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Cookery books

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Re: Cookery books

Postby Pepper Pig » Sat May 22, 2021 9:39 am

I have succumbed to another cookbook. :oops: :oops: :oops: Bless me Father for I have sinned.

https://www.waterstones.com/book/simply ... 1472267603

It’s a visual feast and I love him to bits anyway. That’s my excuse.

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Re: Cookery books

Postby Stokey Sue » Sat May 22, 2021 10:03 am

I was wondering about that - I heard Raymond talk to Felicity C about it, and his life, as part of the British Library Food Season
Hmm.

Might make my first dinner from Asian Green tonight

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Re: Cookery books

Postby liketocook » Sun May 23, 2021 2:25 pm

I've (quite literally) dusted down Ainsley Harriott's "Meals in minutes". First published in 1998, though I think I bought mine a couple of years after that, I used it a lot when the kids were at home but haven't looked at it in years. I decided it was time to revisit some old favourites and tomorrow I'm cooking the "ginger chicken with coconut rice" and on Tuesday " Chilli-cheese" meatballs. I'm looking forward to seeing if we enjoy them as much as we used to. :)

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Re: Cookery books

Postby scullion » Sun May 23, 2021 4:52 pm

looking through an old cookbook ('three meals a day' by maud c cooke), from the end of the 19th century (downloadable free as a pdf or available in hard form from that big south american river co), it would appear that the modern appearance of 'wax wraps' is not that modern-
SEALINGWax (SECOND).—1pound resin,1 ounce each of lard tallow and beeswax. Melt these ingredients together. Put the cork in very tight and cover over with the mixture . If necessary, dip a cloth in the mixture and tie firmly over the cork.


it also contains recipes for frogs on toast, roasted opossum, pemican - and a lemon sauce that i'm sure was used on sponge puddings at my junior school.

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Re: Cookery books

Postby Stokey Sue » Sun May 23, 2021 5:00 pm

I'm intrigued by how little fat and beeswax is used to a pound of resin in that recipe Scully, I suppose just enough to prevent it being brittle, I'd have guessed more would be needed

Weren't very old bottles of port & spirits sealed with wax over the cork? I don't mean ones that were brought out for Xmas when I was a child, but ones you see in still life paintings

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Re: Cookery books

Postby scullion » Sun May 23, 2021 5:08 pm

yes, i would imagine it would be a very stiff sealant rather than of wax wrap softness.
maybe the wax and lard were there for the initial melting of the resin so it didn't burn while melting as much as for a limited amount of flexibility.

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Re: Cookery books

Postby KeenCook2 » Tue May 25, 2021 2:26 pm

StokeySue just posted the link to this lovely article on Elizabeth David on another thread, and I thought I'd post it here. It may well already be on this thread, in which case, apols :oops:
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyl ... dy-of-food

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Re: Cookery books

Postby Badger's Mate » Tue May 25, 2021 3:03 pm

PP, I'd be interested in hw you get on with the RB book. The recipes in his Kew on a Plate are (unsurprisingly) a bit cheffy, but you don't have to do all the twiddly bits of course. The pea risotto is stunning and a firm favourite here.

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Re: Cookery books

Postby Pepper Pig » Tue May 25, 2021 3:13 pm

I will let you know BM. They certainly look doable. Rev Richard Coles has been cooking from the book and keeps Tweeting about them. He's cooked this one at least twice. https://thetalentzone.co.uk/musictv/142 ... 1%20heaped

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Re: Cookery books

Postby scullion » Mon Dec 13, 2021 12:01 pm

thought i'd revisit this thread - it's been a while and i'm sure many of us have added a few books since then (i know i have, in paper - charity shop and abebooks - and digital form).
i am waiting for the set of 'modernist bread' to turn up in a charity shop - i might have to wait a very long time!

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Re: Cookery books

Postby herbidacious » Mon Dec 13, 2021 12:18 pm

Woah. At that price I can see why you might wait. But given the prices our local charity shops charge, if it were round here, it might not be much cheaper.

