Paramount Desserts ~ Christine Manfield

Paramount Desserts is by far and away the best dessert book I have come across, and I have read a few in my time. Published back in 1997, the book was years ahead of decent similar offerings, and even now has a fresh and contemporary feel that is rare in a cookbook of this age. Manfield is not only an outstanding and acclaimed Australian chef, but is able to translate her sometimes complex creations into offerings that are likely to stretch but are not necessarily beyond the good home cook. The combination of both these talents has yielded this rare treat.


Some books I've found are strictly for the kitchen, however this is definitely not one of them. This is the kind of cookbook you can sit around and read over and over again for inspiration, and then leave on the coffee table for your visitors to drool over. It is imaginative and nostalgic all at once, and recipes like the Brandied cherry jellies with coconut bavarois and chocolate wafers with it's cherry ripe inspired flavours a perfect example, and similarly the Chocolate jaffa mousse cake with orange caramel will stir the memories. The recipes are accessible as well, not beyond cooks patient enough to give them a go. The Baked rhubarb and hazelnut macaroon crumble remains one of the most memorable winter desserts I've enjoyed.

Whether you want to go for an architectural offering of Lime and coconut sago puddings with red papaya and coconut wafers, or you're feeling the pride with some Freedom sorbet slice, there is something in this book for everyone. And my favorites, the flavours that excite me - absolutely the Lemon verbena ice-cream with praline toffee wafers and for cooler nights the Candied cumquat sponge puddings with orange custard. Mmmmm.

Recommended for each and every one of you. Go out and find this book and buy it - now!

- Kath

Food for Lovers ~ Kelly Brodsky

Food for Lovers is the kind of book you wish you had an excuse to pull out every morning - kind of. I quite like the idea behind the book, the seduction experience with a sensual meal at the centre, but I'd probably have written it a little differently myself. That said, the book was published in 1971, which had a different flavour entirely, both in a sexual and in a culinary sense.


The chapter headings are perhaps the worst thing about the book, and although a little corny, some of the recipes are not too bad at all. Perhaps you might have use for the Morning-after pick-me-up or Wine and song prunes from the 'Gad-about Guy' chapter, or from the 'Freddy Finikin' chapter the Potent love flip, Passionfruit whip or Aphrodite's stuffed vine-leaves. I worry a little with the 'Dino Valentino' chapter featuring Gran's gingerbread and Gran's buttery shortbread, but you can always skip past that and go straight to the 'Jack Snack' chapter for Hot cakes. Personally I think I'll stick to the 'Greek Rod God' with his Wine-steeped lamb shanks baked in foil or Lobster thermidor. Or would I?

Recommended for 1970's porn star throwbacks and kitsch lovers alike. I love the book, so I wonder what that makes me?

- Kath

Dining with the Danes ~ Lynn Andersen

I really love this little book. My sister lived in Denmark for a year as an exchange student and came home with a wealth of new and exciting food ideas which made appearances at parties over the following years, however I couldn't find a cookbook anywhere (in english) which specifically focussed on Danish cookery. Thankfully my sister went back for a visit and brought this little treasure home with her for me, a very thoughtful gift indeed.

The book has all the traditional favourites, from Roast pork with crackling, to Homemade remoulade to go with your Rollmops, a whole section on Smørrebrød and my very favourite, Aebelskiver (and Glogg to wash them down). There are delicious recipes like the Roast duck with prunes and apples, Stewed red cabbage and Roast pheasant and delicious traditional desserts like the Rice pudding with hot cherry sauce. There's a little section on baking (and if you've had Danish pastries you'll know why this is important), and another on Christmas goodies, so all in all a very thorough treatise.


Recommended for anyone interested in Danish cuisine, even if you really don't like pickled herrings in the least.

- Kath

50 Great Curries of India ~ Camelia Panjabi

I should admit right now that although this book features 50 great curries, I have yet to sample most of them. The main reason though is that every time I flick through looking at the options I go straight to the Chicken dopiaza, so we've had this a number of times now. Even though I've only made a few curries from this book, I can thoroughly recommend it (both the book and the curry). The recipes are well written and easy to follow - even for a novice at Indian cookery, and they are so full of flavour that you can't be disappointed. There are curries ranging from Rogan josh to Goa pork vindaloo to Okra in yoghurt and even the very special Safed murgh korma, with its accompanying photograph complete with gold leaf to decorate the dish. Cooking the dishes within is a feast for all the senses, not only for the palate.


