Archive For June 2009
An acquaintance gave me this book, Cooking with Olive Oil. I was rather surprised. No, in truth I was shocked. The title ‘Cooking with Olive Oil’ explains just what this book is about. Europeans, and especially those fortunate enough to live an olive-pit’s throw from the Mediterranean have used this “green gold” for millennia. It…
There are many of us now who are overweight and an increasing number who are clinically obese. In some European countries that figure has increased (no pun intended) to 25% of the population. That is a staggering statistic. We have more overweight people and the weight by which they are “over” has also increased. The…
This small chunky book is a treat. It lists and describes just about all of those quirky and well-loved foodstuffs that we hold dear. Yes, we consider them to be English but a remarkable number of them have either foreign origins or foreign originators. Gentleman’s Relish is a mine of information that will charm any…
I have bought the ice cream maker and I am ready to churn. There are fine recipes in many books for ice cream but isn’t there something romantic, and very chic, about real Italian ice cream? One is wafted to a picturesque piazza where you’ll be served a stylish confection, the memory of which will…
Yes, it’s a BBQ book but one with a difference. The Asian Grill will capture the imagination of those who long for something more exotic. There are those fire-extinguisher-wielding, burnt-offering-offering culinary pyromaniacs who think that charcoal adds flavour. No, my little Webber warrior, my Hibachi hero! The charcoal is the fuel and not the food;…
I am an unashamed supporter of the Good Housekeeping Institute and their books. I have a fine collection of cookbooks, as you would expect a reviewer to have, but, with a few exceptions, I reach for a cookbook of this nature rather than that of a celebrity chef … or celebrity-turned-chef. Family Meals for a…
Some of you, my dear readers, might be able to translate that title with ease (education is a marvellous thing). The Gateway to the Indies is my stab at it; but why is it a French title for a book of Indian food? The subtitle is The legacy of France in Indian regional cuisine and,…
Ravinder Bhogal has been described as the Fanny Craddock for the next generation by the controversial chef Gordon Ramsay. Mrs. Craddock was iconic, eccentric and often rude but Ravinder is rather attractive, humorous and could perhaps be described as a Nigela Lawson for the modern glutton. Ravinder does, in fact, consider herself a ‘greedy girl…
Sanjeev Kapoor is the Indian chef with the golden touch. His acclaimed TV series, Khana Khazana, has enjoyed a 15-year run, has won the Indian Television Academy “Best Cookery Show” and the “Indian Telly” awards year after year, such is the popularity of this man. Dal and Kadhi presents regional comfort food at its best…
It all sounds rather mystical. A journey with Spirit House conjures visions of idyllic retreats for the world-weary, guiding a path to something enlightening and memorable. Well, that’s probably a fair estimation of what this particular Spirit House is all about, but it’s the spirit of Thai food which is venerated here, and the House…