Around the World and Back Home Again with Cookbooks discussed on December 20th

When Julia Child told Dorie Greenspan, "You write recipes just the way I do," she paid her the ultimate compliment. Julia's praise was echoed by the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, which referred to Dorie's "wonderfully encouraging voice" and "the sense of a real person who is there to help should you stumble." Now in a big, personal, and personable book, Dorie captures all the excitement of French home cooking, sharing disarmingly simple dishes she has gathered over years of living in France.Around My French Table includes many superb renditions of the great classics: a glorious cheese-domed onion soup, a spoon-tender beef daube, and the "top-secret" chocolate mousse recipe that every good Parisian cook knows - but won't reveal. Hundreds of other recipes are remarkably easy: a cheese and olive quick bread, a three-star chef's Basque potato tortilla made with a surprise ingredient (potato chips), and an utterly satisfying roast chicken for "lazy people." Packed with lively stories, memories, and insider tips on French culinary customs, Around My French Table will make cooks fall in love with France all over again, or for the first time.

India: The Cookbook is the first comprehensive guide to Indian cooking, with over 1,000 recipes covering every aspect of India's rich and colourful culinary heritage. Unlike many other Indian cookbooks, it is written by an Indian culinary academic and cookbook author who lives and works in Delhi, and the recipes are a true reflection of how traditional dishes are really cooked all over India. They have been carefully edited to ensure that they are simple to follow and achievable in western kitchens, with detailed information about authentic cooking utensils and ingredients. Indian food has been hugely popular in the UK for many years, and the appetite for Indian food shows no sign of diminishing. Now, for the first time, a definitive, wide-ranging and authoritative book on authentic Indian food is available, making it simple to prepare your favourite Indian dishes at home, alongside less well-known dishes such as bataer masalydaar (marinated quails cooked with almonds, chillies and green cardamom), or sambharachi kodi (Goan prawn curry with coconut and tamarind). The comprehensive chapters on breads, pickles, spice pastes and chutneys contain a wide variety of recipes rarely seen in Indian cookbooks, such as bagarkhani roti (a rich sweet bread with raisins, cardamom and poppy seeds) and tamatar ka achar (tomato and mustard-seed pickle). India: The Cookbook is the only book on Indian food you'll ever need.

No one has done more to introduce the world to the authentic, flavorful cuisines of Mexico than Diana Kennedy. Acclaimed as the Julia Child of Mexican cooking, Kennedy has been an intrepid, indefatigable student of Mexican foodways for more than fifty years and has published several classic books on the subject, including The Cuisines of Mexico (now available in The Essential Cuisines of Mexico, a compilation of her first three books), The Art of Mexican Cooking, My Mexico, and From My Mexican Kitchen. Her uncompromising insistence on using the proper local ingredients and preparation techniques has taught generations of cooks how to prepare--and savor--the delicious, subtle, and varied tastes of Mexico.In Oaxaca al Gusto, Kennedy takes us on an amazing journey into one of the most outstanding and colorful cuisines in the world. The state of Oaxaca is one of the most diverse in Mexico, with many different cultural and linguistic groups, often living in areas difficult to access. Each group has its own distinctive cuisine, and Diana Kennedy has spent many years traveling the length and breadth of Oaxaca to record in words and photographs "these little-known foods, both wild and cultivated, the way they were prepared, and the part they play in the daily or festive life of the communities I visited." Oaxaca al Gusto is the fruit of these labors--and the culmination of Diana Kennedy's life's work.

Renowned and beloved author Maya Angelou returns to the kitchen - both hers and ours - with her second cookbook, filled with time-tested recipes and the intimate, autobiographical sketches of how they came to be. Inspired by Angelou's own dramatic weight loss, the focus here is on good food, well-made and eaten in moderation. When preparing for a party, for example, Angelou says, "Remember, cooking large amounts of food does not mean that you are obligated to eat large portions." When you create food that is full of flavor, you will find that you need less of it to feel satisfied, and you can use one dish to nourish yourself all day long.And oh, what food you will create! Savor recipes for Mixed-Up Tamale Pie, All Day and Night Cornbread, Sweet Potatoes McMillan, Braised Lamb with White Beans, and Pytt I Panna (Swedish hash.) All the delicious dishes here can be eaten in small portions, and many times a day. More important, they can be converted into other mouth-watering incarnations. So Crown Roast of Pork becomes Pork Tacos and Pork Fried Rice, while Roasted Chicken becomes Chicken Tetrazzini and Chicken Curry. And throughout, Maya Angelou's rich and wise voice carries the food from written word to body-and-soul-enriching experience.Featuring gorgeous illustrations throughout and Angelou's own tips and tricks on everything from portion control to timing a meal, Great Food, All Day Long is an essential reference for everyone who wants to eat better and smarter - and a delightful peak into the kitchen and the heart of a remarkable woman.