The book has a very lengthy introductory section outlining the philosophy of Indian cuisine as well as thoroughly describing in detail the use of particular spices and herbs (I for one wasn't aware of the use of Cock'scomb flower prior to reading this), and the wide variety of chillies. There is also an instructive section on the basics of making a simple homestyle curry before moving onto the more complex dishes featured throughout the book. All in all this is a very useful read.

Recommended for anyone who likes Indian food, and if you were only planning on owning one Indian cookbook, this is not a bad choice at all - a great variety of very nice curries.

- Kath

The Real Witches' Kitchen ~ Kate West

When you think about it, the good cook and the pagan have a lot in common. They are both interested in the natural world and natural products and the good cook will, like the pagan, work in sympathy with the natural seasons and cycles.

Okay, so you may have worked out that this book is not entirely all about food. That said, there is quite a good range of recipes from the section on 'Brews and teas' to 'Soups and Foods to Strengthen and Heal' and 'Breads, Cakes and Biscuits to Honour the Goddess and the God'. There are recipes suitable for Sabbats, Esbats and just for everyday, ranging from a delicious hibiscus, lemon and lime Summer tea to Carrot, orange and coriander soup and Rich Esbat biscuits flavoured with cinnamon and nutmeg which would go well with Elderflower and rose petal jelly.


What I like best about the book though is the section on 'Feasting around the Wheel of the Year', which discusses each of the eight Sabbats or pagan festivals. Today for instance, here in the southern hemisphere we celebrate Yule, the Winter solstice and the shortest day of the year. From today the days will start getting longer again so we celebrate the rebirth of the sun and traditionally the feasting has focussed on preserved foods that would have been available for a mid-winter feast. Hands up if you've celebrated the remnants of what used to be Yule at Christmas time (which is when it occurs in the northern hemisphere) with some plum pudding? The book very deftly describes the eight festivals and provides the food context and menu ideas, as well as occasional recipes which are particularly suited. This essentially mirrors the good cooks' focus and reliance on seasonal produce, so there's no real way you can go wrong.

There are of course sections of the book devoted to non-food recipes, with soaps and other bathroom goodies, herb sachets, skin and grooming products as well as oils and lotions. You could try out some of the anointing oils, and there are even candle recipes for your good old fashioned candle magic (tell me you haven't ever blown out birthday candles and made a wish!). It is quite a comprehensive book.

I recommend the book to anyone with an open mind and an interest in taking a seasonal approach to life. Probably not one for the Christians, as sadly I suspect many would find it difficult to move past the "damned heathen" nature of the book and find something interesting and of value to them within.

- Kath

Heather's Vegetable Lasagne

Once upon a time I was vegetarian, which caused all sorts of angst for the people around me as I suspect I was the first of my kind to grace their presence (it was a while ago now). To cut a long story short, I had a very nice meal at my Aunty Heather's place when she served the following dish ~ she was really surprised though when I later asked her for the recipe as she'd thought I'd only said I liked it because I was being polite (me - polite!).

Yes, I know this isn't a cookbook review, but it's my blog so deal with it. I've made a few minor variations to the recipe and I'm not aware of it having been published in any cookbook, so there's no reason not to give you the recipe straight. It's a great recipe to cater to a crowd of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian guests as the vegetable sauce and the spinach layers add real substance to the dish and the cottage cheese gives a very meaty and textural mouth feel. Plus it tastes fabulous ~ I still prefer this to any other lasagne I've tried. I'm not usually one for using dried herbs over fresh, however on this occasion I'd go with the dried basil, though you could easily substitute fresh oregano in the cheese mixture.

Heather's vegetable lasagne:

1/2 packet lasagne noodles
2 cups chopped spinach leaves (I use silverbeet)
250g mozzarella cheese, grated

Vegetable sauce:

125g mushrooms, sliced
1 small eggplant, thinly sliced
1/2 an onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 green capsicum, finely chopped
1 tbs olive oil
pinch salt
1/2 tsp dried basil
400g can tomatoes
1/2 cup tomato paste

To make the vegetable sauce you sauté the mushrooms, eggplant, onion, garlic and capsicum in the olive oil until your onions are translucent. Add the salt, basil, tinned tomatoes and the tomato paste, stir well and simmer for 15 minutes. Make sure to stir occasionally to prevent it burning.

Cheese mixture:

1 egg, beaten
300ml sour cream
250g cottage cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese (grated)
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tbs parsley, chopped
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

For the cheese mixture you simply combine all the ingredients and give the mixture a good stir.

