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Great gift ideas for fabulous foodies

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The Friday Five – The Wizards of Oz

January 27th, 2012 · Cookbooks, Foodie gifts, Friday Five

I’m writing this on Australia Day, and there are a couple of Aussies occupying food headlines in my book at the moment, so seemed appropriate to feature some of the great cooks and cooking come out of Australia. So, advance Australia’s fair cooks, here’s my choices:

 

 

* John Torode’s Beef – hard to avoid John at the moment, thanks to the return of Masterchef. And it’s been great to see him running the kitchen, to remind us that he’s not just that bloke on the telly, but a bloke that can cook. I associate him most with beef, and bet this is a bloke’s kind of cookbook, but as I love my beef, I think I’d cook lots from this too.

 

 

* Every Day by Bill Granger – I might well have put this one in before, as it is my fave of the several Bill Granger books I have, and love. I am really thrilled to learn he has opened a restaurant in London, as a lot more chance of me eating there than one of his Australian ones. I’ve also written before about how I love breakfast, and this one has great breakfast and brunch recipes in, which are well thumber in my copy!

 

 

* Charmaine Solomon’s Complete Vegetarian Cookbook – not the most up to date choice, but when I went through a veggie phase in my 20s, this was my cookbook bible, along with the Moosewood cookbook. I still remember the cheese souffle stuffed red pepper that was a real fave. The fact that I was cooking it in a bedsit with only a handwhisk to hand is not a part I wish to repeat, but the dishes in the book were definitely worth revisiting.

 

 

* Kids’ Birthday Cakes from Australian Women’s Weekly – I wasn’t sure which one to pick from AWW, but this is the first one I ever bought. If you ever want simple cakes that will send kids high as kites with sugar and colourings, this is the one for you. That said, kids love the cakes!

 

 

*  Quay by Peter Gilmore – I know very little about Peter Gilmore, I only know from looking at this book that the food and the restaurant looks like what I perceive to be quintessentially Australian. I know we don’t always have the weather for these dishes, but there is something incredibly appetising about so many of these!

Maybe these are a good way of bringing some of the Aussie sunshine into the kitchen during our cold, grey days of winter, as we start to think again of lighter summer eating.

 

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The easy route to fabulous marmalade

January 24th, 2012 · Foodie gifts, Honey & Jam

This time last year was the first time I’d ever made my own marmalade. I think partly because I’ve only recently got into marmalde, and I’ve not been a big preserves maker (unless you count preserving sloes in gin).

And Dr T would tell you it was pretty tasty as far as marmalade goes. It was just the huge mess in the kitchen he couldn’t stand. The stickiness over ever surface. The chuntering from me as I tried to peel all the fruit. Which is why this year I know the answer to perfect marmalade is just to buy some darn good stuff from someone who is much better at making it than me!

My choice at the moment is either the classic Seville orange marmalade or for something different the red grapefruit marmalade from Rosebud Preserves. They’re based in barns near Masham in Yorkshire, which is about where Dr T would like me to make marmalade. I somehow think they are less messy and better equipped than me, and they certainly turn out great tasting preserves. We bought some of this for the first time when we were in the area last summer, and hoping that their stockist list moves a bit further south.

Failing that, stock up online. Gooseberry and Elderflower jam sounds like one of those to stock up on during the summer, bet it would make an interesting addition to a cream tea.

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Gung Hay Fat Choy!

January 23rd, 2012 · Chinese Food, Foodie gifts, Ingredients

 

It’s a nice greeting at this time of year, to be wished a prosperous year. As Chinese is pretty much up there in MGG’s top three (chicken chow mein rotates with mussels and chicken pie as her fave) then there is a big demand for Chinese food here. Being close to Leicester, we’re really well supplied for more unusual Indian ingredients, but less so on Chinese. So, these are my fave online sources, as my trips to Hong Kong seem to have dried up for now:

* Wing Yip – I associate these with some really huge supermarkets I’ve seen around the country, and it certainly has everything I think you might need, and then some. I mean, get all the ingredients, and then some paper lanterns as well! Site is a bit hard to navigate though, and for most of these things I may as well go to Sainsbury’s.

* The Asian Cookshop – this is probably my preferred site, as we cook from a wide variety of Asian cuisines, and this covers everything from Chinese to Sri Lankan and Japanese, even Filipino. It covers dried and fresh food, so you can get things like banana leaves and dumpling wrappers.

* Canton Tea Co – you’ll need some good tea and this a good source for a wide variety, with a number that are Great Taste gold award winners. What ever takes your fancy is probably here: black, green, white and flowering. To me, jasmine tea is still the best thing to go with Chinese.

I wish we were nearer to somewhere authentic with a dragon dance, and proper food, so we’ll be busy doing our own. Here’s hoping it’s a prosperous year ahead for all.

