• sue_anne on May 20, 2015

  I have made this Tung po pork many times and it is a firm favourite in this 'all things porky' household. Sublime, tender and wickedly evil flavours with meltingly soft rind and FAT. I can understand why the Chinese sigh, shout and groan with happiness when they see it, (as stated by Stephanie A), it is too gorgeousness. It must be said, be very sure that the meat is very well dried before frying, as fat will shoot up the walls and all over you if not.. OUCH! If you don't have to always eat pork with crackling, give it a go, a bit time consuming, but this is a cracking dish. (No pun intended).

• suzanne P on November 05, 2010

  The best cookbook

• bnwale on July 24, 2010

  If I had to survive with only one cook book this would be the one.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Chestnut soup

  • rodillagra on January 18, 2015

    http://www.pfeifferwinesrutherglen.com.au/home/resources/recipes/57-savoury/84-stephanie-alexander-s-chestnut-soup

  • dalees on August 28, 2013

    I have made this a couple of times and it is absolutely delicious. However, peeling the chestnuts is unbelievably time consuming and tiresome.

• Pickled watermelon rind

  • rodillagra on October 01, 2020

    Now, I don't know if I did something wrong or if I have the wrong type of watermelon but this was a disaster.. .. .. Everything was fine until the part when you are meant to boil the rind in the pickling liquid until the rind is translucent. We boiled it; there was no translucency.. .. What there was was Watermelon Rind Toffee.. .. Hang on, perhaps WRT is a surprise delight! .. .. It is not, so very much not.

• Lemon curd

  • mummyE_13 on July 24, 2010

    pge 391 lemon butter / lemon curd

• Pork with prunes

  • Cati on January 30, 2015

    january 2015 , Wendy made this. Quick ,delicious with addition of the red currant jelly.

• Pork sausages with sage and tomato

  • RosieB on January 01, 2017

    I skinned the sausages and formed into quenelles before browning. The sauce was delicious with good quality pasta and regianno as I had no pecorino.

• Stephanie's twice-baked goat's cheese soufflés

  • RosieB on May 27, 2017

    Delicious and relatively easy.

• Quick apple cake

  • Snadra on November 03, 2011

    This really is a great cake, with a tender moist crumb. I make it several times a year. The most time consuming part is chopping the apples, and because you melt the butter rather than cream it there's no waiting around - perfect whn guest are on their way! The first time I made it I found an excess of butter, so now I use a bit less and replace it with Greek yoghurt. Cardamom makes a nice addition, and firm ripe pears make a good sub for the apples when they're in season. I use Kellybrook Apple brandy now, but before I found it I used rum, cognac or whiskey - all are good.

  • debkellie on April 02, 2021

    Delightfully moist cake. Next time I'll chop the apples a little finer, and coat them in some of the flour to avoid them sinking to the lower level of the cake. Easy, quick and keeps well.

• Lemon risotto

  • Snadra on November 04, 2011

    This is the first risotto I ever made and is still the one I return to. The lemon works well with the richness of the butter, cheese and starch, and there's not a lot of stuff going into it. Goes well with asparagus or green beans for a veg meal. Leftovers make great arancini cakes with salad.

  • aargle on December 27, 2013

    This is a great base risotto recipe to which you can add prawns or salmon to.

• Poached quince

  • meganjane on April 18, 2015

    Didn't have a vanilla bean so used vanilla extract and recipe still worked. Really easy recipe

• Pesto

  • debkellie on February 12, 2023

    An "oldie but a goodie" : my go to pesto recipe. Freezes beautifully.

• Brandied cumquats

  • debkellie on July 17, 2023

    My cumquat bush is burgeoning! Bottled up a couple of brandied cumquat jars today. can't wait to try them come Christmas time! I just filled a couple of sterilised jars with cumquats, then measure in the brandy till it came halfway up the jar, and used equal quantity of caster sugar.. for my 300ml jars that was 65 ml brandy and 65 g sugar... seemed easier to do it that way than have lost of brandy /sugar combo left over!

• Eggplant curry

  • debkellie on May 22, 2022

    Nothing to write home about, but used up some of my home grown eggplants.

• French onion soup from Stephanie's

  • debkellie on February 05, 2016

    Really, really good.

  • debkellie on June 19, 2022

    Made it again last night: it certainly does NOT disappoint. Still the best French onion soup in my recipe collection!

• Bread and butter pudding

  • balmaingirl on February 03, 2012

    For a variation on the theme, you can substitute the bread and butter for a small panetone. Just slice it up and user as per the recipe. Delicious!

