The Best Food & Wine Books of 2012
This year we’ve seen a bumper crop of books, music and film and over the next few weeks we’ll be presenting a series of our favourites, voted for and selected by Readings’ staff.
Here, our resident foodie, Chris Gordon, shares her favourite food and wine books of 2012.
This hip collection of lifestyle ideas and recipes even has a technique for cooking garden snails! Anderson’s unique book celebrates the veggie patch, the community and time with family.
Annie Smithers’ wonderful Annie’s Garden to Table is a year’s guide to growing and cooking with your own produce. Beyond the purely practical, this collection of recipes covers needs as diverse as brekkie, supper for fancy dinners and nourishment in times of solitude.
Simon Bryant’s cookbook, Vegies, is an inspiration for anyone that wants to cook more greens and less meat. He knows how to turn the vegetable in the star attraction of the meal with easy-to-follow recipes.
Matt Evans’ Gourmet Farmer Deli Book takes all the food you buy at a delicatessen and shows you what to do with it, and how to make it from scratch. Fabulous, easy recipes and very motivating.
Kylie Kwong’s Simple Chinese Cooking Class
Keeping it simple and therefore accessible are chefs like Kylie Kwong. Full of straightforward meals with appealing photos, Kwong’s infectious enthusiasm is all over these pages, and the dishes will fill your home with fresh vibrant smells.
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Stephen talks about how fed up he is with the gastro-cultural craze in this interesting take on the food industry. While laughing at food descriptions and fantasies, he maps how we, as a society, have become so ridiculous that we peel peas.
The French Kitchen: A Lifetime of Cooking, Teaching and Writing
In The French Kitchen, Diane Holuigue talks about the logic behind each dish, bringing classic, bistro type meals within reach for every day cooking. A marvellous collection of creams, and sautés and delicious soufflés!
The Little Veggie Patch Co’s Guide to Backyard Farming
Spend a year in the garden with the blokes from The Little Veggie Patch Co, learning what to plant, when to harvest and then, of course, how to cook for each month of the year. This is the must-have backyard (or balcony) book for all who love the smell of basil, lemons and sage etc.
It would be remiss of me though not to mention Belinda Jeffery’s Desserts. It’s amazing what melted sugar and butter can do to create the sweet highlight of a meal. And not a froth or blow torch mentioned here folks!
Of course, as a finishing touch, I cannot resist this book of tricks. Paris Cutler shows you the way to create birthday cakes, or afternoon cakes or Tuesday night cakes that look like a fairy tale. Shared fun I reckon.
[[chris]] Chris Gordon
