Welcome to the providore series
Lou Johnson
The Butcher by Leanne Kitchen - Good meat is a revelation! [©Murdoch Books]
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My grandmother made the best shortbread in New Zealand. She baked other great things and I remember as a child going to her house and heading straight to the cake tins - they were always full.
My mother is a great baker too and has a cupboard in her kitchen dedicated to cake-tins, which are always full of home-made treats.
Until a few years ago I didn't even own a cake tin, but like the rest of Australia I have been swept up in the fashion of afternoon tea and I now find myself on Saturday mornings with flour to my elbows and a house full of beautiful baking aromas. Luckily I have the baker's gene and a good memory of the lessons for making the perfect kiwi shorbread.
Leanne Kitchen also has the baker's gene, she must have if her name is "kitchen". She's put her gene to good use, creating a series of cookbooks to aid home cooks in their quest for great food.
The first pair in the series are The Baker and The Butcher, with The Dairy and The Greengrocer to be released in September, and The Patisserie and The Delicatessen coming next year.
The Baker has a great introduction for new bakers, with explanations of rising agents and good information on buying your baking equipment. There are plenty of troubleshooting tips at the start of each section, and amazing lip smacking images with most of the recipes. I'm not a purist and was eager to try her Peanut Toffee Shortbreads - delicious!
The Butcher is equally informative, with detail on selecting, storing and preparing different cuts of meat. Leanne recommends finding a good butcher and sticking to them - they can give you free tips about the cuts they sell, advise on how much you need and how to cook it and can often make something special, you just have to ask.
Both books will make a beautiful addition to any cookbook collection, however they both lack a little bit of Leanne as she fails to introduce her recipes and the stories or occasions behind them, unlike some writers who will give you a full family history.
The Baker and The Butcher are published by Murdoch Books, May 2008, RRP A$39.95 each
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