My Virtual Cookbook - Foodie Newsletters

December 2017 Edition: New discoveries from around the world

As my foodie cooking obsession turns 4 this year, I'm starting to dig deeper into the corners of the culinary world, discovering or resurfacing lesser known recipes.

Whether it be the delicious Hungarian motzah ball chicken spice soup that my mother made for Christmas every year, or the new unique Georgian dishes (Kinkhali Dumplings and Kachapuri) that my foodie friend, Heather-Marie, introduced to me to this year.

Then, as a farewell to a work friend, it was fun creating a fully Japanese matcha cream pie for her - from the matcha pie crust, to the matcha creme patissiere and matcha oat crumble. It was almost too matcha!

And despite spending some time in Switzerland many years ago, I can't believe I missed tasting these tasty Swiss Capuns Dumplings which I discovered during a cookbook swap with a lovely Swiss friend.

Even looking at Australia, where I now live, there are still culinary rocks to look under... such as the "how has this not surfaced sooner" inventive sticky date cheesecake.

Hope you all enjoy these unique recipes from the distant and not so distant reaches of the world!

New recipes added since the last newsletter: 41
Recipes highlighted below : 18

For starters...


Mum's Israeli Matzo Ball Soup - Sumptious bread dumplings in a just-what-the-doctor-ordered comforting type of soup.

American Clam & Seafood Chowder - Cream and seafood and a garnish of crispy fried bacon. Need I really say more?

Moroccan Tomato & Preserved Lemon Salad - The preserved lemon lifts the flavours in this salad to a whole other level. Yum!

Baozi Pillowy Chinese Pork Buns - Easy and fun to make as well as absolutely delicious

Swiss Capuns Dumplings (Sausage stuffed beetroot leaves with a cream sauce) - You've never seen dumplings like these before. Great leafy wrapping!

Getting into the main spot...


Sichuan Mapo Tofu - Spicy comfort food, Chinese Sichuan style !

Nepalese Meatball Curry - This beautiful curry reinvigorates the ole meatball standard.

Indian Beef Biryani with Caramelised Onions & Toasted Almonds - An all in one fully flavoured beef casserole dish

Georgian Khachapuri (GF) - Sort of like a Georgian style pizza, but one made of dough, eggs and cheese

Georgian Beef, Pork & Caraway Khinkali Dumplings - The caraway seeds add a really interesting flavour twist to these amazing Georgian dumplings.

Until the (not so) bitter end...

Brazilian Coconut Custard Ring Cake (GF, DF) - So few types of ingredients, so much flavour!

Moroccan Shortbread (Ghoriba Bahla) - Toasted sesame seeds really give this shortbread an exotic taste.

Australian Sticky Date Cheesecake - Cheesecake and sticky date are a match made in heaven. I can't believe that this recipe is not more popular!

Japanese Matcha Creme Patissiere - Even people who don't typically like matcha desserts seemed to enjoy this flavoured creme patissiere. So why not give it a try?

Some other-worldly amazing bonus recipes...


Spiral Veggie Quiche - This ain't no run-of-the-mill carrot and zucchini dish!

Zucchini & Haloumi Fritters - Rich in savoury flavour, this recipe should be at the top of your hit list

Hazelnut Butter & Coffee Italian Meringues - The long wait for this treat is definitely worth it (luckily, it's pretty low effort still)

Mirror Glaze Cake with Bailey's Irish Cream Dark Chocolate Mousse & Mud Cake - Let the kid inside you go wild designing this fabulously artsy cake! Meanwhile, the adult in you will adore the rich liqueur infused flavours

Happy tastings!