Recipes | Sybaritica

2008, Anness Ltd., ISBN-13: 978-1844764235

My wife and I were just trying to remember which one of us bought this book. I rather suspect it was her because, although I do enjoy flipping through it, she really enjoys it and has tried more recipes out of it than I have… Read more

2000, Hippocrene Books, ISBN-13: 978-0781808019

Although this book contains over 200 recipes (as noted on the cover) it is less a cookery book than it is an introduction to the spices and other essential ingredients in Indian cookery. It is very nicely illustrated, provides a lot of interesting information, and is one of the gems of my collection… Read more

1996, We-Chuan Publishing, ISBN-13: 978-0941676694

Since starting this blog, I have posted several reviews of cookery books from Wei-Chuan publishing. I generally like of all the books I have purchased so far and this latest one, which I only recently acquired, is one of the best I have come across yet… Read more

Years ago, while I was an impoverished law student, I was often forced to improvise meals with just a few ingredients. One evening, having just some bacon, tomatoes and spaghetti, I threw together a simple dish that was so good I have continued to make it to this day. I often add to the bare-bones recipe these days, but the simple preparation of bacon and tomatoes fried together and then tossed with pasta is still a favorite. For the longest time, I thought that I had invented something truly unique and it wasn’t until quite a few years later that I discovered that the Italians had long ago beaten me to the punch. My ‘invention’ is actually over a century old and is known in Italy, and now Italian restaurants everywhere, as pasta all’ Amatriciana…  Read more

2005, Japan Publications Trading, ISBN-13: 978-4889961812

This publication belongs to the very nice ‘Quick and Easy’ series and is a special favorite of my wife, who enjoys trying many different kinds of pickling methods. The name of the book is just a little bit inaccurate but, in this case, the inaccuracy works to the benefit of the reader rather than otherwise because, in addition to providing a very comprehensive of Japanese pickling methods, some varieties from other parts of the world are featured as well… Read more

1990 Ward Lock Ltd.  ISBN-13: 978-0706368611

This book is apparently part of the ‘International Gourmet’ series but, as yet, this is the first one of the set I have come across. I am always on the look-out for books focusing on specific regional cuisines rather than those dealing with general Chinese cookery but, these days, Cantonese cookbooks are more heavily represented than those of any other culinary school and it is hard to find ones that are special.  Unfortunately, there is not much about this particular publication to lift it above the growing crowd… Read more

2004, Times Editions, ISBN-13: 978-9812329608

In Chinese cuisine, almost all foods are categorized according to various qualities pertinent to the principles of Chinese Traditional medicine, and there are also quite a number of herbal ingredients that are used almost exclusively for their medicinal value. I only recently came across this very nice little book on the subject and I rather wish I had owned it before writing my post on Crocodile Meat Soup Mix, as it would have saved me quite a bit of research time… Read more

1984: Hilit Publishing Co. Ltd.  ISBN:0-914929-75-5

This book is part of the ‘Chinese Regional Cuisine Series’ published out of Taiwan. I purchased two others in the series, “Cantonese Cooking’ and ‘Peking Cooking’, nearly twenty years ago and they are the first cookery books I ever owned that were printed in both Chinese and English. When I came across a second hand copy of this particular volume at Amazon a while ago I snapped it up, as the series is really pretty decent…  Read more

2005 Pavilion Classic Cookery. ISBN-13: 978-1862057074

My paperback copy of this book appears to be a reprint of a 1990 edition that, apparently, was very lavishly illustrated. This reprint has no pictures whatsoever, unfortunately, but it is still a fairly decent cookery book despite failing to live up to the subtitle touting it as the ‘definitive guide to regional cooking’… Read more

2002: Oxmoor House  ISBN-13: 978-0848725907

This book is one of a several in the Williams-Sonoma ‘Savoring…’ series, all of which are beautiful to look at and pleasures to read. This, as are the others, is part travelogue, part culinary atlas and, as such is as much of a coffee-table book as it is a regular cookery publication…  Read more