Below are questions for individual pondering or group discussion, and for anyone or any club that’s been cooking and reading the Dowdy Corners Cookbook Club’s most recent pick, 70 Traditional African Recipes by Rosamund Grant.
If you have read and/or cooked from 70 Traditional African Recipes, I’d love to hear what you think of the book.
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This book takes a wide view of African cooking, jumping from (more…)
Red Beans and Rice from Dairy Hollow House Soup & Bread
Typically, prior to the potluck for each DCCC cookbook, I post a set of questions to stimulate discussion and to make sure we don’t forget to cover some of the most basic discussion topics at our meeting—such as, “Which recipes does everyone like best?” and “Will members likely cook from this book again?”, and so on. Except this time I forgot. Argh. Summer fun and weeding tasks got the best of me. I’ve decided to post them anyway in the off chance that one day someone may like to discuss this very same book and find this list of questions useful. These questions are meant to be used by anyone or any club that has been reading and making recipes from Dairy Hollow House Soup & Bread.
Crescent Dragonwagon is chatty, making this book as suited for the kitchen as it is at the bedside reading table. She gives you the reader and cook lots of information about food, life, cooking, and gardening, with much practical guidance. Do you enjoy this amount of text in a cookbook? (more…)
Prior to the potluck for each DCCC cookbook, I post a set of questions to stimulate discussion and to make sure we don’t forget to cover some of the most basic discussion topics at our meeting—such as, “Which recipes does everyone like best?” and “Will members likely cook from this book again?”, and so on. These questions are meant to used by anyone or any club that has been reading and making recipes from The Art of Mexican Cooking. If you’re a member and have a question you’d like to add the list, please send it to me to include.
How would you describe Diana Kennedy’s writing style? Authoritative? Personal? Sensual? Humorous? Do you like her tone?
Did you get a sense of Mexico—it’s people, the place, and, of course, the food—from her writing?
What did you learn about Mexican cooking that you didn’t know before using this book? Were you surprised by anything? Before using this book, did you know, for example, that lard is a common cooking fat in Mexican cooking?
Hirinopitta (Ground Pork Pie) and Spanakorizo (Rice and Spinch Pilaf) from THE FOOD AND WINE OF GREECE
How would you describe Diane Kochilas’s writing style? Do you like her tone? Did you enjoy the introductory sections of her book, where she describes the characteristics of Greek cooking, the importance of wine in the culture—as well as the wines themselves—and the basic ingredients? Did you enjoy her introductions to the recipes?
What skill level do you think this cookbook is geared toward? Does it assume a basic cooking knowledge? Did you find her recipe steps and explanations of cooking techniques clear and complete? Is there anything in the recipe instructions that you think could be clearer?
Was cooking from The Food and Wine of Greece your foray into Greek cooking? If so, would you say it is a good introduction for someone new to cooking Greek food?
What did you learn about Greek cooking that you didn’t know before using this book? Were there any surprises? Did you know, for example, that dill is such a commonly used herb in Greek cooking?
In general, what do you think of the food? Did you enjoy it? How does it compare to other Greek food you’ve eaten, either prepared by you using another Greek cookbook, prepared by other home cooks, or that you’ve eaten in restaurants?
What do you think of Greek cooking compared to Indian cooking, which we just explored? Do you prefer one to the other—whether for flavor, the ease of preparation methods, or time necessary to prepare the food?
Of all the recipes you tried, including those prepared by others at the potluck, do you have a favorite (or favorites)?
Have you been to Greece? If so, how does the food in The Food and Wine of Greece compare to the food you ate while there?
Do you think you will cook recipes from this book again? If not, why not?
If the club were to do another Greek cookbook one day, is there a particular aspect or regional style of Greek cooking that you’ve like to delve into in more detail?
Here are some discussion questions for DCCC’s first potluck on December 5th. If anyone has questions they’d like to add to the discussion, please comment on this posting or drop me an email.
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