cookbook – Aussie Reviews

The AWW Cooking School

There is no shortage of cookbooks on the market, but what sets The AWW Cooking Schoolapart from so many others is that it features recipes which even a beginner can cook, with ingredients easily available.

Many recipes include step by step photographs, and the book is divided into straightforward chapters for easy access – pasta, rice, vegetables, desserts, cakes and so on. ‘Special features’ of double page spread help with identification of and understanding of food types including noodles, spices, fruits, salads, cheeses and more.

From the publishers of the Australian Women’s Weekly, this sturdy hardcover offering is ideal for a new cook, giving a thorough grounding in cooking a wide variety of dishes, in a manner which is accessible and informative.

Would make an ideal gift for an engagement or twenty first birthday.

The AWW Cooking School ACP Books, 2010

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Wombat Stew Cookbook, by Marcia K Vaughan & Pamela Lofts

Few Australian children are not familiar with the delightful picture book Wombat Stew with its refrain of: wombat stew, wombat stew, gooey, brewy, yummy chewy, wombat stew and a host of delightful Aussie animal characters. The Wombat Stew Cookbookis a delightful complement to the picture book, filled with yummy recipes that are easy for kids to make with minimal parental help.

The book includes recipes for main dishes, salads and vegetables, bread, drinks and desserts, as well as helpful information about measuring, cooking terms and safety in the kitchen. Kids and parents will enjoy cooking such delights as Bandicoot ginger biscuits and Echidna avocado dip and will love the accompanying illustrations of the animals from Wombat Stew enjoying the dishes.

Yummy fun.

Wombat Stew Cookbook, by Marcia K Vaughan & Pamela Lofts
Scholastic, first edition 1989, this edition 2006

Keep the Table Laughing, by Susan Whelan & Meredith Flynn

If you have ever bought, been given or simply browsed a cookbook, you will probably know that the biggest drawback of cookbooks is that they are full of photographs of delicious-looking but impossible to replicate offerings. The second-biggest drawback is that each cookbook seems to be useful for two or three recipes, with the rest either impossible, uninteresting or forgotten once the first few attempts have proven disastrous.

Keep the Table Laughing is a recipe book with a difference. There are no photographs from which to draw unflattering comparisons with ones own efforts, and the recipes, almost without exception, are practical every-day meals and goodies which can be cooked quickly and easily and are likely to be cooked repeatedly.

There are recipes from around the world, recipes for children to make, soups, cakes, roasts and everything in between. There are old favourites – sometimes with a new twist, such as the Yoghurt Pikelets – and others which may be new but are still fairly easy to make. My eight year old and I had a go at the French Jellies (which, the recipe promised, would taste like store-bought jubes) and were delighted with the results. They were yummy!

The other difference about this cookbook is that it is fun. The recipes are interspersed with narration from the two authors. They share their lives and their culinary experiences through anecdotes, jokes and little scripted conversations. Their comments on men in the kitchen caused particular laughter at our house.

This is a cookbook which will be used and enjoyed. Not a bad combination.

Keep the Table Laughing, by Susan Whelan & Meredith Flynn
Temple House, 2005

Survival Around the World

Top athletes spend a lot of time travelling overseas, and one of the most important things they need to focus on when away from home is maintaining good diet. Even non-athlete frequent travellers are well advised to do the same. Survival Around the World is a recipe book which makes maintaining a healthy diet just a little easier.

Put together by sports dieticians at the Australian Institute of Sport, with help from the athletes, it presents a range of healthy and nutritious recipes from around the world – from regions including the Pacific, North America, Asia, Greece and the Middle East.

Recipes are supported by nutritional analyses as well as cooking hints and a range of travelling hints from AIS athletes.

Survival Around the World is the third official cookbook from the Australian Institute of Sport, following on from the popularity of Survival for the Fittest and Survival from the Fittest. You don’t need to be an athlete or a traveller to enjoy the book – with recipes such as Thai Chicken Soup, Ham and Zucchini Risotto and Lemon Coconut Muffins, there are plenty of ideas on hand for any cook.

Survival Around the World, by Louise Burke, Greg Cox, Nikki Cummings and Ben Desbrow
Allen & Unwin, 2004

Huey's Best Ever Barbecue Recipes, by Iain Hewitson

The weather is starting to warm up and the sun is shining which can mean only one thing: barbecue season is here! What better way to entertain family and friends?

Australia’s favourite TV chef, Iain Hewitson, is determined to make this summer’s barbecues the best ever, with over 100 full-flavoured treats in his newest cook book offering, Huey’s Best Ever Barbecue Recipes.

Forget about bangers and chops: Huey wants you to be a little more daring. And you can be, with recipes for prawns, fish, vegetables and even kangaroo. The book is also liberally laced with hints and advice about marinades, sauces and salads to complement the barbecue.

This volume will prove a winner with those who love to entertain, but you don’t have to be a party-animal to get value from it – the recipes are just as suited to a casual family meal.

Delicious.

Huey’s Best Ever Barbecue Recipes, by Iain Hewitson
Allen & Unwin, 2003