The Queen of the Greens, Anna Jones, gives us over 150 recipes alongside dozens of ideas for super-quick one-pan, one-tray suppers in One Pot, Pan, Planet.
Cooking up a storm with Booko: One Pot, Pan, Planet.
Tag Archives: #entertaining
Cooking up a storm with Booko: Slow Victories
Slow Victories removes the angst from the dinner rut with creative ways to use slow cookers for surprising results.
Cooking up a storm with Booko: Sumac
With his stunning cookbook, Sumac, Anas Atassi hopes to build a bridge between Syrian culture and the rest of the world using food as a common denominator.
Books are better than chocolate (though sometimes it could be a tie) – Here are six of the best chocolate books on the market
It is that time of year when eating chocolate and buttery buns for breakfast is not only acceptable, but expected. So we are jumping on board the chocolate bandwagon and have rustled up six fabulous chocolatey cookbooks that will definitely give you a much needed sugar hit this easter. So pop the kettle on, make yourself a tasty cup of tea and why not heat up an eastery bun while you’re at it.
The Ultimate Book of Chocolate by Melanie Dupuis
In The Ultimate Book of Chocolate trained pastry chef Melanie Dupuis will teach you how to make your chocolate dreams become a reality. Learn how to temper, mould and decorate like a pro with the complete guide to everything chocolate. Melanie guides the reader with step-by-step pictures and detailed instructions on all the essential techniques, from tempering to making ganache, chocolate mousse, creme anglaise, biscuit bases, meringue and more. The main recipes include every chocolate dessert you could ever imagine, from caramel bonbons to shortbread to Easter eggs, truffles, macarons, cakes, swiss rolls, eclairs and more. This is a masterclass in making chocolate desserts from an expert pastry chef, and is truly a chocoaholic’s dream book!
Chocolat by Pierre Marcolini
Belgium’s foremost practitioner of the art of fine chocolate making shares his passion and his knowledge in this extravagantly beautiful volume. Pierre Marcolini’s confections have been acclaimed as the world’s most delectable chocolate creations, and his book is a delicious immersion into the world of fine chocolate and a tribute to its majesty. Marcolini was the first chocolatier to create his chocolates according to a bean-to-bar philosophy an idea born from the realisation that just as the finest wines reflect the terroir in which the grapes are grown, so too would chocolate benefit from careful selection from specific estates. Here, he reveals the trade secrets of the art of fine chocolate making: learn how to roast, grind, and temper the chocolate at home just like the professionals and master all aspects of chocolate making. His recipes run the gamut of chocolate possibilities irresistible creamy sauces, decadent pastries, bars, truffles, and even a smattering of savoury dishes and are beautifully presented and gorgeously photographed in this handsome volume that no chocolate lover should be without.
Lonely Planet’s Global Chocolate Tour by Lonely Planet
Chock-full of the world’s tastiest chocolate experiences, the latest book in the Lonely Planet Global Tour series is sure to satisfy the sweet tooth of cocoa lovers near and far. From South America to Europe to Australia, Lonely Planet’s Global Chocolate Tour includes master chocolatiers and artisan producers, exotic cocoa plantations, and must-visit shops, plus illustrated spreads on the history, production, and science of chocolate making. Features 150 chocolate experiences from around the world with full-colour photos guaranteed to make mouths water.
Chocolate by Ferrandi Paris
This is the ultimate reference on cooking with chocolate from Ferrandi, the Parisian school of culinary arts that was dubbed the “Harvard of gastronomy” by Le Monde newspaper. This book offers a complete chocolate course for the home chef from the world-renowned professional culinary school Ferrandi Paris. It presents comprehensive techniques for working with chocolate, from tempering and decorative flourishes to recipes such as molten chocolate cake. From rich chocolate ganache to melt-in-your mouth truffles, this book leads aspiring bakers through every step-from basic to special occasion skills. Starting with advice on how to equip your kitchen, to essential techniques, fillings, and decorations, the books covers everything from quick desserts to holiday specialties and from frozen ice creams and sorbets to candies. Ferrandi offers an intensive course in the art of baking with chocolate. Written by the school’s experienced teaching team of master chefs and adapted for the home cook, this fully illustrated cookbook provides all of the fundamental techniques and recipes that are the building blocks of the illustrious French chocolate tradition.
