Still the recipes in the June issue of Delicious at least give some indication that summer is on its way. Barbecues feature heavily, which will be a boon for lovers of our sister site Get Your Grill On. Kicking off with Tequila Bloody Mary’s, Jerk Chicken and Mexican Barbecued Pork Belly and going on to Refried Beans, Guacamole and Barbecued Corn Salad it all sounds very American. I just wonder how authentic those on the far side of the pond will find them?

Flicking back a couple of pages the barbecue continues with Swordfish Steak with Chermoula, Tandoori Chicken, Turkish Lamb Burgers, Buffalo Chicken Wings and something called Alabama Pork Ribs. Plenty enough recipes here to keep us all going through the (British) Summer.

Even a smug looking Jamie Oliver (sporting a fetching blackberry coloured lipstick) gets in on the BBQ front giving us Crispy Barbecued Side of Salmon with Cucumber Yoghurt, Incredible Smashed Peas and Broad Beans on Toast and a few others. Only the Grilled Strawberries with Pimm’s and Vanilla Ice-cream fails to inspire.

In fact the dessert front is a bit disappointing this month, perhaps we are not supposed to be eating desserts during the summer! But there is a Pineapple Carpaccio and a Apple Granita with Wine Jelly that I wouldn’t mind having a go at (but I’ll skip the Banana Caramel Bavarois thanks - bananas . . . ekkk!) They do have ice-cream recipes though — a decent-sounding basic one to which they recommend different additions to jazz it up. How about Cinnamon Fruit Loaf Ice-cream for example?

I haven’t had a chicken since HFW started his chicken out campaign. I can’t really afford an £11 bird and refuse to eat a battery bird (that costs £2.50) but I might treat myself soon to enjoy the Chicken with Asparagus and rice. Interestingly the asparagus is used to stuff the chicken. (For a novel way to serve asparagus have a look at Scotch Woodcock and Asparagus on Toast). The Chorizo, wild and red rice-stuffed Poussin recipe also caught my eye; that Spanish twist is yet another perfect summery dish.

Oh look the wind has blown the clouds right over toward Reading. The sun is out! Anyone for a barbie?

For me the visual is the key to liking a cookbook. I can think of only one (1080 Recipes) where the illustrations take a backseat and really are unimportant. The images in Rick Stein’s French Odyssey immediatly captivated; it makes the book visually striking and makes the recipes seem so much more approachable. At the very least you know what the dish is supposed to look like at the end! The recipes in Stein’s book are very approachable - the Marmande Tomato Tart is imminently modifiable and I thought the Sauteed Lamb’s Kidneys on Toasted Brioche was one of the best dishes I have cooked for an age.

In contrast I was so underwhelmed with the photos in Marcus Wareing’s One Perfect Ingredient that I put the book down for two weeks before touching it again. I’m sure the recipes are good — The Passionate Cook has raved about Home-cured gravadlax and I’ve greatly enjoyed the the Lamb Baguette with Fresh Mint Sauce – but it is not a book I would pick up looking for inspiration. Inspiration either photographic or culinary.

The third book has yet to actually appear. Black Pudding and Foie Gras by Andrew Pern is to be self-published soon. Self-publishing might explain the rather high asking price (£35), but from the excerpts I’ve seen, at the very least the food-porn pictures should be worth the asking price. The recipes are in a different league though — dinner party food — with such delicious-sounding dishes as Pressed Terrine of Yorkshire Gammon with Fried Ledstone Quail Egg, Spiced Pineapple Pickle, Mustard Seed Dressing. Which is just a starter!

Rick Stein’s French Odyssey £13 Amazon.co.uk 
Marcus Wareing’s One Perfect Ingredient £10.19 Amazon.co.uk 
Black Pudding and Foie Gras by Andrew Pern £35 Amazon.co.uk

The photo is of chopped fresh mint, used in the mint sauce for the Lamb Baguette.

So what do I make first - a classic English dish, Scotch Woodcock with Asparagus. It’s an Edwardian or Victorian dish whose peculiar name’s origin has long since been lost. Basically though, it is just creamy scrambled eggs with anchovy, which might sound more than a little strange but was actually delicious and went brilliantly with an Australian Riesling from Howard Park.

