Books for Christmas

When we were kids, we could always guarantee at least one book token from a relative at Christmas; easy to post, not much imagination required, no chocolate overdose guilt associations and the feel good factor that literary ambitions were being kindled.
On Christmas morning we were dutifully grateful but hardly thrilled - no instant gratification here!
But the joy of rifling through the shelves of the local book shop, choosing first one and then another, before settling on a final choice and handing over our token was worth the wait.

But if you, unlike a geographically distant relative, know the recipient well, then a carefully chosen book will light up their Christmas as much as the fairy lights and candles.

Food writing, as much as fiction, has a unique date stamp and continues to evolve.  The plethora of titles published annually is mind boggling and they range from the sublime to the ridiculous.  I am not going to single out any one book for nomination to the latter category, but I will not forgive anyone who gives me a book that promotes "wellness", weight loss or meals that take less than 15 minutes to prepare.

But I am prepared to share a selection of books that we not only admire, but actually use!

Disclaimer: several, but not all, of these have pictures of Netherton cookware between the covers.  That is because the authors own the cookware, the sole commercial transaction was the sale of the pan!

This list is not exhaustive, apologies to all the wonderful books that are not listed here, some of them are on my Dear Santa list.  If you have a favourite and would like us to publish your review, please send it over to us.

FROM THE OVEN TO THE TABLE

From the queen of food writing, Diana Henry, and yes, of course we are doubly biased, as not only are there photos of prospector and frying pans throughout the book, there is a 12" prospector pan on the beautifully photographed cover too.
But that aside, this is still a stunner  - making simple spectacular.  This is a collection of deeply flavourful recipes, all created as simple to make, "bung in the oven" dishes.  Our kind of cooking, especially at this busiest time of year.
Buy it here

THE BURGER BOOK and CHARRED

By DJ BBQ, aka Christian Stephenson and Genevieve Taylor respectively.

Warm yourselves with thoughts of bonfires and barbeques and settle down with a hot toddy and these two to plan your outdoor cooking adventures. The king and queen of fire cooking, this pair will have you reaching for the charcoal and itching to get outside and cooking with smoke and flames.
The Burger Book is available here
Charred can be bought here

  COCOA and SOUR

  

Two single word titles, that cover not only recipes but history, geography, politics, philosophy; quite simply engaging, informative and eloquently written
Sour, the magical element that will transform your cooking, by Mark Diacono
Cocoa by Sue Quinn, reviewed here by Nigella Lawson

We love these and, naturally, a combination of sweet and sour makes for a beautifully balanced culinary combination.  So we recommend that you head here and here and get both of them.

ZAIKA

A debut book from a talented chef, Romy Gill, sounding like it should be a minority interest book, but is, in fact, one for everyone. (Alright, I know that there are millions of vegans and vegetarians on the Indian sub continent, but I was thinking closer to home .  Ignore the fact that these are vegan recipes, although it will be a handy present for anyone heading into Veganuary after the festivities, Zaika is full of truly scrumptious dishes that just happen to have no animal products in them. Simply sublime.

SUPERPULSES

Jenny Chandler's pocket sized book for all things legume, is another handy book for those embracing a more plant based diet, although this is not exclusively a vegetarian book.  Sunshine bright dishes such as Smoked haddock, spinach and curried lentils goes a long way to dispel the lentil's reputation for boring. brown sludge.

Currently on offer at less than £7.00, this would make a great stocking filler or secret Santa gift.

GREENFEAST

Spring, Summer and Autumn, Winter

I am sure there is a law somewhere that says that Nigel Slater books should be on everyone's Christmas list and this year there are two to choose (I should say to choose from, but don't be selective;just ask Santa very nicely for both of them, after all they are a matching pair)  These two books, which encapsulate Nigel's increasingly plant focussed eating are an absolute treat.  Minimal ingredients, maximum flavour and in many case, no more than a mere modicum of effort to produce appetite satisfying and compliment inducing meals.
Spring Summer
Autumn Winter

NEW KITCHEN BASICS

In fact this is more like a New Kitchen Bible, reworking classic dishes for a new generation and for all of us with jaded palates and too ready a reliance on the same old, same old dishes we can knock out without thinking.

A re-setting of kitchen standards and ideal for everyone.

Nigella is also a fan of this book

Buy it, you won't regret it.

Here are some more ideas from food writer Nic Miller and of course, all the broadsheet papers and food magazines will have their own suggestions.
And Ed Smith throws his ideas into the ring here.

We have included links to places where you can buy these books, but would urge you first to head to your nearest, independent book shop and spend your money there and get that same tingle and frisson that we enjoyed spending our childhood book tokens.
Our favourite Shropshire book shops are Burway Books in beautiful Church Stretton, and Pengwern Books in the heart of historic Shrewsbury.

Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2019 ©

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

On meeting a hero

Where, how do you start when writing about a hero?  Especially if that hero is a writer, a person whose command of language can transport you to places you've never seen and evoke such base yearnings that you would blush to admit..... albeit cravings of the stomach, a greedy longing that makes the categorisation of gluttony as a sin justifiable.

