I must apologize ahead of time for the strange hue to my photos today.  I don't know what was up with the light but it was not the best for taking photos, but I didn't want another day to go by without telling you about this fabulous book I read recently!

As you know I am a cookery book enthusiast!  I just love cookbooks.  I go to bed with them and I really enjoy them.  I have some that are really old actually which I cherish a great deal.  New . . . old . . . in between I have never met a cookbook that didn't have some value to me.  They are like good friends.

This book here today is not a cookbook, but a book about cookbooks!   In short it is a compendium of 101 classic cookbooks, compiled and edited by  Leslie Geddes-Brown, selected by her for their influence, for their unusual recipes or simply for their beauty.  It is clear that this is a woman who is a cookbook lover too, and as she says quite rightly that this is a person collection of her own favourite cookbooks, which might not be the same as your favourite cookbooks . . . but I have to tell you from the outset . . . Leslie has great taste because a lot of her favourites were MY favourites too!



Looking at her cooking space, you just know this is a person who loves all aspects of cookery . . the tasting and smelling, the touch and sight . . . and of course the sounds of food cooking.   There is not too many other things you can do that involves all of our five senses in quite the same way and that is the approach Leslie has taken in this book . . .  these are cookbooks that incite you to run into the kitchen and immediately get stuck in, they set your taste buds to tingling and your fingers to itching to be in the kitchen chopping and beating and . . . cooking.

 

Each book listed is complete with a cover shot and a few pages from it's interior to whet your appetite and a totally edible description of it's contents, complete with interesting facts about it's author.



There are some very old surprises such as The Gentle Art of Cookery by Mrs D F Leyel and Miss Olga Hartley, published in 1925 . . . which I found quite fascinating . . . and am now on the look out for . . . (You would be surprised what you will find in old used book shops.)

 

There are some not so surprising new comers . . . such as The Naked Chef by Jamie Oliver . . . (I still regret giving my copy of this away.  Never, ever give away a cookbook.  You will instantly regret it.  Trust me on this.)

And of course everything in between.



I was not at all surprise to see Nigel Slater included.  As you know he is my all time favourite.

  

There is also a fascinating section which is devoted to Cooks and their books, which is a small list of some really good cooks and the cookery books which inspires them.

I have quite, quite enjoyed going through this and have spent many hours in the days since I received it going through it again and again . . . each time finding something new and discovering some book which is new to me and which I covet owning. 

With more than 500 colour illustrations, lively text, including a short history of cookery books, and an elegant design, A Book for Cooks is a culinary delight for all foodies.  This is a  stylish compendium of 101 of the world’s best cookery books, from the seventeenth century to the present day, showing covers and several inside pages of all featured books.  I would consider this to be a welcome addition to any true foodie's cookbook library.  I think any foodie on your Christmas list would be quite happy to find this under the tree on Christmas Morning!

A Book for Cooks
101 Classic Cookbooks
by
Leslie Geddes-Brown
Published by Merrell Publishing

224 pages
ISBN  978-1-8589-4579-8
UK £30.00
US $ 50.00 

Many thanks to Helena for sending me this book to review.  All opinions are my own.

Sunday Lunch has to be one of the nicest traditions here in the UK.  It's actually a dinner . . . not a lunch (usually served early to mid afternoon).  Not sure why it is called lunch, but I have noted that most celebratory dinners here in the UK are referred to as lunch, prime example being Christmas Lunch.  Who am I to quibble when we are talking about something as delicious a meal as Sunday Lunch generally is!

Over the next four weeks The Sunday Times is publishing a pull out Ultimate Cookbook as part of the Incredible Edibles Food Series, dedicated to food and dining.   This weeks focus is Sunday Lunch, and you can get your copy of The Sunday Times Ultimate Cookbook:  Sunday Lunch this weekend, on Sunday the 17th November, featuring no less than twelve of the finest  recipes for this occasion  brought to you by twelve celebrity chef's.

You will be able to enjoy and recreate such tasty delights as Jamie Oliver's Sunday Roast Steak and Marcus Waring's  Mushroom Cobbler (for the veggies), only two of the delicious recipes on offer.




 Who doesn't love a delicious Roast Chicken dinner??  It has to be one of the most popular Sunday lunches ever. 

Strain the cream and add a touch of salt and pepper, plus a pinch of nutmeg.  Pour this over top of the gnocchi in the dish.  Crumble the blue cheese over top, scattering it over evenly.   Mix together the remaining 1 TBS butter, bread crumbs and parmesan cheese.  Sprinkle this crumb mixture over top.   Bang the gratin into the oven and bake until the filling is bubbling and the topping is golden brown.  This will take about half an hour.   Serve hot.