I have actually tried out one of the Italian recipes - Giorgio Locatelli’s Pappardelle with Broad Beans and Rocket. But, bugger me, when I came to buy all the ingredients could I find any Pappardelle ANYWHERE! No is the answer. So I substituted some dried pasta from the back of the cupboard. It’s a little on the complicated side for me, perhaps showing Locatelli’s restaurant background, but really fresh and springlike and just excellent with another Howard Park wine, this time their Sauvignon Blanc.

Other recipes on my “must try” list include the Torta di Limone, the Orange and Rosemary Polenta Cake,  the Zabaglione di Nonna Rosetta, and the Italian Baked Almond Cheesecake — all destined perhaps for my Dessert of the Week slot!

Not only is my little market town lacking in the pasta department, but it also lacks a full-blown deli. There is a shop of sorts that offers a small range of local fresh produce, various flours, a few sauces and the like, but for the full deli experience, I have to travel to Oxford, where everything I could possibly require is available from the covered market or the deli at the end of St Giles. I mention all this as a section in Delicious offers “Deli Dinners,” where editor Angela Boggiano “takes us around her local Italian deli and creates a series of simple, tasty suppers from the wealth of fantastic ingredients she finds there.” I don’t know about you, but I need to go shopping with a list rather than just “pop in” and dream up a host of recipes from ingredients.

Still, the recipes range from a Spicy Salami, Roasted Pepper and Taleggio Frittata, Tuna, Cannellini Bean and red Onion Salad, Roasted Artichoke and Pancetta Pasta and Cheese and Ham Rice Cakes. The latter are made from leftover risotto which I am dying to make. I love a risotto and always make too much — rather than stuffing myself and eating it all, these seem a great way to use up the leftovers.

Being a bit of a sweet-fiend, Britain’s Best Puds was the obvious first stop. The five, complete with full recipes, are Jam Roly Poly, Sticky Toffee Pudding, Syrupy Marmalade Steamed Pudding, Eve’s Pudding and Queen of Puddings. I fondly recall many a Queen of Puddings baked by my mother - they were always served with a ‘the jam is very, very hot’ warning, which, of course, we ignored and burnt our mouths!

As I’m running the Waiter event this month, with a Salad theme, Jamie’s Proper Chicken Caesar Salad struck a note. He recommends unusual salad leaves and edible flowers in addition to chicken legs (free range obviously), smoky pancetta and rustic croûtons. Not sure what the difference is between rustic and non-rustic croûtons but there you go. The mag also includes recipes for Thai Chili Beef Salad and an attractive Yellow Split Pea and Bean Salad with Chive Dressing. All would be suitable for an entry to Waiter.

Over the last few issues, Delicious has been offering a pull-out section offering recipes for kids to cook. This month they have dough making instructions for bread and pizza bases and some Fruit and Nut Muffins. I do like a bit of crunch in a muffin, so Apricot and Pecan might just make it to the Barrow oven this week.

One recipe I have made is the Sweet Risotto with Rhubarb Compote, pictured. Full details on Spittoon Extra but needless to say it is a simple recipe producing impressive results. Well worth a go.

One book they recommend, and as I have a bit of a thang with Spanish food, is The Real Taste of Spain by Henny Chandler. “From the famous Boqueria Market in Barcelona to the village markets of Andalucia, this beautifully illustrated tome takes inspiration from markets across the land of chorizo, calamari and paella to give you a taste of the real Espana”. It’s on my wish list! [Available from Amazon.co.uk for £13 and Amazon.com for $26.60.

I do like Delicious and will be sticking with my subscription. Not only is the photographic foodporn consistently fabulous, but the recipes are very approachable, well constructed and tempting. It also seems to have a more professional feel than one or two of the UK’s other magazines.

[Photo Andrew Barrow]

They include a free magazine this month, 10 Thinner Dinners, which lists, amongst a few recipes, 50 ways to ‘lighten up and feel great.’ The tips range from steaming your vegetables, making low-fat pesto, substituting some of the butter in cakes with fruit purees through to using egg whites instead of whole eggs in baked dishes and ditching the salt pot.

