cover image A Reader's Cookbook

A Reader's Cookbook

Judith Choate, Red Rock (www.redrockpress.com), $29.95 (256p) ISBN 9781933176345

Choate, co-author of New American Classics and the French Culinary Institute's Fundamental Techniques of Classic Cuisine and Fundamental Techniques of Classic Pastry Arts (a James Beard award-winner), dumbs it down – way down – in this rote collection of regional recipes. Geared toward book clubs, Choate organizes her recipes by region, allowing clubs to create menus based on a book's setting or author's homeland. Recipes are scaled to accommodate large groups, enabling book-lovers to make enough Stuffed Mushrooms or Boston Baked Beans to feed an army, and enough of the Southern sweet Bourbon Balls to stock a store. Most of her American fare is as predictable as it is pedestrian (Buffalo Chicken Wings are par for the course), though the occasional international recipe surprises: Feijoada, a meaty Brazilian stew, perfect Turkish coffee, and the Russian drink Kvas lend an air of authenticity to clubs working their way through Anna Karenina. But not even a bottomless glass of Southwest Margaritas (serves 12) can save the book; its cheap layout, seemingly random quotes from famous authors, and the inclusion of dishes as basic as Deviled Eggs make this an easy one to skip. (Oct.)