Bibliocook - All About Food

Award-winning blog of Irish food writer and broadcaster Caroline Hennessy.

Category: Read

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Cookery Books / Read

Cookbooks at Christmas

Food for Friends and Family by Sarah Raven

Some might say that it is too late for Christmas shopping but, as the Little Brother informed me this morning, there’s loads of time yet. Which would be fine if he wasn’t supposed to be buying for me – my family does Kris Kringle so that you only have to buy for one person – and most of the things I want are online. My fault for not telling him in time, apparently! Oh well…if there are any similarly challenged little brothers out there, they might find this list useful. Here are, in no particular order, a selection of review books that I’ve enjoyed this year. You can also find a few more in the Cooking the Books index.

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Culture File on RTÉ Lyric FM / Read / Work

Lyric fm: Chocolate at Christmas – 300 years ago

Mary Cannon's Commonplace Book

It wouldn’t be at all unusual to come across something like Chocolate Cream or Whipped Chocolate Syllabub on a modern day menu. What is surprising is that these are dishes that may have been eaten at an Irish Christmas celebration during the 1700s, at least from the evidence of Mary Cannon’s Commonplace Book.

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Cookery Books / Read

Food From Plenty by Diana Henry

Food From Plenty by Diana Henry

Ever since the sunshine soaked warmth of Crazy Water, Pickled Lemons I’ve been a fan of Diana Henry’s food writing. Her follow ups – Roast Figs, Sugar Snow (warming dishes from colder climes, perfect for this kind of weather) and the does-what-it-says-on-the-tin Cook Smart (the sausages chapter is a constant go-to) – have kept me cooking over the last few years.

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Cookery Books / Read

Kitchen: Recipes from the Heart of the Home by Nigella Lawson 

Kitchen by Nigella Lawson

Kitchen arrived at the cottage just before a recent weekend where I was the kind of unwell that makes you want to curl up on the couch with a mug of hot chocolate and a good book. I picked up Kitchen – carefully, I didn’t want to drop the hot chocolate, and it is a Big Book – and it was the perfect antidote to a few miserable days. I reveled in Nigella’s exuberant and extensive descriptions of Cheesy Chilli, Guinness Gingerbread and Marmalade Pudding Cake. Never mind the comfort eating: this is comfort reading at its very best.

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Read

An Irish Butcher Shop by Pat Whelan

An Irish Butcher Shop by Pat Whelan

No longer content to just sell quality meat, Irish butchers are now coming out from behind the counter. They’re telling people exactly where that particular joint comes from, how it is raised, humanely slaughtered and properly aged before it is handed over. With An Irish Butcher Shop Pat Whelan of James Whelan Butchers in Co Tipperary goes one step further. This is a cookbook that will ensure that customers have all his expertise at their fingertips when they arrive home with their piece of meat.

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Cookery Books / Read

Itsa Cookbook by Domini Kemp

Itsa Cookbook by Domini Kemp

I’ve been a Domini Kemp fan since she and her sister, Peaches, opened the first Itsabagel in Dublin’s Epicurean Food Hall. I fell in love with the Mountaineer bagel at first bite and Itsabagel became a regular port of call as well as the unanimous office choice when I was picking up lunch for everyone. I loved her first 2002 cookbook, Real Food, Real Fast, especially the sweet side of things: the Sticky Toffee Pudding makes masses and is a well-tried-and-tested large crowd dessert, the gooey Pistachio and Chocolate Biscuits never linger long and White Chocolate Berries is a great bring-along-dessert for dinner at a friend’s house.

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Cookery Books / Read

Leon: Naturally Fast Food by Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent

Leon: Naturally Fast Food by Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent

Since the first Leon cookbook arrived at the cottage, it hasn’t been allowed to leave the kitchen. Crammed with whole food ideas and healthy, seasonal dishes, all the food is tempting and very, very tasty. The Indian Parsnip Soup is one of those recipes that is in constant rotation, Little Missy loves the Sweet Potato Falafel and there’s always a stash of smoked fish in the fridge for a Magic Mackerel salad.

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Cookery Books / Read

Catherine’s Italian Kitchen by Catherine Fulvio

Catherine's Italian Kitchen

A gentle introduction to Italian cooking, Catherine’s Italian Kitchen is the companion book to Catherine Fulvio’s well-received television series, which was nominated for a World Food Media Award earlier this year. Fulvio, who runs the well regarded Ballyknocken Cookery School at her family home in Wicklow, is married to Sicilian native Claudio. With this connection and her teaching experience, she is well placed to translate Italian recipes to an Irish audience.