280 Recipes Full of Delectable New Flavors From Around the World as Well as Fresh Ways with Old Favorites: A Cookbook
Starred review from September 5, 2005
What makes a particular dish or technique uniquely American? Nathan, perhaps best known for Jewish Cooking in America
, and the author of seven additional cookbooks, eschews the notion that agribusiness and fast food have commandeered the American palate. Rather, she says the influence of immigrants from diverse areas of the world has, over the past 40 years, made American food fresh, spicy and rife with flavor. Similarly, she notes that the spices and ingredients available to American home cooks are far more varied than they've ever been, as are the options on restaurant menus. In homage to the chefs, farmers, artisans and entrepreneurs who create and contribute to American food culture, Nathan traveled the country and visited the people who help ensure that "the world's food is now literally at our fingertips." The book is part cookbook, part travelogue; readers will surely be intrigued by Nathan's descriptions of a Cuban juice bar in Miami, the advent of Middle Eastern restaurants in Virginia and the Honolulu Fish Auction, where she provides fascinating food lore and a striking sense of place. Nathan covers every course, from Morning Glory Muffins for breakfast to main courses like Haitian Vegetable Stew and desserts such as Molten Chocolate Cake. She does an excellent job of balancing her own voice with that of her interview subjects, making this cookbook as readable as it is practical. 150 full-color photos. Agent, Gail Ross.
Starred review from October 15, 2005
Nathan is best known for her books on Jewish cooking (e.g., Jewish Cooking in America). In this title, however, she reveals that she's always been -interested in the larger picture, of how other ethnicities have affected America and the way we eat. - To quell her curiosity, she traveled around the country to discover people who are effecting change, interviewing farmers and purveyors, chefs and home cooks, bakers and café owners and collecting close to 300 diverse recipes. There are Santa Fe Huevos Rancheros and Green Mountain Egg Foo Yung, as well as Rack of Lamb with Pomegranate Sauce and Korean Bulgogi. Throughout, there are interviews with the many people she met, from a Slovak baker in Minnesota to a butter maker in Vermont. Because the book is a travelog as well as a cookbook, it's too bad that addresses and contact information aren't provided for the places readers might want to visit. That aside, Nathan's latest title is both informative and entertaining, and the recipes are impressively wide-ranging. Highly recommended.
Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
October 15, 2005
Nathan has come up with a cookbook that will entice its readers straight into their kitchens. Virtually every cook from the beginner through the most sophisticated will find inspiration in this eclectic yet well--developed feast of recipes that reflect the very diverse American population at the new century's outset. Mexican, Jamaican, Indian, and Ecuadoran traditions appear. Nathan is particularly careful to include recipes from Asian immigrant groups such as Hmong and Filipino foods. She begins with breakfast ideas, noting that families who can't assemble for dinner may find breakfast a better time to gather. Both simple recipes and complex dinner showstoppers appear, culminating in an over-the-top baklava ice-cream cake with Grand Marnier sauce. There are more than a few vegetarian offerings. Ingredients specified are generally available in large supermarkets. Nathan fleshes out her recipes with sidebars on farmers, chefs, and suppliers who specialize in fresh, unique foods. The critical reader may carp that Nathan's recipe sources are relentlessly, overwhelmingly bicoastal, but a few recipes from the nation's heartland do appear.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)