Photo by Paolo Camera on Flickr.

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A little something to help make the food shopping easier

January 21st, 2012 · Foodie gifts, Kitchenwares

 

And no, I’m afraid it’s not someone keeping an eye on the contents of your cupboard and fridge, and then popping out and filling them up for you! You still need to do some work, but these shopping magnets mean you can keep a check on what you need, in a very visual and colourful way.

 

 

Choose from herbs or spices, or more everyday basics. Or even go for magnet madness and get all three. These come from Harrington & Squires,  a small private press that specialises in small, limited edition runs. You could stock up on some beautifully designed cards at the same time, as you never know when you might need those either. And there isn’t a magnet to cover those!

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The Friday Five – exploring the tastes of Thailand

January 20th, 2012 · Cookbooks, Foodie gifts, Friday Five

I’m trying not to be depressed. It’s been really cold here this week, and yet this time last year I’d managed a couple of nights in Bangkok and was en route to Hong Kong. And was eating pretty darn well. So it may be a way of summoning up those sunny days and fabulous eating, but here’s a selection of writing and recipes around the variety of Thai cooking, not all of which we get to see here.

 

 

* Thai Food by David Thompson – very comprehensive, covering the breadth of Thai cooking from north to south of the country. Yes it does the things you might know already like Pad Thai, but also things like crispy fish cakes with pork and salted eggs. I also like that it covers a bit about the culture of each area, and also a bit about ingredients as well.

 

 

* Thai Street Food by David Thompson – same writer, different approach to same cuisine. I remember being stuck in a traffic jam and looking longingly at all the food being cooked on the street next to the car. It was torture really, so maybe this book would make up for it.

 

 

*Stylish Thai in Minutes by Vatcharin Bhumichitr – a good standby or intro text, given that it’s all about quick dinners, with Thai flavours. The cooking style lends itself to speedy dinners, if you have the right ingredients in the right combination. Good for someone looking to explore but necessarily go completely native or expert.

 

 

* The Blue Elephant Cookbook by John Hellon – it’s years since I ate at The Blue Elephant, but it was probably one of the first places I had Thai food. Slightly nostalgic for me, but a great book covering a bit of everything, from starters to desserts. Nice chapter on wine matching too.

 

 

* Buddha’s Table: Thai Feasting Vegetarian Style – so not forgetting the non meat-eaters, this book seems to get some good reviews even from those who are not massively experienced or keen cooks. I always think Asian vegetarian food is so good that you hardly miss the meat, so could even give this to a non veggie, just for a bit of healthy variety.

So, bring some sunshine to the kitchen this winter, and enjoy some variety, some heat and some great flavours.

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Getting ready for Jubilee & Olympic baking

January 19th, 2012 · Baking, British favourites, Foodie gifts

Just a quick one for those of us likely to get involved in street party or TV party baking for the two big events this year. Cake Craft Shop have a special Olympic and Jubilee section for cake decorations, and some great stuff to choose from. Might be worth stockpiling now before everyone gets themselves into the swing of things.

There’s a patriotic cupcake package, so everything you need from cases to a stand to serve them on, and even red, white and blue sprinkles. There are cupcake cases, sprinkles and toppers, in every kind of regal, patriotic fervour than you could want. I really like the crown cutter, could see getting use out of this for kid’s parties for ever afterwards.

And in a naff, cheesy, retro kind of way, I love the sporting figures for the tops of cakes, and am already working out what to make. Swimming pool cake got to be done, and gonna have to a running cake for when Twiglet carries the Olympic torch this year.

I’ll no doubt be coming back to these two events quite a few times as the year unfurls, but these are great starting points to get into the cupboard now.

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A sweet way to dispense your sugar

January 18th, 2012 · Foodie gifts, Tableware

 

Lets face it, it’s January, it’s not the best month of the year. It’s gone pretty cold, we’re all recovering from Christmas spending, and our New Year’s resolutions will be in varying states.

What you need to do is cheer up your table setting, and I would like to make the case for Sweet Talker from Camila Prada. I am probably really behind the curve here, but just seen Camila’s work for the first time, and I love them. To me, they could be the lovechild of Tove Jansson and Orla Kiely, and they make me smile.

It’ll make you smile each morning, and stop you feeling guilty about adding sugar to your tea. And what other piece of Prada can you buy for £30? And you don’t have to be a stick thin super model to have this on your table. In fact, I imagine supermodels don’t have sugar on their table. Which means they’d miss out on this gorgeous thing!

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Spice up winter with Gourmet Spice Co

January 17th, 2012 · Foodie gifts, Herbs & Spices, Ingredients

 

Having a clear out of the cupboard the other day, I came across the ends of the Pukka Dukkah that I bought from Gourmet Spice Co last year, which made me think it was time I had a look at what else they had been up to. In case I needed to order something.

