New Year - New CookbooksNew Year, New Cookbooks - Lambs Ears and Honey

Our new year, new cookbooks selection is definitely going to please you, as is my whole-year cookbook decision – read on!

Happy new year to my fellow cookbook lovers, and we all know what that means, a new year – new cookbooks! It’s been a cracker of the year in the Lambs’ Ears Cookbook Club. We’ve explored some great new publications, taken a deep dive into some old favourites, and said goodbye to Bill Granger – an Australian food icon.

And this year will be just as much fun! We are kicking off January with an appropriately summer cookbook, Alice Zaslavsky’s Salad for Days. While it’s definitely summer here in Oz – think barbecues, beach trips and bushfires – Alice’s work is nothing if not inclusive, so it offers two separate sections. There’s a section on salads for warmer days, and another for salads to serve on cooler days, so all of our Northern Hemisphere members are covered this month too!

I love this book and urge you to make sure it’s on your shelves. Alice’s recipes are so fresh and lively that they just leap off the page at you. She’s got all the bases covered, with some very clear instructions in the beginning on the basics of seasoning, acids and serving, a comprehensive dressings index (there’s more than 80 of them), a section on ‘what to make when you have …’ languishing in the fridge, and a selection of recipes that will totally expand your concept of salads.

WHAT DID WE COOK IN DECEMBER?

December is a busy month for anyone with any interest in food, and our cookbook club members really gave their favourite Christmas cookbooks and recipes a thorough workout. Here’s just a few of the fantastic celebratory dishes shared by the Cookbook Club members. Check out our Facebook page to see loads more.

Vicky Taylor’s Raspberry and White chocolate Trifle, from Donna Hay

Sherry Mackay’s Smoked salmon wasabi and radish finger sandwiches, from Donna Hay

Karina Francis’ Panettone tart (bread n butter pudding) from Jamie Oliver’s Christmas

Peggy Bright’s chocolate truffles from Christmas Cooking with Kids, by Annie Rigg

Carolyn Miles’ Rolled turkey with maple & bacon stuffing from Donna Hay’s Christmas cookbook

Cyndi Coberg Clinker’s Linzer biscuits from Anja Dunk’s Advent.

SO WHAT’S HAPPENING IN FEBRUARY?

February in Australia is back-to-school month, and back-to-the-weekly-grind month, so our new year, new cookbooks selection is one that I know a lot of you will have been eagerly anticipating. Nagi Maehashi steamrollered through the Australian cookbook publishing scene with her first book, RecipeTin Eats, and her new book RecipeTin Eats Tonight has been one of the most hotly anticipated cookbooks of 2024.

In this new collection, she has more than 150 brand new recipes, with 800 variations, and 3,000 possible combinations – this woman is a machine.

All of these recipes are designed for you to cook, and get on the table tonight – some in as little as 20 minutes. Busy families will love these dishes, that are quick, tasty, and don’t require a trip to the store for anything fancy. Grab your copy and start earmarking your favourites for February.

NOW – TO OUR WHOLE-YEAR COOKBOOK

I know we’re all about the whole ‘new year, new cookbooks’ thing, but I also know that many of us like to rediscover or explore books that we already have. In the light of that, I’d like each member to select just ONE cookbook from their own selection, nominate it as their cookbook for the whole year in our Facebook group, and really get in between it’s covers, sharing as much as you can on the journey.

My selection for the whole year will be Ottolenghi Comfort. I haven’t given it much of a look, because I’ve always got something new to distract me. 2025 may well be challenging, so a bit of comfort will be most welcome.