Bill's Everyday Asian Cookbook Review

If you read some of my other entries in this blog you will see how much I love Bill Granger! So when there's a new Bill book, I'm there with my order. Doesn't mean I use the book straight away though! I got this for my birthday in September and have looked at it lovingly from time to time and then put it away again. I can't explain why I get all these books and then not cook from them straight away! But the time finally came when I gave this book some love. Bill often has Asian influenced recipes in his books so it's great to see a whole collection of them, and you know that if it's a Bill recipe then it will (hopefully) easy enough to make. There are 10 chapters including Starters, Soups, Seafood and Noodles and Rice, and a nice dessert section which might not all be authentic but would complement an Asian meal extremely well.

The photography is absolutely beautiful and most recipes are illustrated. Every dish looks very colourful and inviting, you can almost taste all the dishes just by looking at them. The recipes are very well laid out and although some ingredient lists are quite long, most of those needed are herbs and spices you probably already have, if your cupboards are anything like mine! There's a useful pantry guide at the start of the book for those wanting to stock, items such as mirin, star anise and dashi powder.

The first dish I made was the Hot and Sour Soup with Prawns. I made this as a quick and healthy tea one evening. The recipe was really easy to follow and it was made in 10 minutes so a great one to keep to hand. I added rice noodles for the soup to be more filling as I wasn't having anything else, it did the trick. It was pretty spicy but the lime juice balanced it nicely. I love fresh and spicy soups so this was perfect. Tick one.

The other dish I made was Barbecued Pork Fillet with Vietnamese Caramel Sauce. The ingredient list is pretty short and we had some pork fillet we'd just bought on offer so thought it was a perfect time to try this dish. The pork was marinated for only 10 minutes in fish sauce, sugar and garlic and then fried. I have to admit it smelt rather off-putting, fish sauce never smells that great but it's usually mixed in with other things, this was pretty much just pure fish sauce. Somewhat worried! While the pork was cooking I made the caramel sauce, just as you would for a sweet dish but then adding chilli, lime, more fish sauce (!) and oil. It sounded like the dish would be a little too sweet with a caramel sauce but it was absolutely delicious and luckily the fish sauce scent waned a little. The dish was a big hit with those eating and I'd definitely make it again. Yum!

Looking forward to the next Bill book now but in the meantime I'd like to make the Beef Rendang and the Sticky Pork Chops with Peach Chutney. And I'm sorry that I didn't go to Bill's new restaurant in Notting Hill, I'm afraid I was put off by the reviews I found online about waiting times and prices. Not a very good super-fan am I?! Maybe next time Bill!

The Hairy Bikers' Family Cookbook: Mums Know Best Review - and Bill's Basics revisited

This week I've been trying out my Hairy Bikers Mum's Know Best cookbook. I've had it since I saw them last year (talked about it in my first month of blogging) and oh yeah, my edition is signed! Obviously didn't mean I was itching to use it straight away though! That's what happens when you're addicted to borrowing cookbooks from the library, you never get around to using your own! The book has a great layout, practically one photo per recipe and they're nice and bold with big close ups. It includes all the lovely recipes that were in the TV show, again I'm going to pick on The Great British Book of Baking as how not to do it! If you buy a book to accompany a series you want all the recipes you've seen, any extras are most welcome of course.

There is a good selection of starters, mains and desserts as well as accompaniments. Some of the chapters are Family Favourites, Show-off Food and Birthday Treats. It also spans a wide variety of cuisines from Estonian bread to Curried Mutton from the Carribbean. A nice dip into some styles you might not have tried before.

Looks all kinds of wrong but this is Maryland Chicken, my first dish. Sticky, sweet marinated chicken serves with a baked banana wrapped in bacon. It also sounds all kinds of wrong but it was really tasty together! We were running out of honey so I used maple syrup instead for the marinade and I think it worked really well. A certain someone in the house licked all 3 plates after we'd finished as the sauce was so delicious! It was really easy to make and I'd make it again - including the bananas. The combination also made me think that my next batch of French toast with maple syrup and bacon also needs some baked bananas. Yum!

