Fresh Thai ~ Oi Cheepchaiissara

Fresh Thai is as much about feeding your eyes as it is about feeding your stomach, but oh my, what a feed! I don't know about you, but I'm a sucker for Thai food, and if you throw some lemongrass, ginger, kaffir lime leaves or coriander leaves (omg yum!) at me I'm a very happy woman. The book is gloriously glossy, with double page photographs littered throughout, displaying all the colour and freshness that is a key feature of the cuisine.


The recipes themselves, whilst delicious in every way, are perhaps not the most conducive to cooking from. The ingredients are listed consecutively across the line, rather than listing them down the page, making preparation slower and more methodical, and likewise the method is written in the same way, with a bolded number written between each step. Although reasonably simple recipes in many ways, the style of production of the book itself does not really lend itself to the cook. The book itself is reasonably small in size, however quite thick, so doesn't comfortably sit open on the workbench or a book stand. It is a great size for leafing through to look at the recipes, but not for cooking from.

That said, if you are leafing through the book for some inspiration, you will not be disappointed in the slightest. From Steamed crabs to Barbecued pork spare ribs and Spring flowering chives with squid to Panaeng chicken curry, the food is to die for. There are vegetarian dishes such as Stir-fried mushrooms with ginger or divine desserts like Sago pudding with white lotus seeds or Black sticky rice with egg custard, but the recipe my eyes just can't go past is the deliciously beautiful and delightfully colourful Quail egg salad with prawns ~ Mmmmmm.

I recommend this for the cook who enjoys Thai food, and only occasionally needs a recipe to cook it. Definitely recommended for those who love to eat Thai food, and especially if you can convince someone else to use the book and cook it for you.

- Kath

The Food of Australia ~ (Periplus Editions)

This little cookbook is such a joy. Published in the mid 90's it captures the best of Australia's many talented chefs at the start of the peak of Australia's food journey. The book is part of a series of regional cookbooks, though unlike other cookbooks in the series, this book has recipes provided by the best chefs from the leading restaurants around the country, rather than a traditional picture of Australian cuisine. The book commences with a number of essays which build up the story of how contemporary Australian cuisine emerged. These are fascinating insights from leading food writers, such as Tess Mallos writing on 'Mediterranean Influences' or Charmaine Solomon on 'Australia's Asian Connection', and together the essays create a picture of a diverse culinary tradition, which had only started to blend into an Australian cuisine in the decade preceding publication of the book.
The recipes which follow are fresh and innovative, creative and challenging, and yet very Australian. The first recipe in the book, Bethany Finn's Pumpkin risotto cakes with smoked kangaroo sets the scene for contemporary Australian, followed soon afterwards by Damien Pignolet's Terrine of rabbit with prunes which draws on a more traditional cuisine. The freshness and lightness and the variety of Australian cuisine are evident amongst the appetisers, ranging from Beh Kim Un's Oysters with lime and lemon grass dressing to Tesuya Wakuda's Scallops with black-bean vinaigrette to Cheong Liew's Four dances of the sea. Salads follow the appetisers with the Christine Manfield's Tea-smoked tuna with sweet-sour fennel salad the pick of these. Amongst the pasta recipes I have more difficulty picking a favourite, though depending on the day it would either be Tetsuya's Ravioli of lobster with tomato and basil or Stephanie Alexander's Crab salad on buckwheat noodles - both equally delicious but very different dishes.

The book has rich, gorgeous, adventurous and exciting recipes throughout, from Werner Kimmeringer's Salmon burger on vegetable spaghetti, Stephanie Alexander's Roast yabbies with apple and cider sauce, Bethany Finn's Lamb with chick pea curry, harissa and naan and Maggie Beer's absolutely gorgeous Roast pheasant. The desserts are divine, from the deliciously rich Illawarra plum cheesecake with rhubarb sauce from Guido van Baelen, to Dietmar Sawyere's Baklava of dried fruits with mint syrup and Marieke Brugman's Pavlova with seasonal fruits. My favourite of the desserts though, and the most deliciously Australian of them, is the gorgeous Lemon myrtle bavarois with rosella flower jelly provided by Andrew Fielke - just divine!

Recommended for every Australian foodie out there, you won't be disappointed.

- Kath

Two Fat Ladies, Gastronomic Adventures [With Motorbike and Sidecar] ~ Jennifer Paterson and Clarissa Dickson Wright

I must admit I loved the TV series of the Two fat ladies, and thankfully the slightly wicked sense of humour that both Clarissa Dickson Wright and Jennifer Paterson brought to the series is also present in the cookbook. I loved the irreverence of Jennifer with her highly polished bright red nails and hands covered in jewelry getting into the mixing bowl, and I loved the terribly un-PC jibes at vegetarians, particularly as I was vegetarian myself at the time the first series went to air.


What I also loved was the simplicity of the food idea's - sensual, produce based, sometimes a little bit fancy, but very do-able. This cookbook, the first of several following the popularity of the show, brings with it the same gay abandonment and flair of the series. No holding back on the butter in the Potted shrimps or dripping or lard in the Bubble and squeak, and a whole gorgeous chapter on game with dishes such as Partridge roasted in vine leaves and Haunch of roe deer in cider. My very favourite recipe from the first season of the show, the Shooter's sandwich featuring a big juicy rump steak and field mushrooms stuffed into a hollowed loaf and pressed is also featured, so I'm quite satisfied with the book, and could you really go past the ladies for your Scones or your Danish apple and prune cake needs?

Recommended for fans of the show, and any cooks wanting an irreverent slice of the best of British cooking.

- Kath

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