keesan@bbncca.ARPA (Morris Keesan) (12/15/83)
---------------------
Being cookbook junkies, my wife and I have joined the "Cooking & Crafts
Club" of the Book of the Month Club, and now get periodic mailings telling us
of wonderful books we can get at a fraction (a large, but proper, fraction) of
the publisher's price. The problem is always in making decisions based on
the skimpy information in the brochures. I recently came to the sudden
realization that this newsgroup should be a good source of recommendations on
the subject. So:
The books we're considering this month are:
The Indonesian Kitchen, by Copeland Marks with Mintari Soeharjo
and The Foods & Wines of Spain, by Penelope Casas,
illustrated by Oscar Ochoa, introduction by Craig Claiborne
I'd appreciate any reviews and/or recommendations from people who have
or have used either of these books.
Thanks.
--
Morris M. Keesan
{decvax,linus,wjh12}!bbncca!keesan
keesan @ BBN-UNIX.ARPAwmartin@brl-vgr.ARPA (Will Martin ) (03/12/84)
Greetings to net.cooks! I've been off USENET for a year, and it's good to get back! I'd like to offer the following as input to the cookbook discussion: One of the best Chinese cookbooks I've found is CHINESE TECHNIQUE by Ken Hom with Harvey Steiman. This is more of a "how-to" guide than a simple cookbook. It's a large-format hardback with many B&W pictures of products, materials, and methods of preparation. It begins with an illustrated encyclopedia of oriental ingredients and utensils, with specific recommendations for those the author considers best, and how to use them in cooking. Then it takes several basic areas and runs through some recipes in each, with an illustrated guide to preparation. With this and a little imagination and/or another standard Oriental cookbook or two, you can master the techniques and expand on the given examples to create an infinite variety of dishes. Highly recommended not only by me, but by several friends of mine who are interested in the topic, to whom I have shown it or given copies. Simon & Schuster, 1981, cover price $16.95 -- the nice thing is that I found a number of copies in a local department store (St. Louis -- Famous-Barr) on the reduced-price table for $6.00 each. (That was a year ago, sorry...) (Simon & Schuster has the worthwhile habit of dumping inventory every now and then and good books appear on discount tables all over for a fraction of list price... Keep an eye on your local bookstores.) Another find on the discount table (this one was $1.99!) but which may be hard to find, published by a small press (Strawberry Hill Press, 1980 -- original price unknown): A SURTI TOUCH -- ADVENTURES IN INDIAN COOKING by Malvi Doshi. I haven't used this much, but a friend who has spent some years involved with Indian cookery looked through it and pronounced it to be definitely a good Indian cookbook. Mexican cookery: There is no question that THE Mexican cookbook is Diana Kennedy's THE CUISINES OF MEXICO (1972, $15.95, Harper & Row). This volume covers the wide range of cooking styles to be found through the diverse cultures of Mexico -- if you think of Tex-Mex as the only "Mexican" foodstuff, this will raise your consciousness! (But it covers all the bases.) Another later book by Kennedy in a similar vein is RECIPES FROM THE REGIONAL COOKS OF MEXICO (1978, Harper & Row, price unknown). Italian cookery: If anyone remembers the PBS series "The Romagnoli's Table", you will know of Margaret and G. Franco Romagnoli, who presented a fun series to watch and have a number of cookbooks out to inspire drooling... A number of these are available in paperback: THE ROMAGNOLI'S TABLE THE ROMAGNOLI'S MEATLESS COOKBOOK THE NEW ITALIAN COOKING If you aspire to progress beyond Franco-American, you can't go wrong with the Romagnolis. A couple general recommendations: for those who can get it (this is restricted in geographic distribution, even by subscription), the magazine SOUTHERN LIVING has many good articles and recipes each issue. They also put out a series of cookbooks, culled from the magazine recipes, of which we have half a dozen or so, and we refer to them often. The publisher is "Oxmoor House", I believe. Cookbook collectors will find it worthwhile to join the COOKING & CRAFTS CLUB, one of the speciality book clubs affilitated with the Book-of-the- Month club organization. The way to do this and get cookbooks that average out to reasonable prices apiece is the way to approach any book or record club -- join and get the three free (or nominally-priced) initial selections, buy only the minimum requiement (I think it's three) and resign. Then join again for another batch of freebies. This way the price per book drops to a tolerable level, even considering the excessive shipping charges such clubs impose. As you might have been able to tell, we (the wife & I) are cookbook accumulators/collectors. The more, the better... If there is interest, I can post info on microwave cookbooks (the wife ran a microwave cooking school & accessory store for a year or so) and other specialities. Regards, Will Martin
troy@homxa.UUCP (G.FORD) (03/07/85)
I've been reading all the suggestions for cookbooks with interest, but so far have seen no reference to my favorite. Being a working person who lives alone, I find that in the evenings I am far too tired to spend hours in the kitchen. The best solution to this I've found is "The New York Times 60-Minute Gourmet" (edited by Pierre Franey I think). Most of the entries are organized along a meal plan with a main dish and one side dish and include some background on the dishes without being cutesy. The recipes mostly use standard ingredients and are very good. The meals are designed to be preparable in under one hour (obviously) and allow me to eat delicious meals without having to wash the dishes at eleven o'clock at night. I do have the "Joy of Cooking" and the "Settlement Cook Book" and use these quite a bit for general information, recipes for desserts and special occasions and days when I have lots of time. The disadvantage to these is that they are NOT designed to allow you to choose a recipe quickly and make it. I always find myself drooling over something that takes three hours to prepare. The additional advantage to this book is I can invite someone over to dinner and know that my whole day doesn't have to be spent preparing what I'll have. I've had several people over on the spur of the moment and they are always amazed that dinner is great without much fuss. Troy
vch@rruxo.UUCP (V. Hatem) (03/08/85)
After reading the note about The New York Times 60-Min. Gormet, I thought I'd mention that I too am a single working person who lives alone, But I don't have the 60-min gormet - I have the sequel -- More of the 60-min gormet. Pierre Franey (if that's how you spell it) wrote both books, not just edited them. They are basically all resturant recipies - think about it, when was the last time you spent more than a hour waiting for your food! Anyway, I highly recommend 'More...' since most of the recipies require a few simple ingredients and a frying pan (not many dishes). -Vince. Bell Communications Research Piscataway, NJ rruxo!vch P.S.: My brother even likes it - he's a chef. (CIA grad)
klein@ucbcad.UUCP (03/08/85)
> I find that in the evenings I am far too tired to > spend hours in the kitchen. The best solution to this I've found is > "The New York Times 60-Minute Gourmet" (edited by Pierre Franey I think). > ... > The disadvantage to [other cookbooks] is that they are NOT designed to > allow you to choose a recipe quickly and make it. I always find myself > drooling over something that takes three hours to prepare. You don't mention any of Julia Child's cookbooks. The one taken directly from her famous "French Chef" TV series includes many dishes introduced as "Dinner for Four in Half an Hour". While I have never made one of these in half an hour, 60 minutes is tops, usually less. The elements of French cooking are ingredients and methods, not complexity. (You may have guessed that I am a great fan of French cooking.) -- -Mike Klein ...!ucbvax!ucbmerlin:klein (UUCP) klein%ucbmerlin@berkeley (ARPA)
timpson@comet.DEC (THE REST THE UNIVERSE) (10/22/85)
I have Vol. I & II of Pei Mai's Chineese Cooking. Does anybody know
where I can find/order Vol. III & IV? If anybody is interested these are
the best oriental cookbooks I've ever seen. They come from Tiawan.
steve