bunyip's Reviews
225 recipes reviewed. Showing 1 to 50Sort by: Book Title | Date | Rating | Recipe Title 
The Age Epicure: Winter
By Stephanie Alexander, Brigitte Hafner, Jill Dupleix
Fairfax Books - 2006
You can make this in the microwave. It's quicker and there is no danger of the bottom scorching. I've lost count of the number of times I've made this - just the thing with grilled lamb chops.
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Complete Perfect Recipes
By David Herbert
Penguin Global - 2008
This is a ridiculously easy way of dressing up fresh fruit, especially berries, as what Herbert terms a "cheat's fruit brulee". It's just lightly whipped cream mixed with plain yoghurt and topped with brown sugar, whiuch after a few hours turns into a sort of caramel.
useful (1)
The PWMU Centenary Cookbook 1904 - 2004
By Mairi Harman, Susan Stenning
Lothian Books - 2004
It's the custard powder that gives yo-yos their characteristic texture and flavour. Quite common in cafes, but the bought ones are usually too big.
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Jane Grigson's Fruit Book
By Jane Grigson
Michael Joseph Ltd - 1982
Specifically for frozen raspberries. Unlike fresh fruit fools, which depend on whipped cream, this is held together with gelatine dissolved in butter and milk. Very pretty, must be served in glass dishes.
useful (2)
Grains
By Molly Brown
Hardie Grant Books - 2014
Substituted 1/4 cup dark muscovado sugar for the molasses. The result was OK, but just a bit sweet for our taste.
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The French Kitchen
By Diane Hokuigue
Methuen (Australia) - 1983
An interesting variation on osso buco, with lentils cooked with the meat. Hearty fare.
useful (1)
Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking
By Marcella Hazan
Knopf - 1992
Quick, no fuss, depends on top quality ingredients. I made this a lot when we had a bottle of rather good Madeira which sounds extravagant, but we were not particularly interested in drinking it. Oh, my ears and whiskers, it was good!
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Mix and Bake
By Belinda Jeffery
Michael Joseph - 2008
An easy but impressive looking lunch dish. Success depends on having a mandolin to slice the tomatoes, and an ovenproof dish of the right size.
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Simple Food
By Jill Dupleix
Hardie Grant Books - 2002
Tinned white beans, tuna in oil, anchovy fillets, lemon juice and black pepper, all whizzed in a blender, though I use the stick blender. Served on toast smeared with garlic and olive oil it makes a tasty (and nutritionally sound) lunch. I am reliably informed that kids love it.
useful (1)
Eat - The Little Book of Fast Food
By Nigel Slater
Fourth Estate - 2013
Sort of a slow stir fry. Pan fry the steak briefly then set it aside while you get the halved salad onions browned, ad the halved tomatoes and cook covered until soft. Thickly slice steak and return to pan for a few minutes.
That's all. I served it with polenta for lack of any better ideas, crusty bread would have gone well. And I was using a very tender piece of steak.
useful (1)
Stephanie's Menus for Food Lovers
By Stephanie Alexander
Methuen Haynes - 1986
Absolutely the best tomato soup, made with frozen tomatoes in the winter, and frozen chicken stock, thickened with potato flour. A food processor or stick blender will not do, you must use a mouli to trap the skins and seeds.
useful (1)
Soup: A Global History (Reaktion Books - Edible)
By Janet Clarkson
Reaktion Books - 2010
I agree with the author that it's probably not as weird as it sounds. Spiced butter cake with dates and walnuts, held together with a tin of tomato soup.
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Old food
By Jill Dupeix
Allen & Unwin - 1998
Breadcrumbs in the mash, buttered breadcrumbs on the top. Great with roast anything.
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River Cottage Veg Every Day! (River Cottage Every Day)
By Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC - 2011
Ridiculously easy, so long as you've got a lime handy. I only had 650g of sweet potato, but it worked perfectly with a full quantity of the other ingredients (except the chilli flakes which I reduced as a matter of personal taste).
We had it as a side dish with roast lamb, and I will heat up the leftovers for lunch with a salad.
useful (2)
Decadent Desserts Spring, Summer, Autumn & Winter
By Beverley Sutherland Smith
The File Mile Press - 1996
Strawberries are suggested for the mix, which is unusual. What is really unusual is adding gelatine to the syrup, but it makes the pudding foolproof. Regular recipes always make me nervous at the point of turning out.