You would be mistaken in thinking that a ‘health’ issue packed full of recipes acclaimed for their low levels of salt, fats, sugar, calories, and whatever would be bereft of a decent dessert. Far from it. We have a choice of Apple and Pear Tarte Tatin, Lemon Tart, Baby Palm-Sugar Meringues with Passion Fruit, Mocha Tiramisu and Velvety Orange Creams in this issue which should be enough to see even me through the month!

If you ever shop in the delightful food hall in Selfridges - and who doesn’t do their weekly shop there? - you should be able to find produce from Lake House Organics. Why is this significant? Because, dear reader, Lake House Organics is run by Trudie Styler (the wife of Sting). They don’t give full details of what is now available in an interview with Trudie but, to quote:

“Our beetroot, raspberries, gooseberries, herbs, apples, blackcurrants and onions have gone into the new range of Lake House Organic products.” 

It seems the company produces honey, beeswax candles, various cheeses, sausages and various cuts of meat that are all sold locally. They also run a local veg-box scheme too.

So what stand-out recipes do we have in this issue? How about a Moroccan Chicken Stew with Lemon and Olives (low in fat), Raan-style lamb with tomato and spinach pilau (low in saturated fat and salt), Savoury Filo Strudel with Port Wine Sauce (low in calories and salt), Kohlrabi, Apple and Fennel Salad with Crab (low in calories and carbs) or Grilled Scallops with Gorgonzola Dressing, Hazelnuts and Radicchio? All sound tempting, don’t they?

One other article you shouldn’t miss is by bread-supremo Richard Bertinet. Hints and tips to make the best tasting bread and recipes for Rustic Baguettes, Seeded Bread and Dark Rye Bread with Raisins. Scrummy.

Understandably there are plenty of Christmas-type recipes to explore in this issue of Delicious, the most interesting selection being Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s Festive Fish Recipes (You would never guess he had a new book out in both the US and UK would you?). I really must get the ingredients for the Braised Stuffed Squid with Chorizo and Rice.

The main bulk of the magazine is devoted to cocktails and chic canapés. To enliven your festive party, how about serving Pork Larb in Little Gem Cups with a Ballet Russe, Sweetcorn and Red Chilli Cakes with Avocado Salsa with a Caipirinha or Mini Yorkshire Puds with Smoked Venison and Watercress with a Manhattan?

Apparently the ‘it’ cocktail of 2007 is the Negroni - being based on gin has guaranteed its success because gin is the most fashionable ingredient at the moment. It is easy to make being 25ml each of gin, campari and sweet vermouth served over ice. With this, Delicious suggests, serving with Glazed lamb Cutlets with Moroccan Carrot and Tahini Puree. You have got to admit it beats a glass of Hungarian Chardonnay and a bag of twiglets!

For my Christmas feast I am rather tempted to attempt the Frozen Lemon and Ginger Cheesecake. This forms part of the Scandinavian Christmas spread. They have their festive meal on Christmas Eve in Sweden apparently. Delicious magazine suggests Ham with a Sweet Mustard Crust and Fennel-Roasted Root vegetables for the main course.

If you are still stuck on the odd Christmas present, then their list of the top foodie books of 2007 may be of interest. How many have you already got?

The book was voted ‘The most useful cookbook of all time’ by Waitrose Food Illustrated last year, and became an instant bestseller in the UK even pushing Harry Potter off the top of the Amazon bestseller list.

“This is a magical book and its diminutive size belies its incredible value. Hopkinson, the founding chef of London’s Bibendum, aided by food writer Bareham, set out to write something quite personal – a collection of his favourite dishes for his favourite ingredients, from anchovies to veal. Nevertheless, he has such good taste and sense that the result is a little blueprint for British cooking through the year. This volume may not contain every dish you might ever want to cook but the ones it has epitomise the way we love to eat today. What’s more, once you’ve followed Hopkinson’s recipes for salade niçoise or roast potatoes, you’ll never want to do them any other way. Who needs a 500-page doorstopper, when you’ve got the essence of modern British cooking in a volume you could almost fit in your pocket?”

Each chapter takes a look at a single ingredient, a little introduction and on to a few recipes. There is liver, chocolate, anchovy, asparagus, eggs, endive, hake and kidneys and many more.  Just flicking through reveals many recipes that appeal. A real understanding of the main ingredient and the anecdotes is inspiring. It’s a small book with none of the usual foodporn photographs; it’s more one to read and get those 200 odd pages splattered time and again.

