Aussie Chefs' Cookbooks

[gwilson]

In the Media Forum, there seems to always be a post or two about which food magazines are worth reading. From reading these posts, I decided to set up a list of all food magazines - good or not. (Not that I have OCD issues or anything. lol)

In my research, I've come across a couple of magazines, that I think are from Australia or New Zealand. But other than that, I can't find much information.

Cafe & Eating Out

Plus there's Gourmet Traveller Wine, which I know is a sister magazine to Australian Gourmet Traveller. But I can't find a website just for the Wine mag.

Any help would be appreciated in this. Thank you.

-Greg

[chefben]

Try these Greg....

Vogue Entertaining & Travel

http://www.vogue.com.au/titles/vet/

Delicious Magazine

http://www.deliciousmagazine.com.au

Cuisine Magazine

http://www.cuisine.co.nz

Donna Hay Magazine

http://www.donnahay.com.au

Super Food Ideas

http://www.superfoodideas.com.au

Fresh Magazine

http://www.woolworthsfresh.com.au/

There is also my cookbook at http://www.benjaminchristie.com/article/8/...nunder-cookbook

Enjoy !

Benjamin

[loiosh]

'Dish' is a NZ magazine I've just started seeing recently.

http://www.maxim-group.co.nz/design/p_promotion_dish.asp

(I couldn't find a good website.)

Of the ones we've come up with, I think Cuisine is far and away the most worthwhile for overseas people looking to broaden their magazine-reading horizons. I used to get Delicious but it's just not very interesting to me these days, although it's quite pretty and most of the dishes are simple, quick and fresh.

[chefben]

actually I got a copy of dish recently and was impressed by it.

[Shinboners]

I just thought I'd resurrect this thread after seeing the new Bill Granger ("Simply Bill") cookbook at Readings. I had a quick flick through it, and there's little in it that hasn't been seen before in countless other cookbooks. It's the usual stuff - easy recipes for the family, plenty of bright photographs of the food, and chit chat and photos about his family. The phrase "flogging a dead horse" came to mind. More interestingly, I saw a large billboard on Brunswick Street, North Fitzroy advertising this new cookbook - so maybe chefs are the new rock stars.

I also came across Peter Gordon's book on "Salads". It's not a bad angle for a cookbook, and I'm tempted to buy it somewhere down the track.

On a more depressing note, Moby (yes, the musician) has also released a cookbook. Apparantly he and his partner own a tea shop/cafe in New York called "Teaney". Judging from the photos, the cafe appears to be as sterile as his music. Anyway, I took a look at the cookbook, and the thing should be filed under "Crimes Against Food and Food Writing". The couple are vegans, so I was interested to see how bad the recipes would be, how much they would twist the truth about food, and how often they would find meat substitutes. The first two problems were easily seen in their recipe for pesto. It's a simple enough recipe, but they said that cheese wasn't needed! Not only that, they also wrote that leaving out the cheese made no difference to the flavour! A tip to Moby - when you write, you're supposed to add to the sum of human knowledge, not reduce it.

Vegan cookbooks and meat substitutes is a bit of a turkey shoot for me. After all, if the vegetables, fruits, nuts, and co are good enough, and their recipes are tasty enough, then they're hardly going to miss the flavour and texture of meat, are they? Well, like many other vegan cookbooks, there are plenty of tricks to make up mock beef and mock chicken. Hilarious.

[gwilson]

The list is finished and is posted here.

-Greg

[helenas]

Would be glad to hear more about Gordon's Salads - i have and like both of his eariler books.

Neil Perry's new book is a very good one.

Now any news on Greg Malouf - when is his promised a while ago book coming out if at all?

[Shinboners]

Would be glad to hear more about Gordon's Salads - i have and like both of his eariler books.

Now any news on Greg Malouf - when is his promised a while ago book coming out if at all?

