Recipes

This cake is knock out good and will knock you out with its intensity. Moist, rich and sweet. We like to serve it with some Greek yoghurt mixed with rosewater and berries.

Bookery Cook has started invading kitchen's internationally! The theme of this invasion to a kitchen in Park Slope, Brooklyn, was all things Japanese. 

When we woke up to find snow we knew it was going to be a good day.

Little did we know the day was going to involve interstate and international friends, breakfast out at a lovely new little cafe, a flea market, a platter, champagne, homemade salmon carbonara, hours of dancing in a warehouse loft party, new friends, all topped off with an early-AM deli turkey sandwich (our first ever!).

Here's a little sample of the fun had at Bookery Cook's Japanese-themed Kitchen Invasion last night....

 .... stay tuned for a full report on the feast, the fun and the funk!

Guest blogger Maya Sundari steps us through how to make luscious fresh chèvre mmmMMM...

Rich, saucy, meaty and wholesome. This classic is a crowd pleaser, and even more delicious the next day. Don't be afraid to try it on a sandwich. 

Cooked up this gem a little while back. Yes laksa paste is easily attainable and does a pretty damn good job, but making it fresh doesn't take much longer, is delicious, and very satisfying :D

Here's an exotic dish to impress a crowd in the summer season!

The last night before Maxie jetted off to set up life in NYC last year we had a day of adventuring around the misty mountain wonderland of Maleny, visiting friends and stopping off at the Maleny pub for a pint on the way home. That night we cooked up a yum new gnocchi dish for Maxie's last supper.

While we're not disputing the classic camping grub of sausage, white bread and sauce, there can come a time when you want some variation. On this camping trip to the glorious Stradbroke Island, we brought along & sourced some local produce to concuct a Prawn & Zucchini Fettuccini.

Maybe its their bejewelled nature, or their delicious burst of flavour, but lately I cannot get enough pomegranate in my life. And it turns out this obsession is shared amongst many in the world and rightly so, as pomegranates are a new super food:  They are high in vitamin C and potassium, a great source of fiber, and low in calories. Not only is this fruit delicious, but one of the healthiest foods you can eat

Nothing says Christmas more than the smell of warming spices. Having a massive craving to bake and feeling festive, I decided to bake Ginger bread biscuits to take to work.

Sundays unfairly get a bad rap by most of the working population. Transform your Sunday into a day to look forward to by including at least one of the following features: a platter, champagne, feature meal, nap, swim, crossword, gardening, a movie (in no strict order) (on a sliding scale upwards towards bliss the more features involved).

For thanksgiving I decided to accompany my pumpkin pie, I wanted ricotta ice-cream, so I set about testing a recipe. Having made ice-cream before successfully sans ice-cream maker once before I thought that second time round would be child’s play.

First thanksgiving ever and I decided to go very non-traditional and cook a ‘Shanksgiving’ feast.
Teaming up with good friend and fellow food obsessee Aimee Hunter, of Anatomy of Food, the menu was as follows:

A rainy, cold and miserable day in New York = the perfect excuse to bake all day. Settled on making some fresh ricotta and baking an Earl Grey Tea cake… because all I want on a rainy day is a bottomless cup of tea and a piece of cake.

I’ll be the first to admit I am not the best baker. Measuring things exactly is not my forte… but I do love it, and when it works out I find it very very satisfying. Since living in New York, the times I have baked have been few and far between, so I am a little out of practice. With the oncoming of the cooler weather (and a good excuse to drink bottomless cups of tea and baked goods) I decided it was about time to make my return to the world of ovenly delights.

I recently signed up to NETFLIX. It’s incredible. I have access to so many cooking shows on demand. Which means every night I crawl into bed and enter the kitchens of various famous chefs all over the world. I have become slightly addicted to Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares (yes cringe now if you must) but I honestly love it. And find it surprisingly, very inspirational!

The recent hurricane threat in New York reminded me a lot of the time leading up to the Brisbane Floods in January. One of my favourite parts about the pending natural disaster was observing what people purchase in times of crisis. The food that they believe will sustain them for a day/week/month. The things that I notice are the QUANTITY of food purchased and the type of food purchased.

So, the departure of Bookery Cook’s Maxie for the big city bright lights (and edible wonderland) of NYC called for a grand feast. We decided to invade the kitchen and deck of good friends in Auchenflower for the occasion.

 Having gone the (West End) markets Saturday, Wednesday rolling around surprising quickly, dinner booked out for Thursday night, and not touched any of the market produce, it was time for some rash vegetable action.


 

Sunday afternoon at our parent’s house/farm on the Sunshine Coast… outside fire, platter, beers… then Japanese banquet (^_^) !

Weeks of suppressed cooking urges due to study and life commitments erupted into a frying, caramelising, roasting, sauteing, wine-drinking frenzy last Friday night.

Inspired by a Guardian article entitled ‘The life-saving qualities of pizza‘, the need to a repent a hangover fromThe Fleet Store opening after-party (a project of Maxie’s along with QUT fashion student comrades), the call of entertaining on the deck in summer and the need to feed friends before heading down to Class to see The Bookery Cook’s Vivandiere and Bookery COok head taste-tester and revered Dank Morass dj Walrii go back to back, we decided to make pizzas, bring-a-topping style.

Sunday night we needed a nourishing feed after spending the afternoon in the park recovering from a Saturday that involved an afternoon rave to Instra:mental and back to friends for champagne, red wine and gin. Having been inspired by Poh’s Kitchen (*sigh* Poh) a few nights previously we made Malaysian Black Beef.

A partial lunar eclipse, a night with our intergalactic dancing boots on at Dank Morass‘ Dankside of the Moon and a dinner party featuring spherical meat… cosmic coincidence?

Winter is here in Australia and this means our love affair with fennel has been reignited.