AN AUSTRALIAN WOMEN'S WEEKLY FAVOURITE

The Australian Women's Weekly, The Baking Collection, RRP $49.95, available where all good books are sold and online at awwcookbooks.com.au!

Glazed rosewater madeleines

Australian Women's Weekly cookbooks have occupied a large amount of space on the bookshelf for as long as I can remember. My attention span probably isn't long enough to count Mum's collection of AWW cookbooks, but I know that there is one for just about everything you could crave! My favourite of the collection is probably the Chinese cuisine cookbook, mainly because the pages are tattered and the staples have loosened, so I know that those pages have provided us with classic recipes, delicious meals and wonderful memories. AWW Cookbooks have the power to provide such memories; like the Children's Birthday Cake Book from which my Dad recreated the train cake for my brother's birthday. Complete with carriages, it was nothing short of a masterpiece! I was reminded of these memories (and many more) when Australian Women's Weekly cookbooks contacted me, asking if I would like share some of their books with you. How could I say no?!

The AWW Baking Collection has just been released to celebrate 80 years of The Australian Women's Weekly. (And yes, just in time for Mother's Day, *hint hint*) It is full of evocative, homely recipes that have been triple tested to ensure success for home cooks of all generations. This cookbook is a fine collection of classic baking; the recipes will instil in you the joy of baking that perfect lemon meringue pie, a sweet, simple marble cake or a wonderful cloud-like batch of dinner rolls. The recipes are Aussie family favourites that are just perfect to be shared between loved ones... just like these pretty little madeleines.

GINGER AND LEMON PUNCH

Ginger and lemon punch

My Dad has long been making his own ginger beer and, although I don't usually drink it, I recently enjoyed a ginger and lemon spritzer that has really stuck in my mind as a beauty. The flavour combination inspired me and I knew that it was something I needed to recreate using Dad's homemade stuff! So, with the summer heat set in and Dad's latest batch of ginger beer in the fridge, there was no better time to release the lemon, lime and ginger concoction from my brain and into the real world. You can effortlessly mix together this refreshingly scrumptious beverage for tonight's New Year celebrations and for the blurry summer afternoons ahead. This punch is zingy, cold, light and just sweet enough, plus, I like to think that the ginger element is doing something good for me! Happy New Year to you all!

EAT

Black Pearl Epicure
36 Baxter St, Fortitude Valley
(07) 3257 2144

Black Pearl is one of those places that you walk in to and immediately know it's down to business. Expertise and a passion for the fine ingredients wafts throughout the whole place. As a foodie, my mind is immediately set racing as I try to register every jar, can, utensil and packet. It's quite exotic and, soon, my mind floods with recipe ideas.

Shelves abound with truffle oil, salsa verde, preserved lemon, snails in brine, fregola, elderflower cordial, sherry vinegar and  Lescure butter. All sounds very posh, doesn't it? I suppose it is a little, but it's intriguing and new. Sometimes we all need something like that.

LEMON MYRTLE CHICKEN WITH RUSTIC THYME CHIPS

Lemon Myrtle Chicken with Rustic Thyme Chips


This is the perfect finger lickin' friday meal. You can just chuck it all in the oven and, after 45 minutes, tuck into this takeaway-at-home kind of meal. Much better than anything deep-fried you get in a box; the chips are crunchy on the outside but soft on the inside and, having been cooked in wine and all those delicious lemon juices, the chicken falls off the bone. The lemon myrtle is quite a subtle flavour but it gives the zingy bitterness of lemon rind. Serve with a baked lemon wedge to amp up the flavour.


What you'll need:
4-6 chicken pieces, skin on
2 teaspoons lemon myrtle (powdered)
3 cloves garlic, chopped finely
1 lemon, cut into wedges
1 cup dry white wine
1 bunch lemon thyme
Olive oil
Salt and pepper


What to do:
Preheat the oven to 200C.


Pour a few glugs of olive oil into the bottom of a baking tray. Add the chicken and roll each piece around to coat. Pour in the wine.


In a bowl, combine the lemon myrtle, garlic and salt. Sprinkle it over each piece of chicken and use your hands to rub it in. Throw the lemon wedges in and then season once more with salt and pepper. Bake for 45 minutes or until the chicken is golden and cooked through. 


While this is baking, peel the potatoes and cut them into big, chunky chips. Wrap them in a clean tea towel and rub to dry. Place them out on a lined baking tray and season with salt. Sprinkle some thyme leaves over the top and bake for 30 minutes or until nice and crispy.


Serve the chicken with a sprig of thyme, a good squeeze of a baked lemon wedge and a stack of chunky chips. Enjoy!


NOTE: If you can't find lemon myrtle, use lemon rind but chop it up really finely.

GRILLED SALMON WITH LEMON BASIL RISOTTO

Photograph by Ell.


Grilled Salmon with Lemon Basil Risotto


This dish is possibly the best salmon dish I've ever had. I'm not usually a salmon fan, but when it's skin is super golden and crispy and paired with a creamy citrus risotto it really doesn't get much better. Fish is just so good for us and risotto is perfect in winter - you'll be seeing a lot more of it on stylepot!


What to do:
2 salmon fillets
Salt and pepper


1 brown onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
1.5 litres warm chicken stock (may need more)
Juice of half a lemon
2 tablespoons chopped basil
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
20g butter
Olive oil


What to do:
Heat the olive oil in a frypan and fry the onion and garlic. When the onion is transparent, add the rice and stir until glossy. Reduce heat to medium. Add the wine, lemon juice and basil. Stir until absorbed. Add about a quarter of a cup/a good glug of the stock and stir until absorbed. Add the same amount of stock and stir until absorbed. Continue this process until the rice has cooked. (You'll need to keep testing the rice - when cooked, it will be almost double the size it was when dried and there should be no crunch but a little bit of chewiness when you bite a grain.)


When your rice has gone a little puffy but it is still not fully cooked, heat some oil in a frypan and fry the salmon skin side down. Leave it to fry for about 5 minutes or until golden brown. While this is happening, keep tending to your risotto. Turn the fillet and let it cook to the desired level. 


Once the rice has cooked, add a bit more stock and stir in the cheese and butter. Let the risotto reduce until the liquid is thick but smooth and silky. Season with salt and pepper and serve with the salmon when it is cooked.


Note: If you aren't keen on multitasking, just cook the risotto and set it aside. Then cook your salmon. Once the salmon has cooked, turn off the heat and leave it in the pan.
Add some stock to the risotto to moisten it up and follow the last step to reheat.