To assemble the lasagne start by placing half the vegetable sauce on the base of a greased 3 litre casserole dish. On top of this layer half the noodles, then half the cheese mixture, half the spinach and half the mozzarella. Repeat the layers one more time (vegetable sauce; noodles; cheese mixture; spinach; mozzarella) and into the oven it goes at 190˚C for half an hour, and then stand it for ten minutes before you serve.

Like any lasagne you can make it a little in advance and stick it in the fridge (or freezer) until you're ready to cook it, making it ideal for dinner guests (don't put a cold ceramic casserole dish into a hot oven though unless you're after trouble). Enjoy!

- Kath

Friendly Food ~ Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Allergy Unit

This cookbook is fantastic if you or someone you know has an intolerance to common, naturally occurring, food chemicals such as salicylates or amines. There is an information packed chapter at the front of the book discussing food intolerance and food chemicals, as well as providing charts listing those fruits, vegetables, herbs, grains and other food types with low, moderate and high amounts of these chemicals. Unfortunately for those with a salicylate intolerance like my mother and sister (who also unfortunately react to gluten, lactose and sulphates), this can limit the choice of fruit to (peeled) pear when you are reacting heavily, and whilst there is a little more variety amongst the vegetable offerings, your choices are still very limited.


The remainder of the book is largely given over to providing recipes which are either chemical free or are low in these chemicals. Given that food chemicals are higher in more flavourful food the recipes aren't the most exciting you'll find. It's not designed for the gourmand but as a practical and useful reference for catering to those whose food choices are very limited. Given that herbs and spices are very high in food chemicals, adding flavour becomes a bit of an art, though there are some reasonable options such as Warm quail salad, Fruity lamb kebabs and Saffron chicken and rice. There are some dessert options such as Whole poached pears with warm sabayon sauce, Pear sorbet and Pear mallow dessert (sensing a theme?), as well as some drinks (Pear slush, Cashew nut milk) and baked goods such as Golden syrup snaps and Carob brownies. Even better, the book has a chapter on children's parties which must be invaluable to the parents of children with chemical sensitivities. It really is a terrific resource.

Recommended for anyone with or related to those with food intolerances and to everyone in the food industry (because it would be great if there were one completely safe option on every menu, and my people like my sister didn't have to carry their milk and bread to the cafe and still not be able to order anything).

- Kath

50 Easy Party Cakes ~ Debbie Brown

Debbie Brown's cakes are awesome. These might be easy party cakes, but if you can manage to pull off a single one of these then everyone (especially the kids) will think you are very, very talented. The great thing about Debbie's book though is that she is very thorough and methodical in stepping you through the cake decorating process, making what looks impossible suddenly not so.


Take for instance the Mouse house cake which is pictured on the cover. Debbie steps you first through colouring the sugarpaste and covering the board and then through cutting, joining and shaping the cakes. Following this she guides you through covering the cake and positioning it on the board, smoothing it and cutting the windows, then replacing them with the black sugarpaste. Her next two steps outline in detail how to make the mice and placing them on the cake, and the last is to step you through adding the stalks and leaves and the chimney. There are photographs of several of the various steps and components, making the shaping of the cake and the moulding of the mice far simpler. Brown has also listed basic recipes for Madeira sponge cake and Sugarpaste at the beginning of the book, and provides a very useful table of bakeware and ingredient quantities required to produce each of the cakes in the book.

It's hard to decide which of the fifty cakes featured are my favourites, as they are all great. I do really like the Castle guards and the Treasure map, and both Dotty dragon and Playful kitten are very cute. The Shopping frenzy cake makes me think of my sister Carmen and my friend Seema, and the Party bags with a little teddy bear in the top of each would be fantastic for a birthday party. Don't make me choose!

Recommended for patient cooks and cake decorating afficionado's.

- Kath

Gelati, Sorbets and Ice Creams ~ Elsa Petersen-Schepelern

This is one of those very pretty little books that is as fun to look at as it is to cook from. With the majority of recipes offered a double page spread there certainly isn't room for hundreds of offerings, however the 30 recipes supplied are varied and interesting and don't leave you feeling shortchanged.


