International Night

June 2, 2014
Kurlansky, the author of Cod and Salt, approached this newest project with a specific toolset: a globe and his eighth-grade daughter. Once a week he would spin the former, and, with the poke of a finger, the latter would pick a locale at random upon which to base their Friday night dinners. The result is this collection of 52 meals, comprising more than 250 recipes. Restricting themselves in this way results in a broad survey of ingredients, but a limited choice of flavors within any one cuisine: an Indian night that consists of a single appetizer, a lamb entrée, and two vegetable sides is barely representative, and if one’s idea of a New Orleans dinner is not crab étouffée and Swiss chard, then it is best to move on to some of the book’s more obscure regional delicacies. But here, too, the younger Kurlansky’s finger of fate pointed to both hits and misses. Touching down on Tanzania results in spicy coconut soup, well-seasoned duck, and mango cashew pudding. But landing on Cornwall means sardines, crab soup, beef and rutabaga pastries, and lemon pudding. Both teens and adults will find the brief country profiles enlightening, and a bibliography of international cookbooks provides fine fodder for a family library.

July 1, 2014

Every week, Talia would spin the globe; wherever her finger landed became the "destination" for Friday's dinner. Fortunately for Talia, her father, Mark Kurlansky (Salt; Cod), is not only a professional chef but also an accomplished (and well-traveled) food writer. This work presents a full year's worth of recipes--52 meals from appetizer to dessert, inspired by countries from Tanzania to Kazakhstan. Each entry includes an essay about the location and/or the fare; the recipe notes are equal parts preparation and contemplation. Talia, who's now in eighth grade, comments throughout the book, which is intentionally kid-friendly (although children with less adventurous palates might find some weeks challenging). The majority of recipes will be accessible to home cooks with solid basic skills, and they're rated for difficulty. Ingredients should be found mostly at local grocery or specialty stores, though in smaller cities, readers may have to rely on the Internet. VERDICT A fun idea, an exciting read, and a lot of recipes you'd probably never try otherwise--what's not to like?--Courtney Greene McDonald, Indiana Univ. Libs., Bloomington

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2014
Every week for the past few years, noted food writer Kurlansky has invited his daughter Talia to spin the family globe and then let her finger land randomly on its surface. Wherever she points sets the cuisine for the family's Friday night dinner. Some destinations' cooking seem obvious: Naples night yields pizza, fresh sardines, and zabaglione. But what to do when the spinning globe offers Senegal or Kazakhstan? Luckily for the family, father Mark's many researches give him plenty of resources, and their New York City home has access to myriad ethnic markets. Father and daughter cook together, and daughter learns not just to cook but also world geography as more than mere memorization of world capitals. Each meal consists of an appetizer, a main course, and a sweet. There are some side dishes and drinks, too, some for adults and some for kids. Once requisite ingredients are gathered, most recipes are relatively easy to reproduce.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)