Cooking
I've never really understood the appeal of Australia. In many ways it just seems too similar to California and the Bay Area in particular--the climate, a famous bridge, the beaches, vineyards, a relationship to the Pacific, it's rough-and-tumble "pioneer" heritage, it's melting pot culture of immigrants. But reading my friend Lulu's posts about a recent trip to Sydney gave me a hint of what really makes Australia so special--a relaxed lifestyle in tune with nature. (Scroll down to mid February to read her posts here)
Bills Open Kitchen is a newly released cookbook from an Australian chef who owns several successful restaurants and cafes in Sydney. Like Australia itself, my guess is you will either love this book or fail to understand its appeal. The book is the chefs personal take on recipes of British, Italian, Indian, Asian and Mediterranean origins. One of the features of this cookbook that I really like is a sneak peak at the chefs cookbook shelf. This truly gives you a sense of his roots.
All the recipes are adapted to fit today's hectic pace. The cookbook should have been called "Bills Easy Kitchen". These are not all-day-in-the-kitchen recipes but rather make-something-wonderful-quick recipes, the kinds of things that the chef prepares for his own family at home. These recipes may offend the purist, but I find them refreshing. I am looking forward to making the the Greek Salad with Pan-fried Haloumi, the Chickpea Stew with Tomatoes and Green Chili, and the beautiful Pistachio Biscuits (cookies, really) Perhaps it's because of what Australia and California have in common that this book actually does appeal to me.
- Top Cookbooks 2010: Basics & Behemoths
It's always tough to choose which cookbooks to recommend from the myriad published each year. Today I'm going to share with you the books I think are particularly worthwhile in two categories, basics and behemoths. Next I'll cover sweets and...
- Italian Cookbooks
When it comes to Italian food, the true measure of whether a recipe is authentic is whether it's the way your Italian mamma made it. It's hard to say whether a cookbook is ever truly authentic, unless of course your mamma wrote it. With Italian...
- The Good Home Cookbook: Giveaway!
Some time ago I mentioned that the publishers of The Good Home Cookbook were looking for recipe testers. In addition to getting a first crack at the recipes, testers also got their names in the book and a copy of the book. Now the book is out and for...
- Lost Recipes Cookbook
There are two kinds of cookbooks. One kind often features beautiful photography, and has recipes written by famous chefs from even more famous restaurants. These cookbooks are likely to weigh a lot, and cost a lot. While amazing works of art, bound to...
- The Cookbook Exchange
I'm a cookbook junkie and I'll bet many of you are too. Books are probably my number one impulse buy, and more often than not they're cookbooks. I love going through a new cookbook from cover to cover for the first time. Problem is, once...
Cooking
Bills Open Kitchen:Cookbook
I've never really understood the appeal of Australia. In many ways it just seems too similar to California and the Bay Area in particular--the climate, a famous bridge, the beaches, vineyards, a relationship to the Pacific, it's rough-and-tumble "pioneer" heritage, it's melting pot culture of immigrants. But reading my friend Lulu's posts about a recent trip to Sydney gave me a hint of what really makes Australia so special--a relaxed lifestyle in tune with nature. (Scroll down to mid February to read her posts here)
Bills Open Kitchen is a newly released cookbook from an Australian chef who owns several successful restaurants and cafes in Sydney. Like Australia itself, my guess is you will either love this book or fail to understand its appeal. The book is the chefs personal take on recipes of British, Italian, Indian, Asian and Mediterranean origins. One of the features of this cookbook that I really like is a sneak peak at the chefs cookbook shelf. This truly gives you a sense of his roots.
All the recipes are adapted to fit today's hectic pace. The cookbook should have been called "Bills Easy Kitchen". These are not all-day-in-the-kitchen recipes but rather make-something-wonderful-quick recipes, the kinds of things that the chef prepares for his own family at home. These recipes may offend the purist, but I find them refreshing. I am looking forward to making the the Greek Salad with Pan-fried Haloumi, the Chickpea Stew with Tomatoes and Green Chili, and the beautiful Pistachio Biscuits (cookies, really) Perhaps it's because of what Australia and California have in common that this book actually does appeal to me.
- Top Cookbooks 2010: Basics & Behemoths
It's always tough to choose which cookbooks to recommend from the myriad published each year. Today I'm going to share with you the books I think are particularly worthwhile in two categories, basics and behemoths. Next I'll cover sweets and...
- Italian Cookbooks
When it comes to Italian food, the true measure of whether a recipe is authentic is whether it's the way your Italian mamma made it. It's hard to say whether a cookbook is ever truly authentic, unless of course your mamma wrote it. With Italian...
- The Good Home Cookbook: Giveaway!
Some time ago I mentioned that the publishers of The Good Home Cookbook were looking for recipe testers. In addition to getting a first crack at the recipes, testers also got their names in the book and a copy of the book. Now the book is out and for...
- Lost Recipes Cookbook
There are two kinds of cookbooks. One kind often features beautiful photography, and has recipes written by famous chefs from even more famous restaurants. These cookbooks are likely to weigh a lot, and cost a lot. While amazing works of art, bound to...
- The Cookbook Exchange
I'm a cookbook junkie and I'll bet many of you are too. Books are probably my number one impulse buy, and more often than not they're cookbooks. I love going through a new cookbook from cover to cover for the first time. Problem is, once...