kenny weir Posted June 15, 2003 Report Share Posted June 15, 2003 My first experience of community-based cookbooks came from repeated visits to New Orleans/South Louisiana. On returning to Australia I had a powerful desire to cook red beans 'n' rice, jambalaya, gumbo and so on, so I purchased such tomes as River Road Recipes Vols 1 & 2 and Talk About Good. More recently, especially in the past year or so since I've become a family man and started exploring the wonderful world of baking, I've accumulated a small collection of similar books from around Australia and New Zealand (thanks, Mum). I'd love to know what cookbooks like these board members have and use - or have had a hand in themselves on behalf of their local school or whatever. These books seem to be always affordable, full of foolproof recipes and have Real Soul! I've been using the following very tasty recipe from a slim volume produced by the Canvastown Community at the top of NZ's South Island. CARAMEL CAKE 100g butter 1 small cup sugar 1 egg 1 cup milk 1 1/2 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 cup sultanas 1 tablespoon golden syrup 1 teaspoon vailla essence 1 dessert spoon cocoa 1 teaspoon baking powder Beat butter and sugar, then beat in egg. Add milk gradually then add dry ingredients. Bake at 180C for 30-40 minutes. Eat. Do you have golden syrup in the US? I guess molasses would do. Do you have cocoa in the US? It's powdered chocolate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacman Posted June 15, 2003 Report Share Posted June 15, 2003 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J Larsen Posted June 15, 2003 Report Share Posted June 15, 2003 No offense intended, but I find most of Joy of Cooking's recipies to be rather bland. They are generally quick and easy, though, and it does have a couple winners. The Chicken Kiev is good, and I like the manicoti recipe. The deserts also generally come out well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vibes Posted June 15, 2003 Report Share Posted June 15, 2003 I've been doing the Atkins diet since January, so almost all of the new recipes that I or my wife have tried since then have come from the Atkins website (www.atkinscenter.com). It's a good thing there's lots of recipes on there, because the diet is rather restrictive and the foods that one can eat on the diet (if you follow it strictly) are rather limited. I've had a lot of success with it, so I don't mind. When I get off the diet, my wife bought me the Famous Dave's cookbook (BBQ food, for those of you who haven't heard of the restaurant) and I'm excited to try a lot of the recipes in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacman Posted June 16, 2003 Report Share Posted June 16, 2003 No offense intended, but I find most of Joy of Cooking's recipies to be rather bland. true, but, the "how to" stuff is worth the cover price. my new favorite book is Alton Brown's "I'm Only Here For The Food". IMO this book should be in everyone's kitchen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris Posted June 16, 2003 Report Share Posted June 16, 2003 I'm on a low carb regiment right now myself, but when I'm not I love to cook Thai and Indian food. The best Thai cookbook I have found is The Best of Vietnamese and Thai Cooking. Amma's Cookbook is good for Indian, though the best cookbooks use ingredients I can almost never get my hands on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenny weir Posted July 8, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2003 This is my idea of fun, or one of them anyways. We've got a chook to cook for dinner tonight, and I just couldn't face roasting it the way we normally do - stuffed with lemons. So I fossicked around in a few cook books and found a funky basting sauce recipe in River Road Recipes, a south Louisiana cook book. I put about 1/4 cup of oil in a bowl (the recipe said 3/4), followed by the juice of 4 lemons (the recipe said 2), a tablespoon of worcester sauce, a teaspoon of salt, a teaspoon of paprika (the recipe said Tabasco, but didn't have any) and two finely chopped, large garlic cloves. I marinated the chook in that for about half an hour, and then popped in the oven (about 190C) with another tray of spuds and sweet potato. Carrots and courgettes to be steamed just before dining. Blimey, it's sure making the house smell good. Even better than the butterscotch cake I just took out. All prepared while my wife is at a movie (Dial M For Murder), my son was asleep and Benny Goodman/Charlie Christian were entertaining the cook at a suitably high volume. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Alfredson Posted July 8, 2003 Report Share Posted July 8, 2003 Can I come over? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.:.impossible Posted July 8, 2003 Report Share Posted July 8, 2003 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.:.impossible Posted July 8, 2003 Report Share Posted July 8, 2003 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenny weir Posted July 8, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2003 Can I come over? Hell, it smelt so good (and so powerful) I'm surprised you couldn't partake right from where you are. Tasted almost as good, too, and I'm looking forward to having the leftovers in a sanger today. B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Wheel Posted August 6, 2003 Report Share Posted August 6, 2003 Up--I'm off the school meal plan for the summer again and have been doing a lot of cooking lately. This week I've been getting more adventurous...last night I made a Spanish tortilla (sorta like a big omelet with more potato than eggs in it) that was pretty good, although I couldn't get it to stay in one consistent mass since it was impossible to flip the whole huge thing over at once. Tonight was some gumbo from a mix, but doctored with chorizo and okra. Mmmmm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenny weir Posted August 6, 2003 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2003 I LOVE my three-day weekends - Sunday, Monday, Tuesday - as I get to cook!!!! Last night for din dins we had fish, mussels and pippis (I think they're called clams everywhere else) done in white, lots of garlic, parsley, white wine, onion, olive oil and tomatoes, with Turkish bread on the side (along with more wine). Hmmmm-mmmm! What really surprised us was that Bennie, 2 years 3 months, was slurping up that shellfish like a pro - picking up the shalls, scooping the meat out and chomping it righteously while putting the spent shells in the appropriate bowl. After we had baked apples, cored and stuffed with a buttery mixture of honey and sultanas with creamy Greek-style yogurt. There has been a big change around our joint, though, a bit sad really. Somewhat reluctantly I've had to curb my lust for baking. Waistlines were expanding, and all thje baking brought a few allergy issues to the surface. I miss it, but have to admit I feel better for not scoffing cookies/slices/cake/whatever after dinner every night! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Thorne Posted August 7, 2003 Report Share Posted August 7, 2003 I love cooking many styles of ethnic cuisine, from regional American dishes to Chinese, Italian, Japanese, Thai, etc. One of the best Thai cookbooks I've discovered is Keo's Thai Cuisine, which my wife and I purchased from the author on a trip to Hawaii many years ago. It's packed with great recipes from cover-to-cover. Included is one of the tastiest vegetarian recipes I've ever put in my mouth, a trademark Keo Sananikone dish ... Evil Jungle Prince. If you visit Oahu, Hawaii, you must visit one of Keo's two award-winning restaurants in the Waikiki area. And, they're very reasonably priced. Here's a link to a review of Keo's cookbook. http://www.bookbravo.com/week45_05112003.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Thorne Posted August 9, 2003 Report Share Posted August 9, 2003 Since cooking and eating are two of my favorite pasttimes, I'll gladly add a 2nd post right away, with the hope that others will keep this thread active. There are countless cookbooks for virtually any ethnic food you can think of, but it's always nice to discover one that's simple, direct and offers recipes which please. Here's one for flawless, simple Mexican cookery: Mexican Cookbook by Erna Fergusson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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