Reviews for And Roses for the Table: A Garden of Recipe

The average rating for And Roses for the Table: A Garden of Recipe based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-04-15 00:00:00 Venancio Davila This is a seminary book about the provenance and foodways of New Orleans cooking - a rare American cuisine that's indigenous to the country. You open it thinking you'll be even more schooled in the ways of Bananas Foster, oysters, pralines, étouffée... but turns out, that's too common denominator. The food historians digging in here are for real. They've combed through historic cookbooks, journals, newspapers, pamphlets, and are here to edify that the real deal of Creole and Cajun (they only use "Acadian") cooking is not always what you see on Emeril or the gourmand palaces, but kitchen traditions and time-faded street food. Now, from these, blooms the more recognizable dishes. But until you understand their life lines, you're only licking the surface. So, I learned about mirliton and shrimp, Creole tomato salad, Creole cream cheese, trout amandine, turtle soup and daube glacée, also stages for the exploration of roux, the frugality of New Orleans immigrants, and endless debates on who brought what from where first. From the French bread chapter rises theses on the muffuletta and po'boy. I couldn't help but draw countless parallels between how the evolution of this cuisine and my hometown Singapore's, from the tropical climate that nurtures certain produce and immigrants' inventiveness in evoking food of their native lands to regret of cooking shortcuts and the dimming of slow cooking rituals. When you have several academics writing chapters that each has the clout to stand on its own as an individual paper, the problem is certain histories are invoked and other perspectives rehashed. If your cup of cafe brulot is half empty, you'd find it repetitive. If it's half full, you accept this as necessary refreshing. If you put a beignet on top, you feel fortunate for this immaculate presentation of meticulous research, words the conduit of their authors' passion for this food popping off the pages like Cherries Jubilee flambé flames. You lap every legend, lore and folktale up, for they serve as the perfect garnish to one of the world's best cuisines.

Review # 2 was written on 2009-11-03 00:00:00 John Helfrich This is a neat book. I've not read anything like it before. Much New Orleans lore circulates through the stories of classic foods (and two highly important drinks) of the city. My favorite chapters may be the two on the Sazerac and Cafe Brulot. At any rate, I could go for one of either right now.