Life and Food in the Basque Country

Rating:
Summary: No ordinary cookbok
Review: I've been wanting to practice European cooking for sometime, so I decided to start with Europe's first family, the Basques. This is a continent that takes pride in its sophisticated culinary tastes, and this cookbook shows that the Basques are no exception. The section on wild mushrooms alone demonstrates the refinement of Basque cuisine. The recipes are excellent (although they can be quite difficult), but I was most impressed by the author's prose apart from the recipes. This is one of the few cookbooks I've read that qualifies as good literature, and it deserves to be reviewed and appreciated as such. Moments of lyrical excellence shine through even in translation, and Sevilla should be commmended for crafting such a unique work. Its almost an anthropological study, but in the new style that shies away from dry exposition in favor of a more personal engagement. I recommend this book to cooks and readers alike.

Rating:
Summary: No ordinary cookbok
Review: I've been wanting to practice European cooking for sometime, so I decided to start with Europe's first family, the Basques. This is a continent that takes pride in its sophisticated culinary tastes, and this cookbook shows that the Basques are no exception. The section on wild mushrooms alone demonstrates the refinement of Basque cuisine. The recipes are excellent (although they can be quite difficult), but I was most impressed by the author's prose apart from the recipes. This is one of the few cookbooks I've read that qualifies as good literature, and it deserves to be reviewed and appreciated as such. Moments of lyrical excellence shine through even in translation, and Sevilla should be commmended for crafting such a unique work. Its almost an anthropological study, but in the new style that shies away from dry exposition in favor of a more personal engagement. I recommend this book to cooks and readers alike.