The New Cook [Paperback]

Donna Hay (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1998

This practical cookbook starts with the basics of cooking, with ingredients such as fish, eggs and vegetables through to more complicated combinations. The book encapsulates all the styles and subtleness of contemporary international cooking in a straightforward manner. Donna Hay emphasizes how cooking flavoursome food at home does not need to be complicated and time consuming. The recipes have short lists of ingredients, and focus on cooking the meal in a few easy steps, plus the food is naturally low-calorie.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

On the cover of Donna Hay's The New Cook is a photograph of a stack of white plates and on the top is a bowl of wok-fried salted chili crab--very chic. It sets the tone for what you'll find inside: modern food layered with contrasting flavors beautifully presented. In a word, it's very Australian. And it should be, as Hay is the food editor of Australian Marie Claire magazine. The book will provide inspiration for accomplished cooks and easy-to-follow recipes that begin with the basics for those who are less assured in the kitchen. The basics are pretty similar to Delia Smith's, with instructions on how to scramble and poach eggs. Hay moves on quickly to a Caramelised Onion Frittata and Roast Pumpkin and Soft Quail Egg Salad. Similar examples follow with pasta and rice--after mastering a basic risotto, Hay offers several variations such as Miso and Shiitake Risotto and Saffron Porcini Risotto Cakes. Noodles, vegetables, poultry, and meat follow. You will learn how to make a delicious-looking Grilled Chicken and Fig Salad as well as Steamed Pork Buns. The final three chapters describe the most wonderful desserts using fruit, butter, and milk. The book is lavishly illustrated with top-class food photography. It's a work of art, but would be wasted on a coffee table. It's a perfect example of how Australian cooks have masterfully fused Mediterranean and Asian cuisines to create clean, crisp tastes that are astonishingly good. --Dale Kneen, Amazon.co.uk

About the Author

Donna Hay is the hottest young cookbook author in Australia. While working as a chef, Donna felt that her signature style of simplicity and elegance of ingredients, preparation and presentation needed a wider canvas. She became a freelance food writer and stylist, and then food editor of marie claire and marie claire lifestyle magazine.

Donna's aim is to inspire even those with the most basic cooking skills, by producing versatile recipes that can be assembled for a fast midweek meal or a formal dinner party.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Whitecap Books (July 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0864117639
• ISBN-13: 978-0864117632
• Product Dimensions: 11.7 x 8.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,336,907 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT Cookbook for New OR Bored Cooks, January 30, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The New Cook (Paperback)

I own many cookbooks -- and I cook. This is one of the cookbooks I turn to again and again when we need something new and different. I've tried many recipes: with some I improvise to fit what I have or what my family will eat and with others I use the recipe as a "concept" and add a little something. But, the dishes with VEGETABLES that my husband asks for most often come from this book (I never knew he liked roasted sweet potatoes). Even our son-in-law in Sweden asks for these recipes. (His current favorite is the spaghetti with grilled chicken and asparagus - changed to zucchini). I knew this was a great cookbook - but their endorsement seals it!

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars what an awesome cookbook, February 8, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The New Cook (Paperback)

a friend recommended i get this book. she's made many of the recipes in the book and absolutely loved them. when i first started looking through it i was a little hesitant to try the recipes because the ingredient and flavor combinations are so different from what one normally sees. but it turns out that they work! and really well. everything i've made from this cookbook has been delicious. as i've made more of the recipes, i've gotten better at substituting ingredients here and there based upon what i have. many of the recipes in the book are good for that, which i really appreciate (it means that i'll actually use the recipes rather than the cookbook gathering dust on the shelf, because i don't happen to have some random spice that the author insists is crucial for the dish). also, the vegetable recipes are REALLY good, and very far from your normal boring vegetable recipes! they are tasty and actually use vegetables that have some amount of nutritional value.

a couple of recipes from the book that we've made already: the buttermilk pancakes are great, the salmon with chervil and roasted carrots and parsnips was astounding, the sweet potato (or was it yam?) pie with thyme, pumpkin gnocchi was excellent. i agree with the person who mentioned rieslings -- rieslings seem to go really well with a lot of food in this book.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Adventures with Food, August 29, 2000

By 

Laura Livesey (Vancouver, BC Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The New Cook (Paperback)

I bought both The New Cook and Entertaining during the same month due to the interesting food pairings and fusion of different ethinic cooking styles. I have not been dissapointed. Most of the recipes are extremely simple to make yet real crowd pleasers! (I feel confident enought with this cookbook to make a recipe without taste-testing it first - not many cookbooks inspire me to do this!) I am an avid cook (mostly vegetarian, some seafood.) The variety and richness of the flavors in this book continually inpsire my desire to create in the kitchen, and i really enjoy just browsing through it to learn about interesting food pairings and unusual combinations. If you'd like a little food adventure, this one's for you!