Book Reviews

My Abuela's Table
Author: Daniella Germain
Publisher: Hardie Grant Books
RRP: $34.95
Abuela means "grandmother" and the recipes in this book come from Daniella Germain's abuela, both directly and via the author's Mexican-born mother, who patiently wrote down the steps for making the dishes her own mother cooked when she was growing up in Mexico.

The Salt Book
Author: Fritz Gubler & David Glynn with Dr Russell Keast
Publisher: Arbon Publishing
RRP: $34.99 Paperback with flaps
The title of this book alone might be enough to send hypertensives screaming from the room, but it shouldn't. It begins from the premise that salt is an almost magical substance that makes the flavours of just about everything else come alive. Here, here

Macaron
Author: Alison Thompson
Publisher: Penguin
RRP: $24.95 (paperback)
Macarons are the new cupcakes,” declares this book’s press release and any survey of Sydney’s upmarket cafes and patisseries confirms the claim

The Thrifty Cook
Author: Jackie Passmore
Publisher: Penguin
RRP: $29.95 (paperback)
Australia might not have suffered quite as intensely as other countries with the global financial crisis, but the crash did have enough of an impact to trigger a flurry of money-saving cookbooks. This latest one from experienced restaurant chef and home cook, Jackie Passmore, is worth a look.

Just Add Spice
Author: Lyndey Milan and Ian Hemphill
Publisher: Lantern
RRP: $49.95
This book came about when the authors, who are old friends, realised they used a common language, Lyndey when talking about wine, Ian about spice.