As you know,  Divo Italiano recently sent me a delicious assortment of exciting new Italian Cheeses to try out. These are thorougly modern cheeses selected by Aldo Zilli specifically for the British Table.   In this I used their Cubed Gorgonzola P.D.O.Picante.



 Gold award winner at the Nantwich International Cheese Awards 2013, a P.D.O. Italian blue cheese without any rind which means nothing goes to waste. Packaged in a convenient pre-cubed format, it is the first to market in this format for Gorgonzola cheese. It is matured for up to 90 days in natural caves in Northern Italy to give it a sharp, spicy (‘piccante’ in Italian) flavour and creamy texture. It makes a delicious match with ripe pears and walnuts tossed into rocket leaves, melted on pizza, or used to make an indulgent cooking sauce. 

This cheese was fabulous and was a great addition to my sauce.   Mmmm . . . I am getting spoilt here!  You can find the DVO range of cheeses in Morrisons and Ocado. 

Divo Italiano recently sent me a delicious assortment of exciting new Italian Cheeses to try out. These are thorougly modern cheeses selected by Aldo Zilli specifically for the British Table.  They are available in five different varieties and I could not wait to get stuck in.  First out of the starting gate was a cheese that I use frequently in my kitchen . . . Italian Parmigiao Reggiano P D O Extra.

 

Crunchy & crumbly texture, matured for a minimum of 24 months for a sweet & salty taste.  I loved it.  I just adore Parmesan cheese anyways, and this was exceptional in flavour.   Parmesan cheese was the one cheese I did eat outside of processed cheese when I was growing up . . . ok, so it was the stuff that came in the green cylinder from Kraft that you could keep on the shelf without refrigerating, but that was quite bold as far as I was concerned.   I am happy to say that my tastes have really advanced since then!  This was a lovely cheese.  It was rich and crumbly and had a beautiful flavour.

I decided to use some of it in our favourite French Onion Dip.

 

This is a dip that comes in incredibly handy during the holidays when people are doing a lot of entertaining.  Sure, you could just crack open a package of dry French Onion Soup mix, and it would taste alright . . . but trust me when I say . . . ONCE YOU TASTE THIS DIP YOU WILL NEVER SETTLE FOR A PACKAGE MIX DIP AGAIN!



Please excuse me for yelling, but I can't re-iterate enough just how gorgeous this dip is.  It has all of the flavours of a good onion soup . . . sweetly caramelized onions . . . cooked slowly in butter and oil until they are golden delish . . . some spice and tang . . . sour cream . . . mayonnaise . . . and a good Parmesan cheese, which is the real star of the dip along with those beautiful onions.



The Divo Italian Parmigiano Reggiano was perfect in this dip.   It was lovely and rich and in short . . . perfect.  I do hope you will give it a try, and I just know you will agree with me when I say . . . this is the best!




Whisk the sour cream, mayonnaise, cheese, celery salt, black pepper, garlic powder and Worcestershire sauce together to combine well.  Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.  Stir in the onion mixture.  Cover and chill for at least one hour, but preferably overnight.  Serve chilled with your preferred dippers!

Divo Italian Parmigiano Reggiano P.D.O. Extra Cheese:

Gold and Bronze award winner at the South West Cheese Awards 2013, this Parmigiano Reggiano P.D.O. is graded for quality twice by the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium before it is selected by Aldo Zilli, to give it the prestigious ‘Extra’ status.

A crunchy and crumbly texture with fruity and nutty flavours, it is matured for at least 24 months from selected mountain dairies where the cattle graze on the lush high pastures and their milk gives this Parmigiano Reggiano outstanding flavour.

This delicious cheese is ideal served grated or shaved on salads, soups, or simply broken off in chunks and eaten on its own with balsamic vinegar. 

To find out more about these lovely cheeses in the Divo Line click HERE.
Find the DIVO range in Morrisons and online at Ocado.

Many thanks to Divo for sending me these lovely cheeses.  Look for more about the other cheeses I was sent soon!

To make the glaze, whisk all of the ingredients together in a bowl using only enough milk to give you a thick smooth drizzable glaze.  Dip the tops of the cookies quickly into this glaze until coated, allowing any excess to drip off.   Return to the wire racks until the glaze sets.  Store in an airtight container.

I wanted to tell you all about the latest gadget I was sent to trial by the Pro Cook people.

The meat baster is the perfect tool to help keep your sunday roasts nice and juicy.  It consists of a green  silicone handle bulb and a tube which is made from transparent plastic with measurements shown along the side in ml/oz. The silicone easy grip handle is detachable for ease of cleaning.
Measures approximately 29cm in length and is completely dishwasher safe.



