Time-Life Foods of the World

N.B. 2-Nov-21: Just because I finished my project of reading and cooking from these books doesn't mean that I've stopped using then. You can find them through the "cookbook code" listed by each book, or at the Facebook group Cooking Through Time-Life Foods of the World. I created this group hoping others would join in, but that hasn't really happen, so I frequently skip posting there nowadays. 

Books completed

• 1Jan14-15Feb14: A Quintet of Cuisines (Q, TLQuint), by Michael and Frances Field, 1970.
  What I cooked:
  • Erwtensoep (p20)
  • Rösti (p95)
  • Banista (p6)
  • Schol uit de Oven (p35)
  • El Labm el M'qali (Morocco)—Lamb with Lemons and Olives (p62) and Kiopoolu (Bulgaria)—Eggplant and Pepper Spread (p104)
  • Brik bil Anchouwa (p105), served with Slata Mechouia—Roasted-Tomato-and-Pepper Salad (p102)
  • Dulma—Zucchini Stuffed with Lamb and Rice (p85), served with Salatit Batata—Potato Salad with Caraway (p101)
  • Qodban—Marinated Lamb Kebabs (p65), served with Salatit Batata—Potato Salad with Caraway (p101) and Slata Mechouia—Roasted Tomato and Pepper Salad (p102)
  • Barszcz Wigilijny (Christmas Eve Beet Soup) (p15)
  What I thought:
  • This is a bit the odd book out in the series, covering five different cuisines. At least for the Dutch part (actually the Low Countries, including Belgium and Luxembourg), the survey seemed to me very shallow. North African cooking (Tunisia, Algerian, and Morocco) has been trendy lately and the food is especially delicious, so it's a shame to see that area slighted; it could have used a book of its own imho. Most of the writing read like magazine articles from the old Gourmet magazine, travelogs very author-centric. As a whole, I enjoyed the food, but didn't especially enjoy the read. 


• 1Feb14-15Mar14: Cooking of Spain and Portugal (SP, TLS&P), by Peter S. Feibleman, 1969.
  What I cooked:
  • Merluza a la Gallega—Poached Hake with Potatoes and Tomato Sauce (p21)
  • Arroz con Pollo (p59) with Natillas (p90) for dessert
  • Potaje de Vigilia (p6), served with Broa (p83)
  • Tortilla de Patate (p67)
  • Ervilhas Guisadas à Portuguêsa—Peas Portuguese (p69)
  • Figos Recheados—Dried Figs Stuffed with Almonds and Chocolate (p103)
  What I thought:
  • The hardback was a much better read than Quintet. Recipes are I tried were pretty good, but a bit on the oily side. Also a bit blander than I expected.


• 1Mar14-15Apr14: Cooking of China (CHI, TLChina), by Emily Hahn, 1968.
  What I cooked:
  • Stir-Fried Rice Stick Noodles with Shrimp and Vegetables) (p47)
  • Stir-Fried Spiced Cabbage (p34)
  • Stir-Fried Crabmeat with Bean Curd (p61) and Cucumber Salad with Spicy Dressing (p40)
  What I thought:
  • A pretty good read, this one, but not too inspiring cooking-wise. Many recipes look to be fairly bland. Instructions are sometimes very poorly written.


• 1Apr14-15May14: American Cooking (AM, TLAmer), by Dale Brown, 1968.
  What I cooked:
  • Old-Fashioned Vanilla Ice Cream (p106)
  • Broiled Squab with Lemon-Soy Butter (p55), served with Spoonbread (p89)
  • Deviled Crab (p71)
  • Strawberry Shortcake (p90)
  • Artichokes Stuffed with Shrimp and Green Goddess Dressing (p70)
  What I thought:
  • Another pretty good read. Very 70s recipes, and some not all that "American", to my American eye. Not all that many that looked really interesting.


• 1May14-15Jun14: Cooking of India (IND, TLIndia), by Santha Rama Rau, 1969.
  What I cooked:
  • Shahjahani Biryani, Spiced Saffron Rice with Lamb (p40)
  • Baingan ka Tikka (Baked Small Eggplants with Curried Vegetable Stuffing (p18) 
  What I thought:
  • Enjoyed the stories of the author's grandmothers from north and south. Disappointed that Michael Field dabbled in the recipes adapting them for US palates.


