Book Review - Tart It Up!

I am fairly regular in twitter and most social networking sites. So when Octopus Publishing Group tweeted a photo and asked if anyone can guess the source, I instantly knew what I was looking at. With full confidence I replied and guess what, now I own a copy of it and you are about to read my thoughts on it.

 

It was a bit longer wait then usual as I was eagerly waiting for it to arrive. Not only because it is a baking book but the thrill to have a book before it is released in to the market is amazing. Also this is a book I was expecting to have lots of baked dessert recipes which it does. 

“Tart it up!” is Eric Lanlard’s latest book on baking. BTW, I also own his first book “Home Bake” and I must say that is a fabulous book and a must have if you are into baking.

This is his second book of baking, mostly involving some kind of pastry, the book is clearly divided in to two parts - Savoury and Sweet, and contains nearly hundred recipes including the accompaniments. The book starts off with the recipe of shortcrust pastry, which is probably the most used one in rest of the recipes listed in the book.

The book is a box of treasures. As I flip through the pages I was realizing that how much baking I will be doing soon. Its difficult to choose from as each and every one is equally tempting. To add to that There are mouth-watering photographs which will not let you close the book.

This is not a book for people who are on diet or planning to loose weight. Also I feel this is a book from where you will cook for special occasions and for someone you care for. If you plan to do a Julie and Julia project with this book and eat them all, you better keep your hospital number in speed dial. The amount of butter used in the pastry which is the base for any of the recipe in the book is just a fraction. for the filling there is similar amount of butter, double cream and sugar. Having said that, all these ingredients are key to the divine taste of the dishes.This book is definitely for the celebrations and the dinner parties you will be hosting in future and not for everyday cooking.

This is a beautifully pictured by Kate Whitaker with step by step recipe given. Along with the textual description, some of the recipes have steps shown in pictures, which I thought is a huge plus point from readers perspective.

Tart it up! will be released on the market from tomorrow, and you can buy it online here at Amazon. P.S. All the pictures in this blog post are clicked by me from the book.

Book Review-Dock Kitchen CookBook

Stevie Parle’s Dock Kitchen Cookbook is a collection of recipes from around the world. The recipes are categorized according to the four seasons in the year, beginning with Spring and all the way till winter. For the people who are not aware yet, Doc Kitchen is Stevie Parle’s popular restaurant in London and he is been awarded the Observer Food Monthly Young Chef of the Year 2010. 

The fact I love about the book is that it is very well designed, photographed and organized. At the very beginning with the seasons are listed with page numbers, which makes the book very easy to access. The book is full of beautiful photographs and easy to follow recipes.

As soon as I read that the book claims to have recipes from all around the world, the first thing I was looking for some Indian recipes and I wouldn't have guessed this one “Chaat”. I also found “white chapati”, “brown chapati”, “Amritsari Kulcha” and then I found “Rabbit Biriyani”! I have never had or heard of it but I guess that’s how innovation works! I am definitely going to try that one! The book also contains recipes from Mexico, Italy, Iran, Lebanon and many more.

In the book the author has used many ingredients in his recipes that we normally won’t pick up on our weekly veg shopping. For example, elderflower in grappa batter. But that’s the uniqueness of the book that you will find recipes that they will make your everyday meal a special one. If you are an experimental foodie then this is one cook book you should definitely have.

Now about my favourite topic : Desserts of this book! The book contains 11 ice cream recipes!! and none of them are very commonly used combinations! Now all I need is an ice cream maker to try these recipes!

I loved the photos in the book. A picture speaks a thousand words and that exactly most of the photos of this book are doing. The recipes are very straight forward along with beautiful food photography by Toby Glanville. The book is published by Quadrille publication and now available in Amazon.