bunyip's Profile

From: Melbourne, VIC Australia

Joined: December 27th, 2009

About me: I've been cooking for over thirty years, and I can remember the days before EVO, couscous and (ghasp!) microwaves. My cookbook collection reflects this personal and national gastronomic history. My own cooking has actually got simpler over the years, and I can do much of my repertoire without looking at a recipe. But I still love collecting cookbooks, although these days I'm a bit over food porn with great big colour photos - I really prefer food writing to recipes.

Favorite cookbook: The Cook's Companion


Latest review:

December 13th, 2015

Salmon with macaroni from A Year of Good Eating: The Kitchen Diaries III

Simple but delicious. Poaching the fish in 600 ml of cream (that's two bottles), which is then poured over the fish and pasta, sounds richer than it is. This is partly due to the dill in the crumb topping. I... read more >


recipe reviews (225)
book reviews (106)
useful review votes (103)

bunyip's Reviews


Search Reviews:

13 recipe(s) reviewed. Showing 1 to 13Sort by: Title | Date | Rating

The Cook's Companion: The Complete Book of Ingredients and Recipes for the Australian Kitchen

By Stephanie Alexander
Penguin Global - 2004

23rd January 2010 (edited: 15th February 2010)

Baked Beans : page 134

I sometimes make this with a ham hock instead of bacon. The amount of water specified, although reduced from the first edition, is still in my view excessive. Also, I add the golden syrup at the beginning.

useful (1)  


23rd January 2010

Bolognese Sauce : page 692

As Stephanie says, there are hundreds of recipices for spag bol sauce, but I find this one always works. It's a weekend job though, as you have to hang about for an hour stirring it from time to time.

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23rd January 2010

Cauliflower & Potato 'Pie' : page 229

Dead simple, better than plain mash to accompany braises.

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23rd January 2010

Cheesy Bread & Butter Pudding : page 427

Good use for stale bread. Prepare it the night before and bake in the morning while the coffee machine is warming up.

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10th February 2010

Leek and Potato Soup : page 540

The inclusion of celery, bay leaf and thyme give this slightly more depth of flavour than Jane Grigson's version. Be careful when sweating the veggies that you don't let the leeks brown.

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10th February 2010

Muff's Cauliflower Soup : page 230

The magic ingredient is - Americans avert your eyes - Vegemite! No milk or cream, good if you're on a diet.

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10th February 2010

Mustard Sauce for Corned Beef : page 160

Made without egg, but with cream. More unctuous than the traditional PWMU Cookbook version.

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12th June 2012

Parsnip Tart : page 678

Being very fond of parsnips I was intrigued by what amounts to a parsnip quiche.

You must use a deep quiche tin, as there is rather a lot of filling. It's very rich - 600ml of cream, 3 eggs and 2 egg yolks. Didn't have any chervil, but I think the recipe needs tweaking anyway. I used 2 parsnips as per the recipe, but they were not particularly large and perhaps I should have used three, and a wee bit more nutmeg.

useful (1)  


23rd January 2010

Pumpkin & Bacon Soup : page 799

Made with a bacon bone stock and the addition of paprika, this has a lovely smokey taste.

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23rd January 2010

Quince & Browned Butter Tart : page 833

Dead easy if you use Charmaine Solomon's no roll pastry. Looks sensational.

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10th February 2010

Rosie's (Doggie) Chicken Dinners : page 300

If the vet puts your dishlicker on a chicken and rice diet this is cheaper than the fancy stuff they'll try to sell you. Makes heaps, which you freeze in portions.

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11th May 2011

Simplest Beef Stew : page 163

This could not be easier - no browning, just bung everything into a suitable casserole and forget it for two hours.

Stephanie invites you to vary the ingredients. I used a 700ml bottle of tomato passata instead of the (pureed) tin of tomatoes and cup of wine, and I added bacon because I had some handy. But I did follow her instructions to use best quality paprika.

useful (1)  


10th February 2010 (edited: 10th February 2010)

Sticky Toffee Pudding : page 394

I've got lots of recipes for this, but Stephanie's is still the best. The recipe makes prodigious quantitiites of sauce, but can be halved. I make the sauce in the microwave, so instead of worrying about the bottom burning I worry about it overflowing! Watch closely!

useful (1)