Best of the Book and the Cook: Great Menus and Recipes by America's Most Talented Cookbook Authors

From Publishers Weekly\nText by Phyllis Stein-Novack, foreword by Julie Dannenbaum. Camino Books,in BIP/stet Books to avoid confusion with another company with similar name/rl $12.95 * ISBN 0-940159-07-4 Forty accomplished contributors make this memento of Philadelphia's annual cooking festival (which pairs famous chefs with local restaurants) a solid and extremely varied collection, although it contains little original material. Cooking enthusiasts will immediately recognize most of the chefs, among them Jacques Pepin, Alice Waters and Louis Szathmary. Each offers a menu of three to five recipes, and every menu has a distinct character. While Vertamae Grosvenor prefers "pure Southern soul food" with chitterlings and black-eyed peas, former White House chef Rene Verdon serves up quail with cracked coriander and wilted spinach salad, and Pierre Franey creates a seafood feast that includes cream of mussel soup with saffron. Many of the recipes here are borrowed from other cookbooks: all four of Margaret and Franco Romagnoli's dishes are reprinted from The New Italian Cooking ; Maida Heatter bakes cookies and brownies from Great American Desserts and a cake from Great Desserts. Stein-Novack writes the Tasting column for Mid Atlantic Country magazine.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.\nFrom Library Journal\n"The Book & the Cook" is an annual event in Philadelphia that brings together cookbook authors, restaurant chefs, and wine authorities to create some memorable meals. Stein-Novack's book features menus from Craig Claiborne, Alice Waters, and Paula Wolfert, among others; almost all the recipes are reprinted from celebrated cookbooks. An enjoyable sampling, but only area libraries and specialized collections need consider.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.