And now find myself very tempted by the Winter Spice Salt. I know that Christmas is over, but it’s certainly pretty darn cold outside here as I write, that I still crave those wintry flavours and aromas. This salt contains things like orange zest, star anise, cinnamon, allspice, cloves and then a few more delicious flavours, that I am not yet tired of. This would really add something to a rub for meat, even like a fairly regular chicken that you’re thinking of roasting this weekend.

I’d probably also stock up on the Spiced Aromatic Balsamic Vinegar, which was another purchase last year. It warms up salad dressings beautifully, and have used it blended with a bit of water to deglaze a pan after cooking steak, but also with sausages. Keeps regular dishes interesting.

A company worth keeping an eye on, both online and think you’ll find them at a larger number of food events in 2012. Meanwhile, I’m off to see what I can salvage from the bottom of the dukkah pot!

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Best food questions

January 16th, 2012 · Foodie gifts

 

I’ve written before about my geekery where stats and analysis are involved, not to mention my endless fascination and nosiness about how people arrive at the blog. These are some of my faves in terms of questions that brought them here, and the ones that crop up the most often:

* What is the difference between a mini Melton Mowbray pork pie and a mini pork pie – I get many variations on this question. Couple of reasons I guess they end up here. We live near Melton.We like pork pie. I have the top two entries on Google at the moment to this question. And it’s one of the questions Morrisons ask on their NVQ for the deli counter. I should charge them consultancy.

* Where to get mini festive cottages from – I have no idea where this points you to on the blog, as I got bored at page 8 of Google’s results. I have no idea what a mini festive cottage is. Although I’ve written about gingerbread houses. Which is possibly the same. And surely what most of us would call them! Or this is people of diminutive stature looking for holiday accommodation.

* Easter presents for those who don’t like chocolate – these people exist?

* How to build a smokehouse for meat – personally, I’d go on a food smoking course and ask one of the experts.

* Whatever happened to Mignon Morceaux? – they’re still around, though not under the original ownership. Or with the same interesting advertising.

* What to buy a foodie? – I think I cover this, occasionally.

* How to build a wood fired pizza oven – here you go

How to make brownies like Gower Cottage Brownies – don’t. Just drop Kate a line.

How to toast crumpets on an open fire – seriously?

Here’s hoping that 2012 will provide some interesting questions, ones that are interesting to answer, or ones that just plain just give us a laugh. That or the cheque from Morrisons for the pork pie consultancy.

Photo by (F)oxymoron on Flickr.

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The Friday Five – Which cookbook presents am I jealous of?

January 13th, 2012 · Cookbooks, Foodie gifts, Friday Five

I asked on Twitter earlier in the week (in a very nosy way) what cookbooks did everyone get for Christmas, just to see what was interesting, what was popular, and what I wish I’d got! Not that I’m complaining, having had five fabulous new additions to my bookshelf (shelves, to be fair). But from the responses I got, these are the ones I’d be dropping hints about:

 

 

Short & Sweet by Dan Lepard – this got quite a few mentions, and some very positive feedback. I know I’ve been debating this one, and think on the basis of these comments, this should be here. Great for breads, cakes, anything on the baking front, but not overwhelming. One of those that you actually could work through from start to finish, and it not be a year’s project.

Made in Sicily by Giorgio Locatelli – I’m including this because it makes me think of sunshine, and I need that more than anything. I love Giorgio and the way he cooks, and the way he talks about food. I also don’t own any of his cookbooks, so this seems like a good place to start, as it’s a different slant on “Italian” cooking.

 

 

Jamie’s Great Britain – this got a few mentions, as I’d probably have expected. But I do think this will be a year of Britishness, in no small part down to the Olympics and Jubilee, and Jamie’s got the flags waving already. Even if he has got a British restaurant to promote, I do think it influences and reflects the zeitgeist. Being Jamie, it has good spins on old classics, and I’m sure would turn out dishes that were real crowd pleasers.

 

 

Mexican Food Made Simple by Thomasina Miers – not a new book, and not one that I need as I bought it when it first came out, but it’s one I love. If your view of Mexican food is based on Chiquitos and M&S Tex Mex, then you need this book and to cook from it. Fresh flavours, exciting flavours, something to pep the taste buds up after the excesses of Christmas and in the dark days of January. Would recommend this one.

 

 

Eat Me! The Stupendous, Self-Raising World of Cupcakes and Bakes According to Cookie Girl- of course I don’t need another baking book, but when did need come into it? This was recommended, particularly for the cookie recipes. I’m replacing cupcakes with cookies this year, so think this could get plenty of use.

So, five to think of (or at least four for me) and a bit of an update for my wishlist. What did you get and love, and would you add anything new to your wishlist now, based on what others had?

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