March 2002 Cookbook Reviews

Magic in the Kitchen
by Jan Bartelsman

Artisan

ISBN# 1-57965-173-9
Suggested Retail Price: $50.00 or as low as $8.96 from Amazon.com!

Not just a cookbook, Bartelsman has given us a cavalcade of American Chefs. The author toured around the United States for about a year in order to meet, interview and photograph the culinary masters. The collected gems are gathered into a handsome coffeetable book. These great chefs have provided recipes and personal comments to fill this book with insightful contents. The names of these chefs are a Who's-Who list of the American culinary elite. Of course, we lead off with Julia Child, the original television mentor and teacher to so many of the great amateur chefs in our own little kitchens. She introduced American viewers to French cooking and we love her. She tells us that she has never had her own restaurant because she knows too much about the business and that she herself is not a chef.

Nobuyuki Maqtsuhisa is another contributor among the 44 Chefs that were integral to this beautiful cookbook, which includes many names you will recognize, and some you might not, but whom you will enjoy meeting as well as trying out their excellent recipes.

Food To Die For: Secrets from Kay Scarpetta's Kitchen
by Patricia Cornwell, Marlene Brown

Putnam Adult

ISBN# 0-399-14799-3
Suggested Retail Price: $27.95 or as low as $5.22 from Amazon.com!

You are invited to enter the kitchen of Kay Scarpetta, the fictional character created by Cornwell in her mysteries about a forensic scientist. Did you read "Point of Origin" where she and Benton are off for a vacation on Hilton Head? Scarpetta tells him to stock up on pecans and tomatoes, among other tasty items, so they can eat well if they are snowbound... and they are. Kay whips up a wonderful New Year's meal. For that book, Kay also prepared a breakfast bagel for Marino, her policeman buddy, and couple of killer salads. The cookbook is put together in sections that represent her books and their plots. There are color photos of some of the mouth-watering dishes that you too can master. Remember that Kay is Italian, so there are some major dishes from that rich culinary heritage.

Fans of the Scarpetta mysteries as well as fans of good food will enjoy this cookbook that features down-to-earth, really makable recipes. Nothing too exotic here, just very satisfying meals from an excellent author.