Cooking Recent Picks

December 2007

The title-underlined links will take you directly to our catalogue.
Some featured items are linked via a book cover to enable you to read more reviews.

Cook yourself thin : the delicious way to drop a dress size, Harry Eastwood et al.
"Delicious... I watched the TV programme and thought, I must have the book as the food looks and sounds soooo good. After purchasing the book and trying some receipes I was right, I don't think you can say that about many diet books on the shelves today. I am not normally one for cook books but I believed this would be different and how right I was." (Amazon UK)

Exploring taste + flavour, Tom Kime ; with photographs by Lisa Linder.
"What is good food? Why do some combinations of foods work so well? It's all a question of how we taste. Using the principles of the Southeast Asian taste theory, Tom Kime shows why combining the four main tastes of hot, sour, salty and sweet guarantees truly delicious results, every time. Here are 150 stunning recipes that guarantee to excite all the senses with fresh flavours, vibrant colours and contrasting textures. Tom's simple rule of thumb can be applied to all the food we cook and eat at home, from simple dishes to whole meals where wine becomes one of the components." (Amazon UK synopsis)

Late dinner : discovering the food of Spain, Paul Richardson.
"This is, first of all, a really good book about Spain and the atmosphere of beautiful and ingenious novelty which pervades its traditional life. It is also a serious and well-informed account of one of the great and abiding delights of Spanish life, its food, which reflects a country's regional variety, its history, and its addiction to pleasure." Colm Tóibín (Amazon)

The story of tea : a cultural history and drinking guide, Mary Lou Heiss and Robert J. Heiss.
"WOW... Ever have a book come across your desk that leaves you in awe? This is what happened when The Story of Tea landed in my mailbox. What first catches your eye is the crisp clean design of the book and its cover. A sturdy book that has a sensual soothing feel. If the eyes are the gateway to the stomach, then this book was one that would make me want to drink tea. And I have never been a tea or coffee drinker, so this is an important point." (Amazon reviewer)

Table talk : sweet and sour, salt and bitter, A.A. Gill.
"A.A. Gill knows food, and loves food. He's an unashamedly intolerant perfectionist whose witty observations and scathing criticism have been the highlight of reading the Sunday papers for over ten years. His fearsome knowledge, and fearless honesty, make him one of the most respected critics to walk through a restaurant's doors... Table Talk is an idiosyncratic selection of A.A. Gill's writing about food, taken from his Sunday Times and Tatler columns... Fizzing with wit, it is a treat for gourmands, gourmets and anyone who relishes good writing." (Amazon UK)

Dinner in a basket : Judith Cullen cooks from the market, Judith Cullen, photography by Bill Nichol (NZ).

Dinner tonight, [food director Pamela Clark] (also known as the 'Australian Women's Weekly dinner tonight').

Fruit, by Donna Hay.

Hugh fearlessly eats it all : dispatches from the gastronomic front line, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

Kitchen secrets : cooking for one - or more : how to select, store, prepare and cook fresh ingredients, text and recipes by Barbara Lowery ; introductions by Tony Delroy.

Previous Cooking Recent Picks