Caribbean Food Made Easy

Levi Roots (his real name is Keith Graham) was brought up till the age of eleven by his grandparents in Jamaica. He lived in a house full of extended family where cooking was a continual process. He moved to London to live with his parents and eventually had a successful career as a musician, and was indeed nominated for a prestigious MOBO award in 1998. He has performed with James Brown and Maxi Priest. He has his own range of Caribbean foods, a Caribbean cafe and takeaway, and every summer runs his popular stall at the celebrated Notting Hill Carnival.

Although we have a sizable Caribbean population in Britain we don’t have many Caribbean restaurants. You’ll find some in the largest cities but almost never in smaller towns. If you live in an area with an Afro-Caribbean community then you’ll probably have access to supermarkets that sell pre-prepared patties and Jerk Sauces but Caribbean Food Made Easy shows that you don’t need too many specialist ingredients to make authentic dishes.

I am a Londoner so have had a little experience of Caribbean food. I have been known to make quite a reasonable breakfast with fried plantains (cooking bananas). This book, however, offers a raft of authentic and adapted recipes made from high street ingredients that won’t break the bank. These are all-year-round dishes that will introduce some tropical pizzazz to summer alfresco dining as well as to cold and wet winter nights when some warming spice is in order. The chapters include One Pot Suppers, Fish and Seafood, Roasts and Grills, Street Food, as well as Desserts.

Levi draws upon his Scottish ancestry with his Mctumplings. These are traditional fried “tumplings” flavoured with vegetarian haggis. Serve these with Caribbean Salsa Verde (recipe in this book). Another version is the Banana Tumpling with a hint of cinnamon. Serve these as a side dish for fried chicken (remember fried bananas with Chicken Maryland? Very retro.), or as a dessert spread with butter and jam.

A must-try from this book is Honey, Grenadine and Ginger Roasted Lamb with Pomegranate and Mint Salad. This is no more difficult than making your regular Sunday roast but the addition of an exotic marinade elevates this dish into something a bit special. Have some roast sweet potatoes along with this for a taste of warmer climes.

If you are looking for a truly special first course then you wouldn’t go far wrong with Devilled Crab Gratin. If you can make a white sauce then you can make this. Levi suggests serving this in individual crab shells but gratin dishes or ramekins work just as well. A simple but smart start to any dinner party. If Levi ever owns a posh restaurant with crystal and linen then this would be his signature dish. None of us would be able to afford it so take the opportunity to make it at home yourself.

Caribbean Food Made Easy is an attractive book with easy to follow recipes... and I like these recipes. Each one has something to commend it. Full-on flavour or decadent sweetness or light freshness... it’s all here. A great companion to the BBC TV series of the same name... So when is the Notting Hill Carnival, then...?

Food Network Favourites

Ahhh, those were the days when I could sit and watch American TV all day long. Hundreds of channels and about a dozen that any thinking person would want to watch. Harsh words, them, but true. My habitual viewing was the US Food Network. I drank in the programmes which introduced me to new recipes and a new style of cooking. It’s a shame that I now find so little to inspire me on the UK food channel. I am almost word-perfect for all of Rick Stein’s series, good though they are, and Market Kitchen lacks the warm and human charm of Jeni Barnett’s Good Food Live. Here is a book, however, that reminds me of my days of enthusiastic viewing.

Food Network Favourites has recipes from some of my preferred American TV chefs. A few of the celebs seem a bit chubbier than I remember but the style of food is the same. Paula Deen is new to me but I love her Southern cuisine. You’ll need access to some American packaged mixes to make some of the recipes but you’ll have no problem finding the ingredients for Paula Deen's Scallops with Crème Fraiche Mash. Classy but simple. Tomato Pie takes little effort but the result would make a lovely light lunch or a starter for a more formal meal. Artful use of mayo for the topping.

Alton Brown was my big Food Network find. He has the approach of a scientist... or at least a mad professor. Think Heston Blumenthal with laughs. Red Snapper en Papillote is a smart dish although you can use any firm-fleshed, non-oily fish. Your fish will cook inside a parchment paper envelope. This is probably a good dish for a novice cook as the fish is almost guaranteed to be moist. Alton also has a recipe for English Muffins which we in England would call a crumpet or a pikelet. These are traditional yeast batter fried breads with convenient holes designed to hold melted butter.

Emeril Lagasse is a real character. He is passionate about food and is as popular as Gordon Ramsay is in the UK... only nicer. He has his own range of food products but offers you his Emeril’s Essence Creole Seasoning recipe here. Duck Pastrami is a unique concept. Think marinated salmon and you’ll have the idea. The duck is coated with the seasoning mix and soaks up the flavour for 48 hours then is slow roasted, and matured in the fridge for a week. Slice thin and serve as hors d’oeuvres.

Food Network Favourites will be welcomed by my American readers who will enjoy the printed version of their cooking channel heros, but it’s also a book that showcases modern American food. It’s not all fast burgers, pizzas and hot dogs. Bobby Flay, Dave Lieberman, Giada de Laurentiis, Mario Batali, Michael Chiarello, Rachael Ray, Tyler Florence and Wolfgang Puck offer some inspiring recipes.

500 Red Wines and 500 White Wines

Life was easier back then. A bottle of sherry for Christmas or when the vicar was coming to tea, some brown ale for dad on Saturday night and a bottle of Hirondelle wine to drink in the kitchen at parties. Now we have choices and viticultural aspirations...but what to buy?

I offer you two reviews rolled into one. Apple Press continue with their marvellously practical 500 series, now considering red wines and white wines. Christine Austin has penned 500 Red Wines. She has an established career as a wine writer and also as an international wine competition judge. Natasha Hughes and Patricia Langton are those responsible for 500 White Wines. Natasha is a UK-based food and wine writer and lecturer on wine appreciation. Patricia is also a food and wine writer with special interest in Spain, Chile and Argentina. She is based in London.

Each of these chunky volumes is packed with information you’ll need to boldly go into the wine merchants and to return home with something delicious, appropriate for your meal and the right colour. These books are compact enough to take with you on your bottle-hunting raids so you won’t have to commit everything to memory before you hit the high street. Good wines are to be found at reasonable prices but you need to know which are good value and which are just cheap. Each wine listed in these books has a price guide, on a scale from economic to astronomic.

Easy Baking - Australian Women’s Weekly

This is one of a series of slim volumes with large page format from Australian Women’s Weekly. This is a publisher whose books are prized by those who want books to cook from. The reason for that is quite simple: Australian Women’s Weekly cookbooks have recipes that work. They are triple-tested, which is more than can be said for recipes written by some celebrity chefs or celebs-turned-chefs.

When we were small we might have been enticed into the kitchen when an adult was baking. It’s hard to get kids enthused about making a casserole, but the prospect of a bowl to scrape, a wooden spoon to lick and a cupcake as the final product is often the first step to a love of baking.

Easy Baking - Australian Women’s Weekly presents 110 or so pages of bright and attractive baked goods, with additional pages of baking tips, advice on cake pans (yes, size does matter) and a glossary of ingredients. This would be a marvellous book for a novice cook as it doesn’t assume you already have the keen and practised eye of a professional baker. The recipes are clearly written and supportive. The more experienced cook will find lots of sweet treats and a couple of savoury ones to add to their repertoire.

The chapter titles hint at the style of this informal cookbook: Baking for the cake stall, for kids’ lunchboxes, for morning tea, with the kids, for afternoon tea, for celebrations. Everything is child-friendly, being either just the sort of baked goods that kids like to eat or that they would enjoy making. There are lots of small individual cakes as well as biscuits, muffins and slices. The larger cakes just cry out for little hands to drizzle, sprinkle or frost them.

I have several quick and easy favourites from this book. Pear Frangipane Galette takes only 45 minutes for both the preparation and the cooking time. It uses bought shortcrust pastry so this is a great standby dessert. Keep some pastry in the freezer for emergencies. I do and I don’t know why I feel guilty about doing it. Find a good quality pastry, though.

Chocolate Caramel Slice is a must-try. It’s a simple recipe in three stages. It needs refrigeration before eating so this is no instant snack. The recipe suggests that it serves 16 but I think that’s just the number of squares when cut. These won’t stay in the tin very long even in a household of 2.

Easy Baking - Australian Women’s Weekly is a good solid cookbook with recipes that you know you can trust. A couple of ingredients might be unfamiliar to cooks not hailing from the Antipodes but substitutions will be obvious. Terrific value for money.

Bake me I’m Yours – Chocolate

You have gotta love a book with a title like that. It’s an attention-grabber but it’s what’s between the covers that will intrigue you.

Tracey Mann must be one of the UK’s most respected cake makers and decorators. She has had her work featured on covers of numerous magazines and has made wedding cakes for such “worthies” as Tom Parker-Bowles. It’s evident that Tracey has both skill and imagination.

It’s all about style. Tracey gives tips that elevate your sweet creations into something stunning. Surprisingly simple when you know how: a matter of using the aids that professional cake decorators have known about for years. The things that make the difference between the rustic homemade and something that would not shame a wedding reception at a five-star hotel. Yes, you can do it.

Tracey has a battery of basic cake recipes, although she won’t know if you use your own favourite ones. It’s the decorating techniques that’s the reason you’ll buy this book. They are amazing but accessible to the home cook. Transfer sheets are the key to several of Tracey’s sophisticated productions. These sheets enable you to create multi-coloured finishes or ornaments which are striking and edible.

Chocolate paste is a combination of chocolate, glucose and water. This is the culinary equivalent of Play Dough and can be formed into flowers or modelled into pleats or ribbons. To get a regular beaded effect then use a Beadmaker. This is a mould which creates a string of perfect beads from chocolate paste. There are any number of moulds to enable you to add three-dimensional decorations to your cakes.

Christmas is fast approaching and Tracey has a novel idea for easy but beautiful tree decorations. Use tempered chocolate (instructions in this book) to cover a festive patterned transfer sheet. Tracey suggests using white chocolate and a holly or red gingham transfer, but there are many transfer sheet designs so you could consider a holly-shaped decoration with perhaps a contemporary transfer, or a traditional snowflake transfer with a geometric cutter.

