• EnolaGRAY on April 02, 2024

  My go to cookbook for brunch

• Breadcrumbs on March 08, 2015

  COCONUT BREAD – p. 30 Evidently this is a very popular dish from one of BG’s restaurants and it’s described as a Jamaican bread. It comes together in no time and before long, you’ll be dreaming of white sand beaches as the sweet coconut aromas reminiscent of the Caribbean waft throughout your home. I’ve made this twice now. The second time I used coconut milk instead of regular milk and it was lovely. BG notes that the bread can be toasted but sadly mine’s never lasted long enough for there to be any left for the toaster! This is a real keeper. I believe it was roxlet that suggested serving it with a lime curd atop…I couldn’t agree more and I’ll definitely give that a try. Photos here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/1001058?commentId=9467578#9467578

• Breadcrumbs on March 08, 2015

  POTATO AND FETA PANCAKES – p. 49 These just sounded so delicious to me. I’ve made plenty of potato cakes in the past but for some reason, I’ve never thought of adding feta to the mix. The recipe called for fresh mint but I was serving these with a Greek-themed meal so I opted to add fresh dill since I had some leftover from making my tzatziki. I used my food processor to grate the veggies so this dish really did seem to come together in a flash. The fritters had a lovely earthy/cheesy aroma as they sizzled enthusiastically in the pan. Everyone gobbled these up and mr bc has already asked me if I could make another batch. Photos here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/1001058?commentId=9467578#9467578

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Ricotta hotcakes with honeycomb butter

  • Melanie on January 01, 2012

    p18. Yum. Light and fluffy pancakes. Next time I need to remember to whisk the egg whites with an electric beater - doing it by hand is not fun first thing in the morning!

  • Hellyloves2cook on May 13, 2014

    These were quite nice, much prefer them with maple syrup though. The honeycomb butter didn't do it for me.

  • KarinaFrancis on June 07, 2020

    These were a nice Sunday brunch dish. I made the batter the night before and then cooked them up when we got back from our morning swim. I’d make them again but not bother with the honeycomb butter. 1/2 recipe makes 6 good sized hotcakes

  • j_h on June 07, 2020

    Make sure you use a chocolate coated honeycomb candy bar. You can freeze the butter, and slice off small amounts as needed.

  • ChelseaP on August 05, 2021

    So light and fluffy! My family has been making these for years.

  • Ana10000 on March 11, 2024

    Exactly like you get in his restaurants. Fantastic recipe. Really light and delicate pancakes.

• Fresh Bircher muesli with stone fruit

  • Ganga108 on January 15, 2022

    An Australian twist on Bircher Muesli. We call it Bondi Bircher. Summer in a breakfast bowl.

• Sweetcorn fritters with roast tomato & bacon

  • Melanie on February 06, 2016

    Made the fritters only - tasty enough but I think I included too much batter.

  • pomona on December 31, 2018

    This is a great recipe. The technique of adding batter to the other fritter ingredients until they just hold together is a great one. I've made modified versions with different spices and different veg, also with diced ham. It's a versatile 'fridge contents' recipe.

  • anniecc on September 24, 2023

    This is a really good recipe, but for some reason the instructions are to make too much batter and only use part of it, which seemed wasteful, next time I’ll just make half the quantity.

  • Ganga108 on January 01, 2024

    This recipe is also in Australian Food, Bill's last book. It is a glorious Eastern Australian breakfast dish that is also great for lunch or supper. Those pancakes! Oh! Em! Gee!

• Honeycomb butter

  • Melanie on January 01, 2012

    p18. For the honeycomb I simply sliced the chocolate sections off a crunchie bar. I then crushed the honeycomb and combined with the butter and honey. No need to use the food processor.

• Coconut bread

  • Melanie on January 01, 2012

    p26. A nice sweet bread/cake. Simple to put together. Tastes nice with lime marmalade as suggested in recipe.

  • KarinaFrancis on October 27, 2013

    Very nice, I made it for a friend visiting from Jamaica and it got a big thumbs up

  • rstuart on April 29, 2014

    Wonderful recipe.. I have made this a few times, and it's very reliable and tasty!

