work for a month without pay to see if he was good enough. At the end of his “audition”, Roux gave him a job. In his book Mangan charts the highs and lows of his progress onward and upward. He gained and lost those elusive hats that mark a restaurant’s stature. He had big successes and calamitous failures. Business and personal relationships faltered. His enterprises are now worldwide and he has put much back into the industry in terms of encouraging young hospitality workers to compete in the Electrolux Appetitite for Excellence programme. It’s a very readable book, put together by Anthony Huckstep, and one that sheds some light on what it is that keeps these chefs going, seemingly no matter what.
Quay - Food inspired by nature Peter Gilmore, ISBN 978-1741964875, Murdoch Books, RRP $95
There are those beautiful moments when you visit a restaurant and you know the minute the first plate of food is put in front of you, this is going to be a special experience. There’s that frisson of excitement as you eat it first with your eyes, almost reluctant to approach the dish with knife and fork. Peter Gilmore has presented page after page of such stunning fare. I was soon thumbing greedily through, totally amazed a few ingredients could be so sensuously and artfully juxtaposed. It was like walking through an art exhibition. These are no ordinary dishes. They’re definitely not thrown together. I wouldn’t mind betting there are little snipping scissors and tweezers among the Quay batterie de cuisine. Everything looks so delicate – a few elderberry buds. micro herbs, a tiny blossom or two, a pea sprout give the underlying food morsels a fragile air. Even manly stuff like pig cheek has been to finishing school and emerged genteel and refined. As Gilmore says, many of the dishes in his book are complex. A bit of an understatement, I’d say. Some have many stages and smaller recipes contributing to the whole and he wisely urges any one game enough to accept the challenge and tackle one of the dishes to read the entire recipe through as some components need several hours of marinating or freezing. And some need specialised equipment. “Some recipes can be broken down into easily achievable components that can be prepared in advance so the final assembly stage isn’t overwhelming, or you can take individual components from my dishes and utilise them however you like.” Each dish includes instructions for finishing and plating, and I think this is where many of us mere mortals will draw inspiration from Gilmore’s opus. Quite frankly I would be happy to master his egg white pearl flowers. The petals are made of six razor thin slices of celeriac. In the centre is a little ball of smoked eel brandade enclosed in egg white pearls. These are made by using an eye dropper to add strained eggwhite, drop by tiny drop, into grapeseed oil held at 70C. There are meticulous directions for each stage, right down to the dimensions of the squares of plastic wrap used to help the egg white pearls to stick to the brandade. The desserts look fresh and tempting and ingredients like fresh fruit speak for themselves. Peter Gilmore has been the executive chef of Quay restaurant since August 2001 and in that time has elevated the restaurant to three-hat status for the past seven years. His creative and original food has brought Quay international accolades and the restaurant was recently ranked one of the top 50 restaurants in the world. His unique philosophy is 'food inspired by nature' and he encapsulates this in his picture perfect dishes that celebrate nature's beauty and diversity. The book is at once a masterclass, a feast for the eyes, an encouragement to get into the kitchen and master some new skills, and an insight into the thinking processes that make a chef one of the world’s best. And I really must mention the gorgeous work and skills of photographer Anson Smart and stylist David Morgan. Unsurprisingly, none of the recipes contains a guide to preparation time… "Forever" might suffice? “Dining is about indulgence and being pampered,” says chef Gilmore. Give me some Gilmore pampering!
Family Italian John Lanzafame ISBN 978-1741965070, Murdoch Books, RRP $45.00
Those of us whose forebears came from the UK have had to undergo serious palate re-education in recent decades. Fortunately now we have the ingredients and the recipe books to help us enjoy the sort of home-cooked meals that were always a part of life for our Mediterranean friends. “Mum never cooked the same meal twice,” says Lanzafame. Lucky him. Owner and chef of Lanzafame Trattoria in Woolloomooloo, Sydney, he’s taken his Mum’s traditional recipes, given them a slightly more modern twist while leaving them nourishing and seasonal. There are assaggini or snacks, small antipasti plates for sharings, great salads, Italian comfort food, pasta for all occasions, one-pan wonders, sure-fire winners from the grill and, of course, dolci. I made the mistake of poring over this book on an empty stomach and I was soon craving fried anchovy dumplings, salt cod fritters, porcini panna cotta, stuffed calamari, cotechino with lentils and chickpea broth. And it wasn’t even lunchtime. I succumbed to the egg and marinated anchovy salad – essentially fried ciabatta slices topped with a runny-yolked fried egg and served on white anchovies and torn basil leaves. So good and infinitely more interesting than my planned poached egg. Another dish I will definitely be trying before the week is out is the smoked trout and cos lettuce pressed salad. Flaked trout, inner lettuce leaves vinegar and oil are pressed in a terrine and refrigerated overnight. The juices are drained off next day and the terrine is cut into pretty slices for serving – simple but attractive enough to make a very appealing dinner party entree. And the taleggio and mushroom risotto is begging for a fork. This is food from the heart, wonderful dishes to make and share with family and friends. It covers all seasons and there’s nothing coy about the flavours going on in each recipe. One to invest in if your taste buds need revitalising.
