Life and Food in the Caribbean

March 30, 1992
This culinary history of the Caribbean islands by British travel and food writer Mackie uncovers the roots of a ``hybrid cuisine with many fascinating strands.'' Interspersed with the poetry of Derek Walcott, and punctuated with recipes that are an amalgam of regional cuisine and a good old yarn, Mackie traces the culinary footprints of the British, West African, Portuguese and East Indian settlers of the islands. Some of the most tantalizing concoctions are carmelized chicken (with tomatoes and okra), tomato sauce on cassava, and lobster fruit curry. Befuddling, however, are the many obscure terms found in the recipes--``easy-blend yeast,'' ``old and floury English potatoes'' and the occasionally desired ``pig's trotter.'' While the book is a charmer on its own terms, such ingredients do need translation, lest they addle or mislead those heading for the heat of an actual North American kitchen.

April 27, 1998
Mackie draws from 500 years of Caribbean culture to pull together this collection of recipes with origins in Scotland, Africa, Portugal, China and India.