The other dish I made was the Sweet and Sour Pork Hong Kong Style, brought to us by the Chinese Older People's Group. It sounds like they have an amazing time together! This was more time consuming to make and the batter was disappointing but the sauce was perfect. It tasted exactly like a take-away sweet and sour sauce, except you knew everything that was in it. Brilliant. I used pork belly which was fairly lean. The pork had to be marinated in chicken stock, sugar and seasoning but I'm not actually sure why. It didn't say the quantity of water to put in so I think I added too much. I got rid of most of the liquid when I then added the egg and cornflour but it was still too liquid and the egg mixture was a bit pointless. No nice coating for me but it still fried nicely and was gorgeous and crisp on the outside. A shame though, would have been to have a bit more guidance in the recipe. Other than that I was very happy. I think I might just make the sauce next time and add it to some prawns.

So apart from my batter mishap I'm very happy with the book. I've already bought it so there's no great decision about whether to get it or not. I'd certainly recommend it to other people. Next up for me are Boston Baked Beans and Kringel ... maybe ... if I can tear myself away from new cookbooks. Just bought 4 new ones, so very naughty! And 6 more to pick up from the library!! Oops.

Oh, and there is a second Mum's Know Best coming out next month. I hope that means another TV show as I really enjoyed the last series and the Christmas edition was great too.

After my tagine adventures last week I had some preserved lemons in the fridge to use up so I had a look at some books and found Spaghetti with Scallops and Preserved Lemons in Bill's Basics. Ah, darling Bill Granger! It was a slightly strange flavour to get used to at first as it was slightly bitter from the lemons but it did grow on you. I think the butter helped to soften the sauce and it didn't overpower the sweet scallops. One to make again with slightly less preserved lemon. I like the sound of this recipe though: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/12711/preserved+lemon+salmon+caper+pasta

Bill's Basics Cook Book Review

I would have written this entry earlier but I was having laptop woes. Luckily it seems to be fixed now without losing my precious photos, mp3s and saved recipes folder. Phew! So now I can write about the joys of the new Bill Granger cookbook Bill's Basics.

I'm always very happy to see a new Bill book, it's especially exciting this time around as he's living in England and looking for a cafe site in London! Woo! Looking forward to visiting when it's open.

As for the book, it's full of classic recipes, most 'with a twist'. There are no pretensions when it comes to his dishes and nothing looks too daunting. The chapters have changed from Bill's usual breakfast, lunch and dinners, now sorted into baking, soups, salads, desserts etc. The photography is great and there is an image for each recipe which I always appreciate.

The first recipe I tried out was the Lemon Chicken. It was simple to make and really healthy without feeling worthy! There was no cornflour in the sauce but it still compared nicely to a take-away lemon chicken but so much better to know exactly what went in. The addition of ginger really made the sauce zing and the five-spice cooked into the chicken skin really came through too. Delicious.

Next up was the My Spaghetti Carbonara.

Oh my, I never make carbonara which is stupid as it's my favourite pasta dish. Horribly unhealthy but too delicious to pass up. We've made it twice in 2 weeks! Pretty successful then! Spring onion and dried chili flakes are the Bill additions which add a bit of spice and a soft onion flavour without being imposing. I also added some exotic mushrooms though I can't for the life of me work out which variety they were from the description on the packet! I'm going with 'shiro shimeji' but not sure! I just know I'll make this again and again. It's also easy to rustle up when you're in a hurry or just ruddy hungry!

There were so many recipes I wanted to try and I had all the ingredients to make the Fish Cakes so I made a third dish! Shock horror! A blog first! The dish is served with a raita but I served mine with some watercress instead, I don't think it needed a sauce as the fish cakes themselves were so flavourful and moist.

I made 2 attempts as there was so much mixture. First time like an idiot I left out the egg so they weren't the easiest to flip over in the pan but they were nice and chunky and the lemon and ginger really lifted the flavour.

The second time I remember the egg, which was probably a little large for the amount of mixture left but it completely changed the texture. This time they were really light and almost like a souffle. Granted they don't look very different and the garnish didn't change but there honestly was a big change! The taste was still there though and I added a little bit more lemon which was nice. The spring onion seemed to cook out a little more as well so there was less crunch. The mixture kept very well overnight and the recipe was a great way to use up the tin of salmon we've had for an age - I much prefer tuna in a salad though it's hard to get a whole tin to ourselves when we have 4 greedy cats who seem to consider tuna their drug of choice!

