A little bit of cookery bookery



French Onion Soup - Smitten Kitchen

We're having a lovely rainy day in Johannesburg today. Perfect weather for snuggling under the duvet with coffee and a good book. (Nope, I didn't get to do it).

While I really do adore summer, the weather today really has me looking forward to it becoming a little cooler and all the associated autumn/winter things that await, like scarfs, snuggling and soup.

Speaking of soup, I've been immersing myself in My Life in France by Julia Child, the book that the movie Julie and Julia was based on that I picked up for a very silly price at the Exclusive Books sale the other week. (While I have seen the film, I am reminded time and again that I'd rather read the book than see the film).

I'm nearly nearly done, and have decided that I will have to try my hand at some classics this year, as well as expanding my technical cooking skills. It's all very well being able to make tasty simple food, but now I want to try my hand at somethings that are a little bit more difficult.

And while French onion soup doesn't really fall into the technically challenging category, I did find this recipe from Smitten Kitchen that adapts Julia Child's French onion soup that looks too yummy.

So, back to the technically challenging.

I'm sure lots of people who are familiar with the Master Chef Australia series know Donna Hay. I have a slight obsession with Australian cooking, as it all seems very fresh, light and inspired with lovely Asian influences, which is really how I'd like to be able to cook one day. (My copy of Bill Granger's book has little yellow post-it flags scattered on nearly every page, which kind of defies the point of post-its, I suppose).

I found a copy of the tenth anniversary issue of Donna Hay's magazine while out doing grocery shopping earlier in the week. It was the price of a cookery book (eek!) but it looks amazing, with new classics, party food and cocktails that make me want to up and move to Sydney.

In the issue there is also a recipe for macaroons - a basic how to, plus some amazing variations. I tried to make macaroons last year and failed miserably - think squishy flattened out biscuits that are cracked on top and hard as rock.

But I will not let these biscuits beat me - I am determined to become known for my macaroons, maybe because a teeny part of me would love to run away to be a pastry chef in Paris. Maybe I am getting a little carried away. But I will crack it. Watch this space.