Bake me I’m Yours – Chocolate is a small-format book with 25 different chocolate projects. This would be an ideal stocking-filler for a chocoholic who loves to cook. It’s good value for money for such a smart little book. Decadent and delicious ideas.

Diabetes Recipes from Around the World

Approximately 200 million people worldwide suffer with diabetes and there are millions more who have diabetes but are not yet aware of it. It’s an increasing problem, with more younger people than ever being victims. It’s a serious disease but it is still possible to enjoy life and good food even when diagnosed with the condition.

Managing diet is key to minimising damage and limiting drug use. But if your meals are dull and boring then you won’t stick to your regime. Diabetes Recipes from Around the World offers over 100 recipes for dishes that will help you manage diabetes, and they are dishes that will be enjoyed by the whole family. Food should be fun as well as being healthful.

Jane Frank is a nutritional therapist and has penned two other books: The Basic Basics Diabetes Handbook and Eat Smart Beat the Menopause, both published by Grub Street. She would seem well placed to give advice about eating properly but advice about healthy food is not the same as showing you how to cook the tastiest of dishes. Diabetes Recipes from Around the World is a tool you’ll enjoy using.

This book has some lovely recipes. Nothing beige and sacrificed to the god of bland here. They are a truly international bunch with the occasional adaption to make for a diabetic-friendly dish. You family will not notice that these are healthy foods. They might notice that your repertoire has improved, though.

Thai food is exotic and different. It has rich mouth-filling flavours and it’s a bit posh. Thai Fish Cakes are a traditional classic and here they are served with a Sweet and Sour Cucumber Sauce. You can use any white fish and even coley which is so often overlooked and underrated. This is 18% carbohydrate and low GL. Each recipe has a nutritional breakdown and a GL level - handy for diabetics but also for others who have specific dietary needs.

Seared Salmon Fillets with Spicy Soba Noodles hails from Japan and is an easy dish to make but good enough to present to your guests. Serve with a garnish of Wasabi and pickled ginger for authenticity. It’s worth getting Soba Noodles for their unique taste and texture. They work particularly well with the salmon or even in a clear broth for a quick winter lunch.

Diabetes Recipes from Around the World has, in my opinion, some of the most tempting dishes for those who must keep an eye on their food intake. They are vibrant, flavourful and well-balanced. Good for all the family. Good value for money.

LA’s Original Farmers Market Cookbook

This is one of those cookbooks that gives a warm glow. You don’t have to be from LA. You don’t even have to be American to be able to appreciate a book about a spot that just oozes food-related delight. LA’s Original Farmers Market Cookbook is a picture-book with recipes. A cookbook and travelogue. An invitation to temptation.

JoAnn Cianciulli is a successful food writer and producer of food-related television programmes. She is a New Yorker now living in Los Angeles who has been enjoying the charms of the Farmers Market for over 10 years. It has inspired her to capture the best of dishes on offer and to tell something of the warm and colourful history of a popular LA institution. It’s been around since 1934 so it’s doing something right.

When we in Britain think of farmers markets we conjure visions of a few stalls selling mud-garnished carrots, small punnets of soft fruits, and over-priced designer lettuce, with perhaps a hot-dog stall and a tea urn for refreshments (although the number and quality of UK farmers markets is fast improving). The farmers market at 3rd and Fairfax in Los Angeles is more generously proportioned than most of its UK cousins and also sports a wealth of casual eateries which have supplied the recipes for this book.

The food is an ethnically diverse mix that reflects the makeup of the visitors to the market, be they locals or tourists. There is something for every taste and I find the collection of recipes quite appealing. If you are a lover of pizza then you will want to try Patsy’s Special. The crust is a soft New York style with a bunch of my favourite toppings which includes anchovies, an addition that I know is not always popular but which does introduce a saltiness to cut the fat of lots of cheese. This pie was a regular snack for the likes of Frank Sinatra and Jo DiMaggio so you’ll be munching a slice of history.

Another slice, or should I say ladleful, of Americana comes in the guise of Seafood Gumbo with Cornbread Muffins. This is provided by The Gumbo Pot which specialises in Cajun cuisine from New Orleans. This is, in my humble opinion, some of the best original American food around. A fusion of African and New World flavours – a combination of shrimps and okra. This is a surprisingly easy dish to make at home. It’s delicious and looks amazing.

LA’s Original Farmers Market Cookbook presents the best of real American food. That’s not to be found in the swanky yet anonymous restaurants mushrooming in every large city. This is food that reminds us of Hollywood movies, of mom-and-pop diners and the multitude of ethnic origins of twenty-first century Americans. I’ll be spending my next US vacation at 3rd and Fairfax.

Paul Gayler’s Little Book of Salads

In the Summer we eat lighter and fresher. Gone are the hearty casseroles and rib-sticking pasta bakes, to be replaced by salads. Yeah, but it’s boring, I hear you cry. But it doesn’t have to be. There is no excuse for bland, limp and lifeless salad. Think vibrant! Think zesty! Think of what Paul Gayler might do at a time like this!

Most of you will be familiar with the smart Lanesborough Hotel chef, who has oft graced these internet site pages. You will probably have also seen him on British food TV where he has promoted his original and exciting cuisine. In Paul Gayler’s Little Book of Salads he turns his attention to, unsurprisingly, salad. Not the iceberg, tomato and cucumber of yesteryear but more complex and all-year-round-tempting dishes that are nevertheless simple to make.

Salads are healthy and quick. They are welcomed in warmer weather but there is a whole raft of salads that are ideal for winter meals. Roast Potato Salad with Smoked Salmon uses Jersey Royal potatoes, has some bite in the guise of gherkins, and richness from the fish. Keeping with that theme Truffled Potato Salad is a visual stunner. No, the potatoes are not covered in chocolate nor are they garnished with expensive fungi. Truffle potatoes are a variety of purple potato which helps to create a dish that is not only delicious but attractive.

Perhaps my favourite from the Winter Warmers chapter is Warm Lentil Salad with Goat’s Cheese and Anchovy Toasts. Anchovies give a salty tang without overt fishiness. Combined with the goat’s cheese they offer a taste of warmer climes when the wind is whistling and you want to spend an evening tucked up with holiday brochures.

Exotic salads work whatever the temperature. Spiced Chicken and Mango Salad nods to the Subcontinent for inspiration. The mango (Alphonso for preference) adds a light perfume and the green chilli offers a hint of heat. This would be wonderful served as part of an Eastern barbecue with perhaps lamb kebabs or chops.

Paul Gayler’s Little Book of Salads offers recipes that are accessible to home cooks and which have a touch of this chef’s usual innovation. Nothing is difficult. It’s salad for goodness sake! A great little book with plenty for the vegetarian and meat-eater alike.

One Pot of Jam from Your Microwave – Quick and Easy

Foulsham & Co. might not be the largest cookbook publisher around but they present some of the best small one-topic books. I have reviewed several other of their Quick and Easy series and they have all been clearly written and informative. One Pot of Jam from Your Microwave is another to join the ranks of worthwhile cookbooks.

A few years ago your average microwave cookbook was something to be shunned. They were full of recipes that gave inferior results and used strange and nasty plastic articles that would cook bacon or make crisps (that never did work). My microwave has been used little apart from heating drinks, thawing frozen goods and warming up leftovers. Whilst I am grateful for the facility it has seemed a rather under-utilised kitchen gadget.

One Pot of Jam from Your Microwave is quite a revelation. You can make preserves in the aforementioned coffee-heater! Note that I say preserves rather than jam because this volume contains recipes for a raft of chutneys, pickles, butters and the like. The selection of bottled delights is far wider-ranging than the predictable strawberry jam. OK, so the cooking method involves the microwave but the recipes are inspiring. This stands up well in comparison to any other book on preserves.

Regular supermarket jam isn’t expensive but if you can put your hands on some free fruit then even the common blackberry jam is worth making yourself. I promise you will taste the difference. Check out the price of the more exotic shop-bought confections and you are looking at remortgaging the house or selling the kids. We are all periodically tempted by those beautiful jars, as a thank-you gift or to look smart on the breakfast table when the in-laws are staying. One Pot of Jam from Your Microwave offers some suggestions for preserves that will make you look like you have won the lottery, and how proud you’ll be to proclaim that it’s really ‘fait maison’.

There are quite a few preserves here that deserve a mention. Bird of Paradise Pineapple Jam in reality contains no wildlife and is safe for vegetarians. It’s a tropical mix of pineapple, apple and persimmon. Mango Jam with Orange is another option if you love flavours of the Orient. My tip would be to buy your mangoes from an Asian grocer. Much better value.

My favourite recipe for gift-giving is Dried Apricots in Amaretto. This has all the hallmarks of a holiday season success. It’s simple to make and good enough to keep. Dried Figs with Vanilla in Calvados also falls into that category.

One Pot of Jam from Your Microwave – Quick and Easy is a book for anyone who has ever wanted to try their hand at making jam, pickle, chutney and flavoured vinegars. I am impressed by the recipes, that are some of the most imaginative around. Good value for money.

What’s for Dinner?

I try and be a polite considerate reviewer, ever mindful of the needs of my discerning reader. I tend to avoid authors from non-catering backgrounds with small publishers. I would hate to say something negative about someone’s life’s work, their passion, their literary baby... so I don’t publish the review.

Here I was, once again, with the prospect of a culinary non-starter and I knew this one had some 650 pages. So the bad news might be that it’s another no-review, the good news might be that there was a lot of it!

Well, dear reader, you will have your review of What’s for Dinner? because I think it’s quite marvellous. This falls into the ‘sensible’ category of cookbooks, those that are practical and usable. You might think that every cookbook would have those aforementioned prerequisites: no, they don’t.

The author, Romilla Arber, is a hard-working mum of 4 children. She found that she was wasting time on numerous shopping trips because she was always missing that key ingredient to make a dinner for the family. She could browse numerous cookbooks but that would also take too much time so she wrote her own book that would give both her and others the tool to shop and cook in a timely fashion and avoid wasting time and ingredients. You can visit Romilla's site and download shopping lists for each week’s recipes. (http://www.whatsfordinner.org.uk/shoppinglists) Tuck the list into your purse/wallet and all your troubles will be little ones - you still have to do the washing up.

