News Blog @ Wellington City Libraries

From winter classics like soup and the Sunday roast, to explorations of Chinese, French and American cuisine, you couldn’t ask for a more delicious looking set of recipes than those contained within our newest cook books. Bon appetit!

Gok Cooks Chinese / Gok Wan ; photography by Jemma Watts.
“Not only is Gok Wan one of the UK’s top fashion stylists, but he can cook too! His fantastic new book, Cook Yourself Chinese, contains 80 personal and family recipes, which are not only delicious and healthy but incredibly simple to make. His love and passion for Chinese food and cooking techniques shine through from every page. From his unique perspective he gives us his personal and modern take on the Chinese food that he grew up eating, drawing on his Chinese heritage to give us a different angle on how to eat – for Gok, it’s all about sitting down, tucking into fantastic food that is fuss-free and relaxed….” – (adapted from Global Books summary)

201 One-Pot Favourites / [project editor, Laura Higginson].
“The experts at Good Food – Britain’s best-selling cookery magazine – have gathered together 201 of their all-time favourite one-pot meals. Whether you’re looking for a quick stir-fry, whipped together in no time, or a delicious, hearty stew that can bubble on the stove for hours, one-pot cooking is a surefire way to tasty, healthy home-cooked food. With recipes for classic pies and roasts as well as casseroles, curries, hotpots and seafood dishes, 201 One-pot Favourites is packed with inspiring ideas.With all recipes triple-tested in the Good Food kitchen and complete with a full nutritional breakdown, you can cook with complete confidence, knowing that every recipe will work first time.” – (adapted from Amazon.co.uk summary)

Fire & Spice / Christine Manfield ; with photography by Anson Smart.
“With an insatiable appetite for travel, food and new experiences, renowned chef and traveller Christine Manfield draws her inspiration from across the globe. In this rich and evocative collection, she shares her favourite recipes from a lifetime of cooking with fire and spice.” – (adapted from Syndetics summary)

The Preservation Ktchen : The Craft of Making and Cooking with Pickles, Preserves, and Aigre-Doux / Paul Virant with Kate Leahy.
“Virant, a restaurateur and chef at the Michelin-starred Vie (Western Springs, IL), bases his first cookbook on preserves. Pickles are generally among the least glamorous foods, often taken from dusty jars pulled from the cellar in midwinter to perk up the root vegetables on hand, but Virant brings preserved fruit and vegetables to a new level…” – (adapted from Library Journal summary)

What to Cook & How to Cook It : Fresh & Easy / Jane Hornby.
“Beautiful watercolor illustrations and step-by-step instructional photographs adorn this follow-up to Hornby’s popular What To Cook & How To Cook It. After explaining the ingredients, techniques, and equipment you’ll need to use the book effectively, she offers dishes for a variety of courses and occasions…” – (adapted from Library Journal summary)

French Food Safari : A delicious journey into culinary heaven / Maeve O’ Meara with Guillaume Brahimi.
“Following on from bestsellers Food Safari and Italian Food Safari, French Food Safari is the much awaited next feast in the beautiful SBS Food Safari series – a celebration of the incredible breadth and diversity of French food traditions. Travel again with Maeve O’Meara, this time with legendary chef Guillaume Brahimi (Guillaume at Bennelong, Bistro Guillaume), as they spend time with top French chefs and artisanal producers… it’s a delicious journey into France making discoveries that will inspire any cook.” – (adapted from Global Books summary)

The Sunday Roast / [food director, Pamela Clark].
“The Sunday roast is a tradition for many families. It’s the time to gather everyone together, sit around the table, have a glass or two of wine and talk for a few hours. There are traditional roasts in this collection – chicken, duck, lamb, beef and pork, but there are also Asian roasts and middle-eastern roasts as well as roasts that are cooked on the barbecue. There’s a whole chapter on vegetables – roasted vegetables and also vegetable accompaniments. And to finish off there’s a beautiful chapter on Sunday desserts – all those lovely pies, crumbles and puddings that are the perfect finish to a perfect Sunday.” – (adapted from Global Books summary)

Soups / [editor, Melissa Penn].
“55 easy to follow soup recipes, including accompaniments such as croutons, for any season of the year.” – (adapted from Syndetics summary)

Martha’s American Food / [Martha Stewart].Martha’s American Food: A Celebration of Our Nation’s Most Treasured Dishes, from Coast to Coast
“Home diva Stewart has divided her combination food-history and recipe book into five geographies Northeast, South, Midwest, Southwest, and West. She then submits a sixth category, all-American, that includes, expectedly, hamburgers, hot crab dip, turkey, and tuna noodle casserole. Dishes… range from those in strict adherence to traditional tastes, such as roast turkey, to contemporary variations attuned to seasonal ingredients and newly discovered combinations, such as, for one, fig pizza. Of all the pages, perhaps the most riveting are those without recipes, concerned with the backstories of particular U.S. foodstuffs and showcasing, in sidebars, particular ingredients…. Jacobs, Barbara Copyright 2010 Booklist From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.” – (adapted from Booklist summary)

Kylie Kwong’s simple Chinese cooking class / Kylie Kwong ; photography by Earl Carter.
“Kylie Kwong’s Simple Chinese Cooking Class will take your Chinese cooking knowledge and skills to the next level, as well as providing ideas and inspiration by way of more than 130 new recipes. With Kylie at your side in the kitchen, you can easily expand your repertoire by mastering techniques such as tea-smoking and pickling. Learn how to make your own spring rolls, sticky rice parcels and a versatile XO sauce that will transform seafood or vegetables – even fried rice – with its layers of flavour and complexity. To make the most of your newly acquired skills, try your hand at stir-fried chicken with tea-smoked oysters and pickled chillies, steamed crab custard with enoki mushrooms, stir-fried scallops with XO sauce, or Hokkien noodles with chilli sauce and Chinese cabbage. In no time you’ll be rustling up a stir-fried omelette laden with snow peas, fresh herbs and bean sprouts or making a big pot of pork ball and vermicelli soup.” – (adapted from Syndetics summary)