woa food talk  

The New Zealand Cook’s Bible.
Lesley Christensen-Yule & Hamish McRae
This book should be the cornerstone of every good cookbook collection (although, when you see it, you’ll actually want it on your coffee table). Cookbooks often assume that you know (or remember) all the techniques required to prepare and cook a particular recipe. As Lesley and Hamish explain in their introduction, many children have not learned to cook alongside their parents or grandparents so even the basics are not being passed down through the generations.

New Zealand is also full of foodies who love to cook and want to increase their knowledge and skill base.This book is written for all these people. The New Zealand Cook’s Bible includes information on setting up a kitchen,selecting the right knife, cookery techniques, how to fillet a fish, the best method for roasting beef, basic preparations, cuts (where applicable), safety and storage, modern ingredients, terms and tools all the way through to meal and menu planning. It is a comprehensive cookbook, covering traditional methods and techniques and more than 500 delicious, easy-to-follow recipes. Literally everything you need to know about cooking.

The New Zealand Cook’s Bible has been written by the chefs who train the chefs and adapted from the leading textbook for professional cookery training (The New Zealand Chef) so whether you are a complete culinary novice or an experienced home cook wanting to develop, improve and hone your skills, this book will be your ultimate kitchen companion.
And all in a stunning package that you will want your friends to see in your kitchen.

Yates Garden Fresh Cookbook
By Kate Fraser
A companion volume to one of this country′s most successful books, the Yates Garden Guide, to highlight the cooking and preserving of home-grown produce. Kate Fraser is the author of Cooking Times and food editor of a major daily newspaper. The food content of the book contains sixty heritage family recipes provided by the Yates internet garden club as a special feature. It is anticipated that this book will continue to grow and be added to over the years as a companion to the main book. It also aims to meet a growing need for cooking and preserving information for a generation of new gardeners who have lost this connection between the garden and kitchen.

Hazelnut Cheesecake
'This is a cheat's version of a cheesecake. It has a light creamy taste that contrasts deliciously with the nutty ginger base. Makes two 9cm cheesecakes.'

Base
3Tbsp chopped toasted hazelnuts
6 gingernut biscuits
40 g butter, melted

Top
125 g cream cheese
70 g creme fraiche
2 1/2 Tbsp lemon curd
A few blueberries or raspberries

Line two lightly oiled 9cm ramekins with plastic food wrap.
Chop the hazelnuts and biscuits to crumbs in the food processor. Combine with the butter and mix well. Press into the bottoms of the ramekins and refrigerate for 30 minutes to set firm. When ready to fill the bases, use the food wrap edges to lift them out of the ramekins. Beat the cream cheese and the creme fraiche to combine well, fold in all but a little of the lemon curd and pile the mixture onto the hazelnut bases. Smooth the tops with a knife dipped in boiling water and brush with a thin layer of lemon curd. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to set the mixture. Top with a few blueberries or raspberries.

Fast & Fun Family Food
Alison Holst
In 1966 Alison penned her first best-selling cookbook. To date she has written over 90 cookbooks. She has raised more than $4 million for different charities. Alison Holst is a name synonymous with good, nutritious and affordable family meals.

‘One of the ways we show love for our children is by giving them good food – food they will eat with enjoyment at regular intervals throughout the day, and that will help to keep them fit, happy and healthy. Food for a young family is quite a responsibility. Many things need to be considered. As well as remembering the important principles of good nutrition, we must give consideration to price, preparation time, and the preferences of others in the family group.’ Alison Holst – author  

fast & fun family food is a collection of recipes by New Zealand’s most beloved cook – Alison Holst. They have been ‘family-tested’, and given the ‘thumbs up’ over the years by Alison’s children and grandchildren as well as many other families. Packed full of helpful hints fast & fun family food is a book full of delicious recipes that will be welcomed by parents trying to balance the demands of family, work and life. fast & fun family food is perfect for parents with young families, and teenagers might also be encouraged to ‘have a go’ preparing the tasty and tempting recipes.

SIMPLY DELICIOUS RECIPES FOR CROCKPOTS & SLOW COOKERS
Robyn Martin
Featuring all new recipes, this book follows on from Robyn's hugely popular Best Recipes for Crockpots and Slow Cookers. This is a no-fuss cook book for anyone with a Crockpot or slow cooker, and is great for busy people.

