The Temporary Bride: A Memoir of Love and Food in Iran by Jennifer Klinec
Jennifer Klinec is the daughter of Hungarian immigrant parents who ran an automotive factory in southwest Ontario. She learned early on to be self-sufficient, even enrolling herself in boarding schools in Switzerland and Dublin. After graduation she moved to London, made a pile as an investment banker, and opened her own cookery school. At age 31, though, she decided to travel to the Iranian city of Yazd to learn Persian dishes. She met Vahid, 25, a military veteran with an engineering background, in a park and he introduced her to his mother for cooking lessons. Full review...
Treat Petite: 42 Sweet and Savoury Miniature Bakes by Fiona Pearce
I know that they're not good for me, but I do love cakes. There's always so much of them though - and I'm not going to let them go to waste, am I? I love making them too, but no matter how hard I try they always seem to end up more Little Chef than Masterchef. When I found Treat Petite it seemed that I just might have found the answer to my prayers. It's a book of forty two recipes for tiny petit fours, little sponge cakes, jewel-like macaroons and gorgeous savouries. They're all mere morsels - just big enough to pop into your mouth. Full review...
The Bluffer's Guide to Chocolate (Bluffer's Guides) by Neil Davey
I've always been a little bit nervous about the Bluffer series, on the basis that I would be sure to come out with a clever-sounding phrase, only to be found out when someone asked the follow-up question. Better, I thought to stay silent and appear ignorant than to open my mouth and prove myself a fool. But then The Bluffer's Guide to Chocolate came my way and I couldn't resist - any more than I've ever been able to resist chocolate. Full review...
My Little French Kitchen by Rachel Khoo
France is Rachel Khoo's adopted country. She lives in Paris and to write this book she travelled to the four corners of the country to sample the local dishes and special ingredients to be found there. It's a look at local markets, shops, villages and towns, farms and homes - and the local customs and quirks to be found in each area. You get over a hundred recipes and plenty of images which set the scene or illustrate the finished dish. In more complicated dishes you even get a series of pictures to help you understand what you're doing - and all the pictures are of excellent quality. It's not just a coffee table book - if you've an interest in French cooking then you're going to get it sauce splattered. Full review...
Sprinkles! Recipes and Ideas for Rainbowlicious Desserts by Jackie Alpers
A friend had taken his granddaughter for a picnic and he'd gone to town on the food. The pudding was decorated but the child seemed distracted:
Child: Grandad, there's an insect in my pudding.
Grandad: No, darling - they're called 'hundreds and thousands' and they're there to make your pudding look pretty.
Child: Grandad, one of my hundreds and thousands is climbing up the side of the bowl... Full review...
Winter Cocktails: Mulled Ciders, Hot Toddies, Punches, Pitchers, and Cocktail Party Snacks by Maria Del Mar Sacasa and Tara Striano
I nearly didn't read this book - cocktails are not something which appear in our house - but fortunately I had a look at the subtitle and realised that mulled ciders, hot toddies, punches and pitchers appealed a great deal more. I'm never averse to something warm and reviving after being out in the winter cold. Even better is the fact that it all comes in a well-presented, hardback book which will stand a lot of duty in the kitchen. Full review...
Eat - The Little Book of Fast Food by Nigel Slater
In my kitchen there's a battered (in both senses of the word) copy of Real Fast Food, Nigel Slater's first book. Twenty one years later he's revisited the idea and given us Eat: The Little Book of Fast Food. Now it's 'small' as any book containing over six hundred ideas for dinners (complete with lots of excellent photographs by Jonathan Lovekin) can be small - and the food is fast in the sense that you're talking about a maximum of an hour, although occasionally the cooking takes longer. I'm glad that we're moving away from the idea of getting food on the table as quickly as possible - it's not a race - as cooking can be a real pleasure and eating it an even bigger one. Full review...