This is the most amazing work for a first-time writer. To be honest, it would be an amazing work from even a veteran writer. What’s for Dinner? is a weighty tome but devoid of padding. Its text is clear, recipes to the point and the photographs attractive, but it’s the format that is appealing. Each day of the year has its recipe and those dishes represent the way most of us eat these days... or at least the way we should eat if we could cook. Hold that thought - more of that later.

The most difficult part of providing meals is just deciding what to cook. You can learn to cook and those techniques will serve you well, but you need to have an idea of what to cook for dinner. Your array of lavish and celeb-endorsed cookbooks are great bedtime reading but let’s be real, you need a battery of good recipes and someone to tell you that tonight’s the night for Smoked Haddock Pie ...or they would be telling you that if this was the first week in April. Romilla Arber is the lady who will take the stress out of decision-making.

It’s no good having a cookbook that gives you a recipe for each day if you just don’t like the food. You won’t use the book and therefore it’s a waste of money. What’s for Dinner? has recipes that cover the whole spectrum of British taste. There is a liberal sprinkling of curries, recipes adapted from existing cookbooks and Romilla’s own family recipes. OK, so I wouldn’t eat the Liver and Sausage Burger (mental note: Don’t accept invitation to dinner on first Monday in January) but that’s all - one out of 365 recipes (plus extra recipes for treats each week) is pretty good going. All other dishes are delicious, quick, economical and I’d be happy to cook and eat all of them. There are few cookbooks that I would say that about, and to say it about such a large one is no faint praise.

Romilla has founded the Food Education Trust, a charity dedicated to educating adults and children in the basic skills of cooking. All proceeds from the sale of “What’s for Dinner?” will go to the Food Education Trust and will provide home economics-style classes to both adults and children as well as supplying necessary cooking equipment to schools. You are reading this review so you are obviously interested in cooking. Glance around any supermarket and you will see, usually, young women with perhaps a couple of kids and a shopping trolley piled high with high-fat, high-sugar pre-prepared foods. If this lady knew how to cook then she could save money and feed her family better. Cooking is a life skill and one of the most important ones. Yes, it’s a skill that anyone can learn. You don’t need chef’s whites and an Aga to turn out good meals. I wholeheartedly support anything that promotes cooking at any level.

What’s for Dinner? is a book you’ll buy for yourself because it’s a good, solid cookbook. But consider it as a gift for anyone you know who would like to eat better but professes to not having enough time. This is outstanding value for money.

World Whisky

Who knew? There are many hundreds of whiskies. I had suspected that there might be perhaps a hundred from small distilleries in Scotland and Ireland and a few in the US. World Whisky lists over 700 whiskies from as far afield as Japan (the Japanese have a reputation as whisky “enthusiasts”) and Australia.

I am not a Scotch drinker and when questioned I’ll deny that I like whisky at all, but it’s a lie. I do quite like Irish whiskey which has a different palate of flavours from Scottish whisky. There are those who would let nothing but Mellow Corn Whiskey across the cabin threshold so I guess it’s all a matter of taste, or lack thereof; Corn Whiskey said to be best when consumed young but others say it’s just as good if you keep it for a week or so.

World Whisky is a book to be savoured by the connoisseur but will be equally welcomed by those who would like to be. Whisky is a drink to be sipped, lingered over and appreciated. Although not a lover of The Water of Life (uisge beatha in the Celtic tongue), I can understand the attraction. Whisky is collected like fine wine, and anyone interested in such a hobby would do well to invest in this book. There are ample Tasting Note pages for you to create your own list of memorable bottles.

Each of the 700-odd whiskies has a history and taste profile. Old Hokonui from New Zealand has a colourful past. It sports a skull-and-crossbones on the bottle, giving it the air of the illicit which I am sure has added to its popularity.

Yes, this volume presents the quaint and iconic spirits, but it is a serious work and equips the reader with all he or she needs to choose whiskies that will bring comfort to long winter evenings. You’ll learn about the manufacture and evolution of the wee dram but, more importantly, you’ll understand why each glassful tastes the way it does. There is even information about which glasses to use, although some folks say that whisky would taste good even drunk from an envelope; but that’s the voice of desperation.

World Whisky is a hefty 350-page comprehensive guide to whisky: its various classes, its paraphernalia, its past and its future. It’s a fascinating story and illustrates the reason why whisky has remained the beverage of choice for so many discerning drinkers. Great value for money and an ideal Christmas gift.

Tea and Crumpets

Well, the name is tempting but add a subtitle of Recipes and Rituals from European Tearooms and Cafés, and my attention is captured!

Tea is a drink (or beverage if you hail from North American shores), yes, that’s true, but it’s also an institution, an event, a ceremony. A mug of tea, a doorstep sandwich and a doughnut (don’t write in – I do love them) does not amount to Afternoon Tea... even if you are drinking and eating the aforementioned items during those hours after lunch (that’s dinner if you are from some parts of England) and before dinner (supper if you are from those same parts of England).

Afternoon Tea is a rather formal pause. The table will be heaving with a selection of sandwiches and other small savouries, a cake to slice as well as small individual cakes, perhaps also some biscuits (those flat, crunchy things - cookies). This is somewhat different from High Tea which included a cooked dish and salads and was usually consumed late afternoon or early evening.

The author of Tea and Crumpets, Margaret M. Johnson, presents us with recipes for the best and most classic of Afternoon Tea delights. These are baked goods familiar to European teatime enthusiasts and include many traditional favourites from some of the finest venues in Britain, Ireland and France.

Cucumber sandwiches are a famed afternoon tea staple. Margaret offers Claridge’s Hotel’s version. The classic sandwich has the crusts removed and can best be described as delicate. These dainties would not fill a rugby player but work perfectly with all the other morsels on a three-tier stand. Perhaps crusts were as offensive as piano legs to genteel ladies of centuries past.

Crumpets are the stuff of many a Victorian childhood dream. They come equipped with holes that beg to be filled with soon-to-be-melted butter. Not perhaps a healthy option but if you are going to have a tea party then you should do it well. Crumpets are made with a yeast batter poured into crumpet rings on a skillet (griddle). You could use egg rings or plain cookie (biscuit) cutters. It’s a simple recipe with a unique result.

Traditional scones (a bit like American biscuits – not cookies) are equally “evil”, being, if you are a purist, loaded with clotted cream and strawberry jam. They are perhaps the most celebrated of the teatime array as they also hold centre stage in another British institution, the Cream Tea, which consists of just scones with their garnishes, and cups of tea of course. Most British or Irish tea drinkers will take their regular beverage with a little milk but never cream. Or have those flavoured and aromatic teas without milk, but perhaps add a slice of lemon.

Queen Victoria loved Shortbread. It’s another of those iconic afternoon tea items. They are buttery and rich and come in a range of shapes and sizes. They are not difficult to make but they should never be overcooked. Just done with next to no colour is the secret.

Dundee Cake is another contribution from North of the Border. This is a hearty cake that is a must for those cold afternoons when rib-sticking fare and a roaring log fire (look, this is my review so I can conjure up a log fire if I want one) are in order. Spicy Marmalade Loaf is a lovely alternative and has Dundee orange marmalade as a key ingredient. Oranges don’t grow in Scotland but that country does make some of the most delicious marmalade.

Tea and Crumpets is a travelogue of smart tearooms. It’s a book that will be welcomed by those who would like to participate in the revival of a tasteful tradition. Tea taken at a posh hotel is a marvellous experience, but a real tea party in one’s own home is a pleasure. Get out your grandmother’s bone china service and charm your friends with an artful display of culinary elegance. It’s easier than you might think.

Backroads of the California Coast

It’s a change to write a travel book review about a place to which I have been. California held much promise and did not disappoint. It is a state that deserves to be explored at a slow pace. You’ll get the best from this trip if you take time to venture off the beaten path.

Perhaps, dear reader, I should say that you don’t need to venture off the beaten path. Rather you want a path that has already been beaten by adventurers, prospectors and settlers, and leads you to spots that hold charm, beauty and historic elegance. Karen Misuraca has written Backroads of the California Coast in order to assist you in your quest to find that ideal and overlooked spot.

A travel book would be sorely lacking if it didn’t have a few nice snaps. Garry Crabbe has done a stirling job with the photography for this volume and there are more than just a few pictures – every page has striking views, amazing seascapes, quaint buildings or glimpses of wildlife.

Backroads are a series of books that offer scenic vacation routes for those who want to know more about a particular state or region. Backroads of the California Coast has that same format with the book divided into three parts: The North Coast, The Central Coast and The South Coast. Each of those sections covers the highlights and the must-sees but equally includes those fascinating points of interest that might easily be missed by the untutored traveller.

The North Coast leads you to, amongst others, Muir Woods and the Golden Gate. The Central Coast suggests a visit to Hurst’s Castle which is the once-seen-never-forgotten home of William Randolph Hurst. The Neptune swimming pool is a piece of ancient Rome transported to the Californian hills. There is a dining room of magnificent splendour with crystal goblets and a ketchup bottle.

If you only have time to visit one section of the Californian coast then take the South Coast. This has a real feel of Spanish California with its missions and ranchos. Old San Diego is a place you’ll not want to miss. Yes, there are the inevitable tourist shops but also so much that is truly historic and worthwhile.

Backroads of the California Coast is an attractive guide for the independent traveller. If you are even a little tempted by a trip to California then take my advice and read this book before you go. It’s a journey planner full of inspiration.

The Cook’s Guide to Meat

This is the second book in the new Apple Press series of Cooks Guides, which it has been my pleasure to review, the first being The Cook’s Guide to Fish. The Cook’s Guide to Meat has the same hand-book-size and leatherette finish as the fish guide and also enjoys the benefits of the same illustrator, Jane Laurie. I feel she deserves as much acclaim as the writer, as her work is so much a part of the success of the book.

The author, Jennie Milsom, was trained in French Culinary Arts and Wines and Spirits, and has been a chef as well as a writer of features and recipes for several magazines. In 2004 she became deputy cookery editor of Good Housekeeping Magazine. This is her first book.

If you are at all interested in food, and meat in particular, then I would recommend this book. It’s rare to find a book of such beauty and detail, and containing so much practical advice. Meat is expensive and few of us have money to burn, undercook, ruin or waste. You want to present meals that are tasty and tender and to do that in the most cost-effective way.

