The Best of Alison Holst was first published in 1991. There is now a 2015 version of her famous “Big Red Book”. It contains vegetarian recipes, microwave recipes, meal plans, some traditional recipes (for example, banana cake or herbed tripe) and some newer ideas (hummus, tofu-fruit whip).
I’m liking
I find Alison Holst’s recipes more reliable than the ones in the Edmond’s cookbook! It is great to have a collection of such a range of dishes in one book.
I tried the mushroom strudel, the spaghetti sauce (stovetop version) and the brandy snaps. The ingredients were not hard to get hold of and everything turned out well. I was particularly impressed by the brandy snaps. I tried to make honey snaps from another cookbook many years ago, and they would not come off the oven tray! I was pleasantly surprised when my Alison Holst brandy snaps came off without a hitch, and looked and tasted good.
The book contains very useful photographs showing different types of beef roast and steak, how to know when a steak is cooked, and how to bone lamb.
There are also some meal plans at the back that look very useful (featuring “Dinner for One, Please James,” “Casual Weekend Meal for Friends” and “Lamb Dinner for Someone Special,” among others).
Things that made me go hmmmm
The book seems to be a compilation of recipes from Meals without Meat (which I have used and loved for many years), a microwave cookbook and at least one other book. I mainly use the microwave for reheating food, and I felt that there were too many microwave recipes for things that I would prefer to make in the oven or on the stove (for example, stir-fry chicken, meat loaf, and chilli con carne). I think that it would have been better to leave the microwave recipes for a separate book.
I also felt that there weren’t enough pictures, particularly for a book that would in general be suitable for new cooks.
There was at least one error in the page numbers in the index of the copy I reviewed, but the recipe was on the page after the one given, so it wasn’t too hard to find.
I couldn’t find some things in the index, but then found when I looked at the contents that there were whole chapters covering them! I think it would be helpful to include items in both places.
The conclusion
The Introduction says “I hope that your copy of this book will get dirty and spotted from years of constant use…” and encourages cooks to modify the recipes and share them with others. The Best of Alison Holst would be a fantastic start to a cookbook collection (for example, for someone about to leave home). It’s a great go-to recipe book for anyone wanting a collection of Kiwi basics and more!
