Cooking Recent Picks

APRIL 2010

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.

Supper For A Song by Tamasin Day-Lewis
“In tough times we still always crave good food, even if we have to cut down (or give up) eating out. In this book Tamasin Day-Lewis shows that eating really well is a pleasure that never has to be compromised no matter what your budget. Supper For a Song is a book for the clever cook in the cost-conscious kitchen. This is comfort food at its best: creamy risottos, robust pasta dishes and tasty, succulent slow-cooked stews made from inexpensive cuts. There are original ways to extend the Sunday roast - to make great soups and weekday suppers. Leftovers are transformed into generous bruschettas, exotic suppers, zingy salads and delectable puddings. A wonderfully indulgent baking chapter offers cookies, cakes and gooey puddings, and there is lots of chocolate for that essential comfort factor. Supper For a Song is not about hard-time thrift, it is the way to cook and enjoy food, making the most of the wealth of ingredients available to us. It is the food of the future.” (Amazon)

Naked Chocolate by David Wolfe & Shazzie
“With the mission to lay naked before the world the true meaning of chocolate, David Wolfe and Shazzie present a spirited and unconventional history, material medical, and recipe book for the worlds most pleasurable food: chocolate. This book describes the wonders of cacao; where it comes from, how it is processed, its three varieties, and its origins and role in pre-Columbian cultures of the Americas. It explains the scientific properties and health benefits of chocolate, and elaborates how you will lose weight, soothe your heart, double your joy, increase your sensuality, nourish your intellect, and attract prosperity by eating it! In contrast to most books about chocolate, this one focuses on the raw cacao bean, or naked chocolate. Of course, this chocolate manual wouldn’t be complete without a step-by-step guide on what to do with the cacao beans, and over sixty original and mouth-watering chocolate recipes guaranteed to enhance your life.” (Global Books)

Cupcake Magic by Kate Shirazi
“Kate Shirazi makes beautiful and irreverently decorated cupcakes with eggs from her own free-range flock of (battery rescue) hens - they are cupcakes with both conscience and attitude. Combining a no-nonsense approach to cooking and an insatiable appetite for cake, here is a collection of delicious new recipes and fun designs for cupcakes. A lively, colourful book packed with baking tips, captivating new cake designs, modern photography and delightful illustrations, it is split into -fat, middling-fat and high-fat recipes, with ideas for both sweet and savoury, children's and adult's, seasonal and special occasion designs. Importantly, there is also a section devoted to ingredients and equipment and not to forget the author's hens and the significance of using free-range eggs. The author writes in such an informal style, and with such enthusiasm and humour, that the reader is borne along on her passion for cupcakes! This title features colourful and exciting new cupcake recipes and icing suggestions. It is beautifully designed - a must for the seasoned cupcake devotee. It includes easy no-nonsense recipes - ideal for novice cooks.” (Amazon)

The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It by Tilar J. Mazzeo
“Veuve Clicquot champagne epitomizes glamour and style, with tribute paid everywhere from Lord Byron to Casablanca. But who was this young widow - the 'Veuve' - Clicquot, whose champagne sparkled at the courts of France, Britain, and Russia, and how did she rise to celebrity and fortune? Newly widowed, she assumed the reins of the fledgling wine business she and her husband started, steering it through huge political and financial reversals to succeed as a single woman in a man's world. Visitors flocked to see this cultural icon and taste the vintages she imbued with magic.” (Amazon)

A Table In The Tarn : Living, Eating And Cooking In Rural France by Orlando Murrin
“Who among us has not dreamed of leaving the rat race behind to follow our heart's desire--and who among us has actually taken that leap of faith? Orlando Murrin, a former journalist and cook, did exactly that when he gave up his life in London to open a gourmet bed-and-breakfast with his partner in south-western France. A Table in the Tarnis is Murrin's intimate account of how he painstakingly transformed the simple 19th-century Manoir de Raynaudes into a celebrated gastronomic destination. Beautifully written and photographed, this cookbook and food memoir includes more than 80 recipes for the Anglo-French dishes that have brought the Manoir acclaim, along with tales of the extraordinary people and gorgeous countryside of the unspoiled Tarn Valley. A feast for food lovers and Francophiles alike, A Table in the Tarnis is a truly evocative story of life in a rural paradise.” (Global Books)

Movida Rustica : Spanish Traditions And Recipes by Frank Camorra and Richard Cornish
“Following the multi-award winning title MoVida, chef and restaurateur Frank Camorra returns to his native Spain in this companion book. In it Frank delivers many traditional as well as innovative recipes that are inspired by his travels but perfected for the home cook. Their origins lie in the authentic cuisine of the Spanish cities, towns and countryside. From the nation's bustling capital Madrid and Basque seaside towns to rustic Andalusia with its Sherry Triangle, MoVida Rustica highlights the pillars of Spanish cooking, and the culture in which the food is grown, prepared and eaten. Some of the core ingredients like smoked paprika, known as pimenton, chorizo and the omnipresent jamon Serrano and Iberico are covered with their mouth watering recipes, lore and manufacturers. Get to know matriarch Herminda, stroll across the Santiago Market and visit the kitchen gardens of Salamanca to understand what defines traditional Spanish food. Key points: MoVida was winner of the Australian Food Media ward 'Best Cookery Book by a Chef or Restaurant' in 2008; MoVida, the first book by chef and restaurateur Frank Camorra was hugely successful and won Best Designed Book of the year at the Australian Publishers Association's book design awards in 2008; beautifully presented and featuring captivating food and travel photography, MoVida Rustica highlights the pillars of rustic Spanish cooking, its culture and the way the food is prepared and eaten.” (Amazon)

