Just Forking Around

The decadent joys of desserts

A confessed sweet tooth, I simply couldn’t ignore a book titled Decadence, a glorious
collection of 90 lush, and truly, decadent desserts by chef Philip Johnson of acclaimed Brisbane bistro e'cco. In 1997,  he won the Remy Martin Cognac/Australian Gourmet Traveller Restaurant of the Year award.

This is confection in all its dreamy, creamy, chilled, chocolatey, hot, luscious glory; the striking colour photos in this are in itself enough satisfy your inner chocoholic. Some of the recipes include show-stoppers like French toast with cherries and mascarpone, burnt caramel ice-cream with pistachio baklava wafers and the mango tart with macadamia nut pastry.

 And just for the record my attempt at the Espresso & Cognac mousse with shortbread looked as good as it did within the pages, and friends seemed tongue-tied after sampling it.

Finding Balance and Harmony

World-renowned chef, food authority and media personality Neil Perry considers balance and harmony as the cornerstones of good Asian cooking, which is why his beautifully produced, silk-covered tribute to Asian food is labelled so. And while it is expansively titled Balance & Harmony: Asian Food, he confesses that much of it is inspired by Chinese cookery, though the flavours of Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan and Korea also find their way in.

In his foreword, explaining his passion for the cuisines of this region, Perry says, “One of the things I love most about Asian food is that it is made for the shared table, and that is how I love to eat. A bowl of rice, a few dishes, some friends and family and a nice glass of wine or two and I can’t think of a better way to spend an evening.”

The book organised in the style of a cooking school progresses from the easiest steamed, stir-fried, braised and deep-fried dishes, to more challenging and intricate plates as you become more confident and competent. Celebrating the shared table ethos, the book is punctuated by a progression of banquet ideas, ranging from the simple to the memorable. Even you if you don’t cook, this one will look good on your shelf.

Cocina Nueva: The New Spanish Kitchen

With Spain’s growing reputation as the new centre of innovative cuisine in Europe, author and chef Jane Lawson’s latest delicacy, Cocina Nueva: The New Spanish Kitchen, is a timely tome. In it she pays homage to her experiences on a recent gastronomic tour of that country and what she describes as “incredible, artistic, technically perfect, fascinating dishes that tasted of focused raw passion.” From tapas plates to authentic, rustic meals, Lawson ingeniously transforms the classics with a modern flair but keeping the traditional colours, flavours and textures. Each chapter – divided into Tasca (tapas), Cocina (main meals) and Postres (desserts), the way the Spaniards like to eat – offers a variety of simple-to-prepare dishes backed up by fabulous photography. Enjoy spiced sidra over a variety of tapas dishes like garlic prawns with chorizo or chicken albondigas with saffron almond sauce. Or spoil friends with sherry-poached veal with potato and anchovy gratin, crisp cumin chicken with red capsicum jam, or the txangurro (baked spider crab) ravioli. As a sweeteners, nothing like the sweet bunuelos with orange curd or café con leche jelly to top a great meal. Now if only I could manage to put it all together on a plate.