Cookbookmaniac
  • Tropical Meringue Nests with Mango and Coconut
    Tropical Meringue Nests with Mango and Coconut
    Baking Recipes

    The idea of whipping and cooking egg whites used to make me want to lie down in a dark room. They always seemed far too difficult and after a horrific attempt many years ago, my desire to ever work with them were wrapped up, boxed and placed on the never-again shelf. By chance, I stumbled upon a recipe for Swiss Meringue Buttercream by Whisk Kid and her step-by-step instructions were clear, precise and best of all, helpful. I successfully baked a Rainbow Cake using her famous recipe and I haven’t looked back. Making these super delicious meringue nests were easy, far easier than baking a cake, with significantly fewer ingredients and labour. If you have a stand mixer you could almost make this recipe and paint your nails simultaneously....continue reading for recipe

  • Homemade XO Sauce
    Homemade XO Sauce
    Asian Recipes

    This sauce is considered the emperor of all sauces in Hong Kong. Many chefs create their own version and keep the recipe with absolute secrecy. Here is my homemade version that will set your tastebuds on fire. This sauce is nothing like the gooey sauces that you find in the supermarket aisle. It is full of flavour and fire. With just a couple of tablespoons it can transform your stir-fry vegetables from bland to WHAM! You can add some to your fried rice for something different or dip your dumplings into it for a special kick. You can even dollop a bit onto some fried eggs. It is also a fraction of the cost of the store bought variety that can vary in quality. continue reading for recipe  

  • Roast Chicken with Sumac, Za’atar and Lemon by Ottolenghi
    Roast Chicken with Sumac, Za’atar and Lemon by Ottolenghi
    European Recipes

    I recently went on a tour of Newtown with some lovely bloggers and was asked how many cookbooks I actually owned. Well, I never really counted them, but I think its safe to say that I have around 200. I regret purchasing quite a few of them, they are usually the ones that are generically strung together by book publishers to raise revenue. Most of the time I only end up buying the junk because I've had a bad day and needed something new to cheer me up or there was one lone recipe that looked very enticing. Needless to say I don't really cook from them. I am often pulled towards cookbooks written by one or two people that are driven by their love for food. It isn't just about the recipe (yes, a good set of recipes is important) but it is also about the produce, technique, history…