Italy was - by far - the destination whose food and cookbooks you all wanted to most indulge in at last week’s (really lovely) meet-up about ‘cookbooks to travel by’. Very wise of you. So, I thought it might be nice to stay there a bit longer and explore more of what this country has to offer through its glorious food and food writing.
July’s theme for The Kitchen Bookshelf cookbook club is, quite simply: Italy.
Our individual cookbook club pick is going to be Amaretto, Apple Cake and Artichokes by the unsurpassable Anna Del Conte.
The digital meet-ups in July are set for:
Sunday 14th July at 8.30am BST (I do like an early morning cookbook chat! A Sunday this time just to keep mixing it up.)
Friday 26th July at 7pm BST
I’ll be opening up the events for registration in next week’s Wednesday paid subscriber feature. (Making now a pretty good time to upgrade to paid if you are currently a free subscriber….)
Football or pickle fans amongst you might like the recipe that was this week’s Wednesday paid subscriber feature: Deep Fried Dill Pickles. Perhaps the perfect match-watching / nail-biting snack.
And just before I go: I’ve had more than a few messages through recently from some of you saying how much you’re enjoying being part of The Kitchen Bookshelf. Whether that’s coming to events or reading the posts. Thank you so much. It means a lot to know you like being here and like having The Kitchen Bookshelf around. I do too.
It has made me feel all warm-glowed and generous. Make it to the end of this and there’s a first-on-the buzzer cookbook up for grabs.
Angela x
COOKBOOK CLUB - June’s theme has been: cookbooks to travel by.
Last week a group of you came together to share ideas and recommendations on all kinds of books that through the way they feature food have the ability to transport us far away. I’ve updated its page with the books we discussed in a conversation that started in Italy, travelled from there around the Mediterranean into the Middle East, before finishing up on a camping trip in the UK.
The Pepperpot Diaries by Andi Oliver - June’s single cookbook pick. Its page has my reading notes, and a breakdown of recipes from the book you all most loved. This cookbook was a total hit with the group that gathered to talk about it.
July with the cookbook club
Look out for the email coming to paid subscribers on Wednesday 3rd July with full details of July’s book, theme and events. (But the heads up is the events are going to be July 14th at 8.30am BST and 26th at 7pm BST.)
More from Cookbook Club: The Kitchen Bookshelf reviews Vegetables by Mark Diacono
THIS WEEK’S PAID SUBSCRIBER NEWSLETTER FEATURE:
More from New writing / recipes: Why I think the best people poach chickens.
RECENTLY ELSEWHERE ON THE KITCHEN BOOKSHELF
MENTORING - Making Borough Market: The Knowledge
IN SEASONING - The glory of regional new potatoes; a peak inside Summer
ODDS & ENDS
Odd scraps of cookbook news etc that don’t really fit elsewhere
There’s been a flurry of cookbooks released recently. These tend to come in swathes and this swathe is the pre-school-break-up one. I’d like to make special mention of Rukmini Iyer’s The Green Cookbook and Meliz Berg’s Dinner Tonight. Cookbooks that are front and squarely about getting good food on the table day after day after day. I am a huge fan of both these books (and their authors).
Melissa Hemsley has a new book coming out too. Bound to be a cracker but I haven’t actually laid eyes on it yet. Hoping it arrives soon so I can start prepping for my interview with Melissa at The Kitchen Table in Dorset on July 17th.
Lots of cookbook writers are going to be appearing at Beanfeast in Woolwich on Saturday 6th July. It’s a whole day of food fabulousness with a line-up I am honoured to be part of.
It ends
Cookbook giveaway time!
There’s a copy of Rukmini’s aforementioned The Green Cookbook up for grabs to the first The Kitchen Bookshelf paid subscriber or upgrader to send me a message here:
I will post it (for free) anywhere in the UK. (And given that book is £25 RRP that’s equivalent to almost half the annual subscription to The Kitchen Bookshelf…)
Good luck.
Ax