Yippee! Shared Kitchen gets another gong!

You’ll also find the latest round of cooking classes below– grab your pals and come over (best way to fill in a winter’s day). And check out the recipes you could whip up for an Italian feast. We’re celebrating here because we have received some exciting news: Shared Kitchen took out 2nd place in Best Website in the World in the Gourmand Awards held at the weekend in Yantai, China. These awards, established 20 years ago by Edouard Cointreau, celebrate the best of food and wine publications around the world. Initially, the categories consisted of just recipe and food books but the awards have grown and now take in wine and drink publications, and more latterly, food apps and ebooks. Websites were added just two years ago. While Shared Kitchen competed against websites built with huge budgets and the ability to lure enormous audiences, it’s important to believe in yourself and what you do. Shared Kitchen is not overtly commercialised, it has integrity and its content is credible, it has style and a certain sway, and it has a very loyal and growing readership. That may or may not be enough to stand up to global competition, but there was only one way to find out. For a bit of a dare, we thought we’d put our toes in the water and see. We won the New Zealand round, then, the fantastic news at the weekend that we came second in the Best in the World! Just think if we had procrastinated and not entered … I encourage all food and drink writers (publishers/producers) to enter their work in the Gourmand awards. If you don’t win you’ll be keen to see who does, then you’ve got work to compare with your own and to aspire towards. Competitions are great like that – they really do make you appraise your own work and look for ways to improve it. Read more here about Shared Kitchen I've got another round of cooking classes to be held here on Waiheke in my home the Writer's Retreat. We're repeating Keep the Home Fires Burning on Friday 17th June as it was so popular, then we move into a special day Sunday 19th June with Shortest Day, Longest Lunch. This day is part demonstration, followed by a long lunch around the table to enjoy the spoils. I'll be cooking for you! This will be a great day, with gorgeous food, gorgeous wines and prizes for everyone. On Friday 24th and Saturday 25th June I'm covering Great Winter Classics. Not only will this class provide you with a great set of recipes, you'll learn hundreds of tips, too, and different ways to employ the techniques covered.MORE

Eat Your Books

Recipes | Books | Blog      Newsletter May 2016

Dear BookmanBeattie, We're excited to announce that we've enlisted Jenny Hartin of the website and Facebook group The Cookbook Junkies to write weekly cookbook reviews. Her first review is already posted to the EYB blog. This month we are featuring another great magazine, Saveur, which has over 95% of its recipes available online. Add it to your Bookshelf to expand your personal recipe library. In addition to our usual favorites lists, cookbook excerpts, and giveaways, we're highlighting our Breakfast/Brunch Pinterest board, which is chock full of terrific recipes for everything from weekday on-the-go breakfasts to leisurely Sunday brunches. Happy cooking! The team at EatYourBooks Weekly cookbook reviews coming to EYB We are adding a new feature to the EYB blog. Jenny Hartin, who owns the website The Cookbook Junkies and runs the Facebook group also called The Cookbook Junkies, will be writing a new cookbook review every week. The Facebook group is a closed group of 30,000 cookbook fans, and new members are welcome. Jenny's first review is of Aperitivo: The Cocktail Culture of Italy by Marisa Huff. You can read Jenny's thoughts about the book on the EYB blog. Featured magazine - Saveur Several magazines in the EYB Library have most, if not all, recipes available online. This month's highlighted magazine is Saveur, which features recipes from talented contributors like Daniel Boulud, Michael Solomonov, and David Tanis, as well as from its own respected editorial team. May's issue focuses on France, with delicious recipes like Spring vegetable stew (Estouffade printanière), Oeufs mayo with crab, Meringue floating in crème Anglaise (Île flottante), and Baked apple terrine with Calvados. Each year, Saveur has a special issue called "The Saveur 100", which the editors describe as an "annual attempt to survey what's happening in the world of food and drink and boil it all down...to the best of the best of right now." You can browse all issues of Saveur in the EYB Library. It's easy to add all issues of a magazine at one time - visit our support page to learn how. To add all 76 issues, use the date range January 1, 2008 to May 1, 2016, and then subscribe for future issues to be automatically added. Subscribing to all of Saveur is like adding over 15 cookbooks to your Bookshelf! Much more including peeks inside new cookbooks.

