Christmas
Cookery Book Recommendations
2006
Clifford Mould
has been browsing the latest cookbooks
My
new cookery book Christmas choices
are James
Martin's Great British Winter
Cookbook, Classic
Conran and Veggie
Chic. And in case
you missed them, my three Autumn
choices Slow,
Pie and Feasts can
be found below.
James
Martin is
a well known British TV chef
whose roots are in the Yorkshire
countryside. His hunky good
looks must surely appeal to
his female fans, but men probably
find his man-about-the-kitchen
style encouraging - nothing
poncy about these dishes. There
has recently been a welcome
return to honest down to earth
cooking both in restaurants
and the cookery press and this
book catches the mood admirably.
I
had to smile at some of the photos
- you can imagine the stylist
dressing him up in a variety
of hacking jackets to demonstrate
his country cred, with blue jeans
to show that he's no snob, and
a pair of rather muddy Dubarry
boots (tasty must haves for the
Highgrove weekend set - a pity
a fox ate one of mine left out
carelessly in the porch).
The Great
British Winter Cookbook not
only gives some intelligent
recipes for meat and game birds
(there's a pic of James, gun
in hand), but there are sections
on festive food for the Great
British winter festivals too.
The recipes are robust and
easy to follow and there's
a welcome underlining of his
countryman's respect for seasonality.
Halloween
and Bonfire Night have recently
been and gone, but I shall take
note of some of James's ideas
for Christmas and New Year. His "countdown
to Christmas" is especially
helpful to those of us who invariably
leave out some important ingredient
from the last minute shopping
list.
James
spent a formative part of his
earlier career as a pastry chef,
so his chapter on tarts is full
of great ideas and useful cheffie
tricks and hints. He blows away
some of the cobwebs that put
many people off cake making -
try his Madeira cake or rich
Yule Log, both are scrumptious.
To me the most fascinating is
his recipe for mince meat that
really does contain steak mince,
just as it did in Henry VIII's
day! Even without the meat the
final result will knock spots
of the stuff you buy in the shops.
James
Martin's Great British Winter
Cookbook is published in hardback
by Mitchell Beazley at £17.99
ISBN 1-84533-040-4
Terence
and Vicky Conran's Classic
Conran is another
really useful cookery book,
this time with all the year
round appeal. It's a book
that should find a place
on every keen cook's bookshelf,
for however trendy you like
to be, there's a good reason
why certain dishes are regarded
as classics - they've stood
the test of time, they're
darned good, and sooner or
later you'll want to return
to them. It's also very useful
for reference, like when
you come home after a meal
out arguing over whether
a Daube de Boeuf should contain
anchovies, or whether a classic
kedgeree should have a hint
of curry in it.
Classic Conran
is now available in paperback,
and at £16.99 represents excellent
value, packed as it is with fine
photographs to get you inspired.
The recipes originate from all
over the place, but mainly from
the British Isles and France.
Many of the main course dishes
are classic comfort foods like
Osso Buco, Toulouse sausages
with lentils, or gammon with
parsley sauce. Their more specialised
dishes like the famous Cassoulet do
not attempt to substitute other
ingredients for important constituents
like preserved goose. Veal has
not been shirked either, but
make sure it's not from the continent
where they still confine poor
little calves in crates. Grilled
veal kidneys and the big plump
veal chops are dealt with in
time honoured fashion by the
Conrans, who also cover many
traditional vegetable dishes.
All too often, otherwise excellent
cooks miss out the important
details, resulting in soggy roast
potatoes or drowned greens at
one extreme and raw ones at the
other. No excuses now!
Puddings are
there in abundance, but I hear
some critics complaining - do
we really need yet another recipe
for Tart Tatin? But what I like
about this book is that all the
great classics are under one
roof so to speak. Instead of
wondering where to look amongst
their other cookbooks which are
categorised most probably by
region; if it's a well known
dish you're pretty certain to
find a definitive recipe for
it here. Other useful little
touches include a brief chapter
on wine and food pairing, a handy
chapter on afternoon tea (yes
there are right and wrong ways
to make sandwiches) and lists
of staple ingredients and kitchen
equipment. It's a concise modern
day kitchen bible, a Mrs Beeton
for today, but don't expect much
help with respect to hiring domestic
servants.
Classic
Conran by Terence and Vicki Conran
is published in paperback by
Conran Octopus at £16.99 ISBN
1-84091-472-6
Everyone
knows that I am about as keen
on the adjective vegetarian as
applied to cookery as Jeremy
Clarkson is about electric as
applied to cars. So allow me
a wee rant before awarding this
book a Dine
Online Accolade for being
a superb cookery book about doing
clever things with vegetables.
I
think being both a vegetarian
and a true foodie is an
impossibility. I mean, imagine
going on a foodie trip to Italy
and having to forgo Osso Buco,
or Bolito Misto? Imagine touring
the South of France and trying
to find a vegetarian substitute
for Cassoulet or Daube de Provence?
And don't say "ratatouille" as
I'd like some of that with my
gigot d'agneau please. I've come
across only a very few actual
vegans in my time, and they were
in baroque ensemble I used
to tour with. They were not remotely
interested in food except for
basic survival, and they lived
mainly on supplements and pills.
