THE FRUGAL GOURMET

by Jeff Smith ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 24, 1984

Though Smith, a Tacoma-based minister and TV cooking instructor, has his heart in the right place, what he has produced is a large all-purpose cookbook for people of middlebrow-gourmet persuasion: appreciative of good fresh produce and ethnic adventure, not about to go to maniacal lengths (or astronomical calorie counts) to get a decent supper on the table. It's a pleasant, well-defined approach, but any given recipe may or may not be frugal (a five-pound salmon is a guaranteed budget-buster for most of us). About half the book is taken up with the usual food categories (appetizers, salads, meat and poultry main dishes, breads, etc.); the rest is devoted to a potpourri of subjects from steaming techniques to Polish cuisine. Grains and legumes are strongly represented; chicken wings come in for a well-deserved bit of limelight. There is a lengthy chapter on patÉs and terrines; refreshingly, desserts are conspicuous by their absence. Much good kitchen sense is conveyed in the form of interpolated ""Practical Hints"" sprinkled through the text. Not great, but engaging.

Pub Date: July 24, 1984

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Morrow

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1984

Categories: NONFICTION