There have been a host of health scares over the last decade or two. Many of us are concerned about animal welfare and we need to know that the meat on the plate came from healthy and content animals which were dispatched with the minimum of stress. Best advice is to find yourself a good butcher and ask questions. The Cook’s Guide to Meat shepherds you (this book considers sheep, cows and pigs) through choosing the best meat and enables you to talk to the nice man behind the counter in a fashion that will convince him of your knowledge of the subject.

There are hundreds of cookbooks which will offer recipes for meat dishes and list “diced pork” or “slices of beef”. If you know the cooking method to be employed then you will be able to buy the most appropriate cuts of meat for the dish. You wouldn’t want to use silverside for a stir-fry as it demands long slow cooking. Fillet on the other hand is tender but will cost more. It’s horses (a rich, lean meat prized by the French) for courses!

The Cook’s Guide to Meat offers advice on cooking each cut, describes its flavour and where on the carcass the meat might be found. If the particular cut has aliases then these too are noted – one person’s tenderloin might be another’s pork fillet. There is a list of useful utensils for cooking meat. I’d say a meat thermometer is indispensible if you intend to prepare joints of meat. Such a gadget gives a novice cook a bit of confidence and has saved this experienced cook from more than one disaster. Buy one that has a probe that is inserted into the meat before it reaches the oven. Set the temperature and then the alarm will tell you when your joint has reached juicy perfection. 

The Cook’s Guide to Meat is part of a soon-to-be classic series. A book that is lovely to look at and packed with information that will save you money. A marvellous gift.

The Farmer’s Wife Cookie Cookbook

If you are a regular visitor to Mostly Food Journal (and why wouldn’t you be?) then you will be familiar with the series of Farmer’s Wife cookbooks. They are compiled from original recipes found in the magazine of the same name, published between 1893 and 1939 in Minnesota.

Cookie baking is an ideal introduction to kitchen pursuits. The virgin cook has no fear with regard to baking biscuits (British term for cookies). One might worry that a pastry case is a bit too crunchy. One could have second thoughts about launching into soufflé production lest they not rise. Well, with cookies the worst has already happened. For the most part, you want the aforementioned crunch and something flattish.

The Farmer’s Wife Cookie Cookbook concerns itself with sweet confections, some of which might be considered as cake or dessert. Bars and Squares have long been popular in the US and have taken hold world-wide. Lemon Bars are my favourite from this chapter. It’s a rather curious recipe demanding a first baking and then the addition of beaten eggs, sugar, lemon juice and baking powder. The end result is a tangy bar with a soft top. Just right with a nice cuppa tea.

Crullers are included in this book. It’s not a word commonly heard in Britain. Although a cruller sounds like it should be a wild seabird it is in fact a variety of doughnut: a deep-fried sweet pastry dusted with sugar. These are usually made in strips or braids rather than rounds. Funnel Cakes are also a glimpse of pure Americana. These comprise a cake batter run through a funnel directly into hot oil. Think of a thin delicate version of churros. A favourite at State fairs and such gatherings.

Maple Syrup Cookies have my vote as a must-try. When it comes to that rich liquid Maple syrup, to know it is to love it. It has, unlike most sweet syrups, a real flavour. Don’t substitute corn syrup or Golden Syrup or the end result of your labours will be entirely different from that intended. Delicious perhaps, but a shadow of a real Maple Syrup Cookie.

The Farmer’s Wife Cookie Cookbook is a book to be used. The measurements are by volume as one would expect from an American cookbook. This should hold no terrors for the European cook. It’s a practical method and simple. The recipes have probably been tested by generations of cooks who would not have had the luxury of modern kitchen equipment. This is a charming book offering delicious goodies.

Cook Express

This is another from the presses of Dorling Kindersley that offers great value for money. Here we are again with a cookbook for those who have neither the room nor inclination to own a whole raft of cookbooks. If you have next to no time to cook then chances are you will have even less time to leaf through a shelf or two of recipe books, however gorgeous they might be.

Cook Express is designed with the strapped-for-time in mind. The recipes are quick to make but also quick to find. There are handy recipe choosers to allow you to find just the right dish for your purposes. Fish starter in less than 15 minutes, Meat main meal under 30 minutes, etc. Each entry has a photograph, preparation time and cooking time. Healthy options and suitability for freezing are also indicated.

The Everyday section of the book offers fast food without the need to interrogate the takeaway (take out) flyers. You’ll not need to resort to pre-packaged or frozen ready meals, and you’ll be eating healthy fresh foods that won’t break the bank.

Pasta has long been prized as the instant home-cooked meal so it’s no surprise to find lots of examples in this volume. You’ll not be restricted to eating spaghetti with a bottle of tomato sauce and a black olive for garnish. How’s about Pasta with Crab and Lemon? Only 5 minutes preparation and 10 minutes cooking. Macaroni Cheese with Red Onion has the same 5 minutes for preparation and 20 minutes for cooking, and you’ll be pouring a nice glass of red while it’s reaching bubbling, golden perfection.

It’s often difficult to entertain when time is short so Cook Express devotes about half its space to cooking for friends. Most dishes here can be prepared in 10 minutes or so and the maximum would be 30 minutes. There are some suggestions for feeding a crowd in the Big-Pot Gatherings chapter, with recipes for 8 servings still with only 30 minutes preparation for the most time-consuming.

Desserts can so often be fiddly and long-winded, and to present a semi-frozen Arctic Roll from the box is such an anti-climax. Cook Express has great ideas for cook-and-freeze-ahead desserts for those who are attached to the icebox. Just defrost and reheat. OK, so there might be 30 or 40 minutes of cooking time but you’ll be eating your main course and not watching the crumble brown.

I have been inexorably drawn towards the end of the book where lurks a list of Indulgent Puddings. Chocolate Amaretti Roulade will take half an hour of your time to make and only 20 minutes to cook. The No-Cook Desserts chapter offers Dark Chocolate and White Chocolate Mousse, and Banoffee Pie which only takes 15 minutes to assemble.

Cook Express is a complete one-stop extravaganza for those in a hurry. The 700 recipes in this 500-odd page tome will save you sufficient time for you to reinforce your bookshelf, although this volume is liable to spend more time on your kitchen counter than amongst your personal library. Lots of practical and delicious dishes to suit every taste and budget.

World Cheese Book

It’s days like this when I think that being a cookbook reviewer is the most marvellous occupation. I have been presented with 350 or so pages of unadulterated and odorous delight. Every page I view increases taste-bud activity to the point where a triangle of something in silver foil will just not cut the mustard.

This is the most comprehensive encyclopaedia of cheese that this reviewer has thus far examined. The author, Juliet Harbutt, has done an excellent job of seeking out fine and fascinating cheese from every corner of the world. This is a volume that does not just concentrate on the obvious cheese-producing regions but also takes the path less trodden to Eastern Europe, Israel, Japan and even Brazil.

It should come as no surprise that cheese is a popular foodstuff for the majority of the world. If there is an animal giving milk then there is sure to be a cheese producer nearby. The range of texture and taste is amazing and this versatile product is used for both sweet and savoury courses.

You don’t have to be a cheese connoisseur to appreciate this volume. We all notice cheeses in even the regular supermarket. What do they taste like? What do you do with them? Any good for cooking? World Cheese Book lists cheeses by country. It gives a short description, tasting notes and how to enjoy. There is also an at-a-glance information box which gives location, age, weight and shape, size, milk, classification (soft white, for example) and producer.

It’s the photographs which are striking. Each cheese has a shot showing the whole cheese or wedge of cheese but there are also close-up shots showing the texture and marbling. If you are searching for a pretty cheese then go for Monet made in California and described as “a true artist’s palate that reflects the beautiful gardens that surround this coastal California Dairy.” It’s like a fine piece of porcelain decorated with marigold and viola flowers: not a classic cheese but a visual stunner. A soft, fresh cheese available all year round.

For a cheese that is best described as different then try Norway’s Gjetost. This is a caramel-coloured cheese that tastes ...well, of caramel. It is the dairy equivalent of Marmite: you either love it or hate it. It’s very much an acquired taste but worth trying if you get the chance. I probably wouldn’t include this as part of an international cheese board, though. Savour its “delights” alone or with a slice of spice cake.

World Cheese Book is an absolute “must have” for any cheese lover or those who would like to know more. There is plenty of information about cheese making as well as indispensible advice on selecting cheeses for the perfect cheeseboard, and its accompanying wine. This would make a marvellous Christmas gift but I would consider presenting it to your loved one at the start of the festive season rather than on Christmas morning. Allow them the benefit of this book’s wisdom before they do the shopping. They will thank you for it. This is amazing value for money!

Sicilian Food

Originally published in 1989 it was out of print for ten years or so. This new edition reminds us why Sicilian Food has been considered a classic.

Mary Taylor Simeti arrived in Sicily fresh from college in America. She worked as a volunteer at a centre for community development for $75 a month. Her interest in cooking came through necessity rather than love of the subject. Mary came from a well-heeled family in Virginia where they enjoyed the services of a cook. This was probably a marvellous environment to sample well-cooked food but hardly one that was going to prepare anyone for doing the job themselves. Marriage to a Sicilian eventually gave Mary the inspiration to look into the culinary history and delightful confections of her adopted home.

Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and the largest region of the modern state of Italy, but its relationship with the mainland has been tempestuous. Italy had once been a group of separate states ruled by France, Spain, Austria and other foreign countries, until Guiseppe Garibaldi unified Italy and drove out the foreigners. But Sicily was renowned for its delicious food before Italy was even a twinkle in the eye of Garibaldi.

Sicily enjoys marvellous produce that has been noted and coveted since the time of Homer. This volume considers the food heritage and presents recipes from cooks, books and monasteries. There is much that is recognisable as Italian but which might well have originated in Sicily. Pasta is first seen in Italy at the time of the Arab occupation, not on the mainland but in Sicily.

So let’s look at a pasta dish. Pasta Paolina Style (pasta alla Paolina) was invented by the friars of the Monastery of San Francesco di Paola in Palermo. It has both cinnamon and cloves along with anchovies and tomato sauce. Quite an exotic departure from the more ubiquitous pasta garnish of the tomato and herb-flavoured sauces of Italy.