Roast Chicken and Other Stories is available frpm Amazon.com for $16.47 and from Amazon.co.uk for £10.65.

Interestingly one of the nationals doing a plug for the book quoted a superb Roast Chicken Stuffed with Pears, Pistachios, Sausage and Bacon recipe which doesn’t actually appear in the book.  Luckily I kept the article and the recipe and produced it to great effect a couple of weekends ago to feed 6 as a Sunday lunch. Delicious. 

For an entry to the Waiter There’s Something In My… blog event, I tried the Bizcocho Con Yogur y Limon (Sponge made with yoghurt and lemon), which is a delciously simple recipe. Doubling the quantities to make two layers, sandwiched with whipped double cream laced with Lemon Curd and topped with fresh raspberries and icing sugar, it made a stunning Sunday afternoon teacake. (I should mention the filling and topping were my own additions).

Many of the recipes are simply prepared but by using top-notch ingredients, the results are scrumptous. Garbanzos Refritos (Fried Chick Peas) may not sound like much, but using the very best olive oil and chorizo made for a billiant supper. 

1080 Recipes available Amazon.co.uk for £12.95 Amazon.com for $31.32

Local produce, British chefs, classic British brands, and farmers markets are all subjects you would expect to be covered, which they are, all wrapped up with high class foodporn photographs.

There is an interview with Nigella - did you know that the current TV series in actually filmed in a house she owns, but doesn’t actually live in? There are recipes from the featured regional chefs. From Scotland Martin Wishart gives Chocolate Soup with Cherries, Blanched Almonds and Vanilla Cappuccino while Michel Caines supplies Roasted Guinea Fowl with Braised Chicory, Roasted Winter Vegetables and a White Wine and Tarragon Sauce.

I’ve just bought the ingredients to make James Martin’s Kentish Pudding Pie (which will be my entry to The Cooksisters Waiter There’s Something event). This he serves with roasted Crab Apples and ice cream, but were does one source crab apples from??

Plenty on British cheese, a nice section on ales, including a taste test, and a review of three markets. Yep, Borough market is there, but so too are St. Georges in Belfast and the farmers markets in Haverfordwest and Edinburgh. They all put my little towns market in the shade…

Elsewhere there is coverage of seafood, a few recipes for winter and extracts from Clarissa Dickson Wright’s The Game Cookbook which is to provide this Sunday’s special - Partridges Stuffed with Chestnuts.

A criticism though, there are one too many pages of products and gifts. Fine in themselves if they are new and actually reviewed, but just listing a handful of ‘bits’ with extra large photographs just seems like filling to me.

Great British Food is exclusively available from WH Smiths in the UK. Cost £4.99.

Page 63 of the November Delicious has the most drool-worthy of meat photos that shows just what can be achieved. It’s a stunning photo of Roast Rib of Beef. The lighting helps, of course, as do the props (an old carving knife, a marble cutting board and in the background ,a copper dish of potatoes), but it is such a wonderful image that it cannot help but inspire - both in trying to achieve similar results for my own photographic tinkering, but also in the kitchen. The juiciness of the meat really does make you want to cook the dish (one by Rick Stein).

Unless you are a vegetarian, of course. In which case the dairy-free Pumpkin Pie and the Risotto with Mushrooms and Radicchio - both with equally superb photographs - will be more in keeping with your lifestyle.

My ‘lifestyle’ generally revolves around desserts. There is a Glazed Pear with Macadamia Tart with Anise and Vanilla recipe for me to play with, a rather delicious sounding Orange, Quince and Almond Torte with Quince Topping that I’ll try this week (me being a huge fan of Quince) and Sweet B’stilla Cardamom Cream, Plum Compote and Pistachios which should satisfy my cravings. Burnt Creams with Mango, Lime and Five-Spice look rather tempting too. As do the Ricotta, Polenta and Apple Fritelle with Cinnamon Sugar.

In case you were worried that I live off dessert alone, I have already tried the Sausage, Sun-Dried Tomato and Basil Tart (the photo of which was not photogenic in the slightest) and the Gnocchi in Gorgonzola Sauce with Spinach and Toasted Walnuts. Spinach - that’s the good stuff, right?