bunyip's Reviews
225 recipes reviewed. Showing 1 to 50Sort by: Book Title | Date | Rating 
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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.
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Moorish: Flavours from Mecca to Marrakech
By Greg Malouf, Lucy Malouf
Hardie Grant Books - 2001
Wonderful recipe for slow-cooked pork neck, also called scotch fillet, which is the extension of the loin.
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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.
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Charmaine Solomon's Complete Vegetarian Cookbook
By Charmaine Solomon
Angus & Robertson - 1991
This is the best apple pie in the known universe. The pastry is lightened by 1/2 tsp baking powder added to 2 cups of plain flour.
For the filling, apple slices are coated in spices, flour and caster (superfine) suger. This forms a syrup with the juice from the apples. Dabs of butter on the filling before you put the lid on get you a lovely gooey sauce.
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This amazing dough is perfect for tarts and quiches, anything that doesn't have a lid. It makes a delicious crisp, short pastry.
Self-raising flour mixed with warm milk and melted butter makes a sort of play-dough that you pat out onto the pie plate. At first there doesn't seem to be enough, but the dough expands while you're working it.
Ideal in hot weather, does not need blind baking, and it doesn't matter if the filling is warm.
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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
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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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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Made with a bacon bone stock and the addition of paprika, this has a lovely smokey taste.
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Dead easy if you use Charmaine Solomon's no roll pastry. Looks sensational.
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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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Mix and Bake
By Belinda Jeffery
Michael Joseph - 2008
They really are really good! Tasty cheese, parmesan and wholemeal flour - the definitive cheese scone.
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Scones can sometimes have a slightly 'gluey' texture, but not these which are made with half regular S/R flour and half wholemeal S/R flour.
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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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The Age Epicure: Winter
By Stephanie Alexander, Brigitte Hafner, Jill Dupleix
Fairfax Books - 2006
This recipe was the starting point for my regular standby dish which omits the chorizo, adds chickpeas and flavours with bahaarat. Many variations are possible.
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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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Greene on Greens
By Bert Greene
Doubleday Australia - 1985
Definitely not a dessert. Carrots cooked in chicken stock, pureed with cream, combined with cooked rice and baked. Fabulous with roast lamb or chicken.
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A Taste for All Seasons
By Beverley Sutherland Smith
Penguin Books Australia - 1991
Dead simple if you can get freestone peaches. A bit messy if they're clingstones, but still worth the effort.
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One of my regulars, I can make it without the recipe. All the ingredients of cauliflower with cheese sauce mashed up together. Use the food processor (not invented when the recipe was written).
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Festive looking for Christmas if the cherries are in early enough. Cherries cooked in red wine and brandy, then a lemon yoghurt layer. Make it in a glass bowl and don't bother trying to unmould it.
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Cooking on the Bone: Recipes, History and Lore
By Jennifer McLagan
Grub Street - 2006
Fabulous, richly flavoured winter comfort food. Pieces of neck slow cooked in a suce of anchovies, garlic, rosemary, red wine and red wine vinegar. I make it in an Emile Henry braiser and serve with Stephanie's cauliflower and potato 'pie'.
Only drawback, if that's how you choose to look at it, is hanging about for two and a half hours, turning the pieces every half hour. Worth it, no question!
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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 Little Scottish Cookbook
By Paul Harris
Appletree Press - 1988
The real thing.
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The recipe of Rosa Mattravers, cook to Theodora, Lady Forbes on Donside in Aberdeenshire. How much more authentic can you get?
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The Complete Beverley Sutherland Smith Cookbook
By Beverley Sutherland Smith
Lansdowne - 1987
Absolutely my favourite meat loaf. Not cheap because instead of being cooked in a tin it is cooked on a tray, wrapped in bacon. Grated apple and potato make it very moist. Fantastic for sandwiches.
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One of my regular soups, I make it in the pressure cooker which cuts preparation time down from nearly two hours to about half an hour. Red lentils cooked in chicken stock, then add sauteed onion, finely diced potato and chopped tinned tomatoes and cook some more. Add parsley before serving - the finely sliced frankfurts suggested by the author are quite unneccessary.
