Sokolov, former food editor of the New York Times
and author of The Saucier's Apprentice
and Great Recipes from the New York Times, throws down the gauntlet, rejecting all things fusion and trendy and touting tradition. While he leans toward French and Italian cuisine with dishes like Choucroute and Saltimbocca alla Romana, Sokolov includes American favorites like Apple Pie as well as international dishes that have made it into the North American repertoire like Tamales, Tempura, and Poori. The 101 recipes were selected for their fame and influence, or because they "represent whole categories of food—cannelloni for pasta, blanquette de veau for stews." Comparing himself to a professor teaching Shakespeare, Sokolov can come off as stodgy. He includes token non-Western dishes, like Hong Kong Salt Shrimp, with a sense of colonialist entitlement. Organized alphabetically, this "canon" is easy to use, but leaves the reader with no sense of continuity except for Sokolov's authoritative voice. In the end readers learn that the line between "old" and "new" has been illusory all along—Profiteroles au Chocolat, included here in their nouvelle cuisine form as dessert, began as an unsweetened main course, which Sokolov recommends bringing back. The best parts of this book are the well-researched, amusing introductions to each dish; this will be of interest to food historians and cultural mavens, who, ironically, may find it most useful as a jumping-off point for new creations. (Nov.)
