The gift of cooking and more
From romantic cookbook, and books by Millennial cooking stars to a hand-drawn encyclopaedia, if you’re still looking for gifts for foodie friends, stop right here.
Creole and bananes flambees au rhum. In Vietnam, bo bit tet (steak frites) and chicken liver and pork pate. In Pondicherry, appams (from crepes?) and potato and onion curry – they are rather more resistant in India, and Kiros found it hard to see any influence left by the French on the food; it is more a subtle combination of spices and chilli, and the use of certain French cooking techniques.
In La Reunion the French influence is more palpable: Canard a la vanille (vanilla duck), gratin de papaye vert (gratinated green papaya) and the spicy rougail in its many incarnations.
Back in Normandy, where the French ships set off from to explore the New World in the 17th century, it is interesting to see the reciprocal influences on local cuisine. So the journey comes round circle, where it starts from Provence, whose capital port city Marseille was a major gateway for the French empire to North Africa and the Orient for the exchange of spices and produce.
– Julie Wong Patisserie At Home
Author: Publisher: Price: WHAT happens when you a pair a pastry chef and a molecular gastronomist together on a cookbook? You get one heck of an educational ride! Melanie Dupuis (the pastry chef ) and Anne Cazor (the molecular gastronomist) have come up with this really pretty book that isn’t just nice to look at – it actually teaches you everything you need to know about basic pastry elements like caramel, pastry cream, ganache, shortcrust pastry, choux pastry, croissant dough and so much more.
The book is beautifully presented with lots of pictures, infographics, step-by-step pictorial guides and illustrations to help readers really get to the bottom of how to make great pastry and why certain elements react the way they do.
If you’ve ever wanted to master pastry on an in-depth scale, this is the book to get. Trust me, your pastry will thank you for it. Abirami Durai
Dorie’s Cookies
Author: Publisher: Price:
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DORIE Greenspan is to cookies what David Beckham is to football. Both are legendary. Greenspan is a much vaunted cookie mistress who has won four James Beard Awards and has had two books on The
bestseller list. She has come up with hundreds of cookie recipes, including the much-heralded World Peace cookie.
This book celebrates yet more of her delicious cookie creations, so you’ll find recipes for her lucky charm brownies, her newest chocolate chip cookies (she has an old one, too!), Princeton gingersnaps, classic jammers and lots of other sweet temptations. The pictures are spectacular and so mouthwatering, you’ll feel hungry even if you start reading the book on a full stomach.
The cookbook does a fantastic job of shining a spotlight on Greenspan’s large cookie repository and, to a larger extent, her bubbly personality. Oh, and there are lots of useful tips about tools, storage and other baking must-haves to help you along the way.
This is – and I cannot emphasise this enough – an essential addition to your cookie library. I guarantee total satisfaction and zero remorse.
– AD Everything I Want To Eat: Sqirl And The New California Cooking
Author: Publisher: Price: JESSICA Koslow has a restaurant in California called Sqirl. It’s pretty popular, so much so that queues and celebs (like Busy Philips and Dave Franco) are a frequent occurrence. Oh, and Koslow was named online restaurant guide Eater LA’s Chef of the Year. Horror Stories 2 by Tunku Halim
After You by Jojo Moyes The Universe Of Us by Lang Leav
The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins
Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Magnus Chase And The Hammer Of Thor by Rick Riordan
7. The Fever Code by Dashner James
8. Girl Online Going Solo by Zoe Sugg
9. Fallen by Lauren Kate
10. Girl In Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow
Weekly list compiled by MPH Mid Valley Megamall, Kuala Lumpur; www.mphonline.com.
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