The book begins with the traditional recipes, Gelato di créma, Traditional italian gelato and Rich traditional gelato, followed by liqueur-flavoured, fruit and spice gelati and chocolate, coffee and nuts. There are sections featuring sorbets and sorbetti and a section on asian flavours. There are some delightful recipes throughout the book such as the Pineapple, rum and coconut gelato, the Marscapone, cognac and clove gelato and the Orange and cardamom gelato. I'm not one for melon so I'd skip the Sorbetto melone, however the Gingered poached pears with ginger gelato are a whole different story and would make a very nice complete dessert. I think my favourites though would be the Italian lemon sorbetto, the Lemongrass gelato and the Thai coconut and mango ice - Yum!

Recommended for anyone with an ice-cream machine (it's a bugger to make the stuff without one).

- Kath

Feeding Babies and Toddlers ~ Family Circle (Murdock Books)

I'm a parent of twins. Twins are a handful, especially when they are babies, and apart from sleeping, feeding is the most difficult aspect. This book was a godsend - so very helpful and so very useful at a time when all sense of time and reality is distorted. The book starts off with a large section on breast and bottle feeding and then progresses through introducing mixed feeding and then onto feeding toddlers and older children. There's a section on vegetarianism and natural foods and one on food for special occasions such as when travelling with a baby. The subject matter is approached in a very logical and straightforward manner, and although there are particular biases (I have yet to see a book about parenting which has no bias), it is reasonably well balanced in its approach.


It's not the kind of cookbook which is of much use to those without (or not expecting) babies and toddlers. For those who are expecting - the chapter on mixed feeding provided exactly the kind of information we wanted and needed when we started thinking about introducing new foods in the first year. We made mistakes (such as offering a second meal choice when the first was rejected - not at all what the book would have us do) and now have one very good eater and one not so good, but the advice we took from this book was invaluable. There are recipes in the book, starting from the mixed food chapter with exciting stuff like Apple and sweet potato and Junket, progressing to toddler foods such as Spaghetti with meat sauce and then onto things for the third year such as Fish mornay or Meatballs in yoghurt sauce. Don't buy the book for the recipes though - buy it for the very well put together information that just might help you keep your sanity.

Recommended for all new parents. Get this one before you get to the pulling your own hair out stage.

- Kath

Vegetarian Barbecues ~ Sue Ashworth

I suspect that there are many of you who would find the term 'vegetarian barbecue' somewhat anomalous, but as a former vegetarian I can safely put your mind at rest and let you know that there's no need to stop barbecuing just because you stop eating meat, fish and poultry. And you shouldn't feel limited to reconstituting TVP (textured vegetable protein) or using a felafel mix to just make burgers, not that they can't be quite tasty. If you can cook it on a flat surface then you can barbecue it.

Tofu - even the word sounds awful - I've no idea why anyone thinks vegetarians should enjoy that flavourless muck. Skip the recipe for Smoked tofu and mushroom brochettes and head straight for the Grilled Cypriot cheese with tomato and red onion salad - light and fresh with a good bite and enough substance to satisfy. The Tasty barbecue sauce is great on the Cheeseburgers in buns with barbecue sauce, or alongside the Char-grilled vegetables with sidekick dressing or even just with a big juicy field mushroom, and you could do a lot worse than accompanying these with any of the Three-way potato salad and the Carrot and cashew nut coleslaw. Finish the meal off with Char-cooked pineapple with ginger and brown sugar butter or Toasted tropical fruit kebabs with hot chocolate dip and you're smiling.


Recommended for vegetarians.

- Kath

The Illustrated Cookie ~ Piet Halberstadt

For what is essentially a book about biscuits, this book doesn't have loads of recipes. What it does have though is loads of idea's and information about making your plain old cookie dough into something more. That's not to say there aren't some good recipes, with Butterscotch refridgerator cookies, Gingerbread cookies and Olga's mother's almond macaroons, however the focus of the book is as much about how to roll and press and mould and decorate cookies as it is on providing a multitude of recipes.


I find it quite telling that this book was published in New York, as the word 'Cookie' really brings two things to my mind - first is Cookie Monster, and the second is the Black and White cookie featured in a Seinfeld episode. I think this cookbook would suit an American audience where shaped, cut and decorated biscuits would be more the norm - I tend to think of the Australian biscuit-goer as more varied in their tastes and less meticulous in their presentation (no Australian biscuit cookbook would seem complete without Anzacs). Still, there is definitely plenty to keep me satisfied in the book, and I'd happily chomp away on one of the citrus variations of the Rich basic dough cookie, perhaps topped off with some Cream cheese icing. Not bad at all.

Recommended for cookie lovers.

- Kath