Cocoa : An Exploration of Chocolate by Sue Quinn
Chocolate has beguiled us for millennia. From the spiced drinks sipped by the elite in ancient Mesoamerica to the artisan bars spiked with intriguing flavours we devour today, chocolate has always had a magical pull on our senses. Exotic, indulgent, hedonistic and sensual, its power over us somehow exceeds the sum of its parts. This ground-breaking exploration of chocolate, by award-winning writer and lifelong cocoa enthusiast Sue Quinn, will intrigue, inspire, surprise and fascinate you in equal measure. In these pages is a wealth of cultural, historical and culinary information about the story of chocolate through the ages and across the world, illustrated with vintage packaging, iconic adverts and stunning illustrations. Interspersed throughout the book are 80 tantalising sweet and savoury recipes, such as Salted Caramel and Lime Chocolate Sauce; Triple Chocolate and Liquorice Cake with Treacle Syrup; Spelt, Cranberry and Cocoa Nib Crackers; and Sticky Slow-Roasted Beef Short Ribs with Cocoa and Maple.
The Chocolate Addict’s Baking Book by Sabine Venier
Sabine Venier, founder of Also the Crumbs Please, shares her favourite chocolate recipes, including Dark Chocolate Almond Truffles, Caramel Pretzel Chocolate Skillet Cookie, S’mores Chocolate Cheesecake Bars, Chocolate Fudge Birthday Cake, Black Forest Cupcakes and Fudge Brownie Chocolate Ice Cream. Sabine’s rich, creative treats go beyond the basic cake and brownies to help readers discover new ways to get their chocolate fix and incorporate it into their baking. Perfect for bakers looking for that next deliciously chocolaty recipe or as a gift for the chocoholic in your life, this book is the ultimate guide to all things chocolate.
Enjoy!
Cooking up a storm with Booko: My Indian Kitchen
My Indian Kitchen goes beyond the well-known restaurant favourites of butter chicken, chicken tandoori and dal to combine Indian flavours with classical French techniques.
Cooking up a storm with Booko: Rodney Scott’s World of BBQ
Rodney Scott cooked his first whole hog when he was just eleven years old. Now, four decades later, he owns one of the country’s most awarded and talked-about barbecue joints and shares his story in Rodney Scott’s World of BBQ.
Cooking up a storm with Booko: The Italian Deli Cookbook
From biscotti to limoncello, the world’s love affair with Italian delis goes way back and The Italian Deli Cookbook shares 120 glorious recipes to help you cook up a storm.
The book launches we are excited about
The months leading up to Christmas are, traditionally, the busiest time for book releases. This season, booklovers are more spoiled for choice than ever – many releases had been rescheduled from earlier this year to now. With new books ranging from important to high-impact to crowd-pleasers to cult-classics, here are some book launches we are excited about:
Boy on Fire : The Young Nick Cave by Mark Mordue
Boy on Fire is the first instalment of the long-awaited, near-mythical biography of Nick Cave, written by author, poet and veteran rock journalist Mark Mordue. Focussing on his earliest years, Boy on Fire is Nick Cave’s creation story – how his friends, family, the Victorian countryside (in particular the town of Wangaratta) and subsequent schooling in Melbourne, had influenced and shaped Nick Cave into the artist he would become. Not only is Boy on Fire a biography about a fascinating person, it is also a lyrical and evocative history of a bygone time and place.
Fight for Planet A by Craig Reucassel
Following the huge success of War on Waste, Craig Reucassel turns his comedy / satire talents to the issue of carbon emissions, Fight for Planet A. Fight for Planet A not only explores how we can reduce carbon emissions on an individual level, it is also a call to arms, encouraging Australians to initiate conversations about climate change, that can drive systemic change within our local and wider communities. There’s no Planet B, so we’d better fight for Planet A! This book version provides a handy reference to ideas and strategies mentioned in the original TV series.
