The MasterChef Cookbook

MasterChef is without doubt one of the food programs that everybody recognises.  Who doesn’t remember the original UK version with Loyd Grossman?  Who hasn’t seen the newer versions, such as MasterChef The Professionals or (on BBC1 as I type this), Celebrity MasterChef?

MasterChef has been around since 1990 although it seems like longer.  I remember watching the original version with my parents when I was a child, and wondering if I would ever be good enough to go on a program like that (note: I’m still not).  The more modern version (originally called ” MasterChef Goes Large” here in the UK) has spread around the world and despite being formulaic – nothing new for modern TV there – remains as popular as ever.

The MasterChef Cookbook showcases recipes from all the UK series of MasterChef from 2005 onwards, from all the different MasterChef variations (Professionals, Celebrity, etc).  Each one has been re-written so that the book follows a standard format, instead of the original contestant writing up his / her recipe.  While this might seem like a bad thing, it allows for a more coherent end product and escapes the negatives that could have arisen from the fact that not all of the contestants were actually that great on TV.  Each recipe is credited to the original contestant, although some of them do say “inspired by…”, which presumably means the recipe has been tweaked somewhat from the original to improve the dish.

Each recipe in the book features useful information such as the preperation time involved, the cooking time and how many people the recipe serves (something I should try and learn from for this site).  Some recipes even feature additional “Master tip” sections, basically a paragraph with helpful information relevant to the recipe.  The recipe for “Chocolate and Paprika Sorbet” by the memorable Emily Ludolf, for example, has a tip about sugar thermometers.

Overall, this is a really good book.  The reason for this is that most cookbooks these days seem to be about a chef rather than about food, and as such feature pages and pages of the chef waffling about what they’ve been up to.  There’s none of that in this book, so instead you are left with almost 400 pages of recipes from one of the best food programmes on TV; well worth the £10.49 that Amazon are currently asking for it!

The book features recipes themed around the countries participating in the World Cup, so is bound to be a diverse and interesting bag.  The inclusion of the Hairy Bikers is bound to draw interest (I, for one, love ‘em), and each recipe is rated depending on the amount of energy that its preparation requires, linking in with their smartpower initiative.

To win a hard copy of the book all you have to do is leave a comment anywhere on this blog (including on this article) any time up to Sunday 6th of June 2010.  The winner will then be chosen at random and the book sent out to them.

Simple!

For anyone who doesn’t win, no need to despair; npower are also offering the book for free in PDF format, as featured below:

Are you ready for The Big Cook Off?

http://www.youtube.com/user/npowerEnergy

In addition to this, npower have managed to get Hairy Bikers to record several video versions of recipes included on their very own YouTube channel.  The one I’ve picked out (below this text) is for their Steak and Ale Pie recipe, which represents England.

The image below, by the way, is our attempt at following one of the recipes in the book – the sharp tasting Lemon Trickle Cake.  After all, what better way to review a book than to test one of the recipes in practice?  More about that later…

Lemon Trickle Cake

For those of you who, like me, follow Hugh’s escapades with interest, this book is a logical progression for the River Cottage brand.  Gone are the days of the naive city boy trying to find, grow and rear his own food – River Cottage is now 10 years in, and this experience shows.  Hot on the tails of Nigella Express and How to Cheat at Cooking, this is Hugh’s take on good food made quickly and easily.

Perhaps the most successful part of the book is how despite jumping on the “easy food” bandwagon, the River Cottage trademarks of home grown, organic and seasonal food are still in effect.  So now, not only are we making cheap food, we’re making it ethically, too – and all the better for it.

Anyway, on to the recipe test.  I picked out the Lemon Trickle Cake for no reason other than a lady at work bakes and brings in her own delicious version (Lemon Drizzle Cake), and I’ve never tried baking it myself.  This, and it would be a great excuse to practise using my KitchenAid for cake mixing.

The version you see in the picture is the second attempt at baking this cake; one attempt was mine, and one was Gosia’s (my Wife’s) .  Better not to ask what happened to mine; it’s a sore subject, and the word “sink” comes into the explanation.  Still, both versions tasted delicious – even if one did look better than the other, and it after all it was a great excuse to fill myself with cake for a few days running!

I’m not going to go into detail on the recipe here (for fear of Hugh striking me down) – for that, buy the book.  Basically, you take 175g of butter and caster sugar, beat until pale, then add the zest of 3 lemons, 3 eggs and 175g of flour.  The eggs are added 1 at a time, each with a bit of flour.  This goes into a greased tin and into the oven at 170 degrees c until cooked.

The magic comes in when the cake is stabbed liberally with a skewer and drizzled with lemon icing (200g icing sugar with the juice of 2 lemons); the icing soaks through the cake creating an intense and sharp tasting cake which is so addictive.

I’ve also tried out the “Chocolate and Beetroot Brownies” recipe; if there’s any left by the time I take out my camera, I might post a few pictures of those, too.  Right now, the chances are looking slim…

The Tomato Book

I received my copy of “The Tomato Book” a few weeks ago now, in the midst of my tomato growing frenzy.  Despite only having 4 plants growing in my conservatory, I’ve become a bit of an obsessive and am already planning world tomato domination for next year.

You’ve already seen evidence of my tomato obsession this year through my recipes; “Pappa al Pomodoro“, “How to Make Sun-Dried Tomatoes“, and “Wild Tomato Salad“.  For the last one, change “Wild” to “Heirloom” – a bit of an example of my lack of experience helpfully pointed out by my friends on Facebook.

So, I’m a beginner in every sense of the word.  I’ve learned about pinching out sideshoots and such-like from the internet but didn’t know what to do when my leaves started going brown around the edges. Luckily, The Tomato Book features easy to follow “What’s wrong with my leaves?” and “What’s wrong with my tomatoes?” fault finding charts.

