Mushrooms: Mushroom Recipes by Leading Chefs from Around the Globe

Rating:
Summary: Mushroom fan enjoys book
Review: I bought this book more as a fan of wild mushrooms than as a cook, but I think it is fairly enjoyable. Although there are a few exceptions, most of the recipes in this book do use mushrooms as the centerpiece ingredient. The photography is excellent; some of the dishes were so astonishingly beautiful -- yet relatively simple -- that I actually went out and made them (I'm more an armchair chef than a practicing one). And they were excellent. The maki zushi is highly recommended. The format of the book (with east, west, and fusion sections) was also interesting and visually lovely. My only criticism is that there could have (or should have) been a more thorough treatment of how to prepare and obtain the mushrooms. There was little commentary on the merits of fresh versus dry or how the actual freshness of the mushroom (those sold "fresh" in stores usually aren't) affects the dish. Overall a great book, though, and fun to flip through as well as cook from.