All posts in Books For Cooks

The Fruit, Herbs and Vegetables of Italy

by Andrew on March 3, 2012 in Books For Cooks with No comments

Fruit Herbs and Vegetables of italyA new edition of a classic early 17th century work – The Fruit, Herbs and Vegetables of Italy, written by the Italian refugee Giacomo Castelvetro.

When he came ot England he was horrified by our preference for large helpings of meat, masses of sugar and very little greenstuff. The Italians were both good gardeners, and had a famililiarity with many varieties of vegetable and fruit that were as yet little known in England.

Castelvetro takes us through the gardener’s year, listing the fruit and vegetables as they come into season, with simple and elegant ways of preparing them. Practical instructions are interspersed with tender vignettes of his life in his native Modena. He writes of children learning to swim in the canals of the Brenta, strapped to huge dried pumpkins to keep them afloat; Venetian ladies ogling passers-by from behind screens of verdant beanstalks; sultry German wenches jealously hoarding their grape harvest; and his intimate chats with Scandinavian royalty about the best way to graft pear cuttings and discomfort the Pope.

An entry for Spring:

And so I start the year with hops, the first shoots to appear at this time of year. These we never eat raw, but serve as a cooked salad. We wash them in several waters and then cook the desired amount in water with a little salt, when done we take them out and drain very well and serve in a nice clean dish seasoned with salt, plenty of oil, and a little vinegar or lemon juice and some crushed, not powered, pepper. Alternatively, once the hops are cooked, some of us flour them and fry them in oil and serve sprinkled with salt, pepper and bitter orange juice, and very tasty they are”

The Fruit, Herbs and Vegetables of Italy. is availble from Amazon.co.uk for £9.12.


On The Menu by James Mackenzie

by Andrew on December 16, 2011 in Books For Cooks with No comments

On The Menu James MackenzieThe perfect gift for Christmas? On The Menu: Seasonal Recipes for a Culinary Life by James Mackenzie.

This is a comprehensive reference guide and inspirational collection of 74 recipes with step-by-step instructions, showing you everything, from how to make the more challenging dishes, such as beer braised oxtails with deep fried oyster fritter, to how to make a simple but perfect chocolate brownie.

Jason Lowe’s exquisite photography effortlessly captures the remarkable food and this beautiful unspoilt part of the world.

With a foreword by the BBC’s Nigel Barden, the book perfectly captures James Mackenzie’s remarkable take on food at The Pipe and Glass Inn.

James Mackenzie is one of England’s brightest young chefs who uses his uniquely imaginative approach to produce an outstanding take on British food. Quality local and seasonal produce is at the heart of his cooking. James is the proprietor and head chef of the Michelin Starred Pipe and Glass Inn, which he and his wife Kate have owned since 2006. Having quickly established a reputation for unrivalled quality in the area, they have transformed the 17th century inn into a world-class Michelin-Starred destination. In their first year the Pipe and Glass Inn won the Yorkshire Life “Dining Pub Of The Year Award” and, in 2007, won the same publication’s “Restaurant Of The Year” title. Further recognition came for the Mackenzies in 2008, being named as the “Best Newcomer” in The Northern Hospitality Awards, entering the list of “40 Best Restaurants Outside London” at The London Restaurant Awards, also being voted into “The Top 30 Gastro Pubs in the UK” by PubChef Magazine and, finally, being awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand. In 2009, the Pipe and Glass Inn won Enjoy England’s “Taste Of England” honour as well as retaining its Michelin Bib Gourmand. The ultimate accolade became reality when, in January 2010, the Pipe and Glass Inn achieved Michelin Star status, one of only ten pubs in the UK ever to gain this much coveted position.

ORDER YOUR SIGNED COPY HERE by Sunday 18th December to ensure delivery in the UK before Christmas. Or Order From Amazon.co.uk for £21.00.

Annabel Langbein’s The Free Range Cook

by Andrew on November 30, 2011 in Books For Cooks with No comments

the_free_range_cookAnnabel Langbein The Free Range Cook is now on sale in the UK and contains all the recipes you’ll need to cook up a scrumptious feast this Christmas – as well as make a great gift for yourself or the foodies in your life!

To give you a taste of what’s inside there are free samples available of nine of the delicious recipes, including:

• Sesame and Oregano Lavosh – the perfect nibble for pre-Christmas parties
• a special-occasion scallop salad with citrus chilli dressing
• succulent pork belly cooked in milk (a fun alternative to turkey)
• the oh-so-impressive frozen Strawberry Cloud Cake
• a devastatingly decadent Chocolate and Cranberry Slice – a sublime finish to your Christmas feast

To download these recipes simply click this link: http://www.annabel-langbein.com/freerangetaster/uk

And once you’ve cooked them you could win a kitchenware hamper worth £135 simply by uploading a photo to their website. The photo with the most votes wins so get your friends on board via Facebook, Twitter and email.