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River Cottage Veg Every Day! (River Cottage Every Day)
By Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC - 2011
I made this for lunch, but it's quite substantial and would serve as a main course if you had dessert to follow, or soup to begin.
Dead easy, no technique involved so long as you've got veggies of the right size and shape. And feta - I forgot to buy the ordinary kind and had to use marinated Meredith goats' cheese, so probably could have omitted the pesto, but I'd remembered to buy that!
useful (1)
Molly Weir's Recipes
By Molly Weir
Hyperion Books - 1989
Actually I would call this an unappetizer! The surpirise is that the onion is stuffed with a whole sheep's kidney rendered invisible by breadcrumbs over the top before being baked for two hours.
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I loved stove potatoes with cold meat when I was a child. My Mum made them with dripping, but since I do not keep dripping in these cholesterol-conscious times, I use butter.
I believe that "stovie" does not refer to the cooking appliance, but is derived like other Scots culinary terms, from the French (in this case the word for "stewed"), a legacy of the Auld Alliance.
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The Cook's Companion: The Complete Book of Ingredients and Recipes for the Australian Kitchen
By Stephanie Alexander
Penguin Global - 2004
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!
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Old food
By Jill Dupeix
Allen & Unwin - 1998
The pudding is really the standard recipe, available in just about every cookbook. The sauce, though, uses much less butter than Stephanie's recipe.
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Michael Boddy's Good Food Book
By MIchael Boddy
Nelson - 1984
This dish, often encountered in hospitals, can be disgusting because of the sauce. Boddy adds to a standard white sauce capers, chopped dill cucumbers, chopped hard-boiled eggs and herbs then, to fool everybody completely, a little paprika to turn the sauce pink.
He has no name for this fabulous concoction, but tells us he has rejected his family's suggestion of bat-chunder!
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The Complete Beverley Sutherland Smith Cookbook
By Beverley Sutherland Smith
Lansdowne - 1987
Dirties quite a few bowls and pans! Not quick, you spend about an hour chopping and frying before cooking the filling for 2 hours.
I do this the day before, then top it with mashed potato instead of puff pastry. Well worth the effort!
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Website: Taste
This is really a sort of risotto. I used it to stretch two pork sausages and the result was hearty and tasty but not palate challenging. Would probably appeal to kids.
useful (1)
Off the Shelf: Cooking from the Pantry
By Donna Hay
HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd - 2001
The tomatoes on their own go wonderfully with roast duck, especially if you use cherry tomatoes
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A Taste for All Seasons
By Beverley Sutherland Smith
Penguin Books Australia - 1991
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The French Kitchen
By Diane Hokuigue
Methuen (Australia) - 1983
Really a lunch dish. Preceded by advice about creamed spinach (you have to use bechamel, just cream won't hold it together). A bit fiddly - you've got to separate the eggs and whip the whites - but you can get away with using frozen chopped spinach.
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River Cottage Veg Every Day! (River Cottage Every Day)
By Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC - 2011
The filing was delicious. However I was not impressed with the pastry which was hard to handle and made assembly difficult. I gave up on triangles and made cigars.
In future I might try making a pie, either with filo or Maggie Beer's sour cream pastry. And I think that frozen spinach would be perfectly OK
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Complete Perfect Recipes
By David Herbert
Penguin Global - 2008
The brown sugar and mixed spice in addition to the usual cloves make a definite difference.
useful (1)
Website: Guardian Recipes
www.guardian.co.uk/tone/recipes
Really easy, the sauce cooks while you boil the spuds. Then add a firm fleshed white fish for just two minutes. The whole thing is ready in less than half an hour.
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Australian Bread Book
By Doris Brett
Pitman - 1984
This is a batter bread so it doesn't require kneading. I tried it several times and it always seemed to come out a bit heavy. Maybe it's me...
useful (2)
Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian: More Than 650 Meatless Recipes from Around the World
By Madhur Jaffrey
Clarkson Potter - 2002
This is the best way to make polenta - the trick is to use instant polenta, only purists can tell the difference!
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Nanny Ogg's Cookbook
By Terry Pratchett, Stephen Briggs, Paul Kidby, Tina Hannan
Corgi Books - 2001
A variation on what is known at our place as Disaster Mince. Seriously, it's quite edible, with an unusual flavour from the inclusion of dark ale.
useful (1)
Website: Taste
There's fennel in there as well, but it got a bit overwhelmed. As usual the first time, I followed the recipe faithfully. However the end result seemed a bit bland. And I think that three hours might have been maybe half an hour longer than necessary for pork neck.