The monasteries have played quite a part in the culinary tapestry of Sicilian food. They have preserved ancient recipes that reflect good taste and some quaint humour. Minni di Virgini (Virgins Breasts) are much-prized small cakes – sometimes with a cheeky cherry on the top. Sfinci Ammilati (Honey Puffs) are light balls of fried dough steeped in honey. These were also filled with an egg custard or ricotta to celebrate saints’ days.

Not everyone in Sicily was a nun or a monk. The island would be empty by now if that had been the case. Ordinary folks would enjoy Roasted Sweet Peppers (Pepperoni Arrostiti), Potato Croquettes (Croche di Patate) and Chickpea Fritters (Panelle) which were all popular street foods, and they would make lovely light lunches with just some green salad and a dressing of fruity olive oil.

A classic this book might be, but it’s readable and witty. The recipes are broad-based, covering peasant fare as well as elevated and noble dishes. It’s a social history as well as a cookbook and would be a great addition to any serious cookbook collection.

Paul Gayler’s Little Book of Ice Creams and Sorbets

Paul is the chef at the Lanesborough Hotel in London. It’s considered a “Destination” hotel and has a restaurant to match that status. This man is a familiar face on British food TV and is also an accomplished cookbook author.

All of Paul Gayler’s books (I have reviewed several to date) have been innovative but I have been at pains to point out that they have not been “chefy”. That’s a term that smacks of criticism and usually indicates that the recipes are over-complicated and fussy. I am, however, persuaded to use just that word for Paul Gayler’s Little Book of Ice Creams and Sorbets.

No, dear reader, this writer has not changed her style of review. I have not turned overnight into the Gordon Ramsay of the cookbook review world. This time I use “chefy” as a compliment. These recipes are not at all long-winded or fiddly but the chef has presented his culinary credentials in the form of amazing combinations of ingredients and textures that would have been difficult for a civilian to invent.

Paul Gayler’s Little Book of Ice Creams and Sorbets is an adult dessert cookbook. The first few recipes are standards and one would expect to find them here, but once settling you into a warm (or cold in this case) sense of familiar security, Paul takes a detour.

The Ice Cream chapter starts innocently with a simple Vanilla Ice Cream, but on closer inspection even this has a few exciting variations. Paul suggests the addition of some lavender, Earl Grey tea, lemon curd, dried breadcrumbs and rice pudding. You might be tempted to linger, but turn a page or two and you’ll find more soon-to-become-favourites.

Eggnog and Orange Peel Ice Cream could take the place of Christmas Pudding chez nous. Dark rum in almost anything is good in my book and it always reminds me of the holiday season. Keeping with the Christmas theme Paul offers a Christmas Bombe. This looks like a mint-green Christmas pudding but it’s a confection of ice cream and candied fruit.

Goats Cheese Ice Cream is rich and tangy. Paul uses regular milk in his recipe but that could be replaced by goat’s milk to make this an ideal dessert for those who are intolerant of cow’s milk. An alternative frozen treat would be Coconut Milk, Yogurt and Red Chilli Sorbet. Sophisticated and exotic.

How’s about Balsamic Butter Ice Cream? Paul serves this with Citrus Fruit Salad and Passion Fruit Jelly (recipe in this book). Sweetcorn Ice Cream would be quite a conversation piece. Black Pepper Ice Cream is another show-stopper. I think this might go well with strawberries - a different take on the traditional strawberries and cream.

Paul Gayler’s Little Book of Ice Creams and Sorbets packs a punch. It might be a little book but it’s well worth the equally small price. Paul once again showcases his skills and ability to think successfully outside the box.

Guinness

Paul Hartley has penned several brand cookbooks including the Lyles Golden Syrup Cookbook and the HP Sauce Cookbook (both reviewed on this site), Marmite Cookbook and Heinz Tomato Ketchup Cookbook. It’s probably safe to say that Paul has an eye for iconic and popular products.

Guinness – An Official Celebration of 250 Remarkable Years offers us firstly the history of “the black stuff”, “Girder”, “Liffey Water”, and it is indeed a story worth telling. Any product that has lasted two and a half centuries deserves a volume celebrating its longevity. There can surely be only a handful of brands that have endured while the world has changed so much.

Sake is synonymous with Japan, Whisky with Scotland and tea with England, but Ireland has Guinness. It’s available around the globe and is recognised even when poured. The distinctive dark brew with the clerical collar has decorated bars on every continent and has tickled the taste buds of almost every nationality.

This beer is in fact porter. No, dear reader, it doesn’t contain Port. It’s named after the men who hauled vegetables and other foodstuffs in London’s many markets. From 1799 the Guinness that we know today was the only beer brewed by the company. Its association with food might have started in Covent Garden Market and the like but it continues with recipes using Guinness, and there are 18 or so fine and traditional ones in this volume.

Steak pie with ale has been tempting diners for many a year. This has become a classic dish because it works, so it’s no surprise to find Beef and Guinness Puff Pastry Pie. Paul has added dried figs to this version which helps as a foil for the slightly bitter beer.

A must-try from Paul Hartley’s collection is Guinness Honeycomb Ice Cream. This recipe doesn’t need an ice-cream maker so there is no excuse not to make it. It’s a simple dessert using Guinness and those familiar chocolate-covered honeycomb bars. You know, the ones that are a bit crunchy.

The section in Guinness that charts various advertising campaigns is fascinating. We no longer consider Guinness as Good For You although that was used as a persuasive slogan for a while. The Guinness for Strength poster proved so popular that frequenters of “the local” would ask for a pint of “girder”, making reference to the iron-beam-carrying chap on the ad.

Guinness is a book full of evocative images and a story of vision. It would be a great gift for anyone who enjoys the drink, who enjoys cooking or who has an interest in advertising.

The Cook’s Guide to Fish and Seafood

I see many cookbooks every week and hundreds every year. Most are very nice, some are inspiring, there are a few that would be better left as trees, and then there are the gems.

Apple Press have done it again! This publisher never seems to put a foot wrong. They present books that are marvellously practical but also attractive, but they might just have surpassed themselves. The Cook’s Guide to Fish and Seafood is one in a new series of books that will become heirlooms.

Strong words, them. I am going to stick my reviewer’s neck out and say that these small books, described as handbook-sized in leatherette, are a must for any serious cook but also for any serious cookbook collector. The author, Wendy Sweetser, trained at the Cordon Bleu cookery schools in both London and Paris. She has penned fifteen other food- and drink-related books as well as being food editor and feature writer for OK, The London Magazine, and Period Living.

Most of us love the glossy, celeb chef cookbooks. What’s not to love... mostly. But The Cook’s Guide books offer an in-depth look at culinary subjects. They are well written but it’s the illustrations that are striking. Food photography has reached amazing degrees of perfection but no camera can present its subject in such charming detail as can brush, watercolour and pen. The artist, Jane Laurie, has skills that add character and elevate this volume to gift quality.

Elevated though these books surely are, they are far from simple coffee-table dust-magnets. These are food manuals to read, learn from, and to delve into. The Cook’s Guide to Fish and Seafood considers... well, fish and seafood. Each fish has its illustration, and its characteristics are described; its habitat, availability, cooking method and substitution suggestions are all mentioned.

We know that fish is good for us but there is often the underlying question, Are the stocks sustainable? The Cook’s Guide to Fish and Seafood includes farmed fish where available, and notes when wild varieties are in season. This helps the shopper to make informed choices.

The Cook’s Guide to Fish and Seafood offers advice on choosing fresh fish, equipment, storage, trimming, scaling and gutting, filleting and skinning. It’s a marvel of a book that will be appreciated by cooks and cookbook collectors as well as fishermen. Great Christmas gift and good value for money.

500 Casseroles and Stews

The Cuisines of Spain

It’s the third largest country in Europe and has strong historic links to North Africa. It faces both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, has mountain ranges, deserts and fertile plains. Madrid, its capital, is the highest in Europe and Spanish style is respected world-wide. It’s a land of diversity and richness.

The landscape of Spain has helped it maintain a multitude of cultural and culinary traditions. Each village might have a typical celebration dish entirely different from that of its neighbour. Each family will have its own interpretation but all will have common threads – quality of ingredients and flavour.

Spain has offered so much to the dining tables of the world. Tapas are a universal favourite, paella is now found in every Mediterranean town or village, and who would want to live without Spanish olive oil? They produce more in Spain than any other country.

The author of The Cuisines of Spain, Teresa Barrenechea, was born and brought up in the Spanish Basque region in the north west of Spain. She moved to New York City as press attaché to the Spanish delegation of the United Nations. In 1991 she opened Marichu which was considered as New York’s finest traditional Spanish restaurant. Her previous book, Basque Table, was awarded the National Gastronomy Prize in 1998.

If you have visited Spain then you would have tasted fine restaurant food but perhaps, and this is probably true of every nation, you would have eaten better and more authentic food in private homes. You might not get that chance unless you kidnap a taxi driver or befriend your hotel concierge so a good cookbook will be your next-best option. The Cuisines of Spain could be that very book.

There are certainly dishes here that will be familiar to you - paella, for example. But Teresa offers four varieties all hailing from the Valencia region. Fideua is a seafood paella made with pasta. It has similar ingredients to the more common rice-based seafood paella but that rice is replaced with macaroni or angel-hair pasta.

Empanada Gallega (Bread Pie from Galicia) has a number of alternative fillings and all of them are enticing. Empanada de Berberechos has cockles and peppers, and Empanada de Sardinas has sardines and onions. The pie I’d choose for a cold winter night with the TV (or log fire if you are lucky) would be Empanada de Lomo. This has a rich and warming stuffing of pork and chorizo with a sprinkle of extra paprika and tomato sauce for good measure.

If you are a fan of the French Crème Caramel then you are sure to love Crema Catalana. Whilst the traditional French version is turned out on a plate and has caramel incorporated into the custard, the Spanish version remains in its dish, has a hint of cinnamon and a crust of caramel. The Cuisines of Spain offers a simple method for achieving a good result.

This is one of my favourite books on Spanish cooking. The photography by Christopher Hirsheimer and Jeffrey Koehler is marvellous. The recipes are tempting and there is plenty of history and anecdote for each one. The Cuisines of Spain will be sought after by lovers of real Spanish food.

