• Joannelee on January 28, 2018

  The technique to "velvet" chicken on page 288 is a step I never skip now when cooking stir fry.

• shonaghd on August 06, 2015

  Book on iphone and ipad, app

• AliciaWarren on April 10, 2014

  If I only had the choice of one cook book, this would be it. And I'm not even in Australia, I'm in New Zealand!

• k.a.g on June 07, 2013

  I agree. If you're cooking in Australia, this book should be by your side. Never fails as an engagement/wedding present, either!

• Eurydice on April 14, 2010

  If an Australian kitchen could have only one book, this would be my vote for it.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Bread and butter pudding

  • Melanie on August 21, 2016

    Substituted milk for cream and skipped the orange peel - I'm sure I would have given this a higher rating if I stuck to the original recipe!

• Egg custard

  • k.a.g on June 07, 2013

    My go-to custard recipe. Still beautiful if you have to use all milk (no cream). Thanks Stephanie!

• Shortcrust pastry

  • Melanie on March 23, 2016

    Perfect flakey crust. Made in food processor and then quickly brought together on bench. Chilled overnight before rolling, and chilled again overnight before baking (not because the recipe needed it but it just worked best with timing).

• Basic pizza dough

  • Melanie on March 30, 2014

    Good basic pizza dough recipe.

  • poppiesandpavlovas on April 06, 2015

    Very easy to make, good results. Can make a half batch for just one pizza easily.

• Sponge topping

  • Eurydice on September 01, 2010

    A really quick and easy dessert. Ideal with rhubarb.

• Apricot jam

  • KarinaFrancis on December 29, 2013

    I didn't have success with this recipe.

  • AliciaWarren on December 28, 2013

    I prefer this recipe. It uses equal weights of fruit and sugar, plus lemon juice and a little water. It cooks the fruit before the sugar is added. It includes the option of adding the kernels to the jam to give a slight almond flavour.

• Egg and bacon pie

  • Melanie on March 23, 2016

    This worked wonderfully. Flakey golden pastry and the filling was cooked perfectly.

• Simple banana cake

  • Melanie on August 21, 2016

    Worked perfectly - adjusted to 50min cooking time, cooked in a round pan. Lovely banana flavour - used two large bananas. Might try topping next time.

  • ameliark on August 21, 2018

    This is my go-to banana cake recipe. Moist with a lovely rich toffee-like background flavour. Very easy to whip up. I never measure out the banana, just put in two or three. I don’t even mash them! I put them whole into my kitchenaid mixer.

• Coriander peanut pesto

  • kbeard on December 23, 2012

    This is amazingly good & fresh tasting! Possibly my favourite recipe in this book. I find it loses flavour quickly in the fridge, best just to make it when you need it.

• Roasted fillet of beef for a party

  • Eurydice on February 24, 2013

    I did exactly what Stephanie said with the meat, and got the best roasted fillet of beef I've ever made! Next time I'll do exactly as she says with the vegetables as well.

• Beef bourguignon

  • AliciaWarren on May 04, 2014

    An alternative to orange zest that worked well for me was preserved lemons.

• Simplest beef stew

  • Melanie on June 20, 2017

    Simple - nothing amazing about this stew but it is a nice comforting dish. Served with mashed potato on the side instead of incorporating into the stew.

• Carrot salad with Thai seasoning

  • mbremner on August 31, 2021

    Add vietnamese herbs

• Simple carrot cake

  • Melanie on June 20, 2017

    Very simple, very tasty. Made as muffins and topped with the suggested cream cheese icing. Nice and fluffy. Subbed veg oil for half of the olive oil. Baked at 160 for 25 min, made 12.

• Best ever cheesecake

  • duomono on January 04, 2014

    Top with fresh berries - delicious!

• Roast chicken - the all-time favourite

  • fibarr on March 05, 2017

    This produces the loveliest juicy roast chicken. Rarely cook chicken any other way.

  • aargle on February 10, 2014

    This is the best roast chicken recipe I have tried.

  • Melanie on June 22, 2020

    This is a delicious recipe. Great way of roasting the veg with the chicken when I’m feeling lazy.

• Double chocolate brownies

  • Melanie on June 20, 2017

    Very good brownies! Needed longer to bake but the result was worth the extra wait. Will make again.

  • pants99 on September 14, 2012

    My go to chocolate brownie recipe. It is excellent if you add raspberries - fresh or frozen and thawed a bit. In every oven I have ever used I have needed a longer cooking time than the recipe states.

• Mietta's chocolate cake

  • Eurydice on July 08, 2012

    Rich, delicious chocolate cake with easily spreadable icing which made a popular birthday cake. Mine sank in the middle, maybe because I used a tin of smaller diameter than specified.

