Saraban: A Chef's Journey through Persia
I'm loving my new cookbook Saraban by Greg and Lucy Malouf. The artistry and images alone are exquisite and make it worthy of a coffee table position.
The book takes you on a journey through Persia, creating soulful food enriched with fragrance, spice and beauty. Persian food is one of the oldest cuisines in the world. It uses flavour enriched rice as a base for most dishes and then meats, fish, fruits and vegetables are all cooked with an abundance of herbs and spices.
I have managed to try quite a few of the recipes and they have all turned out well, have been easy to cook and most importantly, they have all been a hit with those I have cooked for. The food is equally matched with the stunning artwork and photography through out. It truly takes you to another place and is officially my favourite cookbook.
Decadence - Desserts by Phillip Johnson
My lovely husband gave me this book a few years back and at first (aside from being completely blown away by the impeccable and amazing looking desserts) I was thinking that it was way out of my cooking league. Tuiles, nougats, wafers..... even the thought of what was behind the technique left me with a feeling that this was just going to be one of those cookbooks that are nice to look at. HOWEVER, wrong was I! The step by step instructions and tips are so clearly written that when you get over the initial shock and awe of the book and actually try some of the incredible recipes, they actually do work. I can proudly say I have had a 100% success rate with all recipes I have tried in the book. Fondants, coulis, mousse, parfait, praline...... I could go on.
This is a really good book and if you like throwing dinner parties and want to impress your guests, then I strongly suggest you try to get your hands on it.
Some of the tantilising and decadent desserts include Chocolate marquise with creme anglaise, pistachios and almond tuiles; Iced coconut parfait, pineapple sorbet & pineapple & lime salsa; praline semi-freddo with fresh raspberries; and Honey bavarian cream with balsamic strawberries.
The title of this book really encapsulates exactly what is to follow and Phillip Johnson certainly knows how to write a recipe. Amazing desserts both on the eyes and in the mouth!
The Food of Thailand - a journey for food lovers
I'm a huge fan of Thai food and it's one of my more commonly cooked meals on weeknights. I've tried my fare share of the real deal on countless trips to Thailand, so to come back and be able to try and replicate what I eat is really satisfying. I think once you get a palette for the four components (sweet, sour, spicy and salty) then you can pretty much master most of the dishes.
This book has been one of my most loved and referred to cookbooks. With both well known dishes and some not so commonly found meals, the results are always good.
The book not only spells out a variety of fantastic recipes but it is somewhat of a journey with pictures that, for me, evoke my senses and take me back to some of the places and scenes I have so fondly traveled.
Some of the curry recipes can be made using store bought pastes or otherwise there is a section for all the basics. For a long time I didn't dare think about making curry paste from scratch, but on closer inspection it is actually so simple, the results are magnificent and much more satisfying.
The glossary and informative pictures really help to get you started if some of the ingredients aren't familiar. The recipes are easy to follow, taste authentic and they also look great. A couple of my favourites are the 'beef with thai sweet basil' and a 'chicken and cashew nut' that will beat any local Thai restaurant, hands down.