What to Eat Now – More Please

OK, so I confess that I have not seen Valentine Warner in his TV series of What to Eat Now. But that does rather give me an edge when it comes to reviewing the cookbook. No preconceptions, no prejudices, just an independent look. I wasn’t expecting much - there are, dear reader, those recipe books that rest on the laurels of TV shows. When they are good they are very very good, but when they are bad they are horrid.

Reviewing What to Eat Now – More Please has been a truly pleasant experience. It’s a many-faceted delight. A good read, a laugh, lovely artwork from our hero, and some of the best food photography around from Howard Sooley, but also food stylist Sarah O’Keefe should get a mention. There are lots of pictures that are imaginative and full of humour.

Yes, I do appreciate good food photography and sketches, but the food will be the reason you’ll buy the book. It’s a first-rate collection of spring and summer dishes that will tempt you away from your casserole-garnished winter and into the lighter fare of the warmer (we hope) months. There is plenty here for both meat-eaters and vegetarians.

Orangey Honey Buns are syrup-drenched desserts made from a yeast-based sponge. Valentine says they are ideal for afternoon tea but also as a pudding at 3 o’clock in the morning!

I had always thought that a Greek Breakfast was five cigarettes, two cups of thick coffee and a swing or two of some worry-beads, but here Valentine offers home-made Greek yoghurt with fennel seeds, thyme and oregano, served with a juicy peach. What could be nicer on a bright summer morning!

Potted Crab is one of the most appealing dishes in the book. Yes it is, without doubt, a fiddle. There is no way that I will describe it as done in a flash, easy as falling off a lobster pot... or whatever they catch crabs in. It is equally true to say that there is nothing like the taste of real crab from the shell. It’s worth the effort.

The book’s signature dish is, for me at least, Prawn Tangiers. This is a marvellous concoction of prawns, spinach and tomatoes, perfumed with cumin seeds and garlic. Serve this with some fresh bread and a big spoon.

What to Eat Now – More Please has been a joy and I’ll continue dipping into its pages. I’ve already chosen the next recipe to try: looks like the Green Bean Chutney!

Sicily – Culinary Crossroads

This is one of a series of books on Italy’s food culture by Oronzo Editions. They are a publisher that specialises in translations of Italian cookbooks and they certainly seem to have filled a gap in the market with this volume. This is the second in the series and takes a look at a cuisine that is rather unique.

Sicily is not only at a culinary crossroads but a crossroads in every sense. It has been invaded by those who chose to settle, it has been invaded by others who passed through at speed, being pursued by the next wave of invaders who might linger longer. Those lingerers left their mark on language and tradition, and have played a part in providing Sicily with its diverse nature.

Its geographic position ensured that it was never going to be overlooked by its more powerful neighbours. In fact anyone with a boat has made for Sicily. Greeks praised it, Romans coveted it, Arabs settled it, even Armenians and Spaniards stayed for a while or stayed for good. Each added to the food culture to a greater or lesser extent.

This book has its focus on old family recipes. It considers dishes that are possibly in danger of being lost. Globalization has tended to put at risk anything that is regional and different, and paints everything with the banality of International food. Don’t look here for Italian food. Yes, there are meatballs but they are Sicilian. Pasta is present but served with a Sicilian sauce.

Sicily – Culinary Crossroads is divided into four provinces and each of those has chapters covering first courses, fish dishes, meat dishes, vegetables, cheese, fruits and sweets. Each section starts with an overview of geography, history and food anecdotes. Don’t feel tempted to skip these preambles, they add much to the charm of the book.

I marvel at the simplicity of the recipes - very few with lengthy lists of ingredients. Pasta a la Norma only has eight ingredients and one of those is salt. It’s a celebrated dish named after an opera by Bellini, who came from Catania. This is pasta dressed with a tomato sauce and garnished with aubergine (eggplant) and salted ricotta (salata ricotta). Not a fussy dish and all the better for it.

Pasta Siracusa-Style is the last word in easy, flavourful and traditional cooking. Few ingredients but each of those being essential to the success of the dish. Anchovies and olive oil are not new companions, but add some toasted bread and it’s comfort on a plate.

There are delightful pastries, many of which trace their origins to convents. St. Clair’s Big Face hails from the convent of St. Claire at Noto. It’s an amusing name for a delicious confection of sponge, lime marmalade, almond paste, chocolate frosting and an angel. A paper angel can be used if a real one is unavailable.

This island isn’t so much a borrower, it’s more a borrowed from. It’s been famed for its fine food and expert cooks since classic Greek times. Sicilians have had a wealth of delicious ingredients at their disposal and they have known how to use them to best advantage. Sicily – Culinary Crossroads charts the history of these people and helps to safeguard their extraordinary culinary heritage. A great addition to any serious cookbook collection. An archive and masterwork.

Britain’s Best Dish

This book takes its name from the ITV series. It showcases those recipes that have been successful in three series from 2007 to 2009. The competitions were judged by three of the British food industry’s most celebrated worthies in the guise of Ed Baines (chef and author), John Burton Race (chef and “star” of French Leave) and the effervescent Jilly Goolden who expertly fronted the liquid element of BBC Food and Drink.

This is quite a bumper volume and an eclectic mix of dishes which truly reflect British food tastes, and admirably reinforces the fact that British food is no longer dull and boring and to be shunned at any cost. British ingredients are top quality and they are put to good use in this selection of over 130 recipes.

We are talking British food rather than “traditional” British food. Yes, there are some good old-fashioned favourites like Trifle and Yorkshire Ginger Parkin and it’s appropriate that they are included, but this book takes a broad look at what Britain in general eats.

What you eat depends on where in Britain you live and your ethnic background. The subcontinent is well represented as one would expect. Lamb Biryani, Red Lentil Soup with Lentil Vadai and Lamb Tikka Masala are all listed but also several Caribbean dishes that are worthwhile: Jerk Chicken with Rice and Peas and Caribbean Curried Goat. The Dumplings served with this are real comfort food.

We in Britain do smoked fish better than most and Craster Smoked Fish Pie uses both natural smoked haddock (that’s not the luminous yellow one) and smoked salmon. A cheese sauce and mashed potatoes top the pie which is served with spinach, watercress and rocket salad.

There’s a delicious choice of desserts here. Summer Pudding is a well-loved classic and this one is made even more special by the addition of crème de cassis. OK, so that’s not British but it travels well. And keeping with that theme of cross-channel exchange there is Orange Liqueur Tart with Chocolate Sauce. This has a chilli-spiked pastry which sounds amazing. A definite must-try.

Of all the sweet things Toffee Bakewell Tarts have my vote. The original has just a pastry base, some jam and a frangipane sponge. This new version has a toffee filling and a lemon syrup along with the sponge and is presented with a Champagne Lemon Martini. A great end to a dinner party.

Britain’s Best Dish is one of my Desert Island cookbooks... assuming the desert island has a good butchers and a fishmonger. This is a good solid book with delightful recipes which are written by home cooks for home cooks. I am happy to own this one.

Cooking with Kids

Don’t get alarmed, dear reader, Cooking with Kids isn’t suggesting that you have children as the main or even incidental ingredient. No, this is about encouraging your youngsters into the kitchen and teaching them skills that will serve them well through life.

Many of us rue the day when cookery lessons were abolished. Pupils were instead given Home Economics lessons and learned the nutritional value of all kinds of foods that they would never know how to cook. They would understand the principles of healthy eating but would buy from the freezer counter because, well, what do you do with mange-tout?

Kids love helping mum and dad and they naturally view cooking as fun. It has all the elements of play: mixing, rolling, filling, painting and decorating; add the prospect of actually eating the end result of a good time, and happiness is assured.

Erin Quon is an award-winning, San Francisco food stylist. Her co-author and 5 year old daughter, Tatum, evidently gave invaluable advice about child-friendly recipes. Not only is the food delicious but the process of making all these dishes will delight your young chefs and leave them with a love of a variety of good things to eat. Anyone who cooks is less likely to be a fussy eater.

There are four recipe chapters starting with Rise and Shine, then Snack Timse, Dinnertime and Sweets. Each recipe has clearly-marked activities for kids. A chef’s hat and orange text will show the tasks that are easy for small hands. Any help needed from adults will be in the form of handling any hot pans, lighting ovens and hobs, filling blenders, etc. It’s all about cooking WITH your children.

Although the dishes are designed to be tempting to children they will be equally welcomed by the whole family. Chicken Chow Mein is quite sophisticated and your youngster will proudly announce that he made the sauce. Adults need not fear that this is baby food. These are dishes that you might even consider making when the kids are not around. OK, your icing on cookies might not be so thick nor as colourful as when made by small hands, but the recipe will be the same.

There are some delightful recipes here. Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies are bound to please the whole family. Creamy Sweetcorn Chowder has, as you would expect, sweetcorn but also potatoes, celery, carrot and onion. Your children are bound to enjoy eating food that they have helped prepare, so take advantage of that attitude and get them to cook with plenty of fruit and vegetables. Yoghurt Sundaes are stunners. Packed with fruit and topped with granola (muesli), these would make a healthful and smart breakfast or dessert.

Cooking with Kids has recipes that are fun to make and delicious. This isn’t a toy. You can’t just hand the book to your 6 year old and expect dinner in an hour. The point is that you spend time together but it has the added bonus, and a big one, of teaching youngsters to love good food. A worthwhile volume and a great gift for those with children.

Seriously Good Gluten-Free Cooking

I am sure the title will encourage many a cookbook-shelf scanner to move right on by this book. Gluten-Free! That’s got something to do with being ill, hasn’t it? I’ve never felt better. Not interested. Well, OK, all that having been said, let’s actually have a look.

You might have heard the word coeliac. Sounds like a type of small pterodactyl but it is, in fact, an autoimmune disease affecting the gut. It can sometimes be mistaken for irritable bowel syndrome and has symptoms as diverse as skin rash, defective tooth enamel, nausea and abdominal pain. These symptoms are triggered by gluten found in wheat, barley and rye and sometimes oats.

Phil Vickery is a well-acclaimed chef in the UK who oft graces our TV screens. He noticed a gap in the market for gluten-free products and this book is a continuation of that interest. It doesn’t, however, read like a Red Cross manual. It’s not about avoiding food, it’s rather about good food that the whole family can eat together.