Paul Hollywood's Bread: How to make great breads into even greater meals by Paul Hollywood
It was a happy accident which started me watching Paul Hollywood's television series about bread and baking - and it quickly became compulsive viewing. We were predisposed to the basic idea as it's many years since we last bought a loaf, but we've always used a bread-maker. The results have been good and far better than anything you could buy anywhere but an artisan bakery, but there are limitations as to what you can make. I was tempted to see what else we could achieve and whilst the television series didn't promise that it would be easy it did leave me with confidence that we could do better. Buying the book was the next step. Full review...
The Vegetarian Pantry by Chloe Coker and Jane Montgomery
Chloe Coker and Jane Montgomery aren't strict vegetarians, but they are passionate about fresh, healthy, seasonal, meat-free cooking. A shared frustration about being unable to find the inspiration and ideas they wanted led to this book, with its recipes which will appeal to everyone from strict vegetarians to meat eaters. Reassuringly they're not out to convert anyone - just to give some inspiration, particularly to people who haven't tried this type of food before. Some recipes are suitable for vegans (or can be easily adapted) and they're clearly marked, as are those suitable for people with a gluten intolerance. Full review...
Patisserie at Home by Will Torrent
I've always been in awe of people who can make great desserts - the ones which taste amazing AND look stunning on the plate. I have used The Roux Brothers on Patisserie by Michel and Albert Roux (that's Michel Roux senior, by the way and not his son) but I found the book almost pernickety in some of its requirements and I've long wished for a book which was rather more relaxed and aimed at the home cook rather than someone who aspired to be a professional chef. Patisserie at Home seemed to fit the bill. Full review...
Cheesecake by Hannah Miles
I have a weakness for cheesecake, the genuine item rather than the over-sweet lookalikes found in some supermarkets. I love that unctuous richness and the slightly tart taste on the tongue. I'm less keen on what they deliver in terms of calories, but that simply means that cheesecake has to be an occasional treat - and the best that there is around. So, Cheesecake by Hannah Miles was going to press all the right buttons. Hannah reached the final of Masterchef in 2007, so she knows a thing or two about food. Full review...
A Perfect Day for a Picnic by Tori Finch
There are strange reasons why books appeal to you. With A Perfect Day for a Picnic my immediate reaction was it would be lovely to have the weather, never mind the food. Then I had a look at the spine of the book (I know - I'm sad) and it looked just like one of those expensive linen glass cloths - you know, the ones you have to iron and it brought back such memories of childhood picnics that I had to see what was on offer. Full review...
Andy Bates: Modern Twists on Classic Dishes by Andy Bates
I do tire of cook books which regurgitate what are essentially the same recipes time after time. Sometimes food writers rework their own recipes - a tweak here, a change of emphasis there and you can have the same dish many times over, so it's a real breath of fresh air when you find a book which seems to have new ideas, or genuinely new approaches to classic dishes. Andy Bates has a classical background (working in a Michelin starred restaurant by the time he was seventeen and time in France to hone his skills) but his business is a stall in London's Whitecross street market. So - a perfect combination of technical knowledge, experience and knowing what people really want to eat. Full review...
The Downstairs Cookbook: Recipes From A 1920s Household Cook by Margaret Powell
Margaret Powell began her life in service as a housemaid, but she had an interest in cooking (her mother wouldn't allow her to learn at home as food was too precious to waste) and by talking to cooks, watching what they did and making notes she eventually rose to be cook in the grand houses on the nineteen twenties. The Downstairs Cookbook is her collection of the recipes which she used, or which were current at the time. But it's more than that. Think of it as being rather like a visit to a good cookery school where you'd collect all those hints and tips which make recipes work and the anecdotes about life in a professional kitchen. Full review...
The Magic Book of Cookery by Danaan Elderhill
Back in the seventeenth century in what was then the Kingdom of Bohemia there was a coven of witches. As was common at that time witches were hunted and they had to hide their beliefs. The Friends of Euphrosyne, as they called themselves, turned to this deity (she's one of the three graces and there to remind us to have fun) in their time of need and developed rituals which could be assimilated into social gatherings, allowing them to hide in plain sight. Their book - The Magic Book of Cookery - vanished along with the coven when they were discovered but Danaan Elderhill wants us to benefit from its ancient wisdom - and its fun. Full review...
