On A Stick! by Matt Armendariz

On A Stick! by Matt Armendariz
Buy On A Stick! by Matt Armendariz at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Cookery
Reviewer: Ruth Ng
Summary: Fun to read, fun to make, and yummy to eat!
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 176	Date: May 2011
Publisher: Quirk Books
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 978-1594744891
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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!

I really liked the writing style in this cookery book. Matt Armendariz, the author, has a very jokey way of writing so it's interesting to read through the recipes rather than just factual. When introducing his recipe for 'Spam and Pineapple Skewers' he writes If you're the type who has an aversion to Spam, then please close this book and visit a park or fly a kite. This recipe is not for you. However, if you crave the salty, robust flavor of spiced ham from a can, then let's be friends!

The book is split into two parts, savoury items and then sweet items. It's written with American measurements, but there's a table at the back that lists all the different conversions. There's a wide range of different things to try. Everything from deep fried ravioli, lamb souvlaki, red curry shrimp and pineapple skewers through to cake pops or chocolate covered cheesecake on a stick! Each recipe is accompanied by a full page photo, but no recipe slips over onto an extra page, so there's no need to flip back and forth from one page to another whilst following the instructions.

Our first recipe test was to make the 'S'mores' which sees you dipping marshmallows into melted chocolate (with the marshmallows on a stick, naturally) then rolling them around in some biscuit crumbs. It was very easy, completely delicious, horrendously fattening and very more-ish! We decided to try something more advanced next and went for the beef teriyaki. This also worked out well, and all the recipe instructions were clear and easy to follow.

Some of the ideas are a little bit silly (spaghetti and meatballs on a stick!), and the majority aren't very healthy, but I was still surprised by how many recipes I flagged up for us to try out, for those evenings when I'm fed up of our usual meals and fancy something a bit unusual. You needn't always make them the recipes on sticks either I think, although with fun stick food lots of them would work well as party food or for buffets and would certainly provide a talking point. A fun recipe book, perfect for those who fancy something a bit different!

I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.

Further reading suggestion: If you're looking for something more traditional then try Delia's Complete How To Cook by Delia Smith.

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You can read more book reviews or buy On A Stick! by Matt Armendariz at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy On A Stick! by Matt Armendariz at Amazon.com.

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