A Promised Land by Barack Obama
A Promised Land – the first volume of Barack Obama’s two-part memoir about his presidency – is probably the most significant new book of 2020. Expectations are high – this long-awaited memoir follows the astonishing success of Michelle Obama’s Becoming, which has sold over 60 million copies to date. Available in 25 languages, A Promised Land starts with Barack Obama’s presidential campaign in 2008, ending upon the death of Osama bin Laden in 2011, and is an account of both public progress and personal growth. Expect additional interest in this account, following the results of the recent US elections.
The Dressmaker’s Secret by Rosalie Ham
She’s back! The Dressmaker’s Secret continues the story of Tilly Dunnage and the rest of the beloved cast of Rosalie Ham’s acclaimed The Dressmaker.
It is 1953 and Melbourne society is looking forward to a full social season celebrating the coronation. Tilly Dunnage is toiling away in a second-rate Collins Street salon, lying low after exacting her revenge on her hometown of Dungatar. Her plan to evade the furious townsfolk of Dungatar was working well, until Tilly’s talents – and her name – started to feature in the fashion pages… Reprising the mix of drama, high fashion and dark humour found in the original novel, The Dressmaker’s Secret looks to be another terrific holiday read.
Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline
Ernest Cline was so energised by the process of adapting his beloved novel, Ready Player One, into a movie, that he created a surprise sequel. Ready Player Two starts only days after the end of the original novel. Our hero, Wade Watts, stumbles across a new and unexpected quest – a last Easter Egg from James, Halliday for his heir. Not only will it make the OASIS more wondrous and addictive, but
Wade has to beat a dangerous new rival, who has murder on his mind. Ready Player Two offers the same winning combination of fun action-packed adventure and pop-culture nostalgia that has delighted millions of fans.
The Office: the Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s by Andy Greene
The Office was not just Ricky Gervais’ first step towards superstardom, it is also (in its American incarnation) an influential piece of pop culture. This award-winning show ran for nine seasons until 2013, and is still regularly screened. Its alumni, including Steve Carrell, Mindy Kaling and John Krasinski, have gone on to successful and varied careers as writers and performers. Andy Greene’s book is perfectly timed to celebrate the 15th anniversary of The Office’s premiere. This is an oral history based on a whopping 86 interviews with cast and crew, as well as archival material. The result takes fans behind-the-scenes, with celebrations of favourite episodes, as well as plenty of previously-unpublished anecdotes.
New Year Party Planning
We hope you all survived the fun and excitement that is Christmas Day and now that that is behind us we are continuing the party season with New Year celebrations. Can you believe it is 2020 next week? How is it that when we think of 20 years ago we naturally think of the 80s but, no… it was 2000. Yikes! (makes us feel old…).
To ring in the new year, many people have a bit of a bash and we thought we’d share some of the best books on the market that will help elevate your soirée into something a little more memorable.
Just a note, some of these books contain ideas for fancy smanzy drinks involving alcohol so please remember to drink responsibly and look after each other as you welcome in the new year.
Mix Tape Pot Luck by Questlove
What if Questlove threw a potluck dinner, and everybody came? He picked the guests. The guests picked the recipes. The result is the ultimate potluck cookbook. Questlove is best known for his achievements in the music world, but his interest in food runs a close second. He has hosted a series of renowned Food Salons and conversations with some of America’s most prominent chefs. Now he is turning his hand to creating a cookbook. In Mixtape Potluck Cookbook, Questlove imagines the ultimate potluck dinner party, inviting more than fifty chefs, entertainers, and musicians such as Eric Ripert, Natalie Portman, and Q-Tip and asking them to bring along their favourite recipes. He also pairs each cook with a song that he feels best captures their unique creative energy. The result is not only an accessible, entertaining cookbook, but also a collection of Questlove’s diverting musical commentaries as well as an illustration of the fascinating creative relationship between music and food. With Questlove’s unique style of hosting dinner parties and his love of music, food, and entertaining, this book will give readers unexpected insights into the relationship between culture and food.