There are a surprising number of foods that include gluten. I would not have expected fizzy drinks to be a problem but they often contain barley flour. Coffee from vending machines and beer, lager, stout and ale all contain gluten. This volume has recipes that avoid those products that would be upsetting for a coeliac.

One might expect that a waffle would be out of the question but Phil has Salt and Pepper Eggs on Rice Waffles. It contains rice flour and gluten-free baking powder, and those same ingredients are seen again in Flat Mushrooms with Basil Pancakes.

The food here isn’t bland and beige. Crispy Pork Salad with Lemon Dressing is a riot of colour and taste. Marinated Smoked Salmon with Pickled Ginger is exotic but simple to make and contains tamari, a Japanese gluten-free soy sauce. Quick Tofu Miso Soup stays with the Japanese theme.

Cakes and pastries are rare in the diet of anyone avoiding gluten. They are all heavy on flour but this book has quite an array of goodies that will cause no problems. Soft Lemon and Lime Bar Cakes uses chestnut flour. Orange and Lime Shortbread has cornflour and rice flour.

There are several outstanding recipes here. They are noteworthy because they are delicious and just happen to be gluten-free. Rich Chocolate Brownies with Caramel Sauce uses chickpea flour, Fudgy Almond Cake with Mint Syrup and Frosting has ground almonds instead of regular flour. But the pick of this book is Tangy Lime Mousse with Mint Muddle. Phil made this on the Paul O’Grady TV show and has had lots of requests for it. This is rich and comforting and a visual stunner.

Seriously Good Gluten-Free Cooking will be sought after and appreciated by coeliac sufferers but it’s a book with great healthy ideas for all of us. It’s an attractive book with simple recipes that use ingredients that might be new to you, but that’s the charm of cooking - exploring something deliciously different.

The Eagle Cookbook

If you are not from London then perhaps you might not know about the Eagle Cookbook. No, dear reader, it’s not a right-wing American recipe book subtitled Tasty Meals from Our National Emblem. This is the book of the first Gastropub. That’s a pub that serves (or is supposed to) great food along with your pint.

A few years ago British pub food was nothing to write home about. Or perhaps it was too frequently written home about: “Dear Abner, Martha will soon be out of plaster after the accident with the Scottish egg.” Toasted sandwiches were a main-stay and you would never be far from a pork scratching (pork rind).There has been a general trend towards better food in many pubs but a Gastropub has food at the centre of the enterprise.

The Eagle was an unprepossessing hostelry (OK, so it was a dump) till two enterprising chaps (David Eyre and Mike Belben) took charge. They transformed it into a pub with tempting and inspiring grub. I shrink from saying “Fine” because that conjures images of crisp table cloths, crisp waiters and an embarrassing array of cutlery and glasses.

The Eagle is an old-fashioned pub and is the venue for comforting and hearty fare. The Eagle Cookbook not only reflects the pub’s menu but also the way we eat in Britain today. There is, instead of bangers and mash, Grilled Fennel Sausages, Lentils and Green Sauce. If you want some mash then consider Smoked Haddock with Horseradish Mash and Poached Egg (one of the best dishes in this book.) Banished are the luminous, breadcrumbed nuggets of scampi, to be replaced by Grilled Squid Piri-Piri.

All the recipes have the feel of home cooking. Some of those homes might be a long way from British shores but they all have that real food quality about them. There is nothing here that is fiddled with. It’s all straightforward and flavourful, and accessible to the home cook.

Octopus Stew with Spices from Goa, from chef Tom Norrington-Davies, is outstanding. The amazing flavour comes from a spice paste that’s easy to make with ingredients that you’ll doubtless already have in your larder. It’s a vindaloo-esque paste that is also good with pan-fried squid and will be a good base for any quick spicy stir-fry.

Another favourite is Jensson’s Temptation, a side dish and a Swedish classic. This version is from chef/author Trish Hilferty. It’s a delicious concoction of potatoes, onions, garlic and, most importantly, anchovies. Also try Peas with Chorizo and Poached Egg, from David Eyre. This is a Portuguese recipe for a dish that makes a perfect light winter lunch or late supper. It has sweetness from the vegetables, heat from the sausage, and creamy comfort from the egg yolk.

The Eagle Cookbook is full of food that I like to eat. The recipes have broad appeal and they are simple to make. It’s Gastropub cooking at its best but also proper home cooking. This is bound to be a best seller. 

The Ultimate Garden Designer

The “ultimate” anything has got to be good. What would this Garden Designer variety have to offer? It needed to be a comprehensive tome covering every aspect of the subject. Needless to say I had visions of a book the size of a small garden shed or at least a rabbit hutch.

This is a surprisingly trim volume for the information it holds: 250 or so pages with over 500 photographs, plans and illustrations. The secret of success for this book is its variations on a theme. The chapter concerning A Small Sheltered Garden, for instance, has a design, planting, features but includes four alternative plans for a long narrow plot, a corner plot, a triangular plot and a rotated aspect. Consider this a horticultural take on 500 Cookies, with the basic recipe and then some options.

There are a full fifteen garden types considered by the author, Tim Newbury. Part One of the book looks at those gardens: cottage gardens and formal gardens, front gardens and roof gardens, enclosed gardens and gardens for special needs. Then Part Two takes an in-depth view of garden features, starting with water and finishing with pots and containers. Part Three has a plant directory that has all the information you’ll need on the plants proposed in any and all of the garden designs. It’s the mixing and matching of ideas and possibilities that has enabled Tim to cram so much between the covers.

The Ultimate Garden Designer has just about everything that a novice gardener would need to transform an existing garden or to plan a garden around a totally empty space. Tim doesn’t assume that you are familiar with plants nor that you have a plot the size of a working farm. He even presents a tiny, low maintenance garden that is 7metres by 7 metres. For lovers of TV garden design programmes Tim has a split-level garden with decking and water feature!

If you are embarking on garden design or redesign then this might well be the book for you. The Ultimate Garden Designer is packed with advice and ideas and is very reasonably priced. This would make a lovely house-warming gift.

Paul Gayler’s Little Book of Pasta and Noodles

If you are a regular visitor then you will already be familiar with Paul Gayler's cookbooks. For those others who are visiting for the first time I’ll introduce you. Paul is the chef of The Lanesborough, one of the smartest spots in London. He has written a collection of cookbooks which act as showcase for his unarguable skills and a source of pleasure for his readers.

This book has the same quality of recipes, the same conversational style but it’s little. The clue is in the title, Paul Gayler’s Little Book. It’s a condensed volume that has a single focus, in this case of Pasta and Noodles. There are 50 or so recipes here for meals that are easy and fast. A baked dish might take 20 minutes but you’ll not be talking to it through the oven door for the duration - you’ll be finishing The Times crossword or watching the Simpsons. And the majority of dishes take half that time.

Paul has, as always, found recipes that offer something a bit different. These dishes never seem contrived or chefy. They are written with the home cook in mind and range from traditional to innovative with a bit of fusion for good measure.

Pasta making isn’t as frightening as you might think. If this writer can do it then you’ll have no problem. Paul supplies a basic recipe but if you don’t feel confident then use the commercial pasta, but do make the sauces.

Pasta Carbonara is a dish oft-found on Italian restaurant menus. It has few ingredients but those ingredients produce a rich and comforting sauce. Paul also suggests Funghi Carbonara which is a vegetarian version of the original and should become a classic. This dish takes only as long as the pasta takes to cook - 8 minutes or so for dried pasta and even less than that for fresh.

I am a lover of a good baked pasta. They are hearty and comforting dishes and take no more preparation than a regular bowl of pasta. Baked Smoked Haddock Pasta has my vote. This isn’t a vegetarian option as it has a little bacon but that bacon does add to the flavourful result.

Spicy Vegetable and Cashew Ramen is a colourful and tasty dish that you’ll be eating in ten minutes. Paul uses sugar-snap peas, red peppers, aubergine and shiitake mushrooms, although the dressing would work well with almost any combination of vegetables.

Paul Gayler tempts the reader into the kitchen. He is neither intimidating nor patronising. You will use his books because the food is delicious. It’s an attractive volume but Paul will be very pleased if it’s covered with tomato sauce, flour and a flake or two of pecorino.

Backroads of Arizona

I have reviewed another book by author Jim Hinckley and photographer Kerrick James (about Route 66), so I knew what to expect. A high-quality picture travelogue with images of the past and the present. Images that charm and mystify and eloquently tell the story of the state of Arizona.

The state might be the epitome of the historic Wild West but the young Jim Hinkley was less than impressed when he arrived with his parents in 1966. He says it was a place warned about in Sunday school. Well, that’s a notion that might attract as many people as it would deter.

The author came to love the space and majestic beauty of Arizona and has been sufficiently enamoured by it to remain there, marry and bring up his son. It has everything that either an American or overseas tourist could wish for. Rocks, deserts, oases, ghost towns, London Bridge, cowboy cemeteries... What was that about a bridge? Surely you jest? No, dear reader, I do not. London Bridge was sold to America, was dismantled and rebuilt at Lake Havasu City. There is a rumour back in London that the buyers thought they were purchasing Tower Bridge. Ooops!

There is a deal of rustic humour here. The author has a picture of a grave in Boot Hill. It reads: “Here Lies Lester Moore, Four Slugs From a 44 No Les No More.” And a nice view of the gallows at the courtyard. Perhaps the shots (if you pardon the pun) are connected. Those who missed the drop could contemplate their misdemeanours in the comfort (here I do jest) of Yuma Territorial Prison.

Backroads of Arizona offers four routes, each one with its own attraction and charm. There are maps and plenty of historic background information. The photographs give a real and striking impression of this time-capsule of a state. There are horses, trading posts, Indian ruins, cactus and everything you would have seen in a John Ford Western. This isn’t, however, a film set. This is a view of your next vacation.

The Hairy Bikers Ride Again

If you watch British TV then you would know of the Hairy Bikers, but there are those who have not, thus far, been fortunate enough to get to know these boys. You are missing a treat.