Helpful Tomato Tips

When I had my first flick through and saw the 60 (or so) page section just describing some of the varieties available out there I was amazed. What a sheltered tomato life I’ve lived. I also had no idea that it was possible to create my own variety through cross-pollination and grafting; a tip best left a couple of years, I think. I’ll never work my way through them all!

Plenty of other tips abound in this great little book; did you know that placing a banana next to green tomatoes encourages them to ripen? Neither did I.

The final section of the book is taken up by preserving tips and recipes; the tomato and marscarpone ice cream sounds particularly mouth watering.

All in all, a great little book which I’ll be coming back to year after year through my tomato growing adventures.

50 Great Appetizers

I’ve been away now for just over 1 month since my wife gave birth to our beautiful baby daughter, Mia (more photos of her soon, I promise), and I’ve been missing you all.

To make up for it and as a thank you to all those readers who’ve sent good wishes to us (and also to anyone else who happens across this post; greetings!), I’m giving away another great FREE COOKBOOK.

This time around the book is “50 great appetizers” by the great Pamela Sheldon Johns.  I’ve read it and can say that it’s a great little reference book that you’re going to be keeping in the kitchen for a long time to come.

All you have to do to win this free cookbook is leave a comment on this post (or send me an email) telling me why you should receive it.  I’ll pick a winner by around the second week in July…

R. Carradine, come on down and collect your prizes (Traditional Puddings and Desserts and Supper for Friends by Mary Berry)!

In case anyone wonders how I decided the winner, read on.  I took the total number of entrants (83) and used the wonders of technology (i.e. the internet) to pick a random number (66) within this limit.  This random number was then matched to the comment number of the winner in reverse chronological order.

That’s probably far more technical than it needed to be, but you know me…

All you have to do to win is submit a comment telling me that you want them, and one person will be picked at random later in the month.  It’s just like those competitions you used to find on the back of cereal boxes when you were younger (perhaps they still do them, I haven’t looked in a while!).

Free Cookbooks

The books in question are Traditional Puddings and Desserts and Supper for Friends by Mary Berry.  Mary has had over 9 TV series and 40 cookbooks so certainly knows what she’s talking about.

Leave me a comment now to stand a chance of winning these great books!

Rosemary has gone from strength to strength since then and it now seems she’s been on our boxes for ever.  Her almost head mistress like personality have made her perfect for her own cooking school’s transition to TV, and hugely entertaining on Ladette to Lady.

“School For Cooks” is her brand new book based on the TV series of the same name.  The official introduction states “Rosemary’s passion for cooking and teaching makes impressive dishes achievable for the everyday family cook” and certainly seems to be true, reflecting the modern haute cuisine for which she is famous in an educational, down to earth manner.

The photography is also second to none, featuring mouth wateringly over saturated images which are irresistable.  Certainly attention grabbing is the “Beetroot Consomme with Wild Mushroom Ravioli” which is so garishly purple and silky smooth looking that it just has to be tried!

Title:  School For Cooks

Author(s):  Rosemary Shrager

Published:  01 August 2008

Ever become stuck in a food rut? I know that personally I go through phases; right now I’m in my “stir fried veggies” phase; one that seems to come around every time I gain a few pounds and want to make myself feel healthy again. Still, there’s only so much mixed veg’ and noodles you can eat before you need some inspiration – and that’s why I’m glad this book has come along.

It’s been a while since I’ve been really inspired by a cookbook. Sure, Jamie Oliver’s latest “Jamie at Home” was pretty good, if unoriginal. Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall’s “Fish” was great too, but still didn’t bring really make me itch to get into the kitchen.

So what does “Asian Bites” do different? Well, what better than fresh, vibrant Asian food when the Spring weather starts to turn around? Couple that with a fresh, easy to read yet contemporary design and you’re on to a winner.

I’m becoming pretty bored with generic cookbooks and this one manages to break the mould. How about some of the more simple yet delicious recipes; Spring onion pancakes (Pa jeon), with just a handful of ingredients, or Chinese barbecue spare ribs (Paigu) – which has to be the easiest, tastiest version I’ve ever seen?

I’ll openly admit I’m no expert on Asian cuisine but this surely has to be right where its at, right now. A perfect example of how food should be done!

Title: Asian Bites

Author(s): Tom Kime

Published: 03 March 2008

I might just be the last person to get around to reviewing this cookbook, but there’s a lot to take in. Anyone who remembers Marcus Wareing’s last great book “How to Cook the Perfect…” will know that he is a perfectionist. Although his food may express contemporary simplicity, the processes in creating it are honed to perfection and leave little room for error.

So what about this book? Well, the idea is a simple one; take an ingredient and give us three different dishes to cook with it. The title says it all, really. As for the quality of the recipes, there’s no way I’m going to criticize the cooking of a 2 Michelin starred chef!

What is suprisingly refreshing (especially for a lazy cook like me) is the pure ease behind some of these recipes; pea and Broad Bean Salad with Manchego cheese, for example. How hard can it be? And how about that classic Baked Egg Custard, made from just sugar, cream and eggs?

One Perfect Ingredient… is almost there. The idea of a book that I can use much as an encyclopedia when I have an ingredient and I’m not sure what to do with it is appealing. Unfortunately at just 218 pages though, the book just isn’t long enough to do that. Perhaps organising it seasonally (i.e. this is in season; here’s how to cook it) might also have worked well – even if its not the most original of concepts.

In summary this is a great book with some really simple easy to follow recipes which are sure to impress. It’s unlikely to go down as a classic but is still a worthy addition to any aspiring chef’s collection.

Title:  One Perfect Ingredient:  Three Ways to Cook it

Author(s):  Marcus Wareing

Published:  11 March 2008