Keeps well for days, but is inclined to thicken.
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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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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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Decadent Desserts Spring, Summer, Autumn & Winter
By Beverley Sutherland Smith
The File Mile Press - 1996
Lighter than the classic versions, more custard than pancake batter. I always stone the cherries, but.
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Now this one is decadent. It's a chocolate loaf, with a sort of firm truffle texture. Dark and milk chocolate, held together with eggs and ground almonds. Do not attempt unless you are using finest quality chocolate, in my case Haigh's.
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Dead easy and looks gorgeous. Just yellow peaches poached in a sauterne syrup. Steep a punnet of raspberries in the syrup while you slip the skins off the peaches - sticky but delicious work! (Unless of course you've lucked it for the dreaded unskinnable variety.)
There is a minor problem that when this book was published cheap sauterne was still readily available. Changing tastes have put an end to that - $40 they wanted the other day when I thought I'd give this a go! Use whatever light dessert wine you can get hold of.
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Luscious variation of bread and butter pudding.
Even easier if somebody has given you a jar of lemon butter (curd). You can actually make lemon butter in the microwave if you take care to go very gently so you don't end up with lemon scrambled eggs.
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The Complete Australian Cookbook
By Rene Gordon
Hamlyn Australia - 1985
White wine and dried marjoram make this a bit out of the ordinary.
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Old food
By Jill Dupeix
Allen & Unwin - 1998
The bread is coated with what amounts to Welsh Rarebit - much tastier than the usual bechamel.
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The lamb is neither here nor there, but the lentil part is now one of my favourites. Cook onion and garlic in oil until soft, add chopped tomato, lentils and water and simmer. To finish stir in parsley, salt, black pepper and olive oil.
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Not the usual (which in my case involves cowardly resort to bottled dressing). Savoy cabbage and cherry tomatoes - no carrot - and a fabulous dressing based on mayo and yoghurt spiced up with ground ginger and Dijon mustard.
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Old Fashioned Homemade Icecream
By Ann Creber
Decalon Pty Limited - 1979
Worth the effort. This is the base for all sorts of other flavours.
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The Complete Australian Cookbook
By Rene Gordon
Hamlyn Australia - 1985
This is the classic recipe.
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Nobody has lamington drives anymore. How do the Girl Guides raise money nowadays? Who under the age of 40 can remember the messy sticky fun of dipping cubes of butter cake into chocolate syrup and then rolling them in coconut?
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New Food: From the New Basics to the New Classics
By Jill Dupleix
William Heinemann - 1997
Yes really! Makes a really moist cake, a good keeper. You can use tinned beetroot, but rinse it thoroughly to get rid of the vinegar
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The lamb is just boned, rolled loin, marinated and roasted. What makes this is the cannellini beans (you can used tinned) pureed with the garlic and rosemary marinade.
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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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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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Maggie's Table
By Maggie Beer
Viking - 2002
The filling is good, but I turn to this recipe for Maggie's famed sour cream pastry, very buttery and as good cold as it is hot.
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Uses prodigious quantitites of white-wine vinegar. Maggie suggests using to accompany pickled pork, or in a lamb pie recipe. I suggest using when you would use mustard fruits.
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The Seasonal Kitchen
By Beverley Sutherland Smith
Hardie Grant Books - 2001
Balsamic vinegar gives it depth. You've got to watch it to be sure it doesn't burn. Keeps for ages in the fridge.
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I've been making this forever, it's in some of her earlier books. Great with roast lamb.
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Complete Perfect Recipes
By David Herbert
Penguin Global - 2008
Aussies rejoice! You need need never buy Chocolate Ripple biscuits again. Uses the same method as gingernuts.
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The given quantities for the custard are perfect indeed. Can be adapted with other fillings I use Charmain Solomon's no roll pastry which makes the whole operation quicker and easier.
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Pretty well identical to Stephanie's recipe, but this book is such a handy size
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