The Champagne Guide by Tyson Stelzer
This one is for those who like to ring in the new year with some bubbles. This is the world’s most comprehensive and up-to-date guide to Champagne, featuring all the latest vintages. The Champagne Guide 2020-2021 contains fully independent assessments, with profiles and ratings, of over 120 champagne producers and 800 cuvées. Inside you’ll find: Independent assessments and ratings of more than 800 cuvées, all tasted recently; all of the latest insights on the top 120 champagne houses, growers and cooperatives; a Hall of Honour to acknowledge the best producers in Champagne this year; highlights of all the best champagnes of the year at every price and style; updated assessments of the past 24 vintages in Champagne; a chapter on decoding champagne labels and bottling codes along with maps of the champagne villages and vineyards.
Popsicle Party by Louise Pickford
Okay, so this may not be the book of choice for a New Year’s party in the UK but we know those down under will love it. A chilled popsicle, grabbed and shared round languorously from the freezer on a boiling hot day is a simple, nostalgic pleasure. These juvenile treats have clearly not lost their appeal amongst fun-loving adults, and recent trends have seen these childish ices transformed into something far more sophisticated, with fresh natural ingredients and gourmet flavours. Adults and children alike will adore Coconut, Mango and Passion Fruit ice pops: a rainbow of colours and three of your five-a-day in the most enjoyable way. A stash of dairy-free Almond Milk, Honeycomb and Salted Chocolate Pops will always be welcome, while making Buttermilk, Rosewater, Raspberry and Pistachio Pops with whole raspberries set inside would be the most attractive end to any dinner party. It is remarkably easy to make these frozen treats at home, so stock up your freezer and have a posh popsicle ready for any occasion.
The Modern Gentleman by John McCarthy
This compact volume introduces modern gentlemen to some of the greatest pleasures in life, from the very best spirits to the most complex hot sauces to the suavest of accessories. The book is targeted to aspiring bon vivants, modern metrosexuals, millennials, and hipsters eager to become the new gentleman. Content not only includes quick guides to great drinks, foods, and cigars, but also makes the case for why every real gentleman needs a great flask, a classic pen, and a watch that may not be ‘smart’ but will make you look and feel like 007. Features short essays on each subject, with classic illustrations accompanying each, all in a handsome package that will evoke thoughts of a trusted old leather-bound book.
Paper Pom Poms and other Party Decorations by Juliet Carr
We love to add a little decoration or two to jazz up a party and why not try your hand at making your own this year. Discover how to create a spectacular setting for your next party with these 35 fabulous projects. From eye-catching pom-poms to pretty garlands and stunning giant flowers, you’ll want to make every one of these wonderful paper decorations. Begin with the classic pom-poms–popular in the 60s and 70s, but enjoying a stylish revival today. Make them in different sizes and colours for a real impact. Learn, too, how to make honeycomb balls, a star piata, and rosette snowflakes–all beautiful hanging decorations that will look great hung from the ceiling, or in a window. In chapter 2, you’ll find garlands and bunting. Why not try the cupcake garland, using cupcake cases to sit around fairy lights and look like twinkling flowers? Or have a go at the vintage book bunting that would add character at a themed party, or even in your workspace. Finally, create impressive centerpieces – giant roses and daffodils, a coffee filter flower wreath, and waxed floating lilies are among the striking designs. The projects use a variety of paper materials, including tissue, cardstock, and crepe paper, as well as recycled magazine pages and gift-wrap–and no specialist craft experience is needed. Step-by-step photography will show you exactly what to do. You’ll also find out about all the different types of paper available–such as water-resistant tissue paper, and two-tone paper that has a different colour on each side of it–as well as where to buy them. Plus, every template you’ll need is included at the back of the book.
Batch Cocktails by Maggie Hoffman
As anyone who has hosted a dinner party knows, cocktail hour is the most fun part of the evening for guests–but the most stressful for whomever is in charge of keeping the drinks flowing. The solution, though, is simple: batch it! In this fun collection, Maggie Hoffman offers 65 delicious and creative cocktails that you don’t have to stir or shake to order; rather, they are designed to stay fresh when made ahead and served out of a pitcher. Recipes such as Tongue in Cheek (gin, Meyer lemon, thyme, Cocchi Rosa), Friendly Fires (mezcal, chili vodka, watermelon, lime), BirdsnBees Punch (rum, cucumber, green tea, lemon), and even alcohol-free options are organized by flavor profile –herbal, boozy, bitter, fruity and tart, and so on– to make choosing and whipping up a perfect pitcher of cocktails a total breeze.