Stéphane Reynaud's 365 Good Reasons to Sit Down to Eat Stéphane Reynaud, ISBN 978-1741969191, Murdoch Books, RRP $79.95
But this Frenchman’s food, though without too many frills, has bags of flavour. Stéphane Reynaud has an impish sense of humour. There’s a lugubrious looking John Dory swathed in a salt crust with a drooping pastry mouth. And there’s more from co-conspirator Jose Reis de Matos whose whimsical sketches have adorned previous Reynaud cookbooks. The Croque Monsieur recipe dedicated to Zounette “though she prefers frogs’ legs and the cuisine of Michel Troisgros”, is adorned with a drawing of a sandwich with protruding frog’s legs. As the title suggests, there’s a recipe for every day of the year, though Down Under cooks will have to jump ahead or back six months for strictly seasonal fare. Because the recipes follow the seasons rather than fall into usual cookbook categories, there are two useful indices – one arranged by ingredient, the other by type of dish. There are Gallic specials like pot au feu and classic quiche, but Reynaud also draws inspiration from round the Mediterranean, South East Asia and elsewhere. The king of the roast has also included some more immaculately tied cuts of meat. Our October is France’s April so here are some seasonal suggestions – grilled asparagus with speck, omelette with fresh herbs, crème brulee with berries, French-style peas, crudite of broad beans, cured salmon, onion tart, spicy broad bean puree, baked rack of veal, strawberry gateau, prawn and lemongrass soup. And just in case you are worried about Leap Year, there’s also a recipe for February 29 and a bonus one for February 30! I think Reynaud is playing leap frog there… The staff at Murdoch Books have certainly embraced Stéphane and set themselves a group challenge of cooking each recipe from the book. Check out how they’re doing here
My Party - Canapés and Cocktails Pete Evans and Mark Ward ISBN 978-1741968163, Murdoch Books, RRP $49.95
This time Pete ties up with mixologist Mark Ward to make the job of hosting a cocktail party as easy as choosing a theme. Innovative cocktails match each of the eight party themes including pool party, club Med, Eastern flair, carnival, supper club, chill factor, black tie and high tea. Whether it’s dress up or dress down, Evans has made a great choice of recipes for your special occasion. The emphasis is on flavour and freshness and he has borrowed the occasional recipe from fellow chefs whose small dishes he has enjoyed (Teage Ezard's oysters shooters - one of my personal favourites, and Adam D'Sylva's beautiful crispy prawn and tapioca betel leaf). As a veteran caterer he has also simplified dishes he's personally found were too fussy to put together on the night, and he's noted the simpler versons turned out better. One of the challenges in presenting cocktail party fare is having a range of nibbles that can be prepared ahead then cooked or assembled at the last minute. Don’t leave too much last-minute work unless you have help in the kitchen, however, or you’ll miss your own party. There’s plenty in this book to choose from ranging from smoked fish salad on crispy wontons to snapper tartare with yuzu dressing, pork and fennel sausage rolls to little meat pies, delicate sandwiches, prawn spring rolls, lamb skewers, goats cheese quesadillas. Many items can get their final cooking on the barbeque or in a wok. Mark Ward’s cocktails are extremely tempting and attention to choosing attractive glassware certainly enhances presentation. As things warm up for the party season, this book will be an ideal source of inspiration. I’ve already marked a few recipes to try for pre-dinner canapés.
Love the Leftovers: Make Two Meals from One (My Kitchen) ISBN 978-1741964455, Murdoch Books, RRP $29.95
Love the Leftovers takes the sensible approach and makes sure the initial quantities are right and tells you how much to hide from the “are their any seconds?” brigade at the outset. The book is divided into summer and winter. Summer calls for breezy flavours and quicker cooking styles. Steamed salmon with ginger rice becomes salmon fried rice the next day. Cumin and cinnamon-dusted steak transforms into fajitas. Roast lamb rump with fennel and celeriac re-emerges as lamb and remoulade sandwiches on toasted sourdough bread. Chinese-style turkey stir-fry becomes turkey spring rolls. Tofu skewers with peanut sauce live to star another day as gado gado. Winter’s roasts, casseroles, soups and hearty braises often develop an even better flavour overnight, providing ideal basics for the second time round. A Thai vegetable red curry reappears as vegetable pasties whihle Moroccan lamb skewers with coucous and chargrilled zucchini do a second shift in a warm couscous salad with apricots, feta and mint. The apples roast potatoes that accompanied last night’s roasts pork are the basis for latkes with goats cheese and hazelnuts. There’s a good mix of flavours, seasonal produce, ethnic influences, and the recipes are easy and inexpensive. This book will certainly appeal to those who like cooking from scratch but occasionally yearn for a meal they don’t have to put too much effort into.