• Sticky toffee pudding

  • Melanie on April 03, 2015

    Great dessert for a casual dinner with friends. It was a hit and really only would serve 6 as most people wanted seconds! I prepared a few bowls as mise en place and premade the toffee sauce which meant it was easy to mix and throw into the oven while my partner served the main. Good winter dish, the toffee sauce is quite buttery and possibly could have used a touch of salt (there is no salt used in the dish) - will try next time, there will be a next time! Used a teaspoon of ground ginger in the batter.

  • ARechner on May 24, 2022

    Yum! Such a hit last night and everyone wanted the recipe. I doubled the recipe but only made 3/4 worth of sauce - it makes a lot! Food processor makes quick work of the dates. Bring butter to room temp before creaming. The sauce rapidly rises when bringing to the boil so use a bigger saucepan than what you initially think. You can cut sugar in the pudding down to 2/3 the amount. I also reduced sugar in the sauce a little bit. Made in 22cm square pans as that's all I had and this was fine. Serve with cream. Great freezer recipe.

  • eeza on July 18, 2014

    Suitable to freeze. Also works as mini muffin sized puddings.

• Lemon cordial

  • AliciaWarren on August 03, 2013

    Also search lemon squash, lemon syrup and lemonade

• Lemon curd

  • digifish_books on May 17, 2015

    Recipe available at http://slowlivingessentials.blogspot.com.au/2010/07/lemon-curd.html

  • sundaydinners on July 27, 2013

    half the amount of butter than other recipes. Very easy to make and after about 7 mins, the mixture becomes a golden partly translucent colour. Does require standing to stir with a whisk for 10 mins. Very clean taste.

  • Melanie on May 17, 2015

    Deliciously tangy - use this when you want the flavour to be full of lemon. Much brighter in taste than Herme/Greenspan's lemon cream (which I also love).

• Vietnamese chicken and mint salad

  • will.foster on December 27, 2012

    marinated chicken in shaoxing, honey, soy and sesame oil for 30 mins before wok frying, could also use some cashews or peanuts for a bit of crunch

  • Alicia.Brown on July 25, 2013

    Great tip re. marinating the chicken and adding nuts - its a really tasty and easy dish.

• Orange caramel syrup

  • Melanie on August 06, 2011

    Made the syrup to coat Claudia Roden's orange almond cake.

• Orange cake

  • Melanie on August 21, 2016

    Lovely simple orange cake, skipped the grand marnier. Great flavour.

• Claudia Roden's Middle Eastern orange cake

  • Melanie on August 05, 2011

    Drizzle orange caramel syrup and some finely zested orange over the top. Such a delicious cake! Save time by microwaving the pierced oranges for eight minutes (instead of boiling for two hours).

  • ARechner on September 13, 2020

    Such a fantastic cake that I’ll certainly make again! I accompanied mine with a little cream whipped with ground cardamom. It’s lovely reheated and served warm. Next time I’ll try microwaving the oranges to soften them. Keep a careful watch on the saucepan if you choose to boil - mine boiled dry and burnt the pan.

• Lasagne

  • Eurydice on September 01, 2010

    Lasagne seems too fiddlesome to me. Prefer Bolognaise.

• Poached peaches or nectarines

  • Eurydice on February 24, 2013

    Just the best recipe when nectarines are in season. I prefer the red wine version and vanilla bean rather than lemon. I like to use brown sugar, but less of it than in the recipe as for me, there's plenty enough sweetness in the fruit.

• Pea and ham soup

  • StephandDon on December 28, 2013

    Page 716

• Pork rillettes

  • KarinaFrancis on October 30, 2013

    Rich and delicious. The smell of pork and thyme throughout the house while this is cooking is mouthwatering. Great do-ahead dinner party dish.

• Potato salad with bacon and sour cream

  • JLDuck on December 05, 2020

    Simple and tasty

• Garlic prawns

  • JLDuck on March 15, 2021

    Absolutely delicious. Some pre planning required for the garlic and oil. The addition of lemon juice raises this dish to exceptional.

• Poached quince

  • Truebunyip on June 03, 2016

    Be warned that there are two varieties of quinces. If you are using the larger pineapple quinces (almost square in cross-section) they will not change colour however long you cook them for. If you want the deep red colour use the smaller, round Smyrna quinces.

  • AliciaWarren on April 10, 2014

    Oven poached quinces - If you have quinces this is a great recipe to commence with. Once you have poached quinces, as well as using them in casseroles and desserts, you can drain the juice and make quince jelly, and pulp the fruit and make quince paste, thus maximising the preserves you get from your quinces.