Enjoy!
Top Books for Summer Reading
Summer Holidays is my favourite time of the year, because it is when I can truly relax, sit down and catch up on reading! In Australia, we are always spoilt for choice with our summer reading, because it coincides with the end-of-year publishing bonanza – when many great titles are launched in time for the festive gifting season. Here are some holiday-reading goodies to look forward to:
Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas by Adam Kay
Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas follows writer and comedian Adam Kay through six festive seasons on hospital wards, during his time as a junior doctor in the NHS. Adam’s brilliant storytelling highlights the humour and heartbreak in the human dramas that occur daily in a busy city hospital – and his background as a doctor gives a particularly insightful perspective. And it being the silly season, readers will learn more than they’ll ever need to know about the inappropriate uses of various orifices…. Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas is a very impressive sequel to This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor, which spent a whopping 52 weeks at No.1.
Calypso by David Sedaris
Calypso is the latest of David Sedaris’ distinctive diary-essays – his tenth collection. Need I say more? This time, the action revolves around Sea Section, David and his husband’s cottage on the North Carolina coast, where the Sedaris clan gathers for Thanksgivings and summer vacations. Here, enforced communal living plus idiosyncratic relatives equals anecdotes that become family lore; but this time, the weird and funny stories are darker and bleaker, as they explore middle-age, mortality, and grief. David Sedaris always impresses with how skilfully he evolves a story from seemingly meaningless minutiae into deeply personal and moving reflections. Read Calypso before he arrives in Australia for his speaking tour in early 2020.
Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion by Jia Tolentino
Jia Tolentino is a staff writer for the New Yorker, who honed her craft on the internet; she often writes about how the rise of the internet has influenced and induced our collective anxieties. For many readers, she is The Guide to how to live and survive in this hyper-connected, technology-facilitated culture. Trick Mirror is her debut collection of nine interlinked essays, on identity, feminism, politics and the internet. Drawing on wide-ranging topics including her own coming of age, celebrity culture and the wedding industry, and armed with beautiful crystalline language, Jia Tolentino works her way towards explaining what she thinks and how she feels about life, the world, and herself.
Tall Tales and Wee Stories by Billy Connolly
Tall Tales and Wee Stories is a collection of Billy Connolly’s best and most popular work, including stories, comedy routines (such as Jojoba Shampoo and Incontinence Pants), and drawings. In over 50 years of performing, he never prepared scripts, preferring to craft his tales live in front of an audience; now that he has retired from live standup comedy, Billy Connolly has finally written his stories down. Whether he’s riffing on the mundanities of life, or talking about the bigger issues of sex, politics or religion, Billy Connolly always brings an endearing sense of the absurd to the most outrageous or profane topics – and thus gets away with saying anything he damn well pleases.
Dead at First Sight by Peter James
“You don’t know me, but I thought I knew you” – photos of a handsome motivational speaker have been used to scam unsuspecting women across multiple online dating sites. The woman who discovered this con then apparently committed suicide. Meanwhile, two retirees came away from the airport disappointed, after their online girlfriends failed to arrive from overseas. Both men have sent their girlfriends large sums of money prior to the trip; neither women arrived because they did not exist. These people are all victims of a global dating scam, whose masterminds won’t hesitate to murder anyone trying to expose them. The race is on for Detective Superintendent Roy Grace to catch the scammers and stop the killings. Inspired by recent news headlines, Dead at First Sight is both a fast-paced thriller and a cautionary tale.
Me by Elton John
Hot on the heels of the movie Rocketman comes Elton John’s first autobiography – the real stories in his own words. Elton’s life may have followed the classic rockstar trajectory – unhappy childhood, successes and excesses, culminating in redemption and inner peace – but its telling has been elevated by Elton’s exuberant, candid voice. He’s not afraid to laugh at himself, and has fun admitting to his own bad behaviour, “I’m perfectly aware how ridiculous my life is, and perfectly aware what an arsehole I look like when I lose my temper over nothing”. That Elton is his own best storyteller is the delightful surprise of this book. Full of salacious, hilarious stories and crammed with famous names, Me by Elton John is the perfect holiday read.