I was the lucky recipient of four cookbooks this past Christmas, and the subject of today’s review was the only surprise of the bunch. My boyfriend saw it, liked the look of it, and decided it would make a good addition to my stocking. I was thrilled because discovering a new author is always fun. Read more…
Tag: 2009
Home Cooking
By Rachel Allen, published by Collins, 2009
Readers of my Kitchenist blog will probably be able to guess at the outcome of this review; I’ve been harping on about Rachel Allen’s Home Cooking ever since I first found it under the Christmas tree. In fact, out of the four cookbooks I received this year (thanks honey), this one was the biggest, and best, surprise. Read more…
Red Velvet & Chocolate Heartache
By Harry Eastwood, published by Bantam Press, 2009
When my sister pressed her copy of Red Velvet & Chocolate Heartache into my hands last weekend, it came with a warning. “Give it a chance” she urged me, knowing that I was already slightly biased against this book.
“I will, don’t worry” I answered. But inside, I was skeptical. Come on- cakes made with vegetables instead of butter? Who’s buying that one? Read more…
The Big Sur Bakery Cookbook
By Michelle and Philip Wojtowicz and Michael Gibson with Catherine Price, published by Harper Collins, 2009
When I first started reviewing cookbooks here, there was a vague thought in the back of my mind that there might be something in it, other than just enjoyment, for me. Something like “Oh, wouldn’t it be cool if publishers began to send me free books?”. I wasn’t really holding my breath for this, so when I got an email from a HarperCollins rep at the end of June, asking me if I’d like to review The Big Sur Bakery Cookbook, my reaction was something along the lines of “Score!“. I agreed straight away and waited eagerly for this, my first free book, to arrive. Read more…
Tender, Volume I: A cook and his vegetable patch
By Nigel Slater, published by Fourth Estate, 2009
Oh, to eat at Nigel Slater’s table. That’s what I think (wistfully), and what I imagine any sane person would think, on leafing through the food writer’s new book Tender. Published to coincide with the TV series Simple Suppers, I received a copy for my birthday last month (thanks, Hil!), and have been dreaming of its contents ever since. Read more…
Vefa’s Kitchen
By Vefa Alexiadou, published by Phaidon, 2009
Since half of my boyfriend’s family is Cypriot, I’ve always had a passing interest in Greek food. (Well, not always- but definitely for the past few years.) This interest was always purely theoretical, though; aside from feta cheese, basil and olives, I never actually liked Greek food very much. For me, it was too reliant on meat, deep-frying and things stuffed with other things. Read more…
Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating
By Mark Bittman, published by Simon & Schuster, 2009
I’m a little late with my book review this week (in fact, it’s now a whole other week), and that’s partly because I wasn’t quite sure how to approach this one. Not quite a cookbook, not quite a diet book (and thank God for that), and not quite a political manifesto, Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating is Mark Bittman’s attempt to roll all of these into one neat little package. Read more…
