ROOTS - Winner of the James Beard Foundation and IACP awards

ROOTS - a winner - It has won the 2013 James Beard Foundation Award (Vegetable Focused and Vegetarian – Category) and has also been judged the winner of best single subject cookbook of the year from the International Association of Culinary Professionals. (IACP)

Roots The Definitive Compendium with More than 225 Recipes By Diane Morgan Foreword by Deborah Madison Photographs by Antonis Achilleos

For anyone who ever picked up a strangely shaped, gnarly looking vegetable at the farmers’ market (in the author’s case, burdock root) and said “what’s this?,” Roots is the ultimate go-to guide to the hearty, healthful, nutrition-packed, budget-friendly veggies found underground. In fact, in terms of sustainable farming for an expanding global population, it doesn’t get much better than roots – according to the Food and Agriculture Organization, roots like sunchokes, parsnips, and sweet potatoes top the list in terms of the amount of nutrition they provide per unit of land (Slate, June 12, 2012).

Roots reveals this bounteous underworld, from the familiar (beets, carrots, potatoes) to the unfamiliar (jicama, salsify, yuca) to the practically unheard of (cassava, galangal, crosnes). Discover the fascinating history and lore of each one, their nutritional content, how to buy and store them, and—the best part—more than 225 simple yet creative recipes that bring out their best flavors.

Start with easy-to-prepare Ginger Rhubarb Chutney. Save it in pretty glass containers and this tangy-spicy sauce makes a great gift (or eat it yourself straight from the jar!).  Explore more unusual varieties like burdock, a long, thin root with a mild flavor and pleasing crunch, ideal for pickling and stir-fries. Didn’t know turmeric was a root? Used mostly in Asian cooking, turmeric is best known for its beautiful golden color and its welcome presence in dishes like Chiang Mai Curry Noodles. And don’t forget the well-loved stand-bys like potatoes and carrots that make flavorful hearty stews and quick weeknight meals.

Whether you bring home your new-found roots from the grocery store or your local famers’ market, these delicious, nutritious, and easy-on–the-wallet veggies will add a new level of taste and sophistication to your everyday cooking.

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Antoine's serving up formality

By Peter Calder - The New Zealand Herald -  Wednesday May 22, 2013

Next week, the Parnell restaurant will notch up 40 years of continuous service - an Auckland record.

Tony Astle started work at 15 in Wellington as a waiter in the legendary Le Normandie. Photo / Natalie Slade

It doesn't look much of a kitchen: the bench is barely a metre long and the chef has just enough space to swing a Sabatier.
The saucepans on the rack about the hob are flame-blackened by years of use. Out the back, where his three sous-chefs work, there's an oven so old that a small crescent spanner does service as a control knob. A recess has been crudely hacksawed into a stainless-steel bench. The plates are kept hot in an old pie warmer.
But out of this kitchen in an old house at 333 Parnell Rd have emerged plates of luxurious rich food that exultantly celebrate the chef's view that there is, by and large, nothing so good that it won't be improved by the addition of butter and cream.

That chef is Tony Astle, whose restaurant, Antoine's, adds a French accent to his given name.
Sometime in the next week, Antoine's will notch up 40 years of continuous service to the city's more well-heeled diners. In a town where the average longevity of a restaurant is counted in months, that's some achievement.

It's also an Auckland record: the Tony's steakhouses in Wellesley St and Lorne St have been opened longer, but the ownership has changed over the years.
"I'm not sure of the exact date," Astle told me when I sat down with him at one of the tables, taking care not to spill any espresso on the starched linen. "It was some time in May. We've always said May 29."


Astle had returned from England, where he'd been cooking in a pub in Croydon, to open Antoine's. The house he had chosen was one of the rather derelict flats that Parnell was known for before its gentrification. "About 500 people have told me they lived here," he says, "and I say 'whatever'."
The front part was originally Dame Sister Mary Leo's rooms at St Mary's Convent, where Kiri Te Kanawa learned to sing: Parnell's redeveloper, Les Harvey, "brought it over and clipped it on".
What Antoine's brought to Auckland - and still delivers - was the most formal of fine dining.
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French Kitchen rules for parties

By Gill South - New Zealand Herald - Monday May 13, 2013

Business gets a surge of energy with the opening of a special new service - a separate private room.