This book features soups, chicken, meat, mince and sausages, vegetarian dishes, one-pot and desserts. Every recipe is photographed and made with readily available ingredients. This book also features helpful tips for getting the most out of your Crockpot or slow cooker.

Robyn Martin has an international following and she has sold over 4 million cook books.
 

Pineapple Glazed Ham Hock
1             Meaty Ham Hock
432gm can Pineapple pieces in juice
1/4 cup    Honey
1 tbl        Whole grain Mustard
4             Whole Cloves
1/4 cup    Dried Cranberries
Fresh Herbs to serve

Remove rind from hock and discard
Place undrained pineapple piece in the slow cooker. Mix in the honey, mustard, cloves and cranberries. Add Ham hock. cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours. Cut ham from bone to serve with pineapple and juices, garnish with herbs.
 

BAKE
Allyson Gofton
Is there a more comforting and enticing smell than that of home baking wafting through a home?
In this sumptuous baking book, Allyson Gofton shares her years of baking experience to create over 150 delicious and simple recipes to delight your taste buds.  Stacked with traditional Kiwi classics and Allyson's favourite family recipes, Bake will quickly become a much-loved addition to your home cookbook library.Beautifully designed, with stunning photographs from Alan Gillard, Bake will bring you and your family hours of baking and eating pleasure. Bake has recipes for biscuits, shortbread, slices and brownies, scones, loaves, muffins and cup cakes, cakes, puds  and tarts, and breads, plus:

• pantry essentials and kitchen equipment
• substitutions - when you've started baking and realise you're missing an ingredient
• baking with the food processor
• what went wrong? – how to resurrect a baking disaster so no one will ever know
• fast & furious - how to whip up a dessert for unexpected guests

Afghans, Barbecues & Chocolate Fish
Jane Hingston
A lot can be told about a country from its cuisine, and New Zealand is no exception. From traditional Maori cuisine, to immigrant influences to modern Kiwi tucker, this small but chocka book gives you the A to Z on New Zealand food. It contains not only the food Kiwis love (or have loved in the past), but also recipes for some of our favourite dishes, introductions to some of our most famous food personalities, and shows the part food plays in our everyday customs and celebrations. This Kiwi culinary compendium will appeal to both New Zealanders and visitors to our shores. Topics covered include: the history of our well-known brands such as Vogel's, Marmite and Weet-bix, the tall tales that surround the origins of goodies like Lamingtons and Neenish Tarts, the low-down on Kiwi culinary traditions such as Christmas, birthday parties, Sunday roast and 'ladies a plate'; and a fun collection of 'did-you-know?' facts - New Zealanders eat 7 million servings of hot chips a week, crayfish can migrate hundreds of kilometres, hokey pokey is New Zealand's third most popular ice-cream, we eat nearly 2 million Jelly Tips a year.

Swindled
Bee Wilson
Salmonella . . . toxins . . . additives . . . food scares . . . Have you ever wondered how our food has become so untrustworthy? Have we ever been able to trust what we eat? Via a fascinating mix of food politics, history and culinary detective work, Bee Wilson uncovers the many methods by which swindlers have tampered with our food throughout history. From the leaded wine of ancient Rome to the food piracy of the twenty-first century we see the extraordinary ways food has been padded, poisoned, spiked, coloured, substituted, faked and mislabelled everywhere it has been sold. Bee Wilson reveals the strong historical currents which enable the fraudsters to flourish; the battle of the science of deception against the science of detection; the struggle to establish reliable standards. She also suggests some small ways in which we can all protect ourselves from swindles and learn to trust what we eat again.

These delicious tartlets are from Christelle Le Ru's book Fresh Start

Filo tartlets
Makes 4

Ingredients
4 sheets filo pastry
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon milk
1 banana
100g / 3oz cream cheese
100g / 3oz natural yoghurt
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
2 tablespoons liquid honey
2 tablespoons raw sugar
4 strawberries
1 kiwi fruit
Preheat oven to 180C (350F). Fold each sheet of filo pastry into four and place each one at the bottom of an individual greased baking
tin. Mix the egg yolk with the milk and use to lightly brush the sides of the pastry. Bake for 10 minutes or until crispy and golden.
Slice the banana and divide between the tartlets. Process the cream cheese, yoghurt, vanilla bean paste, honey and raw sugar together
until smooth. Use to cover the slices of banana.

Hull and slice the strawberries. Peel and slice the kiwi fruit. Top each tartlet with slices of strawberries and kiwi fruit.