Things I Bring Back to France from America

Things I Bring Back to France from America David, 27 May No matter how many wonderful the foods, and other things, are in France, when I go back to the States, there are some things that I bring back to France with me. When I go to the other way, to the U.S., I pack things that I have a hard time living without or to give as gifts. Friends or hosts might get a loaf of Poilâne bread, a French cheese that’s elusive outside of France, a packet of salted butter, fleur de sel (French sea salt), Parisian chocolates, and for extra-special friends, a baked-the-same-day croissant. (Depending on my flight plans. And how much I like the person.) When I go the other direction, America to France, I pack certain things that I either can’t live without, because I haven’t found an equivalent, or I need (or like) to have them in my kitchen. For other room in the house, I stock up on unscented items. I, and my sensitive skin, and nose, aren’t fans of scented or over-scented items. (I once even saw vanilla-scented papier toilette. I like vanilla and all, but…) And yes, that’s me opening laundry detergents and smelling them in the supermarché aisles. I’m waiting for the day I get busted (or however you say that in French) for doing that. While I was packing my suitcase after a recent trip, I thought I’d share some of the things that were going back with me. I had a few books, snack-sized zip-top bags (which I once bought by mistake, but are great for small bits of things), and Tom’s toothpaste (I once ran out and used Romain’s toothpaste, which I found out was fennel – yuck…). I had the usual tangle of electronic cords and adaptors, which I finally organized by buying a cable organizer. I know, I know – Marie Kondo says not to buy organizers, but until they come up with a single cord and plug that works for everything (…please! And now there’s a movement to replace all our USB cords…oof…), I needed a better way to make sure I didn’t leave a cord behind, going in either direction. Spring-Loaded Ice Cream Scoop: The French love ice cream – what’s not to like? So why couldn’t I find spring-loaded ice cream scoops in various sizes for cookies? I didn’t get it until one of the clerks at MORA told me, “Because the French don’t make cookies like you do in the U.S.” Oops. Got it. He was right. While the French make cookies, they don’t really do cookies where the dough is dropped; they’re usually rolled and cut out. The size that’s available in France is used for scooping ice cream, like those restrained scoops at Berthillion, that make you want to order a triple, even though that’s très Américain.  Continue Reading Things I Bring Back to France from America...

Apple Crumble Tart

26 May 2016

RECIPES DRINKS PEOPLE & PLACES

Green mondays   Buckwheat Risotto   Made with roasted cauliflower, almonds and leeks, this dish is delightfully tasty and wholesome. Buckwheat is transformed by soaking it overnight and then infusing it with delicious flavour. Get the recipe       Tuck in   Apple Crumble Tart   Now that the weather has started to cool down, it's time to break out a warming pud. This tart/crumble combo is packed with apples and is delicious topped with a generous serve of ice cream. Get the recipe

Hello Graham A drop in temperature means this week's newsletter is brimming with warming recipe ideas, as well as a couple of favourites from our Italian issue. Claire Aldous' Friday Baking recipe is a savoury favourite from the Kenwood class she recently hosted – scroll down to find it. Speaking of baking, we also paid a visit (two, actually) to Britomart's beautiful new artisan bakery Amano – below you can read more about the treats on offer. Our new issue is just days away from going on sale! It's filled with more than enough inspiration to see you through the winter months – we can't wait for you to see it.