A Recipe for Life by Antonio Carluccio
Antonio Carluccio is a name you know well if you've any interest in food and particularly Italian food. He's well known as a cook, restaurateur, deli owner, television personality and author. In everything he's done he's concentrated on the flavour of the food - this isn't the man to turn to if you're interested in fine dining as there's a lack of frills and ostentation - and he has his own phrase to describe his vision. 'Mof mof' stands for 'maximum of flavour and minimum of fuss'. He's a man after my own heart but when I thought about it I realised that I knew little, beyond the occasional news item, of Carluccio the man. His autobiography came at just the right time. Full review...
Relish: My Life on a Plate by Prue Leith
Prue Leith was born in South Africa, the daughter of a prominent actress who was considered 'dangerously liberal' in her views on race. Prue was largely unaware of the horrors of apartheid and had a privileged lifestyle. She came to London in the early sixties but still retains an awareness of colour as a legacy of her childhood. What didn't come from her childhood was her love of cooking - she drifted into catering almost accidentally but went on to set up a very successful catering company and then to open Leith's Restaurant . Her cookery school and regular food columns in national newspapers followed soon after. Full review...
What Einstein Kept Under His Hat: Secrets of Science in the Kitchen by Robert L Wolke and Marlene Parrish
Everyone knows that when you chop onions, you cry, but have you ever wondered exactly why this happens? More to the point have you ever considered what you might be able to do so that you don't need to look like a snivelling wreck every time you make kedgeree? Life is littered with such conundrums (along with the old-wives'-tale solutions) but there seem to be more of them in the kitchen than elsewhere. Robert L Wolke has a column in the Washington Post in which he debunks misconceptions and answers questions with logic, science and a healthy dose of common sense. Full review...
Food Britannia by Andrew Webb
I've always suspected that British food gained its dreadful reputation after the end of World War II. Rationing lasted for many years and the sort of food which you could buy in the average hotel or restaurant was pretty poor. An image like that sticks: we might have Stilton cheese, Scottish raspberries, Welsh lamb and a host of other wonderful foodstuffs but still we are thought of as the people who eat the food of a post-war boarding house. Andrew Webb is a food journalist and photographer - and he's set out to prove that there's a wealth of regional food, traditional recipes and passionate producers just waiting to be found. Full review...
Fairytale Food by Lucie Cash
Are you looking for a gift for someone who enjoys cooking and who has an interest in fairy tales? If so, this book could well be your perfect answer. It has over sixty recipes - none of them at all complex - and they're all associated with favourite fairy tales. Instead of the usual carefully-primped pictures of the finished dishes there are lavish illustrations by Yelena Bryksenkova of scenes from the tales and I didn't find a double page spread which didn't have some entertaining embellishment. It's also a bonus that there's a gentle humour in the illustrations, as in this note from Goldilocks: Full review...
Saved by Cake: Over 80 Ways to Bake Yourself Happy by Marian Keyes
Right now you are probably thinking 'Marian Keyes? She writes chick-lit doesn't she? What's she doing writing a cookbook?' You'll quite probably also be looking at her and thinking that she doesn't look as though she eats a lot of the output either. Well, there's a bit of a story behind this book... Full review...
Jamie's Great Britain by Jamie Oliver
The Royal Wedding in 2011 and 2012's Diamond Jubilee and Olympic Games mean that anything which can be adorned with a Union Jack will be. Barbour do waxed Union Jack dog coats, so it should come as no surprise that Jamie Oliver is here with a large plate of good old roast beef in front of said flag. It's a splendidly chunky book and beautifully presented. Flick the book open at any page and you're likely to find a double-page spread of pictures (shooting on the country estate, making traditional cakes, foraging for food... you get the picture) or a recipe accompanied by a full-page photograph of the end product. Full review...
Kitchen: Recipes from the Heart of the Home by Nigella Lawson
Nigella Lawson's latest offering is subtitled 'recipes from the heart of home', which is a very vague title whose significance (undoubtedly clear to those who watch the TV versions) I fail to decode. All cooking is done in the kitchen after all. But I suppose coming up with interesting titles for general collections of recipes is not that easy, so I'll leave it at that. Full review...