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I had another look at Gordon's "Salads" today and I'm very keen to add it to the collection. He divides the book into different sections - poultry, meat, seafood, etc. - and builds salads around them. But two things struck me. Firstly, many of the recipes had a dozen or more ingredients. Secondly, there were plenty of recipes that I wanted to try, and that for me, is the key appeal of any cookbook.

Onto Malouf and here's a report from Epicure (The Age, March 22)

http://www.theage.com.au/news/Epicure/Espr...1253920331.html

One for the book

Middle Eastern adventurer and chef Greg Malouf is off to world hot spots Lebanon and Syria at the end of the month to research and write another book.

He is again to team with long-time collaborator and former wife Lucy Malouf as the writer for the book, their third with local publisher Hardie Grant.

He's also taking his sister, Amal, and Melbourne photographer Mat Harvey. The research mission will last a month.

Meantime, Greg's brother Geoff - a partner in Carlton's Cafe Zumzum - is selling out of his interests there to open a new modern Middle Eastern place within a new apartment development off Glenhuntly Road, Elsternwick.

It will, Geoff informs us, be named Arabesque "to the dismay of my brother" (Arabesque was the title of Greg Malouf's first book).

Zumzum will remain in the hands of Dahouk White; their South Melbourne place, Cafe Aziz, closed late last year.

[Jonesey]

Who is Sri Lanken? I have been studying Sri Owen and she claims the best laksa is from Australia. Her books are really, really good. Are they the same person?

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Couldn't agree more. Sri Owen's books are terrific. My favourite is Exotic Feasts - I was very priviledged to be invited to Sri's house to taste a selection of the dishes in this book......absolutely delish.

On another note, Sri makes regular trips to Australia so if she claims the best laksa is from Oz I for one wouldn't disagree with her

[loiosh]

I just thought I'd resurrect this thread after seeing the new Bill Granger ("Simply Bill") cookbook at Readings.  I had a quick flick through it, and there's little in it that hasn't been seen before in countless other cookbooks.  It's the usual stuff - easy recipes for the family, plenty of bright photographs of the food, and chit chat and photos about his family.  The phrase "flogging a dead horse" came to mind.  More interestingly, I saw a large billboard on Brunswick Street, North Fitzroy advertising this new cookbook - so maybe chefs are the new rock stars.

Must agree with you on that one. The food at bills is great, but I think a lot of it is about the ingredients and care taken, and not really about the recipes. I've tried a couple of his recipes from Delicious and they were kind of 'eh'.

I think a lot of the newer cookbooks gravitate towards a philosophy of everything being fast, easy and simple. I have no problem with that, but the material isn't really presented properly, IMO. Most of these recipes are geared towards people who are trying to get into cooking more. Fast, easy, and fresh is a powerful lure for people used to stirring up a bit of Chicken Tonight. But these cookbooks and magazines forget to provide information that would really help people make things properly. It's one thing to tell someone to brown a chicken breast, but how will they do it properly if they don't really know what that means? How will they know when it's done (or overdone)?

People who already know how to cook reasonably well won't find anything new in these types of books and magazines, beyond perhaps an idea for a flavor combination or presentation. People who don't know how to cook well will still find these "easy" recipes difficult, because they haven't yet gained the skills they need to actually carry out the recipe in the quick and easy way the magazine might suggest. It kind of saddens me because they might, after experiencing a couple of failures, dismiss the idea of cooking simple meals from scratch entirely. I really wish there were more of an emphasis on technique in these books for folks who could really benefit from it. I'd also appreciate it if they gave more advice on seasoning, lest I be required to eat any more dry, saltless, rubbery, baked chicken breasts from bill, Jamie Oliver, Donna Hay, or whoever.

[Shinboners]

I think a lot of the newer cookbooks gravitate towards a philosophy of everything being fast, easy and simple.  I have no problem with that, but the material isn't really presented properly, IMO.  Most of these recipes are geared towards people who are trying to get into cooking more. Fast, easy, and fresh is a powerful lure for people used to stirring up a bit of Chicken Tonight.  But these cookbooks and magazines forget to provide information that would really help people make things properly.  It's one thing to tell someone to brown a chicken breast, but how will they do it properly if they don't really know what that means?  How will they know when it's done (or overdone)?