Food from Many Greek Kitchens Tessa Kiros ISBN 978-1741966848, Murdoch Books, RRP $69.95
As I flipped through the pages I kept thinking of warm evenings on the balcony, tasty food on the table, a bottle of white chilling. Maybe not quite like the Greek Islands, where the photographs were shot, but appealing nonetheless. The chapters cover traditional foods, fasting foods, Easter foods (and the Greeks certainly know how to celebrate Easter!), shared foods, baker’s food, soups, ladera and salads, ready-cooked foods, there and then foods and sweet foods. The mezedes or shared plates are part and parcel of our own lives these days, and an ideal way to entertain as people can pick and choose according to their tastes. This chapter includes a great range of snacks – yummy fried tomato balls, octopus, marinated anchovies, saganaki prawns with feta and tomato, marinated peppers, mussels, eggplant – the sun spilling out of every dish. Soups range from seafood to chunky and generous broths while the salads are colourful and interesting. Included in the advice on how to order in a Greek taverna. “You can usually just indicate to a dish saying ‘parakalo’ (please).” Looking at the beautiful dishes throughout this book, I think I’d be saying “Parakalo” many times. There are some lovely anecdotes woven into the book - the wild greens pie, hortopita, made every year by the principal and students of an elementary school - and helpful hints for making old favourites like skordalia (use "nice fresh garlic"... "not tired old cloves There’s always an element of enthusiasm in Kiros’s cookbooks and this latest is no exception. There are more than 115 traditional Greek recipes featured and the photographs by Manos Chatzikonstantis showing the people, the ingredients and the dishes double the enjoyment. I fear the aquamarine ink used throughout the book might be a little difficult to read in certain lighting conditions and the outline font used for the page numbers doubly so, but that's a minor quibble.
Eating In: Food to share from the e’cco kitchen Philip Johnson, ISBN 978-1741967494, Murdoch Books, RRP $59.95 This is one book I have been eagerly awaiting since I received the blad from the publishers several weeks back. New Zealand-born Johnson and the crew at his Brisbane bistro create more than a hundred meals for people each day. “We love to feed people, it’s in our blood!” he says. And it’s the same at home. The effort of preparing delicious food to share makes it all worthwhile when people come to the table to talk, laugh and indulge. This is a book of 120 starters, mains, sides and desserts to pick and mix for an e’cco experience at home, or Johnson has drawn up some menus to use as a guide. Whether it’s an Asia after dark occasion, a spring lunch, cocktail hour , a big night in, winter warmers or a Middle Eastern feast – and those are just a few – Johnson’s menus are exciting fare. How about this for a laid-back Christmas dinner? Parmesan wafer stack with lobster, watercress and lime mayonnaise
Other recipes are reasonably simple once all the ingredients are prepped and laid out for orderly progress. Having of the vegetables an integral part of a dish makes for well balanced flavours. The dishes are attractively plated and this really is a splendid book for the dedicated home cook who wants to lift their game to another level. After drooling at length over Philip Johnson’s previous dessert book, Decadence, it’s great to have even more luscious sweetness from the chef. Picture a lemon and white chocolate mousse with lemon curd, served simply in a shot glass, pretty cherry soufflés with chocolate sauce, invidual chocolate, rum and almond pithiviers or a flourless chocolate cake with glossy poached rhubarb and a scoop or raspberry sorbet. The various sides are also inventive. I love the idea of steamed broccolini, green beans and sugarsnap peas with salted lemon served with white anchovies and toasted almonds. There’s roasted fennel with kipler potatoes and pancetta, spiced pumpkin with spinach and harissa salad and a delicious looking cabbage salad with feta, mint and chilli. Photography by Jared Fowler and styling by Emma Ross make this an eminently beautiful book.