At least, unlike nearly all vegetarians
I know, they drew the line at
leather shoes. But what really
irritates me about so-called vegetarian
cookery is the name. It implies
a kind of quite unacceptable
ownership of a whole category
of food - as if meat eaters
wouldn't be interested. What's
wrong with vegetable cookery for
heavens' sake? Glorious vegetable
creations of the kind created
by Rose Elliot are for all to
enjoy, not just leather shod
vegetarians.
Even
Rose allows a few silly substitutions
for meat which I thought had
been rooted out of serious vegetable
cooking, like her "Baby
Yorkshire pudding with nut roast".
Nut roast indeed! I thought that
had been consigned to the poubelle of
culinary history. I turned to
the recipe, prepared to scoff,
and discovered, to my delight,
that the neat little individual
puds are stuffed with a very
nice nutty and fungal stuffing.
So why not call it that? I then
scoured the index: only one mention
of lentils, very few of beans,
and no entries at all for pulses,
per se. Having cleared the air
so to speak, I became more and
more intrigued by ever more interesting
and delicious sounding ways with
vegetables. The only scoffing
I'd be doing henceforth would
be of these delectable dishes.
I
noticed that the main course
recipes never had any suggestions
about what vegetables to serve
as side veg. Then it occurred
to me that this was a typical
meat eater's reaction. To me,
however keen I am on most of
Rose's main course dishes, they
seemed at first glance like rather
grand starters. I need to come
at this from a different angle,
I thought. So when I'm cooking
for veggie friends that do enjoy
their food, I'll prepare a succession
of dishes like a grand mezze,
and using this book as my vade
mecum and guide, they won't be
disappointed. Better still, my
carnivorous friends will love
it too!
Veggie
Chic by Rose Elliot is published
in hardback by Hamlyn at £16.99
ISBN 0-600-61399-2
Dine
Online Book Award 2006
The
following three titles were featured
in my Autumn book roundup, but
they'd make excellent Christmas
gifts and many of the recipes
are ideal for winter days and
winter produce. I caught up with Angela
Boggiano's new book Pie when
she was on Woman's Hour last
month, extolling the virtues
of that extraordinary dish, Stargazy
Pie, which features (in its unreconstructed
politically incorrect version)
the heads and tails of herrings
or pilchards entering and exiting
the piecrust. This whetted my
appetite no end and I have been
waiting with bated breath for
the book's arrival in the shops.
More of this later. I was also
greatly attracted to Valentina
Harris's new book Slow,
which is inspired by the Italian
slow food movement. My final
author of this trio is another
expatriate, this time from Bulgaria. Silvena
Rowe has written a
most interesting book called Feasts,
about Central and Eastern European
cookery
I've
watched several cookery demonstrations
by Valentina and was struck by
her honest down to earth approach.
On reading her book I discovered
that I have been labouring under
a misapprehension about much
of the slow food idea. I thought
it was essentially about slow
cooking, like pork belly seething
gently in the oven for six hours
or so. But it's much more than
that. Particularly, it's the
absolute antithesis of modern
fast food - grazing, munching
on the hoof, standing about in
bars drinking bottles by the
neck, raiding the fridge, never
sitting down as a family. It's
all about good company and sitting
around a table with home made
bread - loaves and fishes, wine
and oil - yes it's beginning
to sound almost biblical in its
intensity. And also, it's about
spending time cooking because
you enjoy this true labour of
love. Perhaps it resonates with
me because I've noticed that
my cooking is also slowing up!
Slow is
laid out in sections reflecting
time of day, beginning with breakfast,
then moving on to slow snacks
for sharing, through lazy lunches
and relaxing dinners to pleasurable
puddings. As you would expect
from someone with Valentina's
Italian roots, the book is mainly
about Italian food, but there
are a few exceptions like her "very
cold weather porridge" which
includes a shot of malt whisky!
Come to think about it, her kedgeree
would go down well at a hunt
breakfast.
I
was especially attracted to her
recipes for tarts - there's a
wonderful leek and black olive
tart, and another that melds
Taleggio cheese and pears in
an irresistible combination.
But my favourite in this category
is the savoury cheesecake which
has a base made by whizzing together
toast crumb, melted butter and
egg, topped with a rich cheesy
custard finished with a layer
of wilted radicchio. Francesca
York's photograph of this dish
fair made me go weak at the knees.
There
are a few really slow recipes
where the ingredient list extends
to the next page, such as the
real minestrone soup and another
recipe that calls for 40 globe
artichokes. But such a book wouldn't
really be complete without some
of these classics, especially
Bolito Misto. "Mixed boiled
meats" sounds so unprepossessing,
yet it is arguably one of the
greatest of all Italian meat
dishes. (There's a wonderful
and historic description of it
quoted in Marcella Hazan's Classic
Italian Cookbook). On the subject
of meat, Valentina's slow roast
joint of veal with a whole bottle
of Vin Santo sounds orgiastically
sublime, so I shall undoubtedly
try it.