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I've only been serious about cooking for the last few years and I found the first few Bill Granger cookbooks to be wonderful for beginners. I then went to a stage of doing more complicated recipes (think Teague Ezard and Christine Manfield), but now I'm back to simpler food.

However, the thing about simple food (and the easier cookbooks) is that there are little steps that they either don't mention or don't put enough emphasis on. And those little steps can make all the difference - for instance, resting a roasted piece of meat, making sure a chicken's skin is dry before roasting it, or ensuring your salad leaves are dry. I remember preparing a chicken for roasting with a mate around and he was astounded my how much work I put into it. But the thing is, a few years ago, it would have seemed to be a lot of work to me, but now most of that work is second nature. I guess that if you are interested in cooking, you won't be put off by failures (and I've stuffed up a lot of cooking) and looking for new ways to improve the final dish. As you say, "how do you know when a chicken is browned?" - either you learn from making mistakes or you go out and find someone who can tell you.

One of my evil pleasures is watching Better Homes And Gardens on TV. They have two TV chefs, and the food they do is for the "fast and easy to prepare" cooks. But I do notice that they often skip some steps or instructions (like resting meat).

In the end, most people probably don't want to spend that much time cooking. But I suspect that many of us here derive immense pleasure from cooking and that's why we spend so much time trying to improve our techniques.

[Shinboners]

For those in Melbourne, I've seen copies of Simon Hopkinson's "Roast Chicken And Other Stories" at Readings. Sure, it's not one of the "You beaut Aussie Chef's Cookbooks", but it did win a poll on the British peoples' favourite cookbook. It's $32, and whilst the recipes aren't anything new, the writing is glorious - a mixture of Elizabeth David meeting Fergus Henderson over some wine and cheese.

[Jonesey]

For those in Melbourne, I've seen copies of Simon Hopkinson's "Roast Chicken And Other Stories" at Readings....... whilst the recipes aren't anything new, the writing is glorious - a mixture of Elizabeth David meeting Fergus Henderson over some wine and cheese.

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Yes yes yes. Buy it - it's wonderful (no I'm not a relation of Simon's ).

It's the kind of book that grows on you. I bought a copy when it first appeared 10 years ago and over that time I've found myself refering to it more and more. The book also has Gay Bilson's parsley salad as served at Berrowra Waters.

[Tim White]

One has to ask if Shinboners is on commission with readings!

To answer some recent questions...

Simon Hopkinson is one of the great British writers (although his co-author Lindsay Bareham is pretty good too!). Roast Chicken long out of print is available again - just as Second Helpings goes out of print!

Peter Gordon's salads is a fresh & wonderful book - you will want to cook from it -

Shinboners should have a look at The Zuni Cafe by Judy Rodgers; Richard Olney titles; Sam & Sam Clark;s Moro titles and Diana Henry's Crazy Water Pickled Lemons

Greg Malouf's new book is called SAHA it will be here in November; sumptious rich beautiful hardcover $69.95

Yes there are lots of dross - fast, easy, idiots cooking books published every month - and they keep coming. There are also many great books that because they are serious don't get the media coverage and marketing they deserve. Sorting the chaff from the wheat is the hard bit.

Some new books worth the effort:

October - Diana Henry Roast Figs Sugar Snow $49.95

October - Guy Grossi My Italian Heart $45

November - Damien Pignolet's French $69.95

December - Michael Ruhlman & Brian Polycn Charcuterie $49.95

December - Claudia Roden Arabesque $59.95

oh and you might want to check out Glenn McGrath (yes Oh Ah!') "Cooking with the Master" out in November - makes Moby look like a gourmand

[Shinboners]

One has to ask if Shinboners is on commission with readings!

They SHOULD pay me commission.