Grillhouse: Gastropub at Home Ross Dobson, ISBN 978-1741967142, Murdoch Books, RRP $39.95
This latest book from Fired Up author Ross Dobson features a collection of all-time favourite bistro-style dishes. The starters are popular dishes like crab cakes, potted prawns, beef carpaccio, mussels, pork terrine, chicken liver pate, scallop mornay. The usual suspects are in the grilled section – steak with béarnaise or with green peppercorn sauce, t-bone with bercy sauce, spatchcocked chicken, grilled tuna, beefburgers, pork skewers, lobster thermidor, posh surf and turf (fillet steak with small lobsters). The baked section includes dishes that have stood the test of time – veal parmigiana, smoked fish pie, beef Wellington, ribs, beef burgundy, pork belly with apple sauce, steak and kidney pie, beef and Guinness pie. There’s nothing prissy about the sides either – macaroni cheese, potato gratin, chips cooked in duck fat, bacon, tomato and herb bake. You get the drift? Many of the desserts can be made or partially prepared ahead and there are plenty of crowd-pleasing favourites. This is a great book for a relaxed weekend with mates. Nothing too taxing to make but rather friendly, tasty food. If Dad likes cooking,, buy him a copy for Father’s Day and cross your fingers he’ll get the hint.
Beer: A Gauge for Enthusiasts Greg Duncan Powell ISBN 978-1741968132, Murdoch Books, RRP $29.95
In the two years since the first edition, he notes there have been many developments in Beerville, the most notable being the emergence of the “blonde”. “Every bar and bottle shop throughout the country is now full of blondes. Notmally a pub will benefit from this sort of things, but these blondes are cold and soulless. They’re pure, they’re naked, they’re platinum, they’re classic, they are low-carb beers – the fastest growing trend in this wide brown land.” He says this follows a similar phenomenon in the US where “lite” beers dominate. But while Australians lead the obesity stakes, he reckons “it’s time to stop blaming beer” and that consumpotion here has actually dropped. His advice is “forget the blondes, eat less junk food and drink real beer, You’ll actually lose weight!” Right, well this will be the book to bone up on in preparation for stocking the beer fridge. I am only an occasional beer drinker these days but I must say that beers have come a long way since my misspent youth in the watering hole next to the newspaper where I worked. I quite enjoy browsing the beer collection at the specialty shop at my local market and drawing on the knowledge of the proprietor to help me gather an interesting half dozen. This book will certainly help me make a list of beers to look for. A good selling point is the photo of the beer bottle next to each review. It’s useful to know what you’re looking for. The reviews are succinct. There’s a short general comment followed by the alcohol content. The good and the bad are dealt with and there’s a recommendation on what the beer is best for – things like “long, quiet ones,” “hot pies on cold days,” “mettwurst sausage and sauerkraut,” “being trendy”. The colour, condition and carbonation are discussed, what characteristics the beer’s aroma has, then its performance on the palate. All a beer drinker needs to know. Serendipitously, this book is out in time for Father’s Day.
Heston's Fantastical Feasts Heston Blumenthal, ISBN 978-1-4088-0860-3, Bloomsbury, RRP HB $55 I think there’s a touch of the child in Heston Blumenthal when it comes to food. Who else would conjure up a fairy tale feast or a Willie Wonka feast? Or maybe it’s a touch of the mad chemist. Did he spend insomniac nights dreaming up the Gothic horror feast before dawn crept through the heavy night curtains? Let’s look at that menu.
Of course, he doesn’t just sit round home doing his thinking. He plunges into the literature for inspiration. A fizzing, smoking, sinister Jekyll and Hyde cocktail involves the laboratory approach.
His hopes were raised by the sight of a bowl of blood which eventually became a sausage when mixed with other ingredients, though “it looked much like a black pudding’ and tasted pretty much like one, too. Not enough thrill factor for his horror feast guests. After experimenting with Sibiu's legendary leech recipe, which wasn’t that appetising, he settled for snails. Blumenthal’s experimentation has been well documented in the highly successful second series of his TV programme Feast and this book tells the story of the development of each fantastical dish and includes the recipes for those who might want to call on their friends to help with the catering.. While we may not all be up for jelly beans made of cock’s testicles, some of the recipes are doable if you don’t belong to the “Life is too short to stuff a mushroom” brigade. Speaking of which, Blumenthal paints enoki mushroom caps red and dots them with white chocolates to disguise them as fly agaric. The Gen Y crowd are probably itching to give it a go. |
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World champion pizza maker John Lanzafame has followed up his 
He then heads for Sibiu, once the capital of the principality of Transylvania for atmosphere. But his local helper, trawling through old cookbooks, hasn’t had much joy coming up with old recipes involving blood. However, he joins preparations for a winter feast involving pork butchery and its assorted by-products.
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