I have bought a few cookery books in the last few months but, I confess, only used the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen so far.

I have also bought Anna Jones' Pot, Pan, Planet
Um, Jamie's Together. (That was a bit of an impulse purchase, but there are things in it I'd like to try.)
The Green Roasting Tin by Rukmini Iyer on recommendation from my neighbour.

Actually looking at my Amazon (sorry) orders, I must have two copies of the Anna Jones book, as I bought one in Suffolk and on Amazon back in March :oops:

And my goodness have I spent a lot of books for work...

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Re: Cookery books

Postby Stokey Sue » Mon Dec 13, 2021 12:38 pm

Realised I never reported back on Ching’s Asian Green

Don’t bother unless you are very keen

Described as everyday cooking but it’s hard to find a recipe with less than a dozen ingredients, which apart from the faff factor makes them hard to scale down. Also, it is indeed pan-Asian not Chinese which is a positive in some ways, but although I have most of the ingredients to cook the Chinese and SE Asian I make, I then find I need a Japanese or Korean ingredient I don’t have and which is not available from “everyday” stores.

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Re: Cookery books

Postby scullion » Mon Dec 13, 2021 12:40 pm

i may have to acquire a copy of the anna jones (i have none of her books) it looks just up my street!

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Re: Cookery books

Postby KeenCook2 » Mon Dec 13, 2021 12:44 pm

There was a great round up of fave cookery books in yesterday's Observer Food Supplement, will post it when it goes online, doesn't seem to be there yet, unless I've missed it.

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Re: Cookery books

Postby herbidacious » Mon Dec 13, 2021 12:47 pm

Ooh we bought an Observer yesterday (haven't done for ages). Will go and fish that bit out.

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Re: Cookery books

Postby KeenCook2 » Mon Dec 13, 2021 12:54 pm

herbidacious wrote:Ooh we bought an Observer yesterday (haven't done for ages). Will go and fish that bit out.


Now I think I must be hallucinating - I can't even find it in the hard copy of the paper ... have I finally lost it? I remember reading it .... :oops: :cry: :oops: :oops:

ETA: ah, it's called 20 food books of 2021 and is in the Food monthly .....

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Re: Cookery books

Postby Stokey Sue » Mon Dec 13, 2021 1:06 pm

KeenCook2 wrote:
herbidacious wrote:Ooh we bought an Observer yesterday (haven't done for ages). Will go and fish that bit out.


Now I think I must be hallucinating - I can't even find it in the hard copy of the paper ... have I finally lost it? I remember reading it .... :oops: :cry: :oops: :oops:

ETA: ah, it's called 20 food books of 2021 and is in the Food monthly .....

There’s this from last weekend too
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/ ... ks-of-2021

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Re: Cookery books

Postby herbidacious » Mon Dec 13, 2021 1:38 pm

We have/had the Guardian too... but I didn't look at it, I confess. (It's probably still in the lean to waiting to be used in the litter box.)

I am tempted by The Modern Preserver's Kitchen but I suspect wouldn't, if I am being realistic, use it much.

I have been eyeing up the Claudia Roden for some time...

I need to do a cookery book 'audit'. I don't know what's were, exactly, (in spite of being in roughly the same location) or, clearly, exactly, what I have.

edit: I wish they would consistently put the index in book previews online...

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Re: Cookery books

Postby Badger's Mate » Mon Dec 13, 2021 9:19 pm

I recently picked up a second hand copy of Roast Chicken and Other Stories at a charity sale in a local village. One of my Christmas presents will be Glorious Game.

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Re: Cookery books

Postby liketocook » Mon Dec 13, 2021 9:22 pm

I've not bought any cookbooks this year, a first I think but I'm hoping Santa brings me the Stanley Tucci book.
The Observer article is on the website now https://www.theguardian.com/food/2021/d ... nley-tucci

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