And who is Annabel Langbein? Well, she is The Free Range Cook and hosts a 13-part TV series filmed at her holiday cabin on the shores of Lake Wanaka, at the foot of New Zealand’s spectacular Southern Alps. Her cookbook Annabel Langbein’s The Free Range Cook is now available from Amazon for £13.60.



London Oyster Guide

by Andrew on October 11, 2011 in Books For Cooks with No comments

london_oyster_guideTo chew or not to chew? Is it a rock or a native? How do I open them?

Where can I get decent oysters for under £10 in London? Is it wrong to cook oysters?

Oysters are no longer the preserve of over-priced Champagne bars and cigar-smoking gentlemen. A new generation of oyster eaters can be found grabbing a glass of wine and a plate of oysters on the hoof between business meetings in the City or shopping trips in the West End. Celebrity chefs including Mark Hix and Richard Corrigan are including oysters in their menus, and more and more people are prepared to give them a go.

However, ordering oysters can be a daunting experience for first-timers, and it is difficult to know which to choose, let alone how to open and eat them.

The London Oyster Guide is a book written for (both wannabe and well-versed) oyster lovers by an oyster lover.

Colin Presdee certainly knows his oysters. He has magnanimously taken on the enviable task of reviewing more than 150 restaurants, bars, merchants, retailers and producers serving oysters (including a selection outside of London for a foodie daytrip). He’s delved into the history of oysters, sampled drinks with oysters and handpicked some exquisite oyster recipes, making this the definitive guide to oysters.

The London Oyster Guide is “invaluable for anyone taking their first steps towards realising how very good oysters can be. I would urge anyone to stop when they scan a menu featuring bivalves and choose some oysters that they have never tried before,” writes Charles Campion in the foreword.

“I believe that an oyster should be chewed exactly as any meat or fish. The succulent flavour as the teeth sink into the firm and creamy flesh is an explosion of mineral nuances with the flavour of the seashore on the lowest spring tide. Merely to swallow an oyster misses this essential part of the oyster experience, but everyone to one’s own.”

Presdee, originally from the village of Oystermouth in Mumbles in south Wales, opened the Oyster Perches restaurant, followed by the Drangway, both in Swansea. These specialised in food and oysters from fisheries including Colchester and Cornwall. Now a food writer and consultant living in London, he retains close links with Wales. He has written several books including ‘Food Wales – a second helping’ and ‘Food Wales – eating out guide’.

The book contains:
A guide to the different types of oysters and how to identify them (“The Rock is more elongated with a crinkly shell, with a flat top shell and deep cupped bottom shell; the native is fairly round with a flat top shell and a cupped bottom shell”).
Advice about when is best to eat oysters (the traditional season for native oysters was September to April (or the winter months with an ‘r’) and a list of oyster festivals and merchants.
How to open and present oysters, and a guide to which drinks and accompaniments are best served with them.
Original recipes including oysters with chilli and celery crumbs and oysters crisp-fried in breadcrumbs.
A directory of more than 150 places where oysters can be enjoyed in London segmented by region including Sheekey, Randall & Aubin and Livebait.

London Oyster Guide is available from Amazon.co.uk for £10.80.

Comfort and Spice by Niamh Shields

by Andrew on August 31, 2011 in Books For Cooks with 2 Comments

A new cookbook from reknown blogger Niamh Shields has just been released. Comfort and Spice draws on some recipes that Niamh used to great success on a Covent Garden fresh food stall, while others have appeared on her blog, Eat Like A Girl.

Blogging since 2007, Niamh states in the introduction that she is largely a self-taught cook and not a ‘chef’. “I am an enthusiastic home cook… I adore spices and flavour, comfort and fun, food that zings and sizzles. Quick week day recipes and long weekend ones, where my oven does the work while I drink some wine, or often while I sleep”

She also advocates using your spice box as a paint palate. “With a £10 investment in fresh spices every six months, you can change the way you eat and the way you cook”. She advocates the use of a simple palate of spices, those she uses most in her kitchen: sumac, cumin, coriander, cloves, turmeric, and cinnamon and herbs such as sage, parlsey and bay.

While many of the recipes draw on Niamh’s Irish ancestry – Irish Soda Farls, Black Pudding Croquettes, Blaas – others draw on cultures from around the world, Bircher Muesli from the antipodes for example, Chinese noodles with tofu and green tea, Beijing Dumplings Chorizo in Cider, Beef, Beetroot and Horseradish burgers and so on. Most recipes are savoury dishes with a few desserts, mainly fruit based, making it to the final chapter. These include such delights as Elderflower and Gooseberry Fool and Rhubarb and Blood Orange Meringue Pie.

Comfort & Spice (New Voices in Food) by Niamh Shields is currently available from Amazon for £7.94.

Niamh will be ‘doing a demo’ at the Abergavenny Food Festival on Sunday 18th Sept at 11am, with fellow New Voices in Food author, James Ramsden. Tickets available now.

← Older Entries