1080 Recipes by Simone and Ines Ortega
“If you want to prepare truly authentic Spanish dishes, from paella to patatas con chorizo, there is only one book you need - the traditional bible of Spain that contains 1,080 recipes from the mother and daughter team of Simone and Ines Ortega now translated into English for the first time.” (Amazon)

My Greek Family Table by Maria Benardis
“Maria Benardis invites you to enjoy food the way the Greeks do. The preparation and serving of food in Greece is a ritual, and one that simply must be shared with friends and family. Food is always blessed before a meal, just as they did in Ancient Greek times. In this collection of recipes handed down through the generations in Maria's family, she offers the best way to make traditional moussaka and lamb souvlakia, through to her own Greek-inspired modern creations. Binding this collection together is the glue of Maria's family. Reminiscences from her childhood spent on the island of Psara transport readers to the rugged hilltops where the family would pick wild greens for use in their cooking.” (Amazon)

Willie’s Chocolate Factory Cookbook by Willie Harcourt-Cooze
“An eccentric entrepreneur with a mission to educate the British public into the delights of top quality chocolate, Willie Harcourt-Cooze, star of the Channel 4 series WILLIE'S WONKY CHOCOLATE FACTORY, shows how to use the ultimate luxury ingredient in a collection of over 60 mouth-watering recipes.
Willie's Chocolate Factory Cookbook is composed of two parts. In the first half of the book, Willie tells the extraordinary story behind his dream to produce the very best chocolate in the world. Twelve years ago, he and his wife Tania sold everything they had to buy a cacao farm in the Cloud Mountains of Venezuela. Passionate about growing, harvesting and processing their own cacao beans, their chocolate dream took the family to near bankruptcy, and from the wilds of Venezuela, where Willie learnt how to be a cacao farmer, to the rolling hills of Devon, where he built a small, chocolate factory and now makes his 100% cacao bars.
We're conditioned to think that chocolate is a confectionary, when in actual fact the real thing is the most wondrous, versatile ingredient, whether you use it for savoury or sweet. Willie's recipes show how 100% cacao can enrich an astonishing range of dishes, from Tiramisu and Venezuelan Hot Chocolate to Chicken Mole and Porcini and Chocolate Risotto. Like salt, just a small amount can strengthen or bring out the flavours in food, or simply add depth and richness and body. It's amazing stuff, and should live by the olive oil in everyone's kitchen.” (Amazon)

Fit Food Fast : Healthy Food For Families On The Run / Nestle Foods Ltd
“The recipes are tasty, healthy and most have only six ingredients – making them fast and easy to prepare. Not only that, there is wealth of nutritional information on everything from eating for exercise, to shopping well, planning a menu and much more.” (Book Jacket)

Delicious : Quick Smart Cook : Delicious Food Without The Fuss by Valli Little
“120 recipes from the world’s best food magazine” (Book Jacket)

Tapas : A Book Of Mediterranean Bites [food director, Pamela Clark]

Tea Cookbook by Tonia George

Thai Street Food by David Thompson

Larousse Gastronomique / with the assistance of the Gastronomic Committee, President, Joel Robuchon

Breakfast & Brunch : Delicious Recipes To Start The Day by Tonia George

Eating Together: Bringing Families Back To The Table / [food writer Xanthe Roberts; food director Pamela Clark]

Greek Cookery From The Hellenic Heart by George Calombaris

Rôtis : Roasts For Every Day Of The Week by Stéphane Reynaud

Great, Grand & Famous Chefs And Their Signature Dishes by David Glynn

La Cucina : The Regional Cooking Of Italy / Italian Academy of Cuisine ; translated by Jay Hyams

Yates Garden Fresh Cookbook

Kitchen Literacy : How We Lost Knowledge Of Where Food Comes From And Why We Need To Get It Back by Ann Vileisis

Forgotten Skills Of Cooking by Darina Allen

Market Kitchen Cookbook / featuring recipes from Rachel Allen Matthew Fort, Amanda Lamb, Tom Parker-Bowles, Matt Tebbutt

The Modern Vegetarian : Food Adventures For The Contemporary Palate by Maria Elia

Mastering The Art Of French Cooking by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, Simone Beck

David Burton's New Zealand Food And Cookery by David Burton

The Landscape Of New Zealand Wine by Kevin Judd with Bob Campbell

Cleaving : A Story Of Marriage, Meat And Obsession by Julie Powell

World's Best Beers : 1000 Unmissable Brews From Portland To Prague by Ben McFarland

Coco : 10 World-Leading Masters Choose 100 Contemporary Chefs

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