Reviews and Recommendations
Books, films, restaurants, shops, beauty products!
There's nothing
Raggedy Ann Girl likes more than sharing great things with friends. So keep coming back for reviews and recommendations. From books to films,
restaurants to shops and beauty products to recipes. If we like it, and think you might too, we'll be happy to let you know!
Lotte's Country Kitchen - a book review
Let me begin by saying that I have dozens of
cookbooks. And a very small bookshelf. I already have to do a seasonal
rotation four times a year to accommodate them all, so to get a
permanent place on my shelf, and become splashed with the traces of the
favourite recipes within, a cookbook has to be very special. Lotte's Country Kitchen
is a shoo-in. Author, broadcaster, blogger and self-confessed 'nutty
bird', Lotte Duncan has produced something I had thought impossible - a
real country cookbook with accessible, interesting, fun and non-stodgy
recipes. Food that fills you up and nourishes your soul. Recipes that
are as much of a pleasure to cook, as they are to share with loved ones.
Menus that will impress your 'tasters' without leaving you a frazzled
heap on the kitchen floor. Food that people love. This is real cooking
for real people. From the delightfully stimulating salmon, leek and
spinach lasagne to hedonistic hot cross bun chocolate and rum pudding,
there is something here for every taste, every hunger and every
occasion.
Even as a non-meat eater I still found plenty of choice and, believe me, I've read many a 'country cookbook' that relied solely on meat for savouries and suet for desserts! Now, I'm not going to suggest that Lotte's Country Kitchen is ideal for the constant dieter - that's not the point of the book. There are lighter options on offer but none of that all-very-healthy-and-pretty-but-leaves-you-hungry arty kind of food that takes hours to prepare and five minutes to consume. Who wants to be the hostess who leaves guests hungry and reaching for the biscuit tin as soon as they get in? Lotte's guests leave her home satisfied and so will yours. There is comfort food like the marvellous Mum's macaroni cheese, as well as posh nosh in the form of salmon, orange and bronze fennel pate. The decidedly grown-up plum vodka (which gives a fabulous kick to a mulled wine) is in perfect contrast to the gratuitously girlie Mr Darcy's pink glittery macaroons.
Lotte's Country Kitchen is available now in the UK and from November in the US.