• 1Jun14-15Jul14: Cooking of Scandinavia (SCA, TLScand), by Dale Brown, 1968.
  What I cooked:
  • Sautéed Flounder with Shrimp (p19) and Fresh Mushroom Salad (p13)
  What I thought:
  • A nice read, but not very inspiring cooking-wise.


• 1Jul14-15Aug14: American Cooking: Creole and Acadian (CRE, TLCreole), by Peter S. Feibleman, 1971.
  What I cooked:
  • Shrimp-Stuffed Mirliton (p102)
  What I thought:
  • The best read so far. Feibleman is from New Orleans so we get a fond insider's look at the local cooking.
     
• 1Sep14-15Oct14: Cooking of Provincial France (PRF, TLProvFr), by MFK Fisher, 1968.
  What I cooked:
  • Crème Caramel (p102)
  • Filets de Sole Bonne Femme (p38)
  • Tarte de Tomate (p50 hardback)
  • Poulet Sauté à la Bordelaise (Sautéed Chicken with Shallots and Artichoke Hearts) (p43)
  What I thought:
  • Disappointing, really. The text starts out pretty good, but turns a bit thin. Many of the mains seem too heavy and the veggies uninteresting (although I would like to try the potatoes Anna sometime)—maybe this is a change of taste from the 70s. There are not that many things that I identify as provincial and quite a few that I think of as "high" French cooking, e.g., hollandaise sauce. I did laugh at the picture of the onion family that showed scallions/green onions. I've never seen these here.
     
• 1Oct14-15Nov14: Cooking of Germany (GER, TLGer), by Nika Standen Hazelton, 1969.
  What I cooked:
  • Hot Beer Soup (Heisse Biersuppe) (p4)
  • Potato Soup with Cucumber (Feine Kartoffelsuppe mit Gurken) (p5)
  • Hoppelpoppel—Eggs with Bacon, Onions, and Potatoes (p67)
  What I thought:
  • A good read, not very inspiring recipes. 


• 1Nov14-15Dec14: American Cooking : The Eastern Heartland (EH, TLEastern), by Jose Wilson, 1971.
  What I cooked:
  • Shaker Potato-Leek Soup (p9)
  What I thought:
  • (I've forgotten, but don't appear to have been very inspired to cook from it.)
     
• 1Dec14-15Jan15: Wines and Spirits (WS, TLWine), by Alec Waugh.
  What I cooked:
  • Angel's Dreams (p33)
  What I thought:
  • A good read, well-written and enjoyable. We don't do much in the way of mixed drinks but the Angel's Dreams was fun. Some recipes for finger food.
     
• 1Jan15-15Feb15:  Russian Cooking (RUS, TLRus), by Helen and George Papashvily, 1969.
  What I cooked:
  • Roast Chicken in Walnut Sauce (p54) and String Beans in Walnut Sauce (p38)
  • Fish Cakes with Mustard Sauce (p42) and Cucumber-and-Sour-Cream Salad (p30)
  • Yoghurt-and-Barley Soup with Herbs (p23)
  • Egg Noodle-and-Spinach Casserole (p37)
  • Skewered Pork with Pomegranate Syrup (p63) with Rice Pilaf with Dried Fruit and Nuts (p68) and String Beans in Sour Cream and Tomato Sauce (p40)
  What I thought:
  • A good read and many more interesting recipes than I expected. Covers Russia and soviet republics. Interesting look at USSR at their height.
     
• 1Feb15-15Mar15: American Cooking : The Great West (GW, TLWest), by Jonathan N. Leonard, 1971.
  What I cooked:
  • Shrimp and Chilies with Sherry Sauce (p43)
  • Lemon Chicken (p57)
  • Mormon Split-Pea Soup (p19)
  • Enchiladas de Jocoque (p124)
  What I thought:
  • A bit of a dissatisfying book. The chapter on Texas was fun, after all I'm *from* there. Some of the rest was pretty ho-hum. And a whole chapter on San Francisco restaurants? No thanks. Recipes I tried were only so-so.
     
• 1Mar15-15May15:  Cooking of Japan (JAP, TLJapan), by Rafael Steinberg, 1969.
  What I cooked:
  • Toriwasa—Chicken and Parsley with Horseradish Sauce (p30)
  What I thought:
  • Too much emphasis on restaurant food and not enough home-cooked. Interesting look at the Japanese way of thinking about food. Too many ingredients not easily available in rural France.
     
