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For the record, I voted for KERRY
KR wrote:
> Oh also: Vote!
> (fellow US citizens of alt.food.asian)
>
> I voted this morning (Ohio) at around 6:30 when the polls opened, but I
> guess right now (11AM ET) there are tremendous lines outside the polls,
> and there already were at 7:30, even out in the middle of nowhere,
> according to a co-worker, who is registered in a more rural area of the
> county.
>
> krnntp
>
> KR wrote:
>
>> My one reservation on the Fuschia Dunlop book is that for all its
>> length, there aren't as many recipes as you would expect... she goes
>> for the "recipe plus a 3-page essay" style of cookbook design, where
>> each dish is placed in context and accompanied by an account of
>> origin, personal reminiscence or detailed explanation. Which is fine
>> and dandy in its own way - Sort of what I like in a cookbook actually,
>> having cut my teeth on Yamuna Devi's "The Art of Indian Vegetarian
>> Cooking" and Shizuo Tsuji's "Japanese Cooking - A Simple Art".
>> Recently got Hi Soo Shin Hepinstall's "Growing Up in a Korean Kitchen"
>> and it's along the same lines, even giving instructions for brewing
>> Korean style soy sauce. I guess what I find a little sad is that
>> Dunlop's is not as ambitious in scope as these other books, in terms
>> of number of recipes or varieties of dishes covered. The two things I
>> look to first are vegetable dishes, and sweets; there were far fewer
>> vegetable dishes than I expected, and the section with recipes for
>> sweets and street snacks was fleshed out by a bunch of descriptions of
>> snacks for which no recipe was provided in the book. Interesting to
>> read but *frustrating* in a cookbook. When I read about something in a
>> cookbook I want to cook it, dammit! :-) That goes for meat curing
>> too... Dunlop talks about lots of home meat curing going on in
>> Sichuan, but gives a recipe for bacon only. Overall: the glass is 3/4
>> full. Points for tackling Sichuan cuisine, points for striving for
>> authenticity, points for being detailed and interesting and unique...
>> points deducted for making a big, big deal about how important it is
>> in Sichuan cooking to cut the ingredients just so, and then not
>> provide drawings (let alone photos) of most of the recipes. Points
>> deducted for breathless excitement about using a cleaver :-) Points
>> deducted for not including more recipes, and for assuming readers will
>> most likely never have access to actual Chinese vegetables. I want a
>> good Sichuan radish recipe dammit! :-) I also want more info about
>> pickling and preserved food.
>>
>> My review above is festooned with smiley faces :-) to make the point
>> that I do not hate Fuschia Dunlop or this book. I just wish it were
>> more, and better.
>>
>> 2001 doesn't really count as new, but I recommend "Growing Up in a
>> Korean Kitchen".
>>
>> On Alan Davidson: I guess he has written the definitive work on
>> trifle. Also "The Oxford Companion to Food", but if it were my resume,
>> I'd want to highlight the trifle book myself (title: "Trifle").
>>
>> Davidson and his group are behind the VERY esoteric quarterly magazine
>> or small food journal "Petits Propos Culinaires". Go take a look! A
>> subscription would be a great Christmas present if the recipient is
>> just crazy interested in all food, from the Meditteranean through
>> Eastern Europe, Africa, and all parts of Asia, and all historical
>> periods, including points such as
>> * Analysis of actual menus and dishes served at the Lord Mayor of
>> London's annual banquet in the 1700's
>> * Fact: At certain times of year, wild partidges in parts of Greece
>> may be toxic to humans! (Not only a fact, but a named fact: "coturnism")
>> * Dried wild fruits of Iran
>>
>> krnntp
>>
>> Peter Dy wrote:
>>
>>> With Christmas coming up, I was wondering if there's any new or
>>> newish Asian food-related books out there that are unique and
>>> noteworthy?
>>>
>>> Here's three I can think of:
>>>
>>> 1. Fuchsia Dunlop. _Land of Plenty: Authentic Sichuan Recipes_.
>>> This one is from 2003, and has been mentioned several times here, so
>>> I won't say more about it, except to say: It's a nearly 400 page book
>>> devoted only to the Sichuan cuisine! Get it!
>>>
>>> 2. James D. McCawley. _The Eater's Guide to Chinese Characters_.
>>> This is a much-awaited reprint of a book first published in 1984. It
>>> has also been mentioned numerous times on this group. If you have
>>> any interest in food-related Chinese characters for whatever reason,
>>> the late University of Chicago linguist's book is a must. Though he
>>> seems to have meant it as a way to read Chinese-language menus, I use
>>> it as a reference dictionary.
>>>
>>> 3. Alan Davidson. _Fish and Fish Dishes of Laos_.
>>> Ok, I only just saw this book on Amazon last night--I don't have a
>>> copy and I've never held one in my hands. But one of my favorite
>>> food books in my library is Davidson's _Fruit: A Connoisseur's Guide
>>> and Cookbook_. That hardcover tome is filled with wonderful,
>>> full-page drawings of what seems like most every edible fruit in the
>>> world. It give scientific names, a list of what the fruit is called
>>> in other languages, and excellent descriptions. It even includes the
>>> Pili nut, native to the Philippines, which I didn't think any
>>> non-Filipino knew of--it's the nut with the highest oil content, and
>>> is awesome roasted and coated in a sugar syrup.
>>>
>>> Well, that book has been long out of print, as has been Davidson's
>>> _Seafood_ book, which is advertised on the flap of my fruit book.
>>> But on my recent trip to NYC, I found out that some of his old
>>> seafood books had been reprinted! One is _North Atlantic Seafood_
>>> and the other is _Mediterranean Seafood_. Both, like the fruit book,
>>> seem like excellent, one-of-a-kind reference books. And searching
>>> Amazon last night, I also came up with this intriguing-looking book
>>> on Laotion fish! Seems Davidson used to be the British ambassador to
>>> Laos. It was his first book, from 1975, and this is a reprint. If
>>> it is anything like his Fruit book, I'd highly recommend it,
>>> especially considering that we are damned lucky that a book on the
>>> fish of Laos is being reprinted. I can't imagine the printing
>>> continuing for long. Oh, and there's also a reprint of his _Seafood
>>> of South-East Asia_!
>>>
>>> Has any one seen any of these Davidson books? He's the one who wrote
>>> the much acclaimed Oxford Companion to Food, which I've never looked at.
>>>
>>> http://tinyurl.com/6cnxy -- Laos book.
>>>
>>> http://tinyurl.com/3vf2n -- Seafood of SE Asia book.
>>>
>>> So, any other new books out there? I seem to recall reading about a
>>> new Goan cookbook somewhere.
>>>
>>> Peter
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
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