Dave Myers and Si King are two northern lads with passions for travel, bikes and food. Their books are paper versions of their TV series, being part travelogue and part cookbook. You have no need to feel alienated if you don’t give a spark plug about a Harley something or other. This isn’t a biker’s survival manual just a rather good cookbook derived from the Hairy Bikers’ road trips.

It is a diverse and fascinating recipe book. How many other authors would have the nerve to present recipes from India, Argentina, Belgium and Morocco in the same volume? There is, however, a common thread: delicious and accessible food. Each chapter is liberally laced with wry northern wit and dishes that are appetising and traditional.

The Indian chapter offers Lamb Chop Pakoras. I confess that I had not come across these before but what a great idea. There can be nothing wrong with deep-fried anything, in my estimation (everything in moderation) and anything coated in a batter can only add to the joy. The chops are poached in a milk and spice mixture before being fried in a batter spiced with mustard seed and cayenne pepper.

Masala Iced Coffee is far more delicious than the regular iced coffee of Costabucks in your high street. This version is spiced with vanilla, ginger, cardamom and cinnamon. It’s just as nice hot, but if we get a summer then a long cool coffee with merry ice a-chinking will be welcome.

Argentina is famed for its beef, tango and crying, but Dulche de Leche Cheesecake is quite a marvel. The key ingredient is a tin of boiled condensed milk (the same as that used for Gypsy Tart). This is rich, flavourful and a bit different from your more usual New York-style cheesecake.

What do you think of when you think of Belgium? Nothing (unfair!). Truth to tell, Belgium has as bad a reputation for food as Britain has, and with just as little reason. They have lovely mussels, chips (fries) with mayonnaise, waffles, fish of all kinds... and chocolate. The Hairy Bikers have a dark Chocolate Mousse from Bruges garnished with some double cream. It looks like a thick Irish coffee. The secret is to use good-quality chocolate.

Salad Zaalouk is a Moroccan Aubergine salad. It’s not a puree although it is mashed. It has a bit of body and plenty of flavour from garlic, cumin, paprika and preserved lemons. Don’t leave these out as they add some necessary bite. Serve this as part of a Moroccan salad selection or as a starter for a North African meal.

There are 100 or so dishes in The Hairy Bikers Ride Again. They are all very fine and I’d not turn my nose up at any of them. Both Dave and Si can cook a bit and that, combined with their way with words, makes this another winner. It’s a great read with funny anecdotes but also humanity and charm. Love it.

Duchy Originals Cookbook

If ever there was a cookbook review I wanted to get right it’s this one. Johnny Acton and Nick Sandler are two very witty and talented cookbook authors. Although elevated to something approaching stardom on this site (perhaps that’s a bit much but their Preserved book was very nice), those two chaps bow to the one who wrote the foreword to Duchy Originals Cookbook, HRH Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall.

Most of us would have seen Duchy Originals products on our supermarket shelves. The packaging is tasteful and understated but with a little crest that does carry a bit of authority (the biscuits also sport the crest). It’s a mark of quality which can be trusted. How many products have such a royal stamp of approval? The more often-seen coat of arms with By Appointment to Her Majesty only indicates that a product has been used by the royal household. Duchy Originals have a much closer connection: it’s a brand personally devised by Prince Charles to promote good food thoughtfully produced.

Johnny and Nick have compiled a selection of recipes that either use Duchy Originals-labelled goods or organic or sustainable produce. The emphasis is on quality. It isn’t, however, a book of vegetarian or over-worthy dishes. It’s more a reflection of how we eat today... or how we should eat: seasonal, fresh, low air miles and healthy.

The photography by Jonathan Gregson is stunning. He has captured a wealth of images of baby pigs and lambs that almost encourages me to give up eating meat... almost. There are pictures of animals, food and fishermen, cattle breeders and a cooper (barrel-maker, who looks like Mel Gibson) which give the book a sumptuous quality.

A recipe book should have food at centre-stage and this one does. There is plenty of innovation – I expect that from these authors. They use the products to create dishes that are delicious, not over-chefy, and visually striking. The chapters are divided by season and each one is packed with information about producers and their lives and food passions.

There is a very British bias to the recipes as one might expect but this isn’t the bland fare of legend. This is more a reflection of good British food as it once was and of how it can be. Flat Bake with Streaky Bacon and Vintage Cheddar is a British pizza. Johnny and Nick offer Cannelloni but here it is stuffed with smoked ham and cheddar. The ever-popular French Profiteroles are listed but in this case with a filling of whipped cream laced with Duchy Originals Lemon Curd, and the pastries then drizzled with a tangy lemon syrup.

Marmalade Cake with Honeycomb Filling has the delicate flavour of oranges but the crunch and sweetness of honeycomb, made with Duchy honey. I have made this with sugar before but this version is much more appealing. If you don’t have time to make the cake then just make the honeycomb. Dip in chocolate and give as Christmas gifts. It won’t last till the end of the year!

My pick of this book is Apple Crumble with Highland Shortbread. The fruit base is perfumed with both honey and calvados, with a suspicion of cinnamon. The topping is a bit of a break with tradition as it uses Duchy Originals Shortbread (those with the posh coat of arms stamped on each biscuit), crumbled with a bit more butter. This elevates the traditional crumble into adult dinner party dessert.

Duchy Originals Cookbook is a book that tempts, educates and charms. His Royal Highness chose the best authors for the job. This could have been a serious and academic tome but the lads have worked their usual magic and have presented us with a book of fab food and a wry smile.

Gorgeous Greens

Well, it sounds like an oxymoron (ok, look it up). Gorgeous Greens. It’s an expression used by my parents and many others as a term for all vegetables, just like the word greengrocer refers to a shop that sells every kind of vegetable and not just those of a greener hue. This isn’t a vegetarian cookbook but it has veggies at centre-stage rather than as a garnish to meat or fish.

Annie Bell is without a doubt one of my favourite cookbook authors. I have had the pleasure to review a couple of her other books (Gorgeous Cakes and Gorgeous Desserts), and Gorgeous Greens has not disappointed. It has the same wit, easy-to-follow recipes and gorgeous (that word again) pictures by Chris Alack who is one of the best food photographers around.

Greens, gorgeous or otherwise, have had a bad press down the ages. There was not a wide range of vegetables to tempt the palate of most northern Europeans till relatively recently. As late as the 1960s little could be found in greengrocers other than a selection of potatoes (white or red, madam?) some onions (spring or Spanish, darlin’?), cabbage (the big one at the back?) and tomatoes (salad or squashed, love?). But, thank goodness, things have changed and we all have access to an amazing array of produce, and we know that we should all eat more vegetables – five a day of fruit and veg – so let’s not allow it to become a chore.

There is nothing bland about this book. It’s vibrant in both colour and taste. There are no insipid, over-boiled crimes against vegdom here. There are fresh tastes and fresh concepts that keep one turning the pages. There are cooked and raw dishes that will encourage even the most dedicated carnivore off the meat wagon. They range from delicate dips and side dishes to hearty bakes and tarts, with sometimes just a hint of smoky bacon or a glimpse of the pink of a prawn.

There are several dips that are traditional but with a Bell twist, like Aubergine puree but with pomegranate and almond. This looks bejewelled and attractive and a bit more appetizing than the original, which although delicious looked beige and uninteresting. Crushed Goats Cheese and Anchoiade is, as the name suggests, two dips that can be served separately or together to give a real taste of the south of France.

I am a pie lover so Bubble and Squeak Pie was bound to be one of my picks. Bubble and squeak refers to the noise made by leftover potatoes and cabbage as they were fried the next day. Annie presents this in the form of a puff pastry pie. It transforms the tasty vegetables into a main meal that could become a vegetarian classic. I’d cook vegetables especially to make this dish.

Courgette, Smoky Bacon and Rosemary Clafoutis is probably my favourite recipe from this collection. This is simple to make, smart and versatile. It’s a savoury version of the French dessert made with plums or cherries. The combination of courgette and bacon is a winner but once you have mastered the batter then the world is your oyster... or perhaps onion, or maybe goat’s cheese...

Gorgeous Greens is as good as I expected it to be. The recipes are easy and Annie Bell has a style of writing that is accessible and engaging. Great value for money, and inspiring.

The Press Club

Sounds like a haunt for elderly, heavy-smoking, heavy-drinking journalists. The Press Club is, in fact, a highly-acclaimed restaurant in Melbourne, Australia and it’s all about modern Greek cookery. The author, George Calombaris, is the head chef at the Press Club and the talent behind this marvellous array of contemporary dishes.

The prospect of modern this or contemporary that tends to send shivers of horror down my spine. Those words often herald plates of artistically-arranged nothing much, or a perfect traditional dish ruined by the use of toenails of virgin seahorses or some other inappropriate ingredient. These are all signs of a chef who is just trying to be different rather than the best. The Press Club, however, has food that is truly different and amusing but also holds to its roots.

The Press Club is a sumptuous book. It reflects the style and quality of the restaurant. No hint of the Greek-themed eateries of amphora and Greek flags over a model of a blue-and-white painted fishing boat. The book is thoughtfully designed and masterfully executed with the help of photographer Dean Cambray. It’s a vision of sepia tones and text, with marvellously contrasting photographs of the food.

Yes, the recipes are a little cheffy but not difficult. So much of the success has to do with presentation. Cyprian Pork Pies are nothing like the indestructible, pastry-rich British examples. These are more on the lines of a Lebanese stuffed Kibbe (usually made with lamb). George serves them with his Pine Nut Hoummos (recipe in this book) and a salad of shaved fennel and onion. This gives a clean fresh taste as a counterpoint to the pies.

Feta is not just reserved for Greek salad. George offers Feta Soufflé. This dish isn’t difficult to make and would be an interesting Greek-themed lunch, or a starter followed by some lamb or pork. Scallop Loukoumades are George’s take on tempura (although his grandmother is horrified). The batter is that usually reserved for a traditional dessert.

Lime and Yoghurt Sorbet is simple to make and has few ingredients but would be the most apt and delicious end to a Greek meal... or any other meal. Light and refreshing, it’s a real palate cleanser. Milk sorbet is another summer treat and only has 3 ingredients.

George Calombaris has done a fine job of demonstrating why he is an internationally celebrated chef. We might not all be able to take a trip Down Under but we can all have a little taste of The Press Club.