Slow ends
with some lavish but not impossibly
difficult puddings. I particularly
admired the marbled chocolate
pudding, made with a chocolate
mixture in one bowl and a white
vanilla mixture in the other.
Wouldn't kids just love to pour
these together to create the
marble effect. Well, this big
kid would, but very slowly!
Slow
- by Valentina Harris, published
by Cassell Illustrated at £16.99
(hardback) ISBN 1-84403-440-2
Who
ate all the pies?
And
so on to Pie,
by Angela Boggiano, another cookery
writer with an Italian heritage,
though less noticeably applied
in this book which features many
of the best traditions of British
food, traditions of which we
can, for once, be justifiably
proud.
I'll
make no bones about it, this
is simply the best, most interesting
cookery book to have come my
way for some time. It's beautifully
produced, and the photography
is blindingly good. The research
was clearly exhaustive, the testing
thorough and every so often there's
interspersed photo-reportage
on a variety of pie shops, traditional
pork pie makers and even an article
on the great British footie pie,
whose makers have a premier league
of their own.
There
is something very special about
pies: the anticipation as a golden
crusted pie comes to the table,
the excitement as the knife pierces
the crust, the rapture as the
heady aromas waft about the dining
room. But there's also a darker
side that engenders a frisson
that sharpens the pleasure even
further. What might lurk hidden
under that innocent crust? Oh
Sweeny Todd, was your pastry
short, or did you go for the
hand raised hot water crust?
As
you might expect, the book begins
with clear instructions on the
making of various kinds of pastry.
Angela of course argues that
the pastry is at least an equal
partner with the filling, and
that neglecting the crust is
a short cut that's not worth
it in the end. I used to be rather
scared of pastry, but now I'm
quite a dab hand with the rolling
pin, but I'm always open to new
ideas, hints and tips. I've flirted
with puff pastry, but I have
to say that if "life's too
short to stuff a mushroom" [Shirley
Conran] then it certainly leaves
little room for puff pastry.
Instead, I use Delia's recipe
for quick flaky, which is pretty
much the same as Angela's. She
forgivingly countenances the
use of ready made puff in her
recipes for Beef Wellie and some
other pies. Of course you don't
have to settle for the usual
dull supermarket stuff, instead
try the award winning home made
organic butter puff pastry from
Wales, you can even buy it on
the net at http://www.graigfarm.co.uk/catalog/cat_5_7.htm
Most
of the recipes are eminently
doable, though some of the so-called
noble pies need a little practice
before going public on your dinner
guests. This book is more than
just a cookery book; it's a work
of record, a chronicle of culinary
skills that just might be lost
if we all buy our pies ready
made from the supermarket. Buy
this book and make your own pies
instead!
Pie
by Angela Boggiano, is published
by Cassell Illustrated at £20.00
(hardback) ISBN 1-84403-448-8
Dine
Online Book Award 2006
Feasts
- Food for Sharing from Central
and Eastern Europe
Here's
a very interesting and unusual
cookery book. Although from Bulgaria
herself, dishes from Poland,
Hungary and Russia also feature
prominently. I suppose some might
carp that it's like expecting
a Spaniard to be an expert on
French and Italian food, but
Silvena has travelled widely
in the region and has a flair
for both the contrasts and the
similarities within the various
countries. Eastern Europe is
a true melting pot, with cross
currents from the East and the
great trade routes contrasting
with French influences where
chefs from that country staffed
the great mansions and palaces,
especially in Russia.
The
book is nicely illustrated with
vivid photos of raw ingredients,
market stalls and so on, but
I would have preferred more practical
pictures or strips of pictures
to illustrate techniques. Most
of the recipes look fairly easy,
but there are quite a few where
I'd quite like a bit more help.
For instance there's a marvellous
recipe for a courgette and feta
pie in a great spiral of filo
pastry. Wonderfully photogenic,
but exactly how you do it went
over my dunce's head!
There's
a whole section on dumplings
which come in an amazing variety
of shapes and textures. I'm definitely
going to try these - Polish dim
sum will on the menu soon. Intriguing
combinations of flavours leap
out unexpectedly from almost
every page, so don't think of
this food as stodgy and bland.
The climax of the book is a chapter
on the Boyar Table, cooking designed
for the great aristocratic and
royal houses of Russia and Georgia.
One should not forget that it
was dining a la Russe with
its succession of dishes that
gave us the modern menu system
that replaced the old Table
Française, where everything
was brought out at once. There
are great classics here such
as the definitive Stroganoff,
the more delicate and sophisticated
Veal Skobelev, and the Chicken
satsivi with its special sauce
featuring nuts, which are used
in many eastern European recipes.
This
book is a veritable treasure
trove of culinary ideas and techniques.
I am about to inflict my interpretations
on my cousin and his wife who
is Polish! But I shall choose
Hungarian and Bulgarian dishes!
Feasts
- by
Silvena Rowe is published
by Mitchell Beazley at £20.00
ISBN 1-84533-156-7
Feasts
has been selected by Richard
and Judy for their Christmas
Book Party airing on Channel
4 on Saturday 9th December
in the evening.
