Month: August 2023

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Fennel and Lemon Risotto: Garlic and Olive Oil and Everything Else – Daen Lia

Garlic and Olive Oil and Everything Else
Daen Lia
Plum
Pan Macmillan Australia
ISBN: 9781761265952

RRP$29.99

‘Garlic, Olive Oil + Everything Else by Daen Lia, published by Plum, RRP $29.99, photography by Armelle Habib.’

“In my high school years, there was a joke among my friends and I that if a day of the week were to best describe me, it would be Sunday. I love a slow day where I spend a good part of it in my pyjamas and on the couch while eating something extremely comforting. Risotto is my Sunday meal. It’s pure comfort food that will always make me feel nourished and happy. When making a risotto, I like to keep the flavours as simple and delicate as possible. This is quite a traditional risotto, but with a little contemporary twist from the lemon that brings a lovely fresh zestiness to a rich base of white wine, butter and Pecorino Romano.”p82

Fennel and Lemon Risotto

Ingredients

1 large fennel bulb
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 French shallots, finely diced
4 garlic cloves, crushed
220 g (1 ½ cups) arborio rice
125 ml (½ cup) white wine
1.5 litres (6 cups) chicken stock
50 g butter
45 g (½ cup) grated Pecorino Romano
zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon lemon juice
sea salt flakes
freshly ground black pepper

Method:
Finely slice the fennel using a mandoline or a very sharp knife. Reserve the fennel fronds.
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over low heat. Fry the shallot, sliced fennel and garlic for 10 minutes or until translucent and fragrant, stirring occasionally.

Increase the heat to medium, add the rice to the pan and cook for 2 minutes or until the rice becomes opaque. Add the wine and keep stirring until it has been absorbed by the rice.

Add 250 ml (1 cup) of the chicken stock and stir through, until all the stock has been absorbed. Repeat this step five more times, until you have used up all the stock. The rice will start to become plump as it continues to cook and absorb the stock. It should take roughly 25 minutes to cook. When you
have added the last cup of stock you want about 80 per cent of the liquid
to have been absorbed.

Reduce the heat to low, add the butter, cheese, lemon zest and juice and a generous amount of salt and pepper, and stir them through. Take the risotto off the heat and sprinkle the reserved fennel fronds over
the top. Serve immediately. SERVES 4

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Garlic and Olive Oil and Everything Else – Daen Lia

Garlic and Olive Oil and Everything Else
Daen Lia
Plum
Pan Macmillan Australia
ISBN: 9781761265952
RRP$29.99
‘Garlic, Olive Oil + Everything Else by Daen Lia, published by Plum, RRP $29.99, photography by Armelle Habib.’

Description:
Daen Lia’s stunning modern Mediterranean dishes have taken social media by storm thanks to their show-stopping textures and bold flavours. This much-anticipated cookbook is the essential collection of her recipes for lovers of olive oil, garlic, butter and all things delicious.

Every dish is iconic, from Daen’s famous crumbed chicken (that almost broke the internet) and the only bolognese recipe you’ll ever need, to fluffy focaccia, perfect bagels and mouth-watering sandwiches, chilli and other flavoured oils for the pantry, and must-have condiments such as confit garlic, which will change your cooking game entirely.

This confident collection heralds Daen’s arrival as Australia’s new go-to food personality for Mediterranean classics with a fresh, modern, everyday twist.

Recipes include: Italian-style chilli oil, Cheesy roasted garlic bread, Garlic butter crispy smashed potatoes, Popcorn eggplant, Grilled peach, tomato and burrata salad with basil olive oil, Pesto Genovese with ricotta gnocchi, One-pan crispy chicken thighs with caramelised onions & Slow-roasted lamb shoulder with garlic confit and anchovy paste.

AUTHOR INFORMATION

With an enormous worldwide social media following, Daen Lia – dubbed ‘the Olive Oil Girl’ online – has established herself as one of Australia’s most popular digital food creators. Taking inspiration from her Spanish and Italian heritage and global travels, Daen’s generous, accessible recipes celebrate bold flavours and fresh ingredients, bringing a youthful, modern twist to Mediterranean classics.

