I made these wee chocolate pistachio cookies to take as a gift when we went to friends for dinner last week. You can find the recipe here on the Taste website, but I am not sure that I would make them again. The cookies were soft – more like the texture of ginger kisses than firm like a yo-yo. The pistachio filling (a ganache with pistachios added) was yummy. They did look nice as a wee gift though.
I thought that I would also tell you about the books I have been buying lately – and I do say books. I have this nasty cook book addiction and when I see new books by my favourite authors, I have to buy them. My latest acquisitions include:
· Jamie Oliver’s new book - Ministry of Food – this is a good one for everyday meals. The recipes are achievable for a new cook, but there is some interesting stuff there for a seasoned Jamie fan like me. Plus I have all his other books, so could hardly not buy this one!
· Nigella Lawson’s new Christmas book – well, I just love Nigella! It’s not her recipes that I adore, but her writing. She is a fabulous writer and her books are the kind you want by your bed, not just in the kitchen. This new book is beautiful and while it focuses on the Christmas season, many of the recipes are year round ones.
· Ruth Pretty Entertains – Ruth is a well known NZ cook and has her own cooking school (I have been to one of her classes – it was a fabulous experience!) and catering company. I love her style and this book is neatly divided into chapters to reflect different occasions. Her recipes are often broken down into different components and it can take a while to get used to the style, but it is useful for mixing and matching
· Jo Seagar – Recipes from the Cook School – another NZ cooking school owner, Jo Seagar prides herself on “easy peasy” recipes – not usually my thing, but this book is beautiful and is full of fabulous every day recipes and also a good number of baking and dessert recipes. It has a gorgeous cover as well and I look forward to using it
· Baked; New Frontiers in Baking - I bought this book on the strength of a recommendation by Peabody on her blog. It is purely a baking book, but baking with a twist. I am yet to make anything from it, but the recipes looks stunning. Peabody has done a good précis of it on her blog so take a look
And lastly, a HUGE thank you to Sarah, an ex-pat kiwi in the US who reads my blog. Sarah’s parents recently visited her and Sarah kindly e-mailed me to see if there is anything I wanted her to send back with them (you have to know that I have never met Sarah before!). I said that I had always wanted to try peanutbutter chips and toffee bits, as we cant get those in NZ. Sarah so kindly sent those back with her parents and I collected them from her sister today. Sarah, you are a complete gem! Thank you so much!!! Now, I want a fantastic recipe to use my precious bits!!! I don’t want to waste them in a mediocre piece of baking, so comments on what I could use them for and suggested recipes would be very welcome!!!!
10 comments:
What a lovely assortment of books Tammy. That new kitchen of yours is going to be very busy. I enjoy Ruth Pretty too - and doesn't she treat you like a queen at her classes? Sometimes it is just a bit too convenient for me to pop into her shop too when I go down to the Kapiti Coast to visit my Mum. I wish she didn't stock such great stuff. Have a lovely weekend. Raewyn
wow all those book look great. I was tempted to buy the Nigella one but from the shops here it was so expensive. Euro 40 could you beleive it so now I m gonna order it online. Thanks for the suggestions
Isn't it wonderful to know there are still the Sarahs of the world out there? :)
Isn't it wonderful to know there are still the Sarahs of the world out there? :)
OOOhhh the cookies look very melty and good! I was just browsing the new Jaime and Nigella books and both of them look really good ^^! I need to cook more or else it won't be worth buying cookbooks haha
love the look of those lovely cook books ,I am hoping my daughter gets me the Nigella Lawson one for my Christmas or birthday present.
I have to say I hadn't heard of Ruth Pretty until I read your blog and then yesterday morning she was on the Good Morning show and this morning on the radio with Helen Jackson. I wonder if that is telling me something :)
Ooh, lots of cool-looking books! I think I've got that cookbook addiction thing too. =) My most recent acquisition is Shirley Corriher's Bakewise. I'm sure I'll be blogging about it soon.
That's really cool that you had someone bring you ingredients you can't get. I don't use peanut butter chips much, but I actually bought a bag last week and mixed some into brownies. I made the Fudgy Brownies from The Essence of Chocolate and added the chips instead of nuts. You can find the recipe online in a few places (and I linked to a couple from my blog back in August). Good luck deciding what to make!
Some great new books you have there. I love Nigella's writing too - she makes the most prosaic activity seem like a great adventure that you absolutely MUST go on.
Baked is the best!
Post a Comment