Hot new cookbooks

MAN FOOD

By Billy Law

Man Food is best exemplified by its cover image: a garish woven tapestry of slick bacon rinds. And if that doesn't immediately flag its ''meat, carbs and three mandwiches'' ethos, the book's strap line is simply: ''Good food for a good time''. As long as that food and time involves bacon. Author and ex-MasterChef finalist Billy Law admits such bias early on, while also addressing what ''man food'' isn't - ''quinoa burgers, kale chips, and carrot smoothies'', apparently. But everything on the page here looks attractive and reeks of caramelised meats, spicy Southern flavours and fudgy heart-starters. Also: bacon. There's bacon bloody mary, a bacon stout chocolate cheesecake, and Law's maple-glazed, bacon-garnished twist on the cronut. It's not all pork, however; tea-smoked duck with green tea soba, and honey-glazed saganaki hint at lighter fare. Marcus Teague

Best bit: Law's enthusiasm and ''no apologies'' approach.

Good for: Robust hearts.

Hardie Grant Books, rrp $39.95

ONE DISH, TWO WAYS

By Jane Kennedy

Do you have children who eat ''just about anything''? If so, bless their cotton socks. Stop reading. Go make a spicy curry or some ratatouille. For the rest of us, television identity and mother-of-five Jane Kennedy provides a neat way of sidestepping nightly battles at the dinner table. Her third cookbook offers plenty of inspiration for making meal times more varied. Each recipe - be it for pasta, noodles, chicken, meat, fish or vegetarian - offers a basic version with additional ingredients (chilli, herbs and other strong flavours) that can be thrown in after dishing up the kids' meals. We tried the ''apricotty lamb tagine''; the basic version included garlic, cumin, ginger and allspice, while we adults also got parsley, coriander, orange zest and chilli. Of course, this approach is nothing new and it won't turn your kids into the sophisticated gourmands you've been hoping for. What it does do, though, is help ensure you will get to eat something other than pasta every night for the next 12 years. Jane Holroyd

Best bit: Good inspiration for the family dinner.

Good for: Parents, who by 5pm have little left in the tank.

Hardie Grant, rrp $39.95

HUEY'S ALL-TIME FAVOURITES

By Iain Hewitson

Television chef Iain Hewitson has gathered 550 of his most popular recipes into one hefty volume. It's a nostalgic meander through 20 years of cooking on the small screen, and 40 years in restaurant kitchens. Recipes are organised idiosyncratically around favourite ingredients, and punctuated by anecdotes about his various restaurants, including his latest, Big Huey's Diner. It's a flavour-soaked scrapbook of inspiration - gathered from American diners, Asian street markets, Moroccan bus stops - with loads of tips and advice and stylish photographs by Greg Elms. The only ingredient missing is the index. Roslyn Grundy

Best bit: Comfort food dishes such as potato, cheese and ham pie, and Roman gnocchi.

Good for: Open-minded home cooks.

New Holland Publishers, rrp $49.95

SAME SAME BUT DIFFERENT: RECIPE PAIRS THAT SHARE

By Poh Ling Yeow

Former MasterChef contestant Poh Ling Yeow explores culinary differences and similarities in her second cookbook, a follow-up to her popular Poh's Kitchen. Poh pairs dishes that share a connection - a technique, an ingredient or a texture - under loose headings such as Green Things, Small Bites and Sweet Things. So an old-school Aussie chicken soup is juxtaposed with Chinese chicken congee, and traditional Indonesian kuih lapis (layer cake) features alongside meringue torte layered with fruit, ganache and cream. Photographed in Poh's home kitchen, it's a visually arresting feast of food, vintage crockery, utensils and fabric.

Best bit: The often unexpected pairings.

Good for: Modern cooks who love to experiment.

ABC Books, rrp $39.99