  • Hellyloves2cook on May 13, 2014

    A very nice recipe that is more cakey than bread. Toasted it is delicious. I have eaten this in his restaurant several times in Sydney many years ago when I lived there. Great to recapture those good times at home:-)

  • Breadcrumbs on March 01, 2015

    p. 30 – A lovely moist breakfast bread. I subbed coconut milk for regular milk to give the loaf a further coconut flavour boost and the end result was quite yummy. BG suggests the bread (which is more like a cake really) can be toasted but we just enjoyed it straight up for breakfast. I do think it would be quite nice with a lime marmalade atop though so there may be a toasted slice in my future. Coconut always reminds me of the Caribbean so suffice to say this recipe made the house smell a little bit irie on a raw winter's day! Photos here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/1006474?commentId=9456957#9456957

  • anniecc on March 13, 2025

    For some reason the liquid ingredients are in metric and the dry ingredients are in cups and spoons. I think I must have put in too much flour because the batter was very stiff and the cake rose too much and cracked. The flavour is good but I would adjust the ingredient ratios next time.

• Banana maple porridge with buttered apples

  • Melanie on August 03, 2011

    p33. By cooking the banana and oats together, the end porridge tastes amazing! So much better than porridge with bananas on top!

  • Ganga108 on January 15, 2022

    P37 in my version of this book which is called simply Sydney Food. The banana is cooked in with the oats and topped with the butter glazed apple slices. It is a Winter favourite. To make it even more Australian, I use golden syrup instead of maple syrup, and top the apples with passionfruit and perhaps a little yoghurt.

• Iced cinnamon snail rolls

  • Melanie on January 01, 2012

    p41. Really easy to make and they taste really good. I drizzled them with the icing as soon as they came out of the oven so it sank into the top very nicely - more of a glaze than a stiff icing. Also need milk, eggs and sugar (white, brown and icing).

• Vanilla-poached apricots

  • Hellyloves2cook on May 13, 2014

    Simple way to use those fresh sweet apricots we get here in New Zealand.

• Potato and feta pancakes

  • Melanie on January 01, 2012

    p45. Really good. I made these for dinner one night to serve with salad. Took a while to grate the potatoes but easy to prepare. Need flour, eggs, onion, lemons.

• Crumpets with blackberry butter

  • Yildiz100 on July 16, 2019

    No matter what I did, these were doughy. Its probably my fault, but will try a different recipe next time, just in case it was the recipe's fault. There were certain places in the recipe where I could have used more detail as a first time crumpet maker. For example, what texture should the batter have, and how long to cook on the second side. Also, bicarb in a recipe with no acid means they tasted slightly bitter too.

  • iamtabu on May 23, 2020

    I think the recipe needs slightly more water than called for to get the right consistency and level of air pockets in the crumpets.

  • Ganga108 on June 22, 2022

    I used Bill's recipe to try crumpets made with milk as the liquid (I've been trialling crumpet recipes). I also found them to be doughy, without the beautiful spongy-ness and air pockets of recipes. My crumpet experiments have highlighted that the preferred type of home made crumpet is a personal preference - mine is to have a wet dough consistency rather than thin batter, and to include a little baker's/bread flour in the mix.

• Scrambled eggs

  • Hellyloves2cook on May 21, 2012

    Bills famous scrambled eggs are delicious - only way I make them now!

  • KarinaFrancis on October 27, 2013

    The definitive scrambled egg recipe! I've claimed them as my own I've made them so often

  • MmeFleiss on October 23, 2017

    Who knew plain scrambled eggs could be so sublime?

• Avocado toast with lime, pepper and coriander

  • Ganga108 on January 11, 2022

    A classic, made for years. Avo Toast was apparently first introduced to the world by Bill. Made this morning just to mark it off. But it is an institution in Australia and in this household.

• Puy lentil soup with Parmesan toasts

  • Melanie on January 01, 2012

    p74. Pretty impressive but low effort (takes about an hour to cook). Reheats really well so you could make this ahead.

  • jacbates on August 20, 2014

    Excellent soup - 8 minutes in the pressure cooker!

  • Ganga108 on January 15, 2022

    Yummy!

  • Melyinoz on February 03, 2022

    I made this as I had most of the ingredients and it was a really nice soup. I added zucchini and silverbeet, as I had some to use up. Did not make the Parmesan toasts. Would definitely make again.

  • Ganga108 on April 26, 2023

    This soup has always been a firm family favourite since my daughter first made it in London in 2009. It is so easy to make but the flavour belies the simple ingredients. This time it was made in Sydney, again by my daughter, when I caught a cold while visiting. It truly is the best "chicken noodle soup" solution for vegetarians :).

  • Ganga108 on April 29, 2023

    I made this soup again! It is that good. This time I used a mixture of whole mung beans, whole black urad dal and cannellini beans, soaked overnight, in place of puy lentils. It was phenomenal. I made enough for 3 lunches :) just as the weather turned cold again.

  • Ana10000 on March 11, 2024

    This is a good soup - I make it every winter several times over. My kids all eat it which is a bonus. I usually double the recipe as it's great the next day also. Sometime I add some chopped chorizo in at the beginning but it's not necessary. The parmesan toasts are easy and worth doing - they add an extra crunch to the meal.