I have long wanted a baster like this all of my own.  When I worked in the big house kitchen there was one there for my working use and I used it all the time.   At home I have always just used a long handled spoon, which is ok, but I am always worried I am going to burn myself.  This alleviates that concern for me.  It's so easy to dip the tube into the meat juices without having to pull out the oven tray.  A quick squeeze of the easily held silicone bulb and the juices are sucked up and ready to squeeze out to baste whatever it is you are roasting.


 


I  used this when roasting a chicken  earlier this week and was  very happy with the way it  performed.   I found it very easy to use and the clean up in the dish washer was a breeze!



Once again, a hearty two thumbs up for performance, easy of use and cleaning, and price.  I think you will find it to be very affordable.   I can't wait for Christmas as it will sure help with the basting of my holiday turkey this year!  Many thanks to Chris and the Pro Cook people for sending it along! 

If you don't like raisins, you best look away now because today is all about Raisins!  I just adore raisins.  I love eating them out of hand, baking them into cookies and cakes, pies . . . and tasty squares like these Raisin Puff ones here today.  



This is an old recipe that my ex mother in law gave to me about 34 or 35 years ago now. It was always my ex's favourite and one of my favourites too.  And, I'm happy to say . . . tis also a favourite of the Toddsters!  



I think I get my love of everything raisin from my father.  He adored raisin pie.  I think to this day it is one of his favourite pies.  I wish I lived close enough to him to be able to make one for him now.  I used to make him one every now and again when I did live closer.  



I can 't remember if my mom likes raisin pie or not, but I know my sister does.  We were talking about it just today and then I remembered these tasty bars and thought I would share them with you, because I just no that whilst there may be some raisin haters  amongst you, there are sure to also be some raisin lovers just like me!  



These are so easy to make.  You simply make a cooked filling and then bake it in a square pan between two sheets of pastry.  I like to brush the top with a bit of milk and dust with some Turbinado sugar for a bit of sweet crunch.  



I do hope that you will bake them and that when you do you come back to tell me just how much you loved them!  Now, that would make me very happy indeed!    These are also great cut up, wrapped rightly and stogged into lunch boxes!

    



*Raisin Puff*
makes one 8 inch square pan, about 12 squares
Printable Recipe

Another gem from my big blue binder.  Crisp pastry filled with a lovely raisin filling, brushed with milk and glazed with sugar. Delicious.

For the filling:
200g of soft light brown sugar (1 cup packed)
3 TBS cornflour
300g of raisins (2 cups)
295 ml cold water (1 1/4 cups)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp of lemon extract

To finish:
Shortcrust pastry enough for two layers
to fit in an 8 inch square pan
milk
demerara sugar to sprinkle (turbinado sugar)





First make the filling.  Whisk together the brown sugar and cornflour in a saucepan.  Stir in the water and raisins.  Bring to the boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.  Cook for one minute after it boils, stirring, until you have a thick and glossy mixture.  Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and lemon extracts.  Set aside to cool completely.

Preheat the oven to 230*C/450*F/ gas mark 8.  Roll out half of the pastry our large enough to line an  8 inch square pan.  Top with the raisin filling.  Roll the remaining pastry large enough to to fit over the top.  Place on top of the raisins.  Seal the edges.  Brush with milk and sprinkle with demerara sugar.

Place in the heated oven to bake.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Reduce the temperature to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6.  Bake for a further 20 to 25 minutes or until the pastry is crisp and cooked top and bottom, and lightly browned.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before cutting into squares to serve.

For the Topping:
2 pounds of floury potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
(use a King Edward, Maris Piper, or good Idaho potato)
2 ounces butter
¼ cup of sour cream
1 TBS finely grated onion
Salt and pepper to taste
4 ounces grated strong cheddar cheese
A little warmed milk if necessary

Pre-heat the oven to 220*C/450*F/gas mark 7.

Peel and chop the onion. Peel and dice all the other vegetables into a uniform dice. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and vegetables and cook them over medium high heat, stirring from time to time until they just start to colour. Add enough stock to just barely keep them from sticking to the pan and reduce the heat to medium low and cook, stirring occasionally until all the liquid has evaporated and the vegetables are still crispy tender. Season them to taste with some salt and a good grinding of pepper. Stir in the herbs, and then pop the whole mixture into a pie dish. It may seem a bit dry, but not to worry, the final baking in the oven will release all those delicious vegetable juices.

For the topping put the potatoes into a pan of salted boiling water and cook them until they are fork tender. Drain well and return the potatoes to the pan. Give them a good shake over the still warm burner to dry them out a bit and then mash them well along with the butter and sour cream. Stir in the cheese and grated onion. Add only enough milk to make them nice and fluffy. You don’t want the mixture to be too loose. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Pile the fluffy mash on top of the cooked vegetables and bang the pie dish into the heated oven. Cook for about 15 to 20 minutes until the topping is nicely browned. Serve hot.