• 1May15-15Jun15: Cooking of the Caribbean Islands (CAR, TLCarib), by Linda Wolfe, 1970.
  What I cooked:
  • Camarones a la Criolla—Shrimp in Spicy Tomato Sauce (p24) and Concombres en Salade—Cucumber Salad (p24)
  What I thought:
  • A good read. Quite a few recipes to try.
     
• 1Jun15-15Jul15: American Cooking : The Melting Pot (MP, TLMelting), by  James P Shenton, Angelo M Pellegrini, Dale Brown, and Peter Wood, 1971.
  What I cooked:
  • Hideg Kapros Tokleves—Cold Cream-of-Squash Soup (p24)
  What I thought:
  • Somewhat interesting, but a lot of repeated food. 


• 1Jul15-15Aug15: African Cooking (AFR, TLAfrica), by  Laurens van der Post, 1968.
  What I cooked:
  • Yassa au Poulet—Marinated Chicken Braised in Lemon-and-Onion Sauce (p68) with Green Beans with Sour Sauce (p84)
  • Date and Onion Salad (p92), from 2010
  • Sweet Potato Pudding (p123)
  • Swartzuur—Lamb Stew with Tamarind and Dumplings (p33)
  What I thought:
  • A very interesting read. Have marked lots of recipes to try. 


• 1Sep15-15Nov: Latin American Cooking (LAT, TLLatin), by  Jonathan N. Leonard, 1968.
  What I cooked:
  • Pollo Rebozado—Cornmeal-Coated Chicken in Tomato Sauce (p34) with Arroz Verde (p84)
  What I thought:
  • Didn't enjoy reading this book  as much as others. Maybe I'm in a testy mood, but Leonard seems very patronizing to the native cultures. Also I hate it when people call tomatillos green tomatoes with no further explanation. Very misleading. Found the whole book irritating. Hope the recipes are good.


• 1Nov15-31Dec15:  Pacific and Southeast Asian Cooking (PSA, TLPacSEA), by  Rafael Steinberg, 1970.
  What I cooked:
  • Banana Cow (p116), Lime-Marinated Scallops with Coconut Sauce (p9), Malaysian Curry Puffs (p7), Saté Ajam—Broiled Skewered Marinated Chicken (p26), and Urab—Vegetable Salad with Spiced Coconut Dressing (p93)
  What I thought:
  • An enjoyable read. Some sections were stronger than others, probably reflecting Steinberg's experience in the area. 


• 1Jan16-15Feb16:  Classic French Cooking (CF, TLClassic), by Craig Claiborne, 1970.
  What I cooked:
  • Poulet Sauté Boivin—Sautéed Chicken with Artichoke Hearts, Onions and Potatoes (p52)
  What I thought:
  • For the most part, I enjoyed the read and the history of fine cooking in France, but I wasn't much inspired to cook from it. This food is largely "handled" too much for my taste, deconstructed and reconstructed. Flashy but not inspiring.
     
• 16Feb16-31Mar16: American Cooking : New England (NE, TLNewEng), by Jonathan N. Leonard, 1970.
  What I cooked:
  • Restigouche Salmon (p35)
  • Beefsteak Pie (p52)
  • Chocolate Bread Pudding (p132)
  • Asparagus Ambush (p76)
  What I thought:
  • A good read. Lots of seafood, but lots of other things too. I've tagged many recipes to try.


• 1Apr16-15May16:  Cooking of the British Isles (BR, TLBrit), by Adrian Bailey, 1971.
  What I cooked:
  • Irish Soda Bread (p18)
  • Potted Shrimp (p45)
  • Beef Roll (p50)
  • Grapefruit Marmalade (p6)
  • Plum Jam (p5)
  What I thought:
  • Another good read. Not many main dishes that appealed, but lots of other things. But I still don't know what to substitute for English bacon.
  
  
• 16May16-30Jun16: American Cooking : The Northwest (NW, TLNorthW), by Dale Brown, 1971.
  What I cooked:
  • Rhubarb Ring with Strawberries (p115)
  • Green Bean Salad (p12)
  • Mushroom-and-Potato Salad (p6)
  • Lingcod with Garlic and Tomatoes (p31)
  • Blue-Cheese Salad Dressing (p11)
  • Potato Salad with Bacon Bits (p13)
  • Basque Potatoes (p77)
  What I thought:
  • An enjoyable read. Surprising how far east the Northwest extends. More than any of the other American Cooking volumes, this one seems to me like American cooking that I grew up with.
  
