Stephanie Alexander - Home

Home is a collection of more than 200 original recipes by Stephanie Alexander . Each recipe is a nely crafted tribute to her passions and preferences for produce and avour , and each reects her consummate skill in communicating the fundamentals of technique. There are detailed recipes for the more ambitious home cook, but also simple ways to combine beautiful ingredients to make dishes for everyday eating. Essays on people, places and experiences offer inspiration to readers looking to deepen their knowledge and appreciation of food. Beautifully designed and photographed, Home is a celebration of the sensual and social delights of food and an essential addition to any kitchen shelf. The recipes classic, masterful and delicious will be cooked, shared and enjoyed for years to come. Stephanie Alexander s unparalleled career in food has spanned ve decades. For 21 years, she was the force behind Stephanie s Restaurant, an establishment that set a standard that dened an era. She is the author of 18 books, including The Cook s Companion , which has become the kitchen bible for Australian cooks, selling over half a million copies. In 2001, she launched the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program, which now operates in more than 1000 schools around Australia, teaching children about growing, preparing, cooking and sharing delicious, fresh, seasonal food. The recipient of the Medal of the Order of Australia and an Ofcer of the Order of Australia, Stephanie has launched hundreds of careers, inspired generations of home cooks and fundamentally transformed the way we think about food in this country .

Home

Contents

Introduction My mornings I alwa ys look forw ard to breakf ast To start The making of a food lover A bowl of soup Brunches & lunches My rst 50 years of food education Pasta & a handful of rice A few helpful tips Tra velling From the sea Food writers A few birds Cooking with children From the paddock My new life The vegetable patch My shopping basket Salads & sides Living in the time of coronavirus Sweet things As time goes by A few of my favourites & essential building blocks

Home

Introduction This book has been a joy to write and I have revisited many happy moments. There were people and places to be remembered as well as avours. I had not cooked some of the dishes for a long time. Some are new to me. All have now been recooked, many have been recast and revised to sit comfortably with our lives today . I have indulged myself, spending happy hours in my own library; I have triaged boxes of notebooks and piles of clippings and discovered much treasure. I have had great conversations with like-minded food writers and good home cooks. I have asked permission to borrow here and there. Wri ting this book with its aim of reecting my own preferences and passions has been my obsession for the past two years. I was encouraged by my publisher to be reective, no doubt a kind way of reminding me of my age and my long culinary journey to this point. I wanted the recipes to be those I cook at home but also I wanted each one in this eclectic collection to display its genesis. Inevitably after a long lifetime fascinated by how and what people eat, it is unsurprising that I have been inuenced and delighted by a wide range of people, places and experiences. Some of my most memorable travel experiences needed to be revisited. The introduction to each chapter and the headnote to each recipe tell the back stories. In reecting my preferences, favourite ingredients and avours occur over and over in this book. Green leafy salads are lauded throughout, and my love of beautiful extra-virgin olive oil is reinforced on almost every page. Anchovies, garlic, chicken and braised vegetables are star ingredients in my repertoire. The editor s suggestion to include a suite of essays in this book was a delightful surprise and an opportunity for me to reect on my life and the world as I see it now . Having celebrated my 80th birthday late in 2020 with very mixed feelings, I again suspect that I have been indulged. Nothing I love more than the opportunity to write broadly about all things culinary and indeed about myself! Introduction with a few detours down memory lane.

Home Abov e all, m y life s work has been to convince as many as possible that cooking a lovely m eal without anxiety adds so much to the joy of living. I have been cooking with enthusiasm and sharing the results for nearly 60 years. My interest in good food has introduced me to many traditions and cultures, although my greatest interest has been in exploring and becoming familiar with French regional food and in developing a better understanding of the Italian repertoire. I have enjoyed and been intrigued by nding yet another way to cook a familiar ingredient, while retaining my respect for classic dishes. I appreciate the stories that other writer -cooks love to share. Above all, my life s work has been to convince as many as possible that cooking a lovely meal without anxiety adds so much to the joy of living. I am in rebellion against those who tell me that every recipe has to be simple, that every dish has to be ready in 10 minutes, or that only dishes with just three or ve ingredients should be attempted. Some memorable meals can be made in minutes, but there are many others that will simmer for hours in a low oven, or even need to marinate overnight. Complex avours usually need time to yield the best result and these dishes are worth waiting for . I encourage those starting out on their culinary journey to consider their priorities. If you value something, you nd the time to do it, be it surng, playing the piano or going for a run. And cooking is the same. If you value sharing a meal with a special person, or a large family , or maybe just cooking for yourself, you will nd ways to shape your day around selecting, preparing and cooking something that will taste wonderful. This collection includes dishes I make over and over again, some of them just for myself or for me and a daughter or special friend. Others are for small groups. Every recipe assumes you will choose your ingredients with care, that you will be willing to do some preparation, simple or otherwise, and that in fact you will look forward to the process. I enjoy putting on an apron and gathering favourite equipment and ingredients, and getting started on making something delicious. I hope you will too.