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From: wmartin@brl-vgr.ARPA (Will Martin )
Newsgroups: net.cooks
Subject: Cookbooks
Message-ID: <2408@brl-vgr.ARPA>
Date: Mon, 12-Mar-84 09:18:32 EST
Article-I.D.: brl-vgr.2408
Posted: Mon Mar 12 09:18:32 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 13-Mar-84 08:14:42 EST
Organization: Ballistics Research Lab
Lines: 78



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