Book reviews

Gingerbread cookies for Easter

Thumbnail image for Gingerbread cookies for Easter March 28, 2013

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:  There are two types of people in the world – bakers and non-bakers.  Bakers tend to be those with an eye for detail – the kind of people who are not at all fazed by recipes requiring “2.5 egg yolks”;  who are willing to spend as [...]

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Red lentil soup with harissa croutons

Thumbnail image for Red lentil soup with harissa croutons February 21, 2013

“Life is a rollercoaster” warbled Ronan Keating – and despite not being a fan of boybands, and looking back at the past 10 days here at Cooksister HQ, I have to say that I think he had a point.  The Big Thunder Mountain experience started with a plunge into discovering that somebody I know is [...]

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Baked truffled eggs inspired by “White Truffles in Winter”

Thumbnail image for Baked truffled eggs inspired by “White Truffles in Winter” November 8, 2012

I set foot in France for the first time when I was 14, stepping off a UTA flight and into the warm air of a Nice evening. My father had finally decided that at 11 years old, my brother would be old enough to appreciate foreign shores and booked tickets for the family to accompany [...]

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Chicken with tomato, olives and capers from “Hazan Family Favourites”

Thumbnail image for Chicken with tomato, olives and capers from “Hazan Family Favourites” May 15, 2012

  Did your family have a favourite family recipe as a child?  Well, if you did, you are not alone:  if you enter the term “family favourite recipes” into Google, you will get quite a few results – 27 million results to be exact.  As you look through them, there is obviously some regional variation: [...]

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Chocolate truffles and chocolate orange gelato

February 14, 2011

    Great post-meal games to play on a lazy afternoons with friends around the table need to meet a few requirements.  They should not require much by way of fiddly equipment.  They should not require complicated scoring. They should not involve too much intellectual challenge or use of fine motor skills (given that everybody has [...]

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Individual berry meringue pots – and a cookbook review

October 7, 2009

It's a well-known fact that a lot of South Africans who emigrate, head for Australia in search of a similar climate, lifestyle and culture. In fact, in the early 90s "packing for Perth" became slang for describing anybody who was emigrating, no matter where they were going!  I, too, have always harboured a secret desire to be [...]

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