Newsletter: 🇨🇵 A tour of Burgundy with Antonia Lloyd + all you need for pastry perfection

Our favorite avocado recipes 🥑

Antonia Lloyd’s top tips for Burgundy

For our newest feature, Antonia Lloyd, producer of award-winning cookery and chef TV shows, food writer, and Francophile, shares the local history and culture from her recent holiday. From the perspective of a devoted 14-year relationship with the region she takes us to her beloved Bourgogne with this Postcard From Burgundy.

Naturally food features strongly in her guide. With a place richly seasoned with garlic and fine wines, there is much to enjoy – from steak frîtes to the many ways to savor Mirabelle plums. With reference to recipes across ckbk, Antonia offers delicious tips on gallic summer eating, and a mini-tour of local wines to get you started on that great wine region.

If you want to have a go at snails, or are a fellow fan of goat’s cheese, and want to serve them façon Bourgogne, she points you in the right direction. Goats’ cheese, of particular interest in Burgundy, merits honourable mention, and there are great recipes whatever goats’ cheese you can source.

So why not prepare a plate of “Auberge” Marinated Goats’ Cheese, throw together a Salade Vinaigrette, along with a Steak with Bordelaise Sauce, tear a hunk off a loaf of crusty bread, pour a glass of Puligny-Montrachet, and then settle down to enjoy Antonia's feature.

After which it will be time to plan a trip!

Enjoy Antonia's Postcard From Burgundy

Pictured above: “Auberge” Marinated Goats’ Cheese from Lavender & Lovage by Karen Burns-Booth

Pastry Perfection, ckbk style

Pastry, does it strike fear into your heart? Never fear, ckbk is here. There are few more satisfying things to master. Homemade pastry is utterly worth it, infinitely more delicious than anything shop bought. And worthy of every ounce of smugness you will feel. The techniques may take a little time and a couple of attempts for you to gain real confidence. But they aren’t all tricksy, and you will readily find whether it is shortcrust or choux that you truly love cooking, and eating.

We have put together a collection of Core Pastry Recipes – an edit of recipes for puff, rough puff, shortcrust, choux, hot water crust, and pâte sucrée (sweet shortcrust). Of course, there are a wealth of recipes for pastry dough across ckbk, but this is a good place to start

And then we have created a series of collections of what to make with each. From What to Make with Choux Pastry, to What to Make with Shortcrust Pastry, and all the pastry in between – each has a dozen delicious dishes, and a little insight to the what and how of it. So, you can flex your skills, thrill your tastebuds and your friends, and revel in patisserie perfection.

Read ckbk's Introduction to Pastry

Happy Yorkshire Day

Celebrated on August 1, Yorkshire Day is an annual opportunity to highlight the history and culture of the county of Yorkshire, England. A county famous for its food, this is also a moment to bring out those Yorkshire recipes and raise a glass, or plate of something tasty. To Yorkshire!

Dine on a Grilled Barnsley Chop with Devilled Kidneys, Nettle and Mint Sauce. A Yorkshire Curd Tart takes pride of place at pudding, and a tin of Yorkshire Parkin on offer is an essential.

Find these and other great grub in our collection of Yorkshire Flavors for Yorkshire Day.

Announcing our cookbook of the month for August

Here is your friendly reminder that we have a Facebook group called #ckbkclub. A place to chat about what you’ve made from the cookbooks on ckbk, or ask for help in the Kitchen SOS chat.

Each month we choose a cookbook for the group to focus on, and we encourage members to cook from it, chat about it, and share any photos, tips or questions they have about the recipes.

For August we will be cooking from Vedge by Rich Landau and Kate Jacoby. Added to ckbk last week, the book is packed with vegetable-centred recipes from their celebrated Philadelphia café and restaurant.

We can’t wait to see what you make, and to share our love of all things vedge!

Join our #ckbkclub on Facebook

Ingredient focus: avocado

The avocado, probably indigenous to Mexico, has long been cultivated in Central and South America. It is now grown globally wherever the climate suits, and eaten universally. There are many varieties of avocado, and they vary enormously in appearance, texture, fat content, and taste.

The Hass avocado is one of the most widely available, and is what most people think of as an avocado – with dark skin, a creamy, light-green flesh, and a delicate grassy flavor.

Eaten raw, avocado is a natural addition to salads – try this Avocado, Hearts of Palm, Edamame & Za’atar Salad. The ubiquitous Avocado Toast centres its appeal, enhanced by crisp sourdough toast, a twist of sea-salt and peppery olive oil. The rich texture and mildness of the fruit also lends itself to soups and even desserts – try this Avocado-Chocolate Mousse.

For these and more Amazing Avocado Recipes take a look at our collection.

6 of the best recipes with beer

Wine may think it has the upper hand in the kitchen, but beer takes its place as an ingredient, adding depth, sweetness and a palatable bitterness to recipes sweet and savory. In honor of International Beer Day on August 2 we bring you six beer-tastic dishes to get you started.