Saveur

November 17, 2014
The editors of food magazine Saveur deliver a cookbook cum encyclopedia, which offers recipes and excursions into food cultures worldwide. The aim is to redefine the concept of “classics” beyond the familiar U.S. and European standards and add dishes from other regions to the canon. “Classic recipes are maps, biographies, history lessons on a plate,” the introduction states. The more than 1,000 recipes in this comprehensive volume are organized into easy-to-follow chapters that range from appetizers to desserts and cocktails. Some dishes are readily prepared, needing only a little preparation time. Into this category fall homey fare like veal piccata, Creole-style fried fish, corn dogs, and Mexican rice. For the most part, though, this is a volume for ambitious home cooks—those willing to put in the effort required to master several labor-intensive steps and long ingredient lists. Examples include bacheofe, an Alsatian meat and vegetable stew (23 ingredients); a black bean burger with salsa fresca and avocado crema; and a Tunisian tuna sandwich. Helpful indexes for searching recipes by ingredient and origin supplement the table of contents. American supermarket staples will suffice for most of these recipes, and the editors offer tips for hunting down ingredients that may be harder to find. The book is illustrated with two inserts of color photos, which will be welcomed by fans of Saveur magazine.

November 15, 2014

SAVEUR magazine's former editor in chief James Oseland (Cradle of Flavor) introduces this massive cookbook, in which old favorites such as tomato aspic and Ella Fitzgerald's favorite cheddar cheese log sit comfortably alongside such modern classics as kale and avocado salad and dark chocolate matzo brittle. Striving for comprehensiveness, the editors have included more than 1,000 dishes from around the world. America, France, and Italy are best represented, but nonetheless, the book's global scope is impressive. The recipes cover most courses and food types--even drinks, confections, pickles, and spice blends--and they're indexed by ingredient, origin, and topic. Technical tips, historical facts, line drawings, color photo spreads, and quotes from Pythagoras and Mark Twain to Anthony Bourdain help to add interest to the hundreds of pages of text. VERDICT Highly recommended for most collections and home cooks who'd like a contemporary, all-purpose kitchen reference.

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