Creghan Molloy-Wright and Simon Wright have opened a separate private party room they call The French Kitchen. Photo / Richard Robinson

Last year, like a lot of other restaurant owners in Auckland, Creghan Molloy-Wright and Simon Wright at The French Cafe had to work hard just to tread water.
But in December, they had something new to talk about - the opening of a separate private party room they called The French Kitchen. And it's given the business a new surge of energy for 2013; something different for customers to try under the well-established French Cafe brand.

The couple, who have owned the restaurant for nearly 14 years, were careful to prepare customers for The French Kitchen in the space which was a warehouse behind Cheap-skates, now linked directly via a courtyard with The French Cafe. They had boards up behind The French Cafe with the teaser "The French Cafe is growing", and also informed their database of diners and corporate contacts.

The space has an Electrolux-equipped kitchen - Wright is Electrolux cooking ambassador - and the room accommodates parties from 10 to 30. Architect Katie Lockhart has created a New York loft-style light-filled room.
"Everybody is incredibly relaxed in The French Kitchen - they have their own space and don't have to be conscious of other diners," says Molloy-Wright, who runs front of house.
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LEON - Family & Friends Cookbook # 4

The first Leon restaurant, in London’s Carnaby Street, opened its doors in 2004 built on the promise of serving good fast food that does you good. Now, 13 restaurants later, Leon serves over 70,000 devoted fans a week.
We visit each time we are lucky enough to be in London.

Leon Family & Friends is their fourth cookbook, created by Leon co-founder John Vincent and cookery writer and broadcaster Kay Plunkett-Hogge.

At the heart of happy family life are meals spent together – sharing flavourful, nutritious food around the kitchen table and swapping stories of the day. 

Many of us feel we don’t have the time to cater for our families in the way that we’d like but Leon Family & Friends shows you how to make the most of the time available to feed your family fabulous food. 
For Leon, family is not just our relatives; it’s also the extended community of friends, neighbours and colleagues. 
This wonderful book celebrates the power of food to bring people together. It’s divided into three sections: Today, including great breakfasts, brunch ideas and post-school teas, Tomorrow, for those occasions where some planning is involved – picnics, weekend lunches, birthday parties and Christmas – and Yesterday, a culinary celebration of nostalgic family food memories. 
With more than 200 recipes, there are dishes to keep everyone happy, from snacks for children in Crunch! Squish! Slurp! to super-quick supper recipes for parents in After Lights Out, and no teenager should fly the nest without 10 Things You Should Know How to Cook Before You Leave Home. 

A new Leon cookbook is always something to celebrate and this is ceratin to become a much-loved classic on the kitchen shelf.
This is such a happy book, I smiled all the way through it. Friendly and happy and a joy to use. Highly recommended. A couple of excerpts follow to give you a taste.

Cooking With Kids

Learning to cook is an essential part of growing up, so these are our top tips for getting your youngsters interested in cooking.

     Role models: As you know, kids like to copy adults and older kids. So the more they see you or their brothers and sisters or cousins cook when they are toddlers, the more they will want to get involved.

     Cooking judo: As soon as they show the first signs of interest, go with it. Don’t try and force them to cook what you want them to cook. Usually it is a cake that first interests them. Make it ‘their thing’. Natasha has made gluten-free pancakes her thing, and Eleanor bakes a cake that is basically a sponge cake … that is pink. And it is ‘her recipe’. Last week she announced she was ‘presenting it’ for this cook book.

     Weighing with numbers: In our experience kids like the process of weighing. Butter. Flour. Digital scales are easy and fun for them to use. A sponge cake where you have the same amount of butter and flour means they don’t have to remember too many numbers.

     Break it down: Teach them order from the beginning. It will help give them confidence and help them manage themselves as they get older. For example, lay out all the ingredients before you start cooking rather than rushing back and forth to the fridge.