Oh, and for those who don't have a copy of "A Return To Cooking" by Eric Ripert, you can get it at Readings (Hawthorn) for $30.

Peter Gordon's salads is a fresh & wonderful book - you will want to cook from it -

Shinboners should have a look at The Zuni Cafe by Judy Rodgers; Richard Olney titles; Sam & Sam Clark;s Moro titles and Diana Henry's Crazy Water Pickled Lemons

The Peter Gordon book is as good and as inspiring as Tim says.

I've got the books by Rodgers, Clark/Clark, and Henry. All are ace. I like the Rogers one for her discussions on technique (I don't use her recipes), whilst the others are full of recipes that are worth trying.

I also own Olney's "Simple French Food". I can't say I'm a fan of his writing.

Some new books worth the effort:

October - Diana Henry Roast Figs Sugar Snow $49.95

October - Guy Grossi My Italian Heart $45

November - Damien Pignolet's French $69.95

December - Michael Ruhlman & Brian Polycn Charcuterie $49.95

December - Claudia Roden Arabesque $59.95

I'm really looking forward to checking out the Ruhlman/Polycn one.

And I hear that Jeremy Alford and Naomi Duguid will have a new book out in time for Christmas. This time they're travelling through India. I can't wait to get my hands on that one.

oh and you might want to check out Glenn McGrath (yes Oh Ah!') "Cooking with the Master" out in November - makes Moby look like a gourmand

Glenn McGrath? Oh dear. Still, I can't wait to see it - it'll be the cookbook equivalent of watching a car crash. You know you shouldn't, but.....

I wonder who will be next? "Shane Warne - cooking baked beans and texting for dummies"?

At the Hill of Content bookshop, they've got a cookbook by (French actor) Gerard Depardieu!

Edited October 11, 2005 by Shinboners (log)

[lamington]

At the Hill of Content bookshop, they've got a cookbook by (French actor) Gerard Depardieu!

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Tim has that too, as do a few other places round town.

[Tim White]

Shinboners -

Good luck with the commission!

If you want to see the Ruhlman, the Pignolet or the Henry we have samples...23rd December is the due date for the Ruhlman

Yes Alford & Duguid are doing a new book called Mangoes & Curry Leaves - it will be about $100; same size & format as earlier books - looks stunning Due November

If India is your thing there will also be a very good autobiography/recipe book from Madhur Jaffrey due December

Sorry you didn't like Olney - the best two are Lulu's Provencal Table and Provence the Beautiful - I think the earlier books now seem a bit dated although the recipes are good.

Other oldies but goodies are: Elisabeth Luard; Anne Willan; Diana Kennedy (Mexican);

If you liked Zuni I would expect you to enjoy Cooking by Hand by Paul Bertoli and books by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

Keep hunting!

[Shinboners]

I'm a fan of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. I really love his book about meat. I've learned a lot from reading it. I started reading Bertolli book, but I haven't finished it. I dip into it every now and again though, just picking up ideas here and there.

On Olney, I might have enjoyed his writing more if I bought LuLu's Provincial Table. I almost bought that book, but at the time, I couldn't justify it for the price. But as it is, I've got enough French cookbooks.

Thanks for the other tips though.

[Shalmanese]

Keep hunting!

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Tim, your website has been promising an online store for over a year and a half now. Is this ever going to happen?

[Shinboners]

Damien Pignolet's "French" is out. He's the owner/chef of Sydney's Bistro Moncur. IT's $69.95 at all good bookshops. The book looks rather stunning.

It's not as if I need another French cookbook, but this one will be very hard to resist.

[PCL]

Keep hunting!

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Tim, your website has been promising an online store for over a year and a half now. Is this ever going to happen?

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Yeah Tim! Do tell!!

[Shinboners]

I like the Rogers one for her discussions on technique (I don't use her recipes),

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Tonight, I cooked my first recipe from Judy Roger's "The Zuni Cafe Cookbook".

