Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 27, 1994 TAG: 9408180014
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOLORES KOSTELNI SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Here are some suggestions to read, to give or to get for yourself:
To this day, Julia Child refers to her well-thumbed "JOY OF COOKING" for insights into culinary questions. Child's latest offering, "THE WAY TO COOK" ($35 to $50, Knopf), is another book that will never go out of style. It is a treasure chest of the basic how to's in words and photos (over 600) for today's good cooking. This was my Christmas present to our children two years ago, and they tell me it is their favorite reference and recipe cookbook.
Making homemade bread is akin to knowing the secrets of the universe. A lumpy mass of sticky dough that transforms into wholesome and wonderful compositions generates a miracle every time. Betsy Oppenneer's "THE BREAD BOOK" ($27.50, HarperCollins) contains more than 200 recipes and techniques for baking and shaping perfect breads, sweet and savory muffins, rolls, buns, biscuits and pizzas. Although just recently published, it could be the only bread book anyone might need in a lifetime. Oppenneer gives clear directions, inviting recipes and a wealth of information on how to consistently create fabulous-tasting and beautiful-looking breads.
Cookbooks in a series come in all shapes and sizes. Elizabeth Alston's "SIMPLY CAKES" ($12.50, HarperCollins) contains only 107 pages of recipes for angel, pound and chiffon cakes plus accompanying sauces. Although small, and illustrated with line drawings, it is even more appealing than a larger book. Charming descriptions and straightforward, easily accomplished cakes are Alston's hallmarks. You know her as food editor of "Woman's Day" magazine. "Simply Cakes" joins her other four engaging hardcover books ($12.50 each) that are similar in style and scope: "PANCAKES AND WAFFLES"; "TEA BREADS AND COFFEE CAKES"; "MUFFINS," and "BISCUITS AND SCONES."
The "Ethnic Grill" series ($12.95 each, Chronicle Books) caters to the American passion for cooking over an open fire. "THE AMERICAN GRILL" and "THE ASIAN GRILL" both by David Barich and Thomas Ingalls, two of our country's foremost grilling experts, are, without reservation, class-act books. Dennis Bettencourt's photos fuel the desire to begin grilling at once. Each book contains 12 mouthwatering (but easy) menus followed by carefully written recipes and detailed, clear directions for a main dish and two side dishes. Your delectable results are guaranteed.
"The American Grill" includes these great regional favorites: Memphis Barbecued Chicken with Wilted Salad and Midwest Potato Salad; Grilled Rocky Mountain Trout, Fresh Corn Cakes, Marinated Cucumber and Red Onion Salad and a luxurious Grill-Roasted Rib Roast with Butter Lettuce Salad dressed with Honey-Mustard Vinaigrette. Make a difference in your summer meals with exotic yet convenient menus from "The Asian Grill": Chicken, Green Onion and Asparagus Yakitori, Steamed Rice and Cold Sesame Spinach Salad; Chinese Grilled Whole Fish with Dipping Sauce, Bean Thread Noodles and Broccoli with Black Bean Sauce and my favorite, Thai Barbecued Chicken, Jasmine Rice Salad and Grilled Yams.
Once again, expert baker Beth Hensperger contributes handsomely to delighting our taste buds with her newest offering, "QUICK BREADS: SIMPLE EVERYDAY BAKING" ($18.95, Chronicle Books). Divided into three sections - Quick Batter Breads, Quick Dough Breads, and Notes from the Kitchen - "Quick Breads" offers 100 easily mixed recipes that are ready for the oven in less than 15 minutes. While they're baking, incredible aromas fill the house. The delicious results possess compellingly rich flavors with moist, good-keeping textures. Seasonal ingredients - zucchini, berries, red peppers, assorted fruits and herbs - are incorporated into many batters, as are grains, cheeses, condiments, blossoms and leaves. And every baker will appreciate the book's alphabetical glossary; instructive information on kitchen equipment and how the shapes and sizes of pans give quick breads their unique characters; how each task in preparing quick breads is executed; and the "Seasonal Calendar of Fruits, Vegetables and Grains." Hensperger's recipes are thoughtful, nutritious, and delectable. "Quick Breads" joins her previous books, the excellent "BREAD" and the outstanding "BAKING BREAD: OLD AND NEW TRADITIONS" ($18.95 each, Chronicle Books).