  • anniecc on November 21, 2024

    This was easy to make. I doubled the recipe but wish I hadn’t doubled the chilli as the heat was rather dominant, making it difficult to appreciate the more subtle flavours. Maybe my chillies were larger/hotter than the author intended. A good soup for winter nevertheless.

• Parmesan toasts

  • Melanie on January 01, 2012

    p74. Super easy. Need some garlic, oil, salt, pepper. Served with the lentil soup.

• Goat's curd and lentil salad with roasted beetroot

  • mondraussie on May 14, 2017

    + dill

• Individual chicken and leek pies

  • Ana10000 on March 11, 2024

    If you only make one C&L pie, make it this one - the filling is divine. I have lost count how many times I've made it over the years and it never disappoints. It's probably in my top ten recipes of all time. I've never made it as little pies tho - just make the filling (I also add a chopped carrot or two plus a pinch of paprika), put it in a casserole dish and then roll a lid of puff pastry onto it. Poke a couple of holes in it, brush with egg yolk and bake. Equally good as a dinner party option or Sunday night supper.

  • CourtneyT on January 19, 2026

    This version of chicken and leek pie isn’t bland or uninteresting! The white pepper gives this filling a real zing and the way the chicken is prepped keeps the pie consistency thick and hearty. We used boneless thighs rather than breasts but I may try half thighs and half breast next time. I didn’t want individual pies, so made one savoury shortcrust pastry from Nicola Lamb’s Sift and it was absolutely delicious. (If you’re not a fan of white pepper, do pull back on that because it’s very prominent.) Recommended!

• Spring vegetable soup

  • Ganga108 on January 08, 2021

    Yummy!

• Smoked trout with potato salad

  • KarinaFrancis on February 20, 2024

    Outstanding and so simple! Made even more simple by using microwave steamed potatoes. The dressing is herby and zingy and a perfect match for the salty, smoky salmon. I didn’t make the mayo, just mixed some lemon juice and zest into store bought. Definitely a keeper.

• Blueberry butter cake

  • Ana10000 on March 11, 2024

    Impressive-looking and gorgeous-tasting cake. It's one I keep mostly just for home occasions tho, as judging when it's perfectly cooked can be tricky, due to the amount of berries in it. It's probably better to slightly over rather than under cook this one.

• Coconut and passionfruit slice

  • nadiam1000 on August 16, 2020

    I love passion fruit and had a few cans of passion fruit pulp my daughter brought back from AU. This looked so appealing in the photo but from the start - the crust was an issue - way too soft added an extra half cup of flour. I used the full can of pulp so not to waste 2 oz and held back some coconut milk and cream. I used 2 lemons (small). Filling was very liquid so I added an extra egg. Baked beautifully, and once chilled the texture was perfect. The crust had a slight chew and the filling was set and creamy with crunch from coconut and PF seeds. Flavor was dull and muted - probably from all the cream and milk. I would prefer a passion fruit slice similar to a lemon bar - bright, tangy and tropical. Would not repeat.

• Anzac biscuits

  • Ana10000 on March 11, 2024

    Nothing really amazing about this recipe - the Anzac biscuit recipe is pretty basic, so it's hard to mess it up. The biscuits taste as you would expect for an Anzac.

• Granny Mac's shortbread

  • Melanie on November 05, 2013

    p118. Very easy to make. These stay nice and soft. I used raspberry jam.

• Nectarine and plum tart

  • Melanie on February 06, 2016

    Made this with nectarines only, we thought it was delicious with ice cream.

• Barbecued whole fish with fresh herb relish

  • mondraussie on July 26, 2020

    Works really well with fish basket. Did 6 mins each side, perhaps a bit less next time.

• Grilled beef with blackbean

  • e_ballad on August 16, 2020

    This was very salty, even with thorough rinsing of the salted black beans. I would consider reducing the amount of dark soy sauce. The marinated steak was also delicious without the sauce (having sampled a piece of my kids’ portion).

• Baked snapper with lemon-roasted potatoes and fennel chilli relish

  • Hellyloves2cook on May 21, 2012

    made this for the first time 11 years ago for friends while living in UK. I used sea bass however as there was no snapper available. A very light summery dish packed with flavour.

• Lemon-roasted potatoes

  • e_ballad on November 18, 2017

    There was only a hint of lemon, where I’d been hoping for a hit. Otherwise a good spud recipe.

• Poached salmon with green-bean salad, tomato and anchovy dressing

  • CarltonCaz on May 12, 2016

    Absolutely love this recipe. Simple to make, great for mid-week.