LATEST RECIPES | Our favourite recipes from this week

Stromboli Citrus Iced Tea Sunday Night Portobello Mushroom Soup

A week of surprises with Julie Biuso

A week of surprises People come up with plenty of crazy ideas in food, but using the gloop, that dull thickish somewhat stinky liquid found in a can of chickpeas, to make meringues, sounds off the radar, right? No way! Eew, yick and all of that. But hold on! I first became aware of using what is termed aquafaba – the aforementioned gloop – just a few short weeks ago thanks to an article in an American newspaper. When I went online I was stunned to see a whole new world out there. Yep, aquafaba, meaning bean water, has its own site, and there are plenty of people writing about it and creating new takes on recipes for the vegan market. One site proudly proclaims a recipe for Baked Alaska which is dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, soya-free, sesame-free, gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan. I'm not sure that soya and sesame were ever part of the original recipe, but you get the drift. There are aquafaba recipes for pavlova (no, the one above is made conventionally, and is the BEST EVER pavlova), pancakes, crepes, macarons and mayonnaise, and a buttercream for cakes which pipes like a dream, the author tells us. Whatever your thoughts, it is headed to a bar or restaurant near you, as it can be used to make foams and to replace whipped egg whites in cocktails. It's star is just rising. So, I thought I'd have a go. The results were certainly surprising. I don't need to experiment any more, as I eat eggs and don't need to find an egg replacement, but if you do, then online is the place to go. What else caught my fancy this week? It's been a busy one, and a tad nippy around my neck of the woods, and I've trotted out my fried Chinese-style eggs a couple of times. They are truly incredible, especially when you are starving, freezing and feeling lazy'ish. A 10-minute flavour bomb that will fill you up and warm you down to your toes. I'm not sure you could do anything like this with aquafaba, but who knows ... And because I've been playing around with chickpeas and ended up with so many after using the can gloop, I tested hummus made from canned chickpeas alongside that made from dried reconstituted chickpeas, and my old nemesis, bicarbonate of soda. Again, the results were surprising, and, well, sometimes in life, you just have to suck it up and move on. Finally, a recipe for Crying Lamb. A leg of lamb slathered in butter set above a bed of potatoes can't help but be delicious. All the gorgeous buttery lamb juices fall onto the potatoes turning them crisp and golden. There are times when red meat + animal fat + carbs is the most delicious thing on earth. Seriously. Just have a lettuce leaf for lunch the next day to balance it out. MORE

Moroccan Spiced Grilled Chicken Kebabs

Moroccan Spiced Grilled Chicken Kebabs David, 24 May  Whew! Last week was a busy one. I was on a deadline for a book, and as always, the last few weeks were a sprint to the finish. My neck still smarts from being glued to my computer, but it was nothing a few post-writing cocktails couldn’t fix. However I barely had time to shop or do much cooking while I had hammering out words. I’m not really a fan of take-out food, nor do I like delivered food, which is curiously becoming as popular in Paris as it is elsewhere. It’s just not really my thing. The idea of a meal that is cooked, then packed in a closed foam box for 30+ minutes or so before arriving on my table, isn’t so appealing. (Although I did get a pepperoni pizza delivered in New York when I was in the thick of things, which I’ll admit was pretty tasty.) It felt good to send the book in and get back to doing some cooking again. Especially grilling, which is as easy as take-out, and there are no pots and pans to wash, always a plus – whether you’re on book deadline or not. Continue Reading Moroccan Spiced Grilled Chicken Kebabs...

EAT YOUR BOOKS

Recipes | Books | Blog      Weekly Round-Up

Dear BookmanBeattie, Finding the best recipes amongst the millions online is not easy – but you don’t have to! The team here at Eat Your Books, searches for excerpts from indexed books and magazines and every week we bring you our latest finds. Every day recipes are added from the best blogs and websites. As a member, you can also add your own favorite online recipes using the Bookmarklet. With EYB, you can have a searchable index of all your recipes in one place! Happy cooking and baking everyone! The team at EatYourBooks From magazines: 8 recipes for savory biscuits from the May 7th issue of indexed The Guardian Cook supplement From AUS/NZ books: 36 recipes from Bakeclass: Learn to Bake Brilliantly, Step by Step by Anneka Manning From UK books: 5 recipes from The Kitchen Shelf: Take a Few Pantry Essentials, Add Two Fresh Ingredients and Make Everyday Eating Extraordinary by Eve O'Sullivan & Rosie Reynolds