MURDOCH BOOKS - REMARKABLE COOKBOOK PUBLISHERS

Less than a month ago I was enthusing about this publisher, their hugely impressive (divine actually) catalogue, and the seemingly endless number of gorgeous cookbooks they produce.
And now another two stunners arrive.

MY COUSIN ROSA
Rosa Mitchell’s Sicilian Kitchen
Rosa Mitchell – Murdoch Books – NZ$65

My my, so mouthwatering, made all the more so by the superb photos of the dishes she prepares, and so interesting too because interspersed with the recipes is her life story from her birth in Sicily, to her emigration to Australia as a young girl in 1962.

Rosa Mitchell is passionate about food and how it links history, tradition, family and friends. She was a founding member of Slow Food Victoria and together with her husband Colin Mitchell, runs a small vineyard in Central Victoria specialising in Italian varietal wines. Rosa is currently chef at the highly acclaimed Journal Canteen cafe in Flinders Lane, Melbourne, and teaches cooking classes at Melbourne’s Centre for Adult Education (CAE).

Rosa’s food is very special: soulful, traditional, family-orientated and utterly authentic. In this beautiful book, her thoughts on life, both Australian and Sicilian, are scattered among the recipes like biscotti crumbs.

THE COOK’S BOOK OF EVERYTHING
Over 1000 recipes, cooking tips and techniques
Lulu Grimes – Murdoch Books - $75

This is how the publisher describes the author- Lulu Grimes has worked in London and Sydney as a food editor of books for nearly 20 years. While she is keen to point out that she doesn’t know everything about food, we like to think she comes spectacularly close.

Lulu Grimes is also a prolific and most successful cook book author but I reckon this title must be her biggest and most important to date.

Every recipe, all 1000 plus of them, have been triple-tested in the Murdoch Books test kitchen.(I'd like to see this kitchen sometime, I'll bet it is impressive).
This book is a whopper and could easily double as a door stopper in case of need!

To test the “everything” claim I made myself a list of imaginary things I wanted to know about, ranging from salt & pepper squid, marinated feta, preserved lemons, gado gado, stollen, and broad bean dip and sure enough everything I needed to know on these was there.

This book in some ways is like a cross between a giant deluxe version of the Edmonds Cookery Book (the biggest selling book in NZ publishing history) and a more user-friendly version of Stephanie Alexander’s famous, A Cook’s Companion. It is a modern, well-written and beautifully illustrated encyclopedia for the kitchen
It will make a superb gift book, especially for those setting up home. My copy is going straight on to the shelf in the kitchen with my other select but frequently used favourites.
Congratulations to Murdoch Books, Rosa and Lulu.