From the Ground Up

June 20, 2011
As any homemaker knows, Villas, the former food and wine editor for Town & Country magazine, drives home the point that once a food substance is ground up, there is very little that cannot be done with it. Here is a sweeping survey of 200 recipes, covering the highs and lows of minced chicken, beef, pork, and seafood. Villas employs dips, loaves, patties, casseroles, and sausages to create a multicultural mosaic that includes everything from gefilte fish to Scottish deviled kidney spread, from Russian salmon croquettes to Cincinnati chili. Along the way, some lost history is also unearthed. It turns out that the original Coney Island dog was actually a bun filled with chopped frankfurter, pickle, eggs, bacon, and sauerkraut, and that a truly authentic croques monsieur calls for the ham to be coarsely ground. Each two-page recipe starts off with a brief paragraph in which the author conveys some historical notes or serving suggestions. This is followed by a succinct ingredients list, and then the preparation instructions, which rarely consist of more than four or five steps. Like a fine batch of hamburger, the book itself is of uniform simplicity and composition throughout.

December 1, 2011

This cookbook is a bible of economical ground-protein recipes for canapes, loaves, croquettes, patties, forcemeats, hashes, and more. After introducing the meats (beef, pork, fish, shellfish, poultry, and offal), Villas (Pig: King of the Southern Table) shares practical tips on equipment, shopping, and food safety. The recipes are intended for beginners, who will find it helpful to own a food processor and a meat grinder. Without photos, it's hard to imagine the visual appeal of a recipe like Scandinavian Jellied Veal Loaf; however, there are plenty of other choices that will please meat enthusiasts.

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.