- Hardcover: 288 pages
- Publisher: Random House; 1 edition (Oct 14 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0375509178
- ISBN-13: 978-0375509179
- Product Dimensions: 20.7 x 2.5 x 26.2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 1.1 Kg
- Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #301,920 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
According to food historian Segan, we inherited much of what we now think of as "American" food from the English: "The Pilgrims who arrived at Plymouth Rock were Shakespeare's contemporaries and they brought their cookbooks from England." Updating dozens of classic Elizabethan recipes, Segan leads a culinary foray into Shakespeare's time. Each recipe is supplemented with a historical note that places the dish in context. For instance, Individual Meat Pies with Cointreau Marmalade were served by vendors catering to the theater crowd. The recipes have been adapted for the modern kitchen: all references to cauldrons have been removed. Section titles are in period English (Kickshaws instead of Appetizers, Fysshe instead of Fish, Pottage instead of Soups), but Renaissance scholars are not the only readers who will get a kick out of this book. Its playful tone, fascinating side-notes, and apt citations from the Bard's plays make this book as fun to read as it is to cook from. And for the person who spends time in the kitchen hoping to satisfy curiosity as well as appetite, recipes like Lemony Sweet Potatoes with Dates and Lobster Tails with Wildflowers are sure to appeal. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Not since Lynne Rossetto Kasper's lauded The Splendid Table (1992) introduced cooks to the world of the seventeenth-century Italian kitchen has a historical investigation turned up so many compelling recipes as has Francine Segan in Shakespeare's Kitchen. Although not a literal gleaning of recipes from Shakespeare's plays and poetry, this volume delves into sixteenth- and seventeenth-century English cookbooks and makes them accessible, reproducible, and attractive. Segan presents each original recipe in its quaint, abbreviated form. Working from that sketchy data, she faithfully converts the antique into instructions that an experienced cook can understand and can reproduce either for a special party or for an adventuresome family. Although reading the original recipe and comparing it with its modern version makes the process look virtually transparent, it's clear that Segan spent hours in a kitchen testing proportions and measurements to make dishes palatable. Simple cauliflower chowder or Italian pea pottage show the Elizabethan fascination with exotic spices such as mace and anise seed. Kids will get a giggle out of the scatological association in the original name of the airy dumplings floating in a thirteenth-century Portuguese soup. Royals watchers will delight in Queen Elizabeth's Fine Cake and the spicy scones named King James Biscuits. Renaissance "Apple" and Steak Pie may serve as a spectacular focus for an elegant dinner party. Segan's appendix gives clever ideas for wording invitations to dinner parties featuring the book's recipes. Students of both history and literature may mine Shakespeare's Kitchen for inspiration for class projects and celebrations. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Only tried it once but....,
By
This review is from: Shakespeare's Kitchen: Renaissance Recipes for the Contemporary Cook (Hardcover)
I used the spinach fritters recipe from this book. From that simple experience I can tell you the author has NOT trialed their own recipe redaction. There was a potentially disastrous mistake, bad in original form and shocking when multiplying the recipe times ten to serve a feast with royalty present. Simple mistake translating a manche (loaf) of bread into a slice, but the difference is huge. The recipe once repaired was fabulous and brought rave reviews from the hall, however. I'd recommend this book without question but check the translation where there is any question.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Shakespeare's Kitchen : Renaissance Recipes for the Contempo,
By
This review is from: Shakespeare's Kitchen: Renaissance Recipes for the Contemporary Cook (Hardcover)
British food, renowned for its lack of appeal, provokes gentle chortles of derision when mentioned in juxtaposition with a word like extraordinary. These two books disabuse readers of the notion that this has always been the case. British Food describes the glories-and the decline-of the nation's cuisine over the centuries, while Shakespeare's Kitchen translates a particular era for modern cooks. Spencer, former food editor of the Guardian and author of several cookbooks, intriguingly suggests that early modern British cooking was more influenced by Mediterranean and Arab fare than French. For example, the technique of cooking with almonds to create white dishes was the gift of returning Crusaders. Spencer traces the country's lamentable decline in cuisine through the Reformation, Puritanism, and the Industrial Revolution, noting that Britons gradually lost a knowledge of wild foodstuffs and the time in their day to gather and cook more than the most convenient foods. Modern Britons would not recognize the impressive lists of ingredients their ancestors used. Readers may, thus, find the glossary and appendixes of British edible flora and traditional dishes to be particularly valuable. Segan, a food historian and contributor to the New York Food Museum, offers a lavishly illustrated cookbook that goes beyond the usual ingredients and step-by-step instructions. Drawn in by a photograph, readers will not only encounter a tempting recipe but also an accompanying text on the provenance of the dish and how it was modernized. Better still, Segan frequently offers the original recipe from Elizabethan texts, allowing one to compare the styles of written recipes. Name-dropping Shakespeare is a marketing gimmick, perhaps, for while the recipes include quotations from the Bard, the book is about Elizabethan cooking, not food from Shakespearean works. The reader who has first enjoyed Spencer's book will recognize much found in Segan's book and likely appreciate it all the more. British Food would fit well in academic and public libraries for its unique view of British history, while Shakespeare's Kitchen is recommended for public libraries.-
5.0 out of 5 stars
A winning recipe,
By Basbenee (USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Shakespeare's Kitchen: Renaissance Recipes for the Contemporary Cook (Hardcover)
I bought this book for my husband, who loves Shakespeare's works, history and cooking. This book is perfect for anyone with those passions (especially all together). A bit of history is included throughout, along with original recipes gleaned from Renaissance texts. Quotes from the Bard's plays are peppered about, before each recipe, etc., and most of the recipes have been beautifully photographed, just another way to whet the appetite. The recipes are fun, do-able, a little different, yet not so far out there that you'd never try them. And in the back are suggestions for parties, invitations and so on. A delight for fans of cooking, cookbook collectors and for bibliophiles with taste.
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