Weekend Cooking: Cookbooks I want to buy!

We were very excited this week to receive the new Recipetin Eats cookbook, Dinner. We are avidly studying it to decide what to make first, but it is a difficult decision. And we do this knowing that we haven't made everything we would love to make out of her first book. Not for lack of trying but because we have a lot of favourite recipes that we cook regularly. As soon as I have started cooking things out of it I will be back with a review.

This week though, I thought I would mention a few cookbooks that I would like to buy. In theory, there's no reason why I can't buy them, but if I did I am not sure when I would be able to cook for them, so for the time being, they are books that I will just wish I could buy. Or maybe see if I can borrow them at the library, and then decide to buy them. Each of these authors are ones that I have already bought a cookbook from and really liked them. 

Emelia Jackson - Last year I had to have Emilia Jackson's first book, First, Cream the Butter and Sugar which I reviewed here.   Later this month her next book, Some of My Best Friends Are Cookies, comes out. I love the purpleness of the cover! I would want it just for that reason!

Theo Randall - Last year I bought Theo Randall's cookbook The Italian Pantry which I reviewed here, and my recipe of the year last was the Meatballs recipe from this book.  Theo Randall now has a new cookbook out which is called Verdura: 10 Vegetables, 100 Italian Recipes. 

Meliz Berg - One of the books I cooked a bit out of last year was Meliz Berg's Meliz's Kitchen, which featured Turkish - Cypriot cooking.  I reviewed that book here. Her new book is called Dinner Tonight.

Julia Busuttil Nishimura - Last year I bought her book Around the Table, which is an interesting mix of Japanese, Italian and Maltese recipes. Now, she has a new book out called Good Food Every Day.

I'm sure that if I went looking I would find more, but for now, this is enough!

Weekly meals

Saturday - Vanilla slice
Sunday -  Chicken Fricasee
Monday - Pork chops, mash and broccolini
Tuesday - chicken Stir Fry
Wednesday - Smash burgers
Thursday - Take away fish and chips
Friday - Chicken Shwarma

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page

Weekend Cooking: What I Baked (In My Kitchen) in February

The first Saturday of the month is when I share all the things that I baked in the previous month, and this month I have actually been baking!  Hooray! The last few months I have had maybe one thing to share! And I am baking something today so I will have at least one thing for next month too! I'm on a roll.

This flurry of activity is linked to getting some new cookbooks and having people to share the bakes with. What it is not linked to is the baking class that I mentioned I had signed up for last month. It is probably fortunate that there is no time limit on that class!

The first two recipes come from The Italian Pantry by Theo Randall, which I posted about last week.

Ricciarelli - in the intro to the recipe Theo Randall says "These sweet little biscuits are essentially soft pine nut and almond macaroons." What this doesn't tell you is about the hint of orange or the lovely texture, or how simple they are to make. Delicious! I took these into work and everyone liked them.

Amafi Lemon Cheesecake - There are two things that make this cheesecake unusual. Firstly, the base of the cheesecake is made from almond biscuits. And the second is that the filling is made from cottage cheese and mascarpone instead of the more normal cream cheese filling. I just used normal lemon because that is what I had. We shared this with friends for a Sunday afternoon tea, and it was another hit. I have a plan to share more about this cheesecake in the next few weeks.

Chocolate Biscuit Pudding - This is a Sri Lankan dish which comes from Hoppers by Karan Gokani. Whilst it is not an easy dish to photograph, it is very tasty to eat, which is the main thing right? This is made by layering biscuits (by which I mean cookies) with a chocolate butter cream. You can find the recipe here.

Chocolate and Pistachio Sable - I bought the cookbook I mention below and I wanted to find something to make and a morning tea at work was the perfect opportunity. I love how the bits of pistachio look almost like little jewels in the biscuits. I will make these again for sure.

The only new thing in my kitchen this month is this cookbook. I originally borrowed this book from the library. I opened up to the first recipe and knew that I would be buying this book. There are so many things I want too make from it!

I did want to mention a Netflix show that I watched this week. Last week Beth Fish Reads posted about a show called A Tale of Two Kitchens. It focuses on two restaurants, one in Mexico and the other in San Francisco and the differences and similarities between them. It is only 30 minutes long and I really liked it!

I am sharing this post with In My Kitchen, hosted at Sherry's Pickings.

Weekly meals

Saturday - Out for dinner

Sunday -  Kebabs with baked potato and salad

Monday - Teriyaki chicken fried rice

Tuesday - Pork chaps, mash potato, beans and gravy

Wednesday - Mexican chicken, rice and beans

Thursday - Takeaway

Friday - Out for dinner

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page

Weekend Cooking: In which I borrow far too many cookbooks from the library

A couple of months ago I mentioned that I had recently learned that Jamie Oliver had a cookbook club. And after that I learned about an Australian cookbook club as well called the Lambs Ear Cookbook Club. The reason why I joined the second one was to get to know about the Australian cookbooks that are being released.