A History of English Food by Clarissa Dickson Wright
Writing a history of English food, and to some extent drink, must be a daunting task, but as an experienced TV presenter (as one of the Two Fat Ladies with the late Jennifer Paterson) and as one who was born in the post-war rationing world in 1947, Clarissa Dickson Wright is well placed to do so. Full review...
River Cottage Veg Every Day! by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall wants to make it clear that River Cottage: Veg Every Day! is a vegetable cookbook and that it's up to the reader to determine whether or not it's a vegetarian cookbook. He makes it quite clear that he's not a vegetarian and has no intention of becoming one, but for the four months which it took to film the series of which this is the book he didn't touch a scrap of meat or fish. It's a new Hugh, but the slimmed-down version is the result of a conscious decision before filming began rather than the consequences of the change of diet. The new hairstyle has yet to be explained… Full review...
On A Stick! by Matt Armendariz
There's something rather fun about eating your food off a stick. The first thing that springs to my mind is candy floss (I never buy it when it's in a bag...sacrilegious!) but if you think about it there are lots of things you can eat off a stick, both savoury and sweet. And the author of this cookery book would have you believe that everything tastes better when it's eaten off a stick! Full review...
East End Paradise: Kitchen Garden Cooking In The City by Jojo Tulloh
It's easy to think that growing your own fruit and vegetables is only possible if you live in the country and have a large garden, but Jojo Tulloh prove that you can live in a city, have an allotment – in her case a patch of East London waste ground – and put good food on the family's table. Even if you don't have the luxury of an allotment (and in some areas the waiting list is longer than most people can contemplate) there are still ways that almost everyone can produce some of their own food. You might wonder why this matters, but anything you grow yourself is going to be fresher when you eat it and taste far better than anything you pick up at the supermarket. Full review...
Great Food: A Dissertation Upon Roast Pig and Other Essays by Charles Lamb
A Dissertation Upon Roast Pig is a collection of food-related essays from the early 19th century, with a humorous bent. They're but a few pages each - a light read to bring a smile to your face, then on to the next little foodie treat. Full review...
Great Food: Buffalo Cake and Indian Pudding by Dr A W Chase
Think of a slim, American Mrs Beeton (her cookbook, not her) and you've got a rough idea of the premise of Buffalo Cake and Indian Pudding. It includes recipes for such treats as Minnesota corn bread, popcorn pudding, pumpkin pie and pork cake. The recipes aren't the whole picture, though. Dr Alvin Wood Chase was a travelling salesman as well as an author, so being blessed with the gift of the gab, he peppers his recipes with anecdotes and comments to amuse and entertain the reader. Full review...
Great Food: A Taste of the Sun by Elizabeth David
There are three people to whom I owe my ability to put imaginative and tasty food on the table: Nigel Slater for taking away the mystique, Jane Grigson for teaching me that food was deeply interesting and Elizabeth David just for being who she was. Initially I found her a little daunting but once I realised that cookery books were about far more than recipes I appreciated her true worth. In the wonderful Great Food series Penguin have given us a selection of her writing and a demonstration of how she changed the way that post-war Britain thought about food. Full review...
Leith's Meat Bible by Max Clark and Susan Spaull
I've been cooking beef for almost half a century and I thought that I was making a pretty good job of it, but last weekend I cooked the best beef I have ever done and it was down to 'Leith's Meat Bible'. It wasn't because I had suddenly found a recipe to top all the others – it was because this book doesn't just tell you what to do; it tells you why. Because of this I made some fairly minor adjustments to how I cooked the beef – and the results were amazing. It's the ultimate meat cookbook and unless you're vegetarian or vegan you should have one. Full review...
Gregg's Favourite Puddings by Gregg Wallace
Anyone who has watched Gregg Wallace on MasterChef will be aware of his passion (and that is not putting it too strongly) for puddings. He's never lost his sweet tooth and, unlike many men, is not afraid to admit it. He takes a child-like delight in the final course and has been known to go against the professional judge if something particularly appeals to him: he's salvaged the pride of many a contestant with his yummy. Full review...