Our reviews of American cookbooks reflect our own desire to see the traditional American recipes that have evolved from one region of America to another. We look for authenticity, for the influences developed through the history of America as an immigrant nation, gifted with recipes from cuisines around the world, from the determination of various ethnic groups to maintain the foods of their previous culture. These elements are present in American cookbooks, as is the pioneer grit that made our forbears develop recipes in the face of austerity.
We like to review cookbooks that reflect the old as well as the new attitudes to food in our culture - the contemporary desire for seasonal and local recipes. Our reviews reveal our own delight in discovering cookbooks containing creole cooking, Tex-Mex foods adapted from our neighbor to the south, the great cooking from the African-American culture of the south, as well as that from the north. Whether it's Boston Baked Beans or Shrimp Gumbo, these cookbooks speak of history even as they give us a wide variety of recipes to make our diets interesting and versatile.
As always, we hope you enjoy reading our cookbook reviews.
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