     The whole routine: Cooking, in the mind of a child, is the whole process from soup to nuts. It includes the talking about what food to make, shopping, peeling, licking the bowl, washing up, and sitting down to eat it. So let them enjoy each phase and celebrate with them as their dish is served out to everyone.

     Special occasions: If you have a family gathering, let them make something that is their contribution for it. Maybe they can cook the little sausages at Christmas.

     Peeling can be fun: You may be pleasantly surprised at how kids enjoy the things that you find dull. Eleanor, from the age of two, has really enjoyed peeling carrots and potatoes. It may take 20 minutes to do just a couple, but it is wonderful to watch.

     Find the magic: The most fascinating dishes for kids are those that undergo the most magical transformations. Meringue. Or even popcorn.

     It’s a gift: Kids get most excited when what they are cooking becomes a present for a friend or member of the family.

Food is relationships: It’s not really about the food is it? It is about the time you are spending with them. So make it fun. Be nice. And create some happy memories.

Katie’s Sprout & Caramelized Onion Soup

Katie says: ‘I love making soups. They’re generally easy, and yet everyone thinks you’re terribly clever. This one was the result of over-enthusiastic sprout-buying last Christmas: it was so popular it even made it on to the official Derham Boxing Day menu this year – and believe me, that hasn’t changed for about three generations.’

450g onions, sliced

50g butter

1 tablespoon sugar

a handful of fresh thyme, leaves picked

450g Brussels sprouts, tidied up and halved

1 litre chicken stock

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Melt the onions in the butter. By this I mean don’t brown them, just put them on the lowest possible heat in a heavy-based pan with the lid on and let them go transparent for about 40 minutes. (I found that heating them up, then putting them into the warming oven of the Aga was perfect: a low-temperature conventional oven would work, too.)

When they’re really floppy, put them on the hob, turn the heat up a bit and add the sugar. Let them caramelize by cooking them for 5–10 minutes, stirring regularly, until they’ve started to colour a bit.

Stir in the thyme (strip the leaves off about 4 sprigs) and the sprouts, mix it all together, add a bit of salt and pepper, then add the chicken stock. (Stock cubes are naturally fine for this, though if you happen to have proper stock already made or sitting in the fridge, it will make the finished soup a notch superior.)

Simmer for about 10 minutes, or until the sprouts are tender. Whizz in a food processor or blender, taking care as the soup will be very hot. If you think it’s looking a little thick, add a splash more stock to loosen the texture. Serve with a swirl of cream if you’re feeling fancy.

Note at foot of page with the above recipe:

Katie is my wife and a very tremendous one. After we first met, I explained to her that she was going to marry me, and eventually the penny dropped and she did. OK, so there are some stories in between those two things, but I can tell you that in my view she would make a very good Queen of a small country. She is, in my view, pretty, interesting, interested, smart, great company, caring, a lovely Mum, good on the TV, sociable, a great team player, kind, has good posture, and I love her very much.

John

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RIPE DELI LAUNCHES A FRESH BATCH OF RECIPES

Following the success of their 2010 cook book, Ripe Recipes, Angela Redfern and her talented team at Ripe have whipped up a fresh batch of recipes with their second book – Ripe Recipes - A Fresh Batch.

In the eleven years since Ripe first opened, the vibrant delicatessen has gained a reputation for creating healthy, delicious homemade style food using only free-farmed and free-range products and the best of local ingredients.

Ripe Recipes - A Fresh Batch is a collection of over 140 healthy-tasty recipes broken down into easy to follow sections, from finger food to ‘lunch faves’ and fresh salads packed with goodness through to scrumptious deli dinners and gooey decadent desserts. The book also features fun themed menus based on celebration days at the delicatessen, like Mexican day, Friday Pie day and Cheesecake day.

Angela, owner of Ripe Delicatessen, says “with A Fresh Batch we wanted to showcase how to create delicious food that’s healthy and tastes great with health benefits, without compromising on taste.” 

With A Fresh Batch, Angela collaborated with head chef Pip Wylie and chef Amy Melchior to bring unique new flavours to the table. “The whole team at Ripe had a part to play. Some were even kind enough to let us include their secret family recipes in the book” Angela says.

