Comments: The book is a collection of recipes for the most well-known regional specialties found in the United States, ranging from Macadamia Nut Pie and California Roll to Key Lime Pie and Maine Lobster Rolls, and everything in between. Among the 130 recipes are dozens of appetizers, soups, breads, sandwiches, main dishes, desserts, and drinks from all over the country. Are there recipes that are missing? Sure, people will be able to think of some dish from their part of the country that deserves to be in the book, but we think the selection and geographical representation is pretty good.
The author also fills the book with anecdotes, stories, and historical notes on the dishes, as well as to the extent possible the original recipe. Again, you may quibble over some ingredients and procedures of the recipes you know best, and some recipes may have been simplified to make them more practical for today's cooks, but this is a great snapshot of many of the important regional American dishes. Some recipes are very old; some quite modern.
Produced in black & white only, the overall look of the interior of the book is a little grim, and the font used for the recipes is a hair too light. We'd also like to see the recipes categorized regionally in the index.
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