I usually get a sense of satisfaction after cooking, but every now and again, I get a sense of achievement and total happiness - a feeling that life (okay, maybe not life, but cooking) couldn't possibly get any better. Thanks to trying out the Zuni Roast Chicken recipe, I got that feeling tonight.

I got a 1.2kg chicken from the Chicken Pantry at the Queen Vic, followed her instructions to the letter, and finished up with the best roast chicken that I've ever tasted. The meat turned out moist, the skin was crisp and tasty, and the chicken tasted as chicken should. Add a salad and a few slices of ciabatta, and it was the best dinner I've managed to cook in a while.

[Dim Sim]

I had one of the the best tasting roast chook last weekend (I know we are supposed to discuss cookbooks here, but since you mentioned roast chicken, well.....) I got mine from the Chicken Pantry too, 1.7 kg of Barossa chicken, washed and patted dry, lots of seasalt and pepper in and outside , Olive oil to rub all over the skin (normally I would dot a few butter on and under the skin, but I forgot to pack some, and we were right in the middle of the bush, so have to do without), with some peeled potatos, onion halves and a couple of heads of garlic, rosemary, and in the old wood fired Rayburn cooker (just like the woodfired AGA) I turned the chicken around a few time so a nice even browness all over, finished with the breast side up, and basted couple of time with its own juice. Not too sure if I had too much bubbles while waiting for the oven to heat up, or the country air, or the old Rayburn, it certainly was one of the most memerable chooks I had, it was juicy, full of chickeny flavour and a nice golden tasty salty skin. with lots of bread to smeared the garlic on and I served the left over chicken juice in a little cup for dipping the 'garlic bread' and spoon over the chicken and lots of fresh peas.

Shin , how did you do yours ? may be we should start a new topic on chook roasting ?

[Shinboners]

it certainly was one of the most memerable chooks I had, it was juicy, full of chickeny flavour

That's the thing that struck me about last night's chicken - the flavour. No lemon, no chicken, and not too many herbs - it was just near pure chicken flavour.

I kept the leftover bones to make some stock later.

Shin , how did you do yours ? may be we should start a new topic on chook roasting ?

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The Zuni Cafe chicken only works for smaller chickens. I'll check the weights later, but you're looking at 1.2 kgs to 1.4 kgs.

The day before roasting, you remove that bit of fat from inside the chicken, then wash and dry it. You make an incision on the breast side and slip in a few sprigs of your herbs of choice, then you sprinkle a generous amount of salt on it. Leave it loosely covered in the fridge overnight. Oh, and you do not need to truss up the chicken!

Before cooking, leave the chicken out for a half hour or so (that's not in the recipe, it's just something I did). Pre-heat the oven to 240 degrees. Also, pre-heat your roasting tray - the tray should not be too big for the chicken. Put the chicken, breast side up, on the roasting tray and into the oven. After about 20 minutes, you should see the skin start to blister. If it's not, turn up the temperature. If the skin is starting to char, turn the temperature down. When the chicken has been in the oven for around 30 minutes, take it out and turn it over. Then it's another 10 to 15 minutes in the oven. Turn it around once more for 5 minutes to crisp up the breast side. Take it out, drain off the juices, and then let the chicken rest for a little while, and then carve and serve.

Late last night, I was flicking through the Bouchon cookbook, and I found that Thomas Keller does a similar thing with his roast chicken - use a small one and roast at a high temperature.

[Dim Sim]

unnnnn. I see why it only works on smaller chicken, been reading Damien Pignolet's French , he suggested resting the chook breast side down in a warmed bowl, cover with crumpled foil, the idea is to let the juices to flow back into the breast , keeping it moist. sound pretty good logic to me, might give it a try next time.

I also been reading the charcuterie chapter, with all the rillettes, liver parfait, sausages, terrine, it is making my mouth water, might attampt one of the recipes or I will head down to Le Parisienne soon.

Haven't seen Greg & Lucy Maloufs' new book around , is it out yet ?