The stunning photography captures the vibrant freshness of each recipe and once again Michelle Ineson has lent her creativity to the pages with whimsical pen and ink illustrations.

Written in Ripe’s signature easy to read and fun style, filled with quirky anecdotes and now new handy nutrition bites, Ripe Recipes - A Fresh Batch will appeal to all food lovers and will have even the most inexperienced cook like me hopefully creating simple, fabulous dishes that are nourishing for the soul and great for the taste buds! 

The publishers have kindly agreed to me sharing with you two recipes from the book:

THE ALMIGHTY COCK-A-LEEKIE PIE

This pie has been adapted from a traditional Scottish soup. Prunes were added by the Scots to increase its nutritional value – we like the sound of that!

                               

Serves 4 to 6

2 sheets frozen PUFF PASTRY

FILLING

60g BUTTER
1 ONION, peeled, finely diced
6 cloves GARLIC, peeled, finely chopped
1½ LEEKS, white and green parts, trimmed, cut into thin rounds
2 tbsp FRESH THYME, finely chopped
2 BAY LEAVES
¼ cup (60ml) WHITE WINE
1 tbsp WHOLEGRAIN MUSTARD
600g CHICKEN BREAST or THIGH, boneless, skinless,
roughly chopped
4 tbsp FLOUR
1 cup (250ml) WARM MILK
½ cup (125ml) CHICKEN STOCK
¾ cup (120g) PRUNES, pitted
1 tsp SALT
Freshly GROUND BLACK PEPPER
250g SOUR CREAM

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Defrost the pastry.

Place a large frying pan over a medium heat; add the butter. When melted, add the onion, garlic, leeks, thyme and bay leaves. Cook for a few minutes, until the leeks have softened, stirring often.

Add the wine and mustard. Allow to simmer for a few minutes, until the liquid has almost evaporated. Add the chicken and stir through.

Reduce the heat and sprinkle in the flour. Cook for a further minute stirring continuously, as the flour
catches easily.

Slowly pour in the warm milk and then the stock, stirring constantly until the roux thickens.

Add the prunes, salt and pepper. Cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring often.

Remove from heat and discard the bay leaves. Fold through the sour cream.

Transfer the pie mix into an ovenproof dish; cover with the flaky pastry and brush the top with egg wash
(see pg 247).

Place in oven and cook for 30-40 minutes until pastry is golden and puffy.

CARPET BAG PIEs

Makes 6

1 quantity of SAVOURY SHORT PASTRY (see pg 244)
or 3 sheets frozen SAVOURY SHORT CRUST PASTRY

FILLING

500g BEEF, diced into 2cm pieces
2 tbsp FLOUR, seasoned with SALT and freshly GROUND BLACK PEPPER
2 tbsp VEGETABLE OIL
50g BUTTER
2 ONIONS, peeled, finely diced
6 cloves GARLIC, peeled, finely diced
2 BAY LEAVES
4 FIELD MUSHROOMS, stem trimmed, sliced into 8
4 BUTTON MUSHROOMS, stem trimmed, sliced into 6
1 tbsp FRESH THYME, finely chopped
2 cups (500ml) BEEF STOCK
2 tbsp WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE
1 cup (250ml) GUINNESS
½ tsp SALT
Freshly GROUND BLACK PEPPER
12 fresh OYSTERS

Prepare the pastry, or if using frozen pastry, defrost.

To prepare the filling: place the beef and seasoned flour into a plastic bag. Shake until the beef is well dusted
with flour.

Place a large saucepan or stockpot over a high heat, add oil and butter. When the butter has melted, add the beef. Cook for 5 minutes until the beef is lightly browned all over. With a slotted spoon, remove the beef and
set aside.

To the pan, add the onions, garlic, bay leaves, mushrooms and thyme. Reduce the heat and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the browned beef back to the pan with the stock, Worcestershire sauce, Guinness, salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 1½ hours, stirring occasionally.

Note: alternatively you can place the stew into a casserole dish with a fitted lid and bake at 180°C for
1½ hours.