I enjoy buying new cookbooks as much as the next person, but two monthly cookbook clubs does mean two new cookbooks every month. If you aren't sure you are going to cook from them, that is not only pricey but takes up space on the bookshelf too! So, where possible,  I am trying to borrow the books from the library. The only problem with that is sometimes the books take so long to come in that the month is over. I am finding that when I have the cookbook during the month, it is easier to find things to cook out of them as everyone is excitedly posting what they have made.

Today I am going to share the cookbooks that I currently have out from the library. 

More Fish More Veg by Tom Walton - I know that we should eat a lot more fish than we do, and should be way more adventurous with vegetables than we are.  The reality is that of the three of us who live in this house, I am the one who likes fish the most. And vegetables for that matter.

I have, however,  convinced Robert to try at least a couple of the fish dishes before I return the book to the library. 

There are also a couple of interesting vegetable dishes, which look impressive because of the way that they are served. One is a roasted pumpkin which is halved that you then pile a jeweled rice on top of. 

One thing I really like about this book is at the bottom of a lot of a button, there is a section which says this recipe goes well with which is a nice touch

One of the cool things about these kind of cookbook clubs is that the choices cover a variety of cuisines. This month's book for the Lamb's Ears Cookbook Club is Salamati: Hamed's Persian Kitchen by Hamed Allenyari with Dani Valent.

A lot of people are enjoying the section of omelettes, and I was skimming through there was a recipe for a tomato omelette that caught my eye.

There are a lot of authentic Persian recipes in the book, but there are also a lot where the author has given non traditional recipe a Persian twist.

One of the things I like from this book is that for various  seasons and special occasions there is a suggestion for a feast and it tells you which dishes complement each other. I also like that the food is so colourful and that each recipe has a little story about his memories or why he chose it.

Interestingly, there is a rice pudding dish with roasted rhubarb that Hamed worked on with Julia Busittil Nishimura, whose book is below.

I really like looking at this book and I would like to own it, but I am not sure how much we would actually cook out of it.

At the bottom of the pile of books in the photo above you may be able to notice that there is a magazine. In addition to the monthly cookbook, they have an annual option and this year it is about cooking from Delicious magazine, so I just grabbed one from the library on a whim.

Around the Table by Julia Busuttil Nishimura was another selection from Lambs' Ears cookbook and I think this is one that I am definitely going to buy.

This book had me at hello, by which I mean that I opened the book to the first recipe and it was for something that I had been thinking that I want to make!  

It is an interesting mix of predominantly Italian and Japanese recipes, but there are other influences throughout the book.

A couple of the recipes that caught my attention were the Summer Nectarine and Raspbery trifle,  a Pear & Polenta Torte and a Lemon Mascarpone Tart.

The final cookbook for this post is, unsurprisingly, from the Jamie Oliver Cookbook club - One: Simple One Pan Wonders by Jamie Oliver

This is Jamie Oliver's 26th cookbook. It makes me wonder how easy it is for him to come up with new concepts for each book. In this book, the idea is that you only use one pot, one casserole dish, one baking tray to cook with. 

Most of the recipes are are relatively simple, with not too many ingredients and use some store bought ingredients rather than making everything from scratch.

There are some interesting ideas here. There is a whole chapter on Frying Pan Pasta where you use fresh lasagne sheets as the pasta base, therefore meaning that you don't need to boil the pasta separately and then add to the rest of the ingredients

There is another chapter on the Joy of Eggs which has a few different versions of Shakshuka.

One recipe that I am definitely going to try before returning this book is a Baked Lemon Cheesecake which is made in an ovenproof frying pan. 

The current choice for the JO Cookbook Club is Hopper by Karan Gokan which is Sri Lankan food. I can't get this book from either of my libraries and I still haven't quite decided if I want to buy it. I am definitely interested in going to a Sri Lankan restaurant to try hoppers, which I had never heard of before this.

I wouldn't mind owning this book but of these four books, if I can only buy one, it would Around the Table. Of course, there's nothing to say that I am only allowed to buy just one!

I have bought one cookbook which I absolutely love cooking from which I will post about in the coming weeks.

Oh, and if you are wondering about the book on the top of my artistically photographed pile of books, it is a foodie related novel that I grabbed on a whim on my way out of the library. I mean, I borrowed it, I just didn't walk out the door with it. Now to find time to read it.

Weekly meals

Saturday - 

Sunday -  

Monday - Meatballs with mozzarella

Tuesday - Out for dinner

Wednesday - Out for dinner

Thursday - Cheese and crackers

Friday - Cumin cheese on toast

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page