The Botley Men's Cook Book
Stephen Hayes cooks at home 3 or 4 times a week. He wrote this book from the conviction that life would be better if men cooked more often and better, but existing books tend to be 'too clever' and/or not written in the learning styles of many men. So he has written to addess an unmet learning need for men, whether in families or living alone, and their teenage sons and nephews as they go off to university or otherwise leave home and try to eat decently on a budget, and perhaps even impress a young lady with their enlightened attitude to the kitchen. |
"There are no difficult recipes here, although the beginner male cook may need to work on basic skills as he ascends the learning curve towards concious competence. It's OK to make mistakes if you learn from them."
Contents and chapter index
1) Apology-the author's excuse for writing
2) Introduction-what the book is and how to use it
3) Tools of the trade- knives, pots and pans, etc
4) Vegetables-preparing and cooking onions, leeks, carrots,
potatoes, French, runner and broad beans, peas, peppers,
pumpkins. Dauphinois potatoes
5) Soups and stews-chicken and vegetable, shellfish, cock a
leekie, bacon and lentil, oxtail, roast pumpkin, French onion,
minestrone, parsnip and cinnamon, shin beef stew
6) Beef- roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, making proper
gravy, braised beef with oyster sauce, chilli con came, beef steak,
Dianne sauce, toad in the hole, beef Stroganoff
7) Lamb-grilled chops, spicy barbecue, tagine, boned rolled
shoulder, gigot aux haricots (lamb with beans French bistro
style), breast of lamb, butterfly fillet, steaks
8) Chicken-roast with stuffing, filleting a chicken, stock, soup
various ways with breast fillet, stir fry, nuggets, casserole.
Southern deep fried chicken
9) Pork-chops, roast with crackling, braised with apples and
spice, sausage recipes- casserole, Somerset style, risotto
10) Chinese-the wok, the spices, basic stir fry, chicken and
vegetable stir fry, stir fried lamb with sherry and cumin,
special fried rice, crispy fried duck with sesame pancakes,
Chinese style baked beans, deep fried pork with sweet and
11) Curry- the spices, home made curry powder, beef curry,
curry meatballs, poppadoms, tandoori chicken, samosas,
onion bhajis, turkey curry, turkey korma, beef and red lentil
curry, green lentil dal, Bombay potatoes, curry potato salad,
curry baked beans, curative chicken curry, Reverend Keith's
'Bad Boys Beef Blastaway' curry
12) France- shopping beyond the booze cruise; planning short
food trips to Normandy. Cassoulet"
13) Italy-quick pasta with bacon and pesto, spaghetti Bolognese,
home made pizza with various toppings, pollenta, 'Lad's
Lasagne al Quattro Formaggi
14) Fish-types of fishes, sprats, pan fried mackerel in seasoned
flour, soused mackerel, grilled mackerel with tomato and
mustard, Teriyaki mackerel burgers, herrings, kipper
scramble, Colliford trout, curried rainbow trout, Bass and sea
bream, dogfish with Beaujolais, cod chowder, pan fried tuna,
marinaded monkfish, squid Romana, deep fried squid rings,
mussels with cider, scallops, oysters
15) Salads-European style mixed salad with bacon, salad
Nicoise, English country garden salad, potato salad, carrot
salad, slightly exotic salad
16) Leftovers-avoiding waste tastefully. Stir fry, reheats, cold
cuts, fish cakes, leftovers Minestrone
17) Food for fussy people -how to negotiate a 'win-win':
vegetarians, food refusal, 'I hate spicy food'
18) Pancakes -quick, cheap, easy, tasty
19) The kitchen garden-grow your own vegetables and eliminate
food miles
20) Home made beer, wine and preserves-an overview and a
few basic recipes
21) Christmas -spiced cold beef, goose liver terrine, roast
goose, apricot and walnut stuffing, pork and potato stuffing,
goose soup, reheating goose successfully. Avoid cold turkey
horror with turkey nuggets, roast turkey crown, stock, soup
and curry
22) Desserts -a brief outline for men
23) Bibliography-books and teachers who inspired the author,
plus a look at food on the worldwide web.
Copies of the book are available in some Botley shops
Stephen Hayes is a GP, community dermatology doctor, educator, and apple grower who has lived in Botley with his wife Julia and their family since 1998.