• Passionfruit Bavarois

  • RobertaMuir on January 05, 2013

    Doesn't say what grade gelatine - I used bronze and the set seemed spot on. I wouldn't have minded a more intense passionfruit flavour - may increase amount next time ... certainly needs to be served with extra passionfruit over it for tang.

• Peach or nectarine chutney

  • pomona on March 06, 2018

    Can cut sugar by a third and up chillies for zing.

• Potato salad with bacon and sour cream

  • siobhan_curran on December 20, 2011

    Another recipe I am always asked for. I double the bacon and cook it to crispy.

  • CBH on January 24, 2016

    Love this

• Jenny's Caesar salad

  • siobhan_curran on December 20, 2011

    Am always asked for the recipe when zi make this. I often omit the eggs out of sheer laziness and it's still delicious.

• Duck liver parfait

  • SCS on April 02, 2022

    Needs salt. Check for seasoning by warming a bit of the mixture in a pan until cooked then add to taste.

• Falafel

  • Taylormade on April 15, 2012

    I have made these twice, both times with dismal results! The baking powder is overpowering and causes them to fall apart.

• Mango salsa

  • Hellyloves2cook on May 21, 2012

    A flavoursome salsa that ticks all the boxes for me. One I use time and time again.

• Blueberry muffins

  • mondraussie on December 30, 2018

    added lemon zest and azahar to give them a little more "magdelena" flavour.. Also smidgen of vanilla.

• Olive bread

  • mondraussie on January 11, 2015

    Absolutely 5 star!! Turned out perfectly on first go, soft and chewy with a very nice crust. ... Only thing to pay attention to is the rise time... Stephanie says 45mins, I left it to 1.5hours...

• Tomato soup with basil and croutons

  • John_Dearn on March 29, 2013

    Page 712

• Preserved lemons

  • JodieE on March 11, 2014

    perfect recipe. I add a few whole peppercorns.

• Lemon cordial

  • Neodymia on September 13, 2015

    Leave grated lemon rind out as it is bitter and all floats to the top making a mess.

• Lemon and lime granita

  • Neodymia on September 13, 2015

    Leave grated rind out as it floats to the top and tastes bitter.

• Baked beans

  • Neodymia on September 13, 2015

    Don't use as much water as recipe says. Left bacon out.

• Satay sauce

  • KIGirl on April 30, 2016

    Simple with a small list of ingredients

• Egg and bacon pie

  • e_ballad on February 01, 2019

    An excellent E&B pie. If you have shortcrust pastry all ready to go, this is a very quick mid-week meal.

• Chicken breasts with almond sauce and guacamole

  • lou_weez on April 28, 2023

    This was an interesting combination of ingredients, that resulted in a really delicious dinner. I didn't bother baking the potatoes, instead made mashed potatoes the old fashioned way. I also didn't have any ripe avocadoes, so used store bought guacamole. I would make this again.

• Sticky toffee pudding

  • svokes on April 26, 2018

    Sticky date pudding - the bestest easist never fail pud - I always return to this . The recipe makes a lot of toffee sauce - but it gets eaten.

• Pears baked as in Savoy

  • sfitzy on October 27, 2017

    can use Brown sugar instead of white

• Apple yeast sugar tart

  • Ganga108 on September 02, 2022

    Includes eggs.

• Washday pudding

  • Ganga108 on July 06, 2022

    A very old-fashioned recipe, one my mother might have made. I had to search for a dish that would be suitable, and a steamer large enough to take the dish. It was all worth it, with a delicious, self-saucing style pudding, served with baked quinces and cream. Such memories of eating my mother's puddings as a child. Takes 45 mins to cook (thanks to Stephanie for having perfect timings in her recipes).

• Eggplant and pesto

  • Ganga108 on January 09, 2021

    Steph Alexander's dishes are always good, and she has many simple but delicious "side note" recipes in this book that give Nigel Slater a run for his money. This is a simple lunch, supper or first course. Made with the first of the eggplants from the garden this summer, and the first 2021 pesto made with our own sweet basil.

• Potato gratin

  • Ganga108 on July 29, 2022

    Simple, easy and nice. There is an issue or two with the butter - Steph calls for 40g, and that is probably too much. She says to grease the dish with half the butter and then does not specify what to do with the remainder. I use it to dot the top of the gratin.

• Quinces baked in honey

  • Ganga108 on July 06, 2022

    Delicious, honeyed, red quince halves with cream. A winning wintery dish. We doubled up the sugar and had them alongside an old-fashioned steamed pudding.