If you were to ask me to come up with one word to characterise ‘modernity’ or the world we now live in, I’d probably say "fast". Life is fast. We want to do everything quickly and often, we’re doing multiple things at one time. Dinner is no exception.
Ed Halmagyi is well aware of that – they don’t call him Fast Ed for nothing. The popular, down-to-earth and funny Australian television presenter has become well known for his television spots on Better Homes and Gardens TV, his own show, Fast Ed's Fast Food, on Channel Seven each afternoon and his guest appearances on The Outdoor Room with Jamie Durie, and Discover Tasmania.
The principle that has made him famous is basically, that you don’t have to spend a lot of time cooking to create a good meal. Fast food doesn’t have to mean bad, unhealthy food. Fast Ed’s second cookbook Dinner in 10 is an elegant offering, and despite its casual paperback feel, it’s nicely stylised, with fresh-looking line drawings, and large, attractive images of most of the recipes.
The book contains chapters on soups, small bites, lamb, beef, port, chicken and poultry, pasta, shellfish, fish, vegetarian dishes, and desserts. All of the meals really do take 10 minutes from start to finish, and without fail, all of the dishes are nice-looking and fancy enough to serve up to guests (though I have to admit that none have been a visiting chef).
Some of the dishes I tried and really liked included the "Borscht on the Run," (appropriately named) which my kids wouldn’t eat but were fascinated by (my husband and I ended up eating the lot – all four servings, which made all of our secretions pink – it was worth it), the cheap and wonderful "Skirt steak with Salted apples and Dukkah" (my Dukkah loving kids ate that, though I left out the watercress), the "Salmon Cutlets with a Simple Mornay Sauce", and the "Instant Mocha Mousse with Almond Biscuits and Dessert Wine." The latter was served to guests, who praised me to the moon while I nodded sagely and didn’t give anything away about the speed of preparation (managed to work on my next novel while I was supposed to be slaving away over a stove).
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