If you want to try this recipe you can watch the man himself make the dish: http://thismorning.itv.com/thismorning/food/fish-cakes-tasty-raita

So it's a mahoosive thumbs up for this book, not just because I love Bill so much but because his recipes are so good and things always turn out so well. I want to make every dessert in the book (bar the tiramisu - bleurgh - coffee and soggy biscuits!) and every soup too as well as a whole other recipes.

Bill's Sydney Food cookbook review

It's been a while since I've written a new review - but I was checking out the lovely food available in Stockholm! Below are a couple of photos from the Saluhall which is a gorgeous indoor market with loads of things on offer. All the salads and sandwiches looked gorgeous, unfortunately we were still incredibly full from breakfast and no eating was involved. Oh well. It was also super expensive, as was the rest of the holiday. Lots of window shopping instead of actual buying.

But breakfast was outstanding at our hotel, the Rival (owned by Benny from ABBA - oh yes! And we saw him there!). The hotel had its own bakery and the breads were absolutely scrumptious, yup, scrumptious! One morning I ordered french toast which was lovely, and another morning these rather lovely looking pancakes.

On the other plate is a very red concoction of crispy bacon, serrano ham, gravalax, said example of scrumptious bread and a tomato slice to appear healthy! There was also eggs any way you pleased, pastries, a cheese board and the usual suspects. I'm dreaming of going back soon! Oh, and Stockholm was lovely too!

But on to my own cooking. I bought some ricotta on special offer and then wasn't too sure what to so with it so purused my cookbook collection for something other than spinach and ricotta lasagne, yummy as it is. Bill Granger came up with the goods in his Bill's Sydney Food - the original and classic recipe collection. I'm trying to own all the Bill Granger cookbooks, falling for the man when his series was on BBC1. His grinning got me, the looking just a little too long at the camera while smiling widely made me love him! I keep waiting for another series of his to be shown over here as we only got his holiday series, but there's a new cookbook due in September so maybe we'll see something soon.

The book is really cleanly laid out, representing the food really well, and no faffing around with loads of introductions, just a nice foreword and straight into the breakfast section, where I found my 1st recipe - ricotta hotcakes. I think these are the main attraction at Bill's cafes, never to be taken off the menu. I can see why.

They were incredibly light and fluffy, a combination of the whisked egg white and the ricotta. I halved the quantities and the mixture easily made 10. The only downside was waiting for the next batch to be cooked before I could eat them!

A serving suggestion:

And don't be mean with the maple syrup. If I can't have pancakes in Stockholm then I can have hotcakes in Manchester!

The rest of the breakfast section looked just as inviting, coconut waffles, homemade crumpets and breakfast muffins will certainly get me reaching for this book again.

My second recipe was from the lunch section, chicken noodle soup with lemon. Another big thumbs up. I'm a big sucker for soup, my next post will actually be on a soup book. There seemed to be quite a few ingredients but I already had everything I needed, just opting for sweetcorn kernels rather than baby corn and rice noodles instead of lasagne sheets. The lasagne sheets seemed a bit of an odd choice but visually I suppose it works quite well.

I really liked the twist on the usual chicken soup recipe and the broth was really light and flavoursome, and just enough chili to make the lips tingle! Without doubt I would make this again and it's incredibly healthy, easy to make and a joy to eat. Again the rest of the lunch section looks simple, healthy and inspiring. Same goes for the dinner section. I like that there are full page colour photos next to each recipe so you know exactly what you're aiming for.

So another recommended cookbook with maybe one downside - no grinning photos of Bill himself!!

And one last little recipe I tried as a side dish, hot paprika potatoes with garlic mayo from the July 2010 issue of Good Food magazine, hot off the press. Except I forgot to take a photo, but you can tell from the empty plate that they were really nice! Easy to make too, just boil new potatoes for 5 minutes, then coat in oil, paprika, chili powder, sea salt and cumin and roast till crispy. Maybe I'll get a picture next time I make them!