  
• 1Jul16-15Aug16: Cooking of Vienna's Empire (VE, TLVienna), by Joseph Weschberg, 1968.
  What I cooked:
  • Saur Rahmsauce für Salat—Lemon and Sour-Cream Salad Dressing (p67)
  • Gefülte Melonen—Melons Stuffed with Cherries and Whipped Cream (p81)
  • Schinkenfleckerln—Little Ham and Noodle Patches (p54)
  • Wiener Schnitzel–Breaded Veal Cutlets (p36) and Fazolové Lusky na Paprice–Green Beans Paprika (p58)
  • Paprika Schnitzel—Veal Cutlets with Paprika (p35) and Zucchetti mit Dill—Zucchini with Dill Sauce (p64)
  What I thought:
  • Can't say exactly why, but didn't enjoy this read as much as other. Recipes have been ok. Many need to be cooked in cooler weather.


• 16Aug16-30Sep16: Cooking of the Middle East vide Middle-Eastern Cooking (MID, TLMidEast), by Harry G. Nickles, 1969.
  What I cooked:
  • Psari Savori—Fish Fillets with Tomato and Wine Vinegar Sauce (p36) and Salat Znonit Beshament—Radish and Sour Cream Salad (p87) 
  • Khoresh Bademjan—Braised Lamb and Eggplant (p35)
  • Coucou Bademjan—Thick Eggplant-and-Egg Pancake (p72) and Borani—Cold Spinach and Yoghurt Salad (p86)
  • Domates Yemite me Rizi—Baked Tomatoes Stuffed with Rice (p82)
  • Salatet Malfoof—Cabbage Salad (p10) and Mihallabiyya—Cold Rice-Flour Dessert (p104)
  • Kota Kapama—Braised Chcken in Tomato and Cinnamon Sauce (p55)
  • Cacik—Cold Yoghurt and Cucumber Soup (p19) and Paludah—Fresh Melon and Peach Compote (p112)
  • Kizarmiş Patlican—Fried Eggplant with Green Peppers and Tomato Sauce (p73)
  • Lubya Khadra Billahm—Lamb with Green String Beans (p33)
  What I thought:
  • A really enjoyable read. It's too bad that the political situation in this area has deteriorated so badly.


• 1Oct16-15Nov16: American Cooking : Southern Style (SS, TLSouth), by Eugene Walter, 1971.
  What I cooked:
  • Hominy Grits Soufflé (p13)
  • Crab Cakes (p35) with Tartar Sauce (p77) and Mrs. Marston's Sauce Mayonnaise (p75)
  • Maryland Fried Chicken with Cream Gravy (p38)
  • Shrimp Pilau (p29)
  • Turkey Hash (p14) and Lacy-edged Batty Cakes (p14)
  What I thought:
  • A really enjoyable read, written by a real southerner with the perspective to give a good view on what southern cooking is about.


• 16Nov16-31Dec16: Cooking of Italy (ITA, TLItaly), by Waverly Root, 1969.
  What I cooked:
  • Riso al Limone (p20) and Broccoli alla Romana—Broccoli Braised with White Wine  (p35)
  • Scallopine al Marsala—Sautéed Veal Scallops with Marsala Sauce (p65), Broccoli alla Romana—Broccoli Braised with White Wine (p35), and Pere Ripiene—Pears Stuffed with Gorgonzola Cheese (p89)
  • Polenta Pasticciata—Polenta with Cream and Mushrooms (p22)
  • Bistecca all Fiorentina—Broiled Marinated Steak (p69)
  What I thought:
  • I expected this would be a great book to finish with. I was a bit disappointed with it. I've read and enjoyed other Waverly Root things, but didn't really get engrossed by this one, except for the first chapter. (On the other hand, I'm having a similar problem with a James Beard book I'm reading right now, so maybe this is my problem.) The recipes seem really ordinary to me. I'm much more inspired by my old Marcella Hazan books. Although my edition is newer, the two books merged into Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking are only a few years newer than Root's book.