...all reflect a boom in the cookbook publishing business. A paperback reprint will lower the cost to the purchaser, and also give a publisher a chance to correct egregious errors or add a postscript. Some will reissue a book in paper covers with a new layout or photos. Others will rearrange existing material to present it as more informative text while keeping the focus tight. Some magazines will reissue popular or classic recipes in an "easy" format. Here are some recent "re-editions"...
22.FAVORITE RECIPES WITH HERBS. Revised and Updated (Good Books, 2017, 337 pages, ISBN 978-1-68099-204-5 $17.99 USD paperbound) is by Dawn Ranck Hower and Phyllis Good. It was last published in 2003 as a spiral bound book. Here it is revised, with an additional author, Phyllis Good (both ladies are responsible for selling millions of cookbooks). Hundreds of easy preps have been enlivened with full colour photos. Not every herb is here, but those you will most likely encounter include basil, parsley, rosemary, bay leaf, lemon balm, thyme, lovage, chives, mint, sage, tarragon, oregano, marjoram, dill and cilantro. I did not run across any savory. The 14 herbs are all discussed separately, while the recipes are arranged from apps to desserts. There is an alphabetical index to the recipes and an index to the foods by name of herb, subdivided by course. Typical are lemon thyme cookies, rosemary garlic stir-fry, and tarragon chicken salad. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there are tables of metric equivalents. Quality/price rating: 87.
23.FABULOUSLY FRENCH COOKING (Skyhorse Publishing, 2015, 2017, 216 pages, ISBN 978-1-5107-2113-5, $24.99 USD hardbound) is by Cathleen Clarity, a professional chef from the US Midwest who now lives in Paris and offers cooking classes. It comes with some heavy duty log rolling (including Alice Waters). The bok was originally published in Germany in 2015; this is it's first appearance in North America. She's got a dozen menus with 70 classic but simple and elegant preps. Presumably these are from her classes as she gives instructions and professional advice on prepping, cooking, and entertaining. Menus include a spring family lunch, a ladies' lunch, lunch for teens, Saturday night dinner from the fish market, other Saturday night dinners for meat lovers and autumn harvests, and one menu for "The French Chicken" (caramelized chicken wings, chicken consomme with dumplings, stuffed chicken thighs, and a rice pudding for dessert). Very readable with good leading, type font and white space. A good book for beginners or those who need a menu for ideas for a special meal. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there are tables of metric equivalents. Quality/price rating: 86
24.SUSHI; taste and technique (DK Books, 2002, 2017, 256 pages, ISBN 978-1-4654-2984-1 $20 USD hardbound) is by Kimiko Barber and Hiroki Takemura. Kimiko specializes in writing about Japanese food and culture; Hiroki has been a sushi chef for decades and now works as one in Turkey. DK originally published the book in 2002; this is the revised edition, some 15 years later. It's a basic book covering definitions, etiquette, beverages, utensils, ingredients, and the prime preps. Other basic chapters cover fish, shellfish and roe. Then there are six sections on the basic sushi: scattered sushi, stuffed, pressed, rolled, hand-formed, and sashimi. There is a two page glossary which is mainly translations for ingredients or equipment (e.g., gari = pickled ginger). Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements with some metric, but there is no table of equivalents. Quality/price rating: 86
25.SALADS & DRESSINGS (DK Books, 2017, 192 pages, ISBN 978-1-4654-6199-5 $14.95 USD paperbound) is a publisher's series book, with reprinted preps from 16 previous books, such as The Cooking Book (2008) through to Plant-Based Cookbook (2016). There are 100 salad dishes here, including a range of salad bowls and salad jars. On page 186 we are advised to re-invent any of the salad recipes in the book by mixing it up with an entirely different dressing. On this page, there is an index to 45 such dressings and sauces – all of this really extends the book. After a salad primer, it is arranged by ingredient: fish/seafood, poultry/meat, cheese, grains/pulses, fruit/veggies – with lots of yummy photos. The book could have been improved if it also used more than minimal metric in the recipes, or at least had a metric conversion chart. Quality/price rating: 88.
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