Before I even get to see Diana Henry take her place in the Orangery at Bristol,Food Connections, a serendipitous meeting brings home the impact that her writing has.
I was fortunate enough to procure a ticket to recording of an interview by Sheila Dillon for a future broadcast of the BBC Food Programme entitled, Diana Henry, a Life in Food.
Just in case you are reading this on another planet, here are some of the Diana Henry books pulled from my shelves.

This meant an early start; on a good day the trip to Bristol can take an hour and three quarters, but the M5 is a fickle and variable conduit and the same  trip can seemingly last all day. Add into the mix the fact that I wasn't entirely sure where I was going and plenty of leeway seemed a sensible precaution,

As it was, the motorway was blissfully free of traffic - so bizarre for a holiday weekend, that I feared I had the wrong day - and the directions provided on the cathedral website were disarmingly simple to follow.
Needless to say, I was ridiculously early.
And this is what led to my chance encounter with Helen.  I only know her first name and regret not getting to say good bye properly later that morning, but it was a genuine  pleasure to meet her and I can only hope that she reads this and recognises herself
She joined me at the window table of a coffee bar overlooking the College Green, where the advertised event was to take place and we fell into conversation about the city wide Food Connections and quickly established that we were attending the same event.
One thing led to another and I explained that I had come down from Shropshire - Helen was a Bristol resident - and "let slip" that we make pans.
"Aha" she said you are the company that Diana mentioned in her Christmas guide, where she said "Look out, Le Creuset".
My word, that was Christmas 2014, so you can see why I was so struck by the power of her words.

But, less about us and more about Diana Henry....
The recording was happening inside a wonderful wooden framed marquee, which was very atmospheric, resplendent with twinkling fairy lights, but which must have been a nightmare for the sound recordist. External noise which caused heads to turn included the throaty roar of a Harley Davidson motorbike, what sounded like the erection of scaffolding and the overhead pass of a helicopter.

Sheila Dillon, another hero, introduced Diana on to the stage and conducted an interview, which drew the very best from her interviewee, the conversation flowed, the facts and reminisces were skilfully elicited and praise was given with the lightest and most sincere touch that even the most self deprecating interviewee could soak up its warmth, without fear of  an overheated blush.

Diana Henry is a truly talented writer, and setting  her in the same pantheon as Elizabeth David and Jane Grigson, as Sheila Dillon did, is to site her exactly where she belongs.
Her sheer love of and joy in food, ingredients, travel and writing were evident and so readily shared. It would take a joyless soul not to be carried along with the flow of her words and the undercurrent of  gentle passion as she described how she came to write, how she writes in the middle of the night when she doesn't have to distracted by putting on a load of washing and about moving to London and discovering so many wonderful ingredients carried the audience on the journey with her.

She is truly enamoured of the written word and unstintingly generous in her praise of others' writing.
Her excellent and eclectic choices of inspiring writing were  beautifully read out by Becky Ripley and Sam Woolf.
Becky coaxed the words off the page and sent them skipping and dancing joyfully amongst the audience, whilst Sam's sonorous voice filled the tent with ripples and echoes of meaning and emotion.

I especially enjoyed the Seamus Heaney poem, Blackberry-Picking and one of Marina O'Loughlin's restaurant reviews.

Time past too quickly and the event was over too soon, but the icing was still to be applied to the cake and I got the opportunity to thank Diana in person for all the support she has given us and to say "Hello", in person to Sheila Dillon.
Thank you both for an uplifting, inspiring and thoroughly enjoyable morning.

© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2016

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

The Shropshire Creatives

There is so much talent in the beautiful county of Shropshire, which is hardly surprising when you look at the list of famous Salopians that history has recorded.  From the so famous they don't need an introduction candidates - Charles Darwin, Thomas Telford, Wilfred Owen, and A E Housman to the less heralded, but no less important such as Eglantyne Jebb, co founder of Save the Children.  And, of course, there would probably be no modern Olympics without Shropshire son, William Penny Brookes. 
There are more - have a look here and see who you recognise and read up about those you don't http://www.shropshiretourism.co.uk/guess-who/

There is still much talent alive and kicking around the county, not least in our workshops, where Neil, our resident creative genius just keeps coming up with new ideas.

This is the latest addition to the range - a hot smoker set, which doubles a chestnut roaster. We do love to "mix it up"

But we are not the only ones;  throughout the county there are talented folk who work with and support us and Neil hit on the inspired idea of a creative collective, combining the talents of our friends and thus the Shropshire Creatives came into being.

A group of people sharing their own unique talents and finding ways to share those with you.  We  have linked our products with theirs to offer you the very best of Shropshire.

If you follow us on Twitter, you will know that our motto and favourite hashtag is #mutualsupport and that is what we aim to achieve.  
Together we are stronger and together we can offer you the very best of Shropshire's prodigious talent.  Visit the website , look in the Netherton Shop for the Shropshire Creatives and enjoy the talent of Salopia wherever you are.