Daen lives in Melbourne with her partner and daughter.
daenskitchen.com
@daenskitchen

https://www.panmacmillan.com.au/9781761265952/garlic-olive-oil-everything-else/

My View:
Wonderful fresh and tasty ingredients are combined to create iconic recipes with a Mediterranean twist. Available soon.


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Review: After That Night – Karin Slaughter

Karin Slaughter
After that Night (Will Trent #11)
Harper Collins
ISBN:9781460760949

Description:

After that night, nothing was ever the same again

Fifteen years ago, Sara Linton’s life changed forever when a celebratory night out ended in a violent attack that tore her world apart. Since then, Sara has remade her life. A successful doctor, engaged to a man she loves, she has finally managed to leave the past behind her.

Until one evening, on call in the ER, everything changes. Sara battles to save a broken young woman who’s been brutally attacked. But as the investigation progresses, led by GBI Special Agent Will Trent, it becomes clear that Dani Cooper’s assault is uncannily linked to Sara’s.

And it seems the past isn’t going to stay buried forever.

My View:
I dont know how this author does it- each new release is ALWAYS captivating, surprising, engaging and is a guaranteed read in one sitting kind of book. Do not stop writing Karin! ENCORE!!! 5STARS *****


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Review: The Balloon Blow Up – Andy Geppert

Balloon Blow Up
Andy Geppert
Hachette Australia
Lothian Books
ISBN: 9780734420718
RRP$19.99 (Hard back)

Description:
A simple book about making a highly complex decision. How big should I make my very own balloon? Illustrated in Andy Geppert’s gorgeous gentle style, this adorable picture book is about making your first big decision and caring for things that are precious to you … like a yellow balloon.

Would you like a balloon?
Yes please, Elly. Can you make it big?
How big?

Even small questions are big when you’re a kid. In this charming picture book, a little girl must decide how big she wants her yellow balloon to be. As big as a fishbowl or even bigger, like the moon? She has to decide quickly because it looks like the balloon has its own ideas.

My View:
How talented is Andy Geppert? Now only did he write this entertaining children’s book, he illustrated it too! And the images are so cute too.

I will let you into a secret – I dislike balloons – intensely! They are so fragile, they POP so unexpectedly and so loudly … I have had an aversion to them all my life (not only as a child), so the “Colossally Gigantic BREATHTAKING Balloon Owner’s Contract” within this read makes perfect sense to me 🙂

This is a simple yet engaging read and I love that Hachette have produced a Teachers Resource kit (on their website) to use with the book. Well done all.

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Review: The Honeymoon – Kate Gray

The Honeymoon
Kate Gray
Wellbeck Publishing Group
ISBN:9781802793734
RRP$32.99

Description:

Two happy couples.

One dead body.

A whole load of secrets.

Married life wasn’t meant to start like this.

On honeymoon in Bali, you hit it off with another newlywed couple and celebrate your last night at a fancy cliff-side restaurant.

No one predicted the evening would end with a dead body. But it was an accident, right? A tragic accident.

The honeymoon may be over but it soon becomes clear that there’s another side to this story . . . and your life depends on uncovering it.

Many marriages can survive anything – but when it starts on a lie is it really ’til death do us part?

My View:
This prologue introduces to a murder scene… so there is no doubt what we the reader are in for….mistake number one; this is so much more than an “incident” on a tropical island during a monsoon like down pour but you can be forgiven for thinking


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Review: I am Lupe – Sela Ahosivi-Atiola, Illustrated by Yani Agustina

I am Lupe
Sela Ahosivi-Atiola, Yani Agustina
Hachette Australia
Lothian Children’s Books
ISBN:9780734422538

Decription:
We are all different and no one is the same. There is no one else in the world like you. When a little girl with brown skin and curly hair notices she is different from her classmates, she asks her mother what she is. Her mother’s answer is a celebration of all the wonderful differences that make each of us who we are.

My name is Lupe and there is no one quite like me.

My skin is brown. My hair is dark and curly. I look different from the other kids at school. What am I?

Lupe is a daughter. She is a big sister. She is a friend. She is smart. She is fearless. She is funny. She is beautiful. She is enough.

A warm-hearted story that inspires big and little readers to embrace the things that make them who they are.

My View:

Beautifully written and illustrated. This book simply and effectively demonstrates and reinforces the message “You are Enough”.