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The Classics – 10 Essential cookbooks to start off your library

How many times have you decided to cook something classic for dinner – like spaghetti carbonara or risotto bianco – but ended up having to google the recipe because you can’t find it in any of your recipe books? I know I’ve found myself with countless recipes for everything from potato bread to raisin rolls, but not one recipe for a simple wholemeal loaf. With all the recipe books available today, many cooks, both new and experienced, feel overwhelmed, not knowing which will become firm favourites and which will be passing trends. It’s easy to be overcome by the glut of glossy, colourful and exciting cookbooks and not know where to start in building a comprehensive library. So, here’s a list of the ten classic must-haves covering all major areas to start you on your way to culinary know-how:

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Burgers the Kings of Cape Town

Capetonians just love burgers. A fairly recent trend (as in the last couple of years), burger joints have been popping up around Cape Town like it’s going out of fashion. There is every kind of burger to choose from: the Gourmet burger’s, the Gourmand’s burger, the boerie that’s not a burger, the veggie burger, the quirky burger, and now, the Whopper burger.

A few days ago, Burger King opened it’s doors to Cape Town. People were wild with excitement – I heard one girl waited 13 hours for a Whopper! That, to me, is simply madness. Adding to the crazed excitement, local celebrities such as Jack Parow and Marc Lottering acted as ‘waiters’ (if there is even such a thing at a Burger King.. I would have thought not), and even politician Patricia de Lille made an appearance!

But in a city that is so full of good places to eat, why is there such excitement and fanfare about a mediocre at best (my extremely biased opinion) burger joint coming to town? Is it the fact that it’s international? That it’s in “the movies”?

I really have no idea quite what the mass appeal is, but to strike back and support our local haunts, here is proof that Cape Town has a burger to suit every foodie (or not so foodie) palate:

The Gourmet’s burger: 

Why, Gourmet Burger of course! One of Cape Town’s best known burger joints, Gourmet Burger is designed to suit the “fast foodie”, offering comfort food dressed up to the nines.

Hudson’s Burger Joint is another option for a foodie fix, offering up their burger as a “culinary art form, but without all the fuss about the way it looks on the plate”. Hudson’s gives us Americana in every form we could want: the biggest milkshakes you’ve ever seen, matchstick thin ‘fries’, western-esque decor and some of the best burgers in town.

Photo: http://www.truthcoffee.com

The Gourmand’s Burger:

The Dog’s Bollocks, though not technically a restaurant, serves up huge portions at a fair price – R50-55 a pop. The catch is that you have to get there early, because there are only 30 burgers up for grabs each night and that’s it. It’s a lot of fun: it’s set up in the owner’s driveway in Gardens and the ambience is great!

The boerie that’s not a burger:

Though the boerewors roll can never be construed as a burger, it certainly is iconic to South Africa, and fills the same craving as a burger. And in a post like this, gourmet boerie can simply not go unmentioned. A fascinating blend of traditional SA comfort food and bang on trend flavour, as well as a delicious vegetarian option, they’re definitely a must!

Photo: http://www.travelstart.co.za

The Veggie’s Burger:

Though they are not strictly speaking vegetarian-only zones, there are a few restaurants which have to be commended for veg-friendly excellence. Mr Pickwicks is one of my absolute favourites: something about the grungy atmosphere and cheap cocktails just make their burgers taste so good! Down the road is the Royale Eatery, which offers more veggie burgers than I’ve seen in my entire life. The best part? – they’re all delicious (tasting them all was purely for research purposes only, of course. That’s what I tell myself, anyway!)

The quirky burger:

Beefcakes is just about the quirkiest burger place in town, with kitch-but-cool 1950’s decor and lots of fun to be had. It’s not the place to go before a night out, it is the night out!

Photo: news24

Who’s the ass now? The naming and shaming begins

Graphic: Rowan Abrahams

The names of retailers implicated in the mislabelling scandal are finally out, and the news isn’t too good. Shoprite, Checkers, Spar, Woolworths and Fruit and Veg City were all named as retailers whose meat products were tested and contained unlisted ingredients. Although, to be fair to Woolies, only microscopic traces of chicken were found in its polony (and anyway, what do you expect if you’re buying polony?).

So, what can be done? Under the CPA (consumer protection act), you should be able to file a complaint, but with it being such a huge scandal already the board will probably leave individual complaints and focus on larger, collective ones.

All that can really be done is to consume “consciously”, as in, be conscious of what you are actually consuming. Note that no independent butcheries were listed, so if you ask me, that’s the direction to head in.

According to Peter Logue, master butcher at Super Meat Market in Kenilworth, this is just what customers are doing, “People have gotten fed up with the supermarkets and the crap that they sell, and have now come back to the local butchers. We’ve struggled for years and years, and luckily things are now taking an upturn. Having maintained the standard we have has finally paid off.”

It’s great to see quality work finally rewarded, so well done to Super Meat Market and all the butcheries like it. You deserve to hold your head up high in times like this. Big supermarkets, not so much.

 

Stellenbosch University will have to reveal mislabelling culprits

Image: THINKSTOCK

It has just been announced that the University of Stellenbosch will have to publish the names of retailers whose meat was sampled in their recent study, which revealed a high case of mislabelling and contamination of meat products.

The University was originally reluctant to name and shame retailers, as they believed that it was doing so would “set a precedent and oblige them to reveal the data of future research”. Under the PAIA (Promotion of Access to Information Act), however, they will have to let the public know exactly who the culprits of the mislabelling were.

As soon as they are published, I will post the names of retailers implicated in the scandal.

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Top 10 Food Documentaries

Top 10 Food Documentaries

If you have enough internet cap, some of these trailers are well worth a look. “Jiro Dreams of Sushi” was showing at The Labia last month but I, like many Capetonians, missed it, so I was pleased to be reminded of it. Now I know what to be on the lookout for, and I’ll let everyone know as soon as I’ve found out where one can get hold of any of these exciting documentaries.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi and Kings of Pastry look like they might be my favourites so far –

Young Martha Stewart looking lithe and lovely

Photo from businessinsider

It is difficult to believe that the woman charged with changing the way America cooks, eats and shops was once a struggling student too. The perfect housewife (a little unnervingly stepford wife esque, if you ask me) Martha Stewart has recently made photographs of herself as a young model available, and she was an absolute stunner.

Photograph from businessinsider

To pay her way through college, Stewart used her gorgeous looks and business savvy, which she’s been fine tuning ever since, to make a fairly successful business out of modelling. She modelled for big brands too, from Unilever to Chanel.

Her company shared the photos themselves rather than having them leak out. Not that the photographs should have been embarrassing to America’s culinary heroine if they had been leaked, but she decided to show them off on her own terms.  Nigella Lawson made the same bold move, showing off photos of herself in full ’80s getup rather than secreting them away.

This looks a little more like the Martha we know and love. Photo from businessinsider

It is difficult to think of these domestic goddesses as what they are, mere humans like us. But moments like these, showing them as struggling students or less than elegant youths, certainly do help.