Remove from the heat and set aside to cool a little. Discard the bay leaves.

To prepare the pies: preheat oven 180°C and grease a 6-hole capacity Texan muffin tray.

On a lightly floured bench roll out the pastry into a large rectangle 3mm thick.

Using a large cookie cutter, or a small bowl, cut 6 circles of pastry large enough to fill the Texan muffin tray. Cut 6 smaller circles for the tops.

Line the muffin tray with the large circles of pastry and fill evenly with the beef mixture.

Place 2 oysters into each pie. Egg wash (see pg 247) the rim of the pastry shells. Place the tops onto the pies and pinch the edges together to seal tightly.

Brush the tops with egg wash and prick each pie with
a fork.

Cook in the oven for 20-30 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.

Beatnik Publishing - Hardcover - $59.99

Available at good bookshops or from Ripe Deli.

a party without a cake.............

Mother's Day - For our sweet Mums (+recipes)

By Grant Allen - Herald on Sunday

 Sunday May 12, 2013  -  Grant Allen makes some whoopie in the kitchen

Grant bakes with Julia Crownshaw of 'NZ's Hottest Home Baker'. Photo / Michael Craig

Julia Crownshaw tripped into my kitchen like Little Red Riding Hood, complete with full cake tins and a basket brimming with sweet treats.
She's tall and gorgeous and was here to show us some ideas for spoiling your mum today, Mother's Day.
Spying all these goodies, my partner took on the stance of the Big Bad Wolf, trying to entice some tempting morsels from our guest. He was sent back to his office until the photos were taken.

For the past two seasons, Julia has been a judge on the TV3 show New Zealand's Hottest Home Baker with Dean Brettschneider.
Before this, Julia, who trained as a food technologist, worked with various food companies developing commercial food products such as ice creams and chocolates.
On her return from living in London, Julia and friends perceived a gap in the New Zealand market. They set up a business called Dollop Puddings, making ready-to-eat gourmet chilled desserts and accompaniments.

Her business partner booked her in to audition as a judge for Hottest Home Baker. Julia arrived thinking she was there to chat and walked into a full screen test in front of eight people.

She'd been duped, but she got the job.
Julia's approach to baking is about having fun. Dean is the perfectionist on the show, Julia is more focused on fabulous flavours, tastes and textures. But her food science background gives her an inside knowledge of what will work and why things go wrong.


All cooking is about kitchen chemistry, to some extent. Successful baking takes that to extremes and requires exact measurements, techniques and temperatures; precision is required. You can experiment with flavours but start mucking around with ingredient proportions and you are heading for a flop.

Julia did not train as a baker and this new role has seen her up-skill. She acknowledges she has learned a lot from Dean, a professional patissier, and is also picking up great tips and tricks from the contestants. And she is having fun.
Baking is a creative and challenging process. Julia sees this as a key motivation behind the show's contestants, they're not necessarily there for the prize. She also perceives a new interest in baking, particularly among young people and men. And what are we baking these days? The cupcake still has a firm hold and macarons are flourishing but watch out for a wave of whoopie pies.

Meringue-based concoctions and marshmallows are also on the comeback. Start practising these and you may be inspired to audition for the next season of Hottest Home Baker. Her business uses natural products, real fruit, genuine vanilla, free-range eggs, pure rose waters and good chocolate. She recommends this approach to the home baker.
If you make the show, wear flat shoes in the kitchen. Julia let slip that the boys (Dean and host Colin Mathura-Jeffree) give her a hard time when she is in heels - they worry she makes them look short. Here are some recipes from Julia that will make your mum's day.

Recipes:
• Plum and vanilla marshmallows
• Earl grey and salted caramel marshmallows
• Chocolate whoopie pies with berry compote creme
• Banana and caramel whoopie pies
• Raspberry and rosewater meringue kisses
• White chocolate cupcakes with lime and passionfruit curd and swiss meringue buttercream

•The new series of New Zealand's Hottest Home Baker begins this Thursday, May 16, at 7.30pm on TV3.
- Herald on Sunday