WHAT TO COOK WHEN THERE'S NOTHING IN THE HOUSE TO EAT: More than 175 Recipes and Meal Ideas

by Arthur Schwartz ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 1, 1992

...or, how to slant a cookbook when there's nothing left to introduce. As complacently as those old folk recipes that begin with ""first, catch your lizard,"" Schwartz (Cooking in a Small Kitchen, 1979) calls for canned clams, several cheeses, Arborio rice, dried Polish mushrooms, chocolate, and various liqueurs, as well as more common staples such as flour, dried spaghetti, and canned tuna, in these suggestions for spur-of-the-moment meals. In other words, for a varied repertoire of dishes that can be made from whatever's available, keep a variety of stuff on hand. That done, you can of course find recipes for using them in any basic cookbook; Schwartz is not into novelty. The old standbys he's gathered here include purÉed (""refried"") black beans, cabbage and noodle kugel, ""Ronald Reagan's favorite"" macaroni and cheese, the Greek soup avgolemono, from-scratch cream-puff shells, brownies, and a kind of tuna à la king. Who needs recipes for this stuff? According to Schwartz, anyone who comes home too tired to shop, think, cook up a storm, or even, presumably, leaf through an encyclopedic hardcover like Fannie Farmer. He might have quite an audience at that.

Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1992

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 304

Publisher: HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1991

Categories: NONFICTION