"THE GLASS PANTRY: PRESERVING SEASONAL FLAVORS" by Georgeanne Brennan, ($18.95 soft cover, Chronicle Books ) focuses on preserving fresh fruits, herbs and vegetables in small, manageable quantities. Brennan emphasizes yields that don't exceed more than a few quarts. Count on uncomplicated recipes, quality of flavor and visual appeal throughout this book.
These recipes take you through the seasons. In spring, we delight in 11/2 cups of wild greens and garlic relish and 11/2 pints of sweet and sour radishes. Summer brings 24 candied rose petals and 2 quarts of brandied cherries. Autumn treats include 2 quarts of pickled crab apples and 1 pint of pomegranate vinegar. Winter brightens with the flavors and colors of 2 pints of pickled carrots and jalapeno chiles and 1 quart of spicy lemon oil.
Before this book, preserving lacked appeal for me because it created weeks of sweaty, steamy labor. The beauty of "The Glass Pantry" is that these wonderfully simple recipes take only a few hours. Kathryn Kleinman's exquisite photographs seduce me further into notions of making gifts - one for me and one for a friend.
"THE FOOD LOVER'S TIPTIONARY" by Sharon Tyler Herbst ($15 soft cover, Hearst Books) is a much-needed culinary guide. With an A-to-Z listing of more than 4,500 tips, definitions and shortcuts, this book explains all the things other cookbooks don't even address. No longer will the new cook have lingering doubts about what "parboiling" is and how to do it. Herbst defines, tells you how to do it and cross-references you to "blanching," just in case. This book is a natural for Herbst, whom you've possibly seen as the kitchen-tip expert on ABC-TV's "Good Morning America."
From Anne Willan, the Greenbrier Cooking School director, comes an unusual history-biography-cookbook spanning 600 years. "GREAT COOKS AND THEIR RECIPES: FROM TAILLEVENT TO ESCOFFIER" ($35, Bullfinch) traces the lives, times and recipes of 14 culinary giants and how they influenced the food we eat today. Magnificent photographs of wonderful old illustrations and paintings set the stage for Willan's clear, compelling prose. The more than 100 recipes (that all work), presented in both the original and modern forms, illustrate each cook's talents and strengths. Many recipes tempt: hearty ravioli for meat days (Martino 1450-1475), delicate strawberry fritters (Menon 1740-1755) and ragout of oysters (Glasse 1708-1770), to name a few.
From Julia della Croce comes the much-needed "PASTA CLASSICA" ($27.95, Chronicle Books). Celebrating pasta in all its irresistible forms, "Pasta Classica" takes us on an evolutionary tour of Italian pasta cookery and then treats us to nine chapters of dazzling recipes. For starters, della Croce returns us to the ancients, the Arabs and Persians, to unearthed Etruscan kitchens, and to the Romans, their cookbooks, everyday diary entries and dining artifacts.
During the Renaissance, Italy developed its signature style of cooking, preferring the honest flavors from fresh ingredients instead of the confusing tastes resulting from the heavy use of spices. History aside, della Croce instructs us thoroughly in pasta basics: the differences between fresh and dried pasta, knowing quality pasta, the golden rules of perfect pasta, cooking, reheating, serving, making fresh pasta and pasta etiquette. Nine chapters blanket the enormous range of Italian pasta dishes with recipes both classic and new, but nothing nouvelle cuisine. Gorgeous photographs of old prints and labels coupled with vibrant art enhance della Croce's lyrical prose. A distinctive book for lovers of all things Italian.
Nothing is more Italian than antipasti, and Julia della Croce lures us with 80 special recipes in her new book, "ANTIPASTI: THE LITTLE DISHES OF ITALY" ($18.95 soft cover, Chronicle). Antipasti means "before the meal," and these light, simple dishes exemplify the high art of Italian creativity. This book, more than others I've seen recently, answers my need for different, but balanced and filling, summer meals that my husband and I will enjoy. These dishes fit right in with our typically American hurried but health-conscious lifestyle. There are all kinds of vegetables: boiled, dressed, stuffed, roasted, in salads, frittate and wonderful croquettes. There's poached fresh fish; pretty and tender, but easily accomplished stuffed chicken breasts; numerous seafood combinations; plus several skewered meat preparations. Most exciting for me are the kaleidoscope of white bean recipes, with or without seafood, in combination with other vegetables, and always dressed to perfection with a light Italian sauce.
\ ZITI WITH MUSTARD GREENS
BEET SALAD WITH ORANGE AND TARRAGON
\ see microfilm for recipes
by CNB