  • Melanie on May 17, 2015

    Lovely flavour, I can never get enough of quinces at this time of the year (I think the magic of their changing colour is quite apt for autumn). This is a very simple preparation that can either be eaten simply as poached fruit or used in other recipes. The leftover poaching syrup also makes for great cordial.

• Rhubarb crumble

  • Melanie on November 05, 2014

    This is a good basic crumble recipe, although as it is in the side bar you would end up needing to flick between about 4 recipes if you are not familiar in the kitchen. It's worth it though@ I used ginger in the crumble topping and served with vanilla ice cream. Note - there is no rosewater in this recipe.

• Rice pilaf

  • mbremner on December 28, 2013

    Good served with spicy roast lamb and orange and fennel salad

• Roasted rosemary potatoes

  • JLDuck on August 17, 2021

    The taste is great. May need to vary the amount of oil and timing according to your oven and what potatoes are used.

• Kathy's tomato relish

  • AliciaWarren on December 16, 2013

    For a redder relish use red wine vinegar or add red capsicums.

  • AliciaWarren on December 16, 2013

    I was really pleased with the results of this recipe., a beautiful orange-red colour, and sweet-sour flavour. I left out the cayenne and added some onion and red capsicum. The vinegar was mostly apple cider as the white wine vinegar ran out. I used heaps of fresh ginger rather than ground ginger. Next time I will use red wine vinegar to get a stronger red colour. I didn't skin or seed the tomatoes or pass them through a food mill. I just used a stick blender in the pot.

  • RosieB on February 15, 2015

    I would not call this a relish. It was more like a tomato sauce. Flavoursome but a bit sweet. If you are expecting something rustic and chunky dont make this. If you want something sauce lime, this is for you.

• Pikelets

  • Melanie on November 05, 2015

    Nice basic pikelet recipe. These freeze well.

• Scones

  • Melanie on February 14, 2015

    Easy to make - I substituted lemon soured milk for the buttermilk and used a pastry cutter instead of a food processor. Delicious with jam and cream.

• Apple muffins

  • ARechner on October 04, 2020

    - Purée the apple - Halve the sugar - Can swap for olive oil - Can swap for chia egg - Can swap for almond milk - Can swap for wholemeal SR flour +/- walnuts and/or pecans

• Mrs Atkins' marvellous fruit slice

  • Eurydice on May 16, 2014

    Wow thanks Stephanie and Mrs. Atkins, this is simply the yummiest slice recipe, quick and easy and relatively healthy. The recipe said mixed dried fruit, and I used mostly raisins and currants. This will be a regular in our house.

• Molly cake

  • Eurydice on December 10, 2011

    Very heart-smart

• Spiced beef curry - daging rempah

  • Melanie on April 17, 2016

    Delicious spicy curry -served with rice, steamed green beans and some yoghurt.

• French toast

  • Melanie on April 14, 2015

    I'm sure most people don't need a recipe for French toast but as someone who has neve made this dish (or even eaten a home made version made by others that they liked), using a recipe was a must, and to great success. Used gifted tsoureki (Greek Easter bread) which worked perfectly. I used milk (not cream) and cinnamon (not sherry). This is a side bar recipe (p198).

• Grilled coriander pepper chicken

  • JLDuck on November 25, 2020

    Short marinating time and very easy. Taste pretty good as well.

• Moroccan-inspired chicken

  • Zoeplankton on April 08, 2014

    http://zoedougdinner.wordpress.com/2013/01/15/zoes-excellent-moroccan-chicken/

  • melissarina on March 08, 2012

    Cook it in a LARGE stockpot / saucepan. I nearly ran out of space in my largest stockpot. Could reduce the number of vegetables (or maybe the turnips I used were unusually large? not sure, I've never cooked with turnips before) I only used 1 turnip, and substituted 250g of sweet potato for half of the pumpkin, because I love sweet potato - it was delicious!

• Nat's gingerbread people (or trees, or stars!)

  • Melanie on June 22, 2020

    We enjoyed these. Double the recipe though!

• Tony's crunchy fruit and nut granola

  • NannaLinda on December 17, 2020

    In the index as Crunchy fruit and nut Granola. On page 647.

• Peaches and cream tart

  • Daniela164 on September 19, 2021

    Nice pastry, perhaps include some sugar next time. See recipe on the same page. Putting the pie under the grill didn't really caramelise the sugar, but pie was still good

• Quince jelly

  • Melanie on May 30, 2015

    Lovely flavour. Mine didn't set as much as it should have, however it is actually quite nice as a looser jelly.

• Rhubarb and almond crumble tart

  • Eurydice on September 02, 2010

    Really good. If it had been simpler to make I'd have marked it 5 stars.

• Silverbeet and potato torte

  • katieate on January 01, 2012

    Very tasty and easy to make. I really liked the pastry and will use it to make gozleme next time