I must report that the leftovers make excellent sandwiches.
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Very Simple Food
By Jill Dupleix
Hardie Grant Publishing - 2000
The original recipe is for stuffing pushed between deep cuts in a leg of lamb. On impulse I bought a boned shoulder and used the stuffing - anchovies, capers, lemon rind, garlic, parsley and EVO. Not bad at all.
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The Cook's Companion: The Complete Book of Ingredients and Recipes for the Australian Kitchen
By Stephanie Alexander
Penguin Global - 2004
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.
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The Cook's Companion
By Stephanie Alexander
Viking Australia - 1998
Gave this a try with a couple of pieces of porterhouse (hubby was craving man food). Marinated the meat in a zip-lock bag for about two hours and served with Jill Dupleix's crash hot potatoes and buttered spinach. Not bad at all.
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Nanny Ogg's Cookbook
By Terry Pratchett, Stephen Briggs, Paul Kidby, Tina Hannan
Corgi Books - 2001
Made with little pickled onions, stuffed olives and cream cheese. Fiddly, but your guests will love them!
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A Little Scottish Cookbook
By Paul Harris
Appletree Press - 1988
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Not that I really need a recipe.
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Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking
By Marcella Hazan
Knopf - 1992
We are inordinately fond of veal chops chez bunyip. The sauce is simple but tasty if you are frying rather than grilling.
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Website: Guardian Recipes
www.guardian.co.uk/tone/recipes
A Dan Lepard recipe. Actually it was the pastry I was keen to try. Strong white flour and spelt flour, butter, cream cheese, egg and grated cheddar. I had to work the cream cheese into the flour and butter by hand - the quantity (450g of flour) is too much for a standard food processor.
However, after much effort (very therapeutic as I had just had a phone call from somebody I loathe) the pastry turned out very well. Ideal for pasties, easy to handle producing a crisp but not crumbly crust.
I made four pasties (only needed two sausages) and froze the remaining half of the pastry. It would work well with any savoury filling.
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Website: Guardian Recipes
www.guardian.co.uk/tone/recipes
This is one of those recipes that is very adaptable. I don't much like chorizo but find that a couple of teaspoons of smoked paprika gives the same flavour. Likewise I substitute a shake of tabasco for the chiili.
Too easy, and only one pot to wash!
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Eat - The Little Book of Fast Food
By Nigel Slater
Fourth Estate - 2013
I will definitely make this again. It used up the offcuts of lasagne sheets that were in the freezer (what I buy is too long for my dish) and cherry tomatoes and snags that I happened to have handy. As usual with Slater's recipes I varied the quantities of ingredients without any ill effects.
Needs to be covered with tinfoil for at least half the cooking time so the top doesn't burn.
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Very Simple Food
By Jill Dupleix
Hardie Grant Publishing - 2000
An inspired combination.
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A Year of Good Eating: The Kitchen Diaries III
By Nigel Slater
Fourth Estate - 2015
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 served with a salad of asparagus and tomato for a light Sunday night meal.
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The Complete Beverley Sutherland Smith Cookbook
By Beverley Sutherland Smith
Lansdowne - 1987
You just steam the fish. It's the sauce, shallots reduced in white wine and water, then add finely diced peeled tomatoes and cook till soft, add basil and demount with butter. Scatter a few salt crystals on the fish before spooning sauce on top.
The basil can be omitted and it's still delicious.
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Old food
By Jill Dupeix
Allen & Unwin - 1998
Hands up everyone who remembers frogspawn? Horrible glutinous lemon sago, urrk! But this, made in the Malaysian style with palm sugar and coconut cream, is delectable.
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Vegetables
By Beverley Sutherland Smith
Viking Australia - 1994
So called because the recipe originated at the Russian Tea Room in New York! This is eggplant in a creamy, rich sauce, baked with cheese on top. Good lunch dish.
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The Cook's Companion: The Complete Book of Ingredients and Recipes for the Australian Kitchen
By Stephanie Alexander
Penguin Global - 2004
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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Bitter: A Taste of the World's Most Dangerous Flavour
By Jennifer McLagan
Jacqui Small LLP - 2015
McLagan insists that you use dried chickpeas, soaked overnight. She's right, they taste so much better to the tinned ones.
You have to use a really hot pan and not be afraid of properly charring the sprouts - I was a bit too cautious the first time.
Good as a side, but also makes a delicious light meal on its own.
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