Newsletter: 🍰Sweet and spicy treats 🌶️ + mastering your kitchen gadgets

Glorious patisserie and bright Asian flavors

Tempting new recipes are always welcome, but in the grey of January back-to-work time (for those in the Northern hemisphere anyway), they are all the more so. We have two books newly added to ckbk that are tempting indeed.

Darren Purchese, the genius behind Melbourne’s Burch & Purchese Sweet Studio, is one of the most highly regarded pastry chefs in Australia. Wowing customers and celebrity clients with his pastry creations, and TV appearances on the likes of Australian Masterchef, he is known for his flamboyant and unique style. Purchese's first book, Sweet Studio, is now joined on ckbk by the followup, Lamingtons & Lemon Tart. In this newly added book, Purchese bring his flair to the classics, and offered helpful guidance for the home cook. The book contains recipes for all the key creations of a pastry kitchen, and offers a host of delicious ideas to sweeten up your cooking.

Try some of those titular Lamingtons, or Lemon Tarts with Raspberry Marshmallow. Bake yourself a Green Tea Victoria Sponge with Lemon Butter Icing.

Or go all out with these Chocolate and Tonka Bean Eclairs.

Chef Christophe Megel, originally hailing from France, has worked for over thirty years at the highest level, including with such culinary legends as Alain Ducasse. For over a decade he has brought the food of his native France to Singapore, and through his recipes and work as a consultant has brought Asian flavors to the rest of the world. His book Asian Tapas: Small Bites, Big Flavors, written with hotelier Anton Kilayko, translates dishes from across the Far East into bite-sized recipes for the home cook.

Try Coriander Ginger Shrimp with Sweet Thai Chili Sauce, Mussels in Fragrant Coconut Cream, or make a batch of Flaky Cashew Nut Puff Pastry Squares.

Find all 74 recipes from Asian Tapas: Small Bites, Big Flavors

Pictured above: Lemon Meringue Pie Éclairs from Lamingtons & Lemon Tart

Top gadget – the Air Fryer

Did Santa bring you a brand-new shiny air fryer for Christmas? If so, you won’t be the only one. Kitchens across the globe are buzzing with the newest must-have. If yours is one of them, have no fear, ckbk is here, with a wealth of recipes to help you make the most of your new kitchen toy.

Newly added to ckbk, Cooking for Two with Your Air Fryer: One Convenient Appliance, 75 Perfectly Proportioned Recipes, is a great place to start. Author Drew Maresco, food writer and creator of BestRecipes.co, is self-taught, and therefore well placed to focus on the home cook. His dishes are popular choices, approachable, and well explained. Try Classic Chicken Parmesan, Salmon with Quinoa and Wedged Onion, or the irresistible Cookie Butter Pudding Cake.

Go go gadget!

Innovation in the kitchen brings us little known ingredients, new techniques and space-age machinery.

We have a well-stocked Gadgets Bookshelf, with books to help you cook up a storm with your sous-vide, slow cooker, bread machine or instant pot, as well as your air fryer.

And while we’re on the subject of air fryers here are 16 of Our Favorite Air Fryer Recipes – fancy a slice of Best-Ever 5-Ingredient Air Fryer Chocolate Cake?

A Consuming Passion for Aubergine

In our latest feature, food and travel writer, supper-club pioneer, and award-winning food blogger, Kerstin Rodgers (aka MsMarmiteLover) writes of her passion for aubergine (aka eggplant, brinjal, melanzane… ).

This member of the nightshade family, technically a berry, has long been close to her heart.

Nutritious, highly adaptable, and a ‘flavour sponge’, she details its culinary brilliance, and a wealth of recipes in celebration. From classics such as Melanzane Parmigiana, Ratatouille and Caponata, to spice-laden treats such as this Tomato and Brinjal Curry, via an array of aubergine joy and anecdotes.

Science in the Kitchen is #ckbkclub Book of the Month

Don’t forget to join in our Facebook Group’s exploration of Cookbook of the Month Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well.

Our founder Matthew Cockerill kicked off the proceedings with a classic Minestrone:

“Many of the modern Minestrone recipes on ckbk are based on Artusi’s but I enjoyed going back to the source. The recipe is quite vague regarding quantities but for a one pot dish like this that seems entirely fine. You can judge the quantities according to the number of mouths you have to feed, and balance the ratios of the different vegetables according to preference. I used canned pinto beans which seemed ideal.

"I wasn’t sure what rice an Italian would use to soak up the broth - I used basmati but maybe there is a more authentic option (?). I didn’t have any smart pancetta or pork rind, but bacon seemed a reasonable stopgap. Adding the grated Parmesan at the end definitely deepened the flavour and my family devoured it hungrily. Now to figure out what to cook next."

Visit our #ckbkclub on Facebook and join the cooking and sharing of tips.

Ingredient spotlight: endive

Endive (also Belgian endive or chicory) is a relative of the chicory root. Its smooth, crisp leaves have a delicate fresh flavor, and work beautifully raw in salads, or braised to tender softness.