Category: Read

If ever your grandmother knew how slow cooking turned beef cheeks meltingly tender, could tell her Rhode Island Reds from Marans or was able to grow, harvest, preserve and cook her own runner beans, you’ll nod knowingly at Forgotten Skills of Cooking and enjoy leafing through the pages. If you weren’t lucky enough to have that kind of paragon of virtue in your life, think of Darina Allen’s latest book as a kind of virtual granny in book form.

Without television, radio or mobile reception, heading off to the Husband’s family bach, or holiday home, at Lake Rotoiti always entails packing lots of books. The use of the Husband’s Mother’s library card is always very much appreciated and gives me a chance to pick up a few cookbooks from the great selection available (did I ever mention that I love NZ libraries?). Between occasional walks and trips down to the small village of St Arnaud for coffee at the Alpine Lodge café – fresh baked muffins (favourite: raspberry, pecan and chocolate) and scones every morning, great looking brunches and lunches, with long blacks worth walking miles for – there is plenty of time for reading.

Since the release of Julie and Julia, both the book and the film,Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking has taken on a new lease of life. Now when readers look at this classic cookbook – first published in 1961 – they do so with the memory of Julie Powell’s consternation while tackling recipes like Boeuf Bourguignonne and Homard a l’Americaine. And they hear Julia Child’s idiosyncratic voice (and Meryl Streep’s take on that voice) in every line of this opinionated, entertaining and educational book.

In the last few years, The Cliff House Hotel has really put Ardmore on the map. A small seaside village in Co Waterford, Ardmore was one of those places we visited as children during our summer holidays along the coast in Youghal. We always loved the cliff walk and I remember the old hotel that we used to pass on our way there, remarkable only for the large garden alongside.