Susanna Hoffman

If, like me, you are a lover of history and food, then you will be amazed, intrigued, and enlightened by the history-cookbook called "Bold: A Cookbook of Big Flavors and Hearty Portions". Authors and chefs Susanna Hoffman and Victoria Wise put their considerable talents and imaginations together to concoct a delightfully dishy tome of tasty treats and tales from history, and the result is a fascinating feast-for-all. The melting pot of America is well-stirred, and well-served, by this fun show more for foodies, packed from cover to cover, cookbook. The journey begins with an introduction to "American Cooking", and continues through "Bold Starters and Snacks", "Potages That Fill", "Big Meats Back On The Plate", "Game: Food From The Wild", "Poultry In Motion", "Shimmering Fare From American Waters", "Vegetables: The Vital Victual", "Grains To Make A Meal", and ends with "Sweets In Profusion". This is a book that you will pick up again and again, not just for the recipes, but for the pure enjoyment of reading all the historical insights, tidbits, and incidentals. The recipes are outstanding--each one is unique--and nothing is "run of the mill". America's blend of cultures creates the infinite variety of foods and cuisines to be found from sea to shining sea, and here it shines in the spotlight of "BOLD".

Book Copy Gratis Workman Publishers via Shelf Awareness show less

Having never been to Greece, I won't even begin to comment on how "authentic" Ms. Hoffman's recipes are. They are, however, accompanied by many sidebars, articles, anecdotes and mini history lessons that make the recipes seem like illustrations in a wonderful travel book.

The recipes run the gamut from difficult (exotic ingredients and complicated prep) to simple (glass of water, anyone?) and not all dishes are for everyone. But there is a nice sense of generality to the collection, from the show more traditional to the seasonal, as if everything you ever wanted to *sample* from a Greek table is in this book.

What really makes it so attractive, however, is the conversational running commentary kept up by the author throughout. One learns why water is such a sacred inclusion at the Greek table, why Constantinoble became Istanbul, and what it takes for a foreign woman to be accepted by her Greek neighbors. Whether giving us a history lesson or just a glimpse into modern daily life, Ms. Hoffman's experiences in the Greek Isles are an invaluble inclusion here. Perhaps even enough to start a new sub-genre: Culturebooks! show less

The authors of Bold want us to know that there is such a thing as American Cuisine – and they don’t mean hotdogs, burgers and fries. Foods from many other countries have influenced American dishes and we have incorporated many of their ingredients and flavors into our food to create something uniquely our own. When I look at my favorite recipes I can see the Italian, Mexican and Chinese influence; three of my favorites ethnic foods but mostly adapted to my American palate.

The title of show more the book was a little misleading in that I was expecting bold flavors to be spicy dishes, but instead I found recipes that used flavors in a bold, imaginative way, well beyond the conventional manner of preparing traditional American dishes. The authors added a freshness to familiar recipes, and there are over 250 of them to choose from in this book. Everything from snack, starters, soups, meats, vegetables and desserts.

Along with the recipes is a wealth of information in the form of introductions to the dishes, some background and history, and the country that influenced the recipe. There are also sidebars, sometimes more than one, accompanying each recipe. The sidebars are diverse and informative and cover a range of topics: The history of the hamburger; why we call a dutch oven a ‘dutch oven’; features on different nuts, herbs, and spices – there is much to learn about each of them; how curly parsley ended up as a garnish and Italian flat parsley gets all the glory; a brief history of Coke and Pepsi and the use of cola as a marinade; plus many, many more facts and tidbits of interesting information.

This is a cookbook that is meant to be read. If you are looking for photos and choose your recipes visually, then you will be disappointed in the presentation of the book. Illustrations are two-color, hand drawn and whimsical, but there are no photos of ingredients or finished dishes.

While I am tempted to say this is a book best suited for experienced cooks that do not need a lot of photos and guidance, that’s not really true. Many of the recipes are not difficult, the instructions are detailed, and most of the ingredients are easy to find, especially if you are near a larger city. If you’re not sure this is the right book for you, try Amazon’s Look Inside feature, download a Kindle sample or flip through a copy at a library. You might be pleasantly surprised. show less

It's always difficult to review a cookbook. For one thing, you can't usually try all of the recipes. And there's usually a number of good and less-good aspects to a cookbook, so for me the whole STAR RATING thing (for a cookbook) is ridiculous. So in this case, I think it would be wise to read the review and ignore the Stars.

I received this book as part of a Workman's giveaway. I wasn't sure when I entered the contest exactly what I would receive, but I knew that I was tired of my current show more everyday recipes, and I wanted something with more flavor. I guess something, BOLD.

The sections of the book include an interesting Introduction, as well as the following:

Introduction
Bold Starters and Snacks
Potages (that fill)
Big Meats Back (on the plate)
Game (food from the wild)
Poultry (in motion)
(Shimmering) Fare from American Waters
Vegetables (the vital victual)
Grains (to make a meal)
Sweets (in profusion)
Conversion tables
Index

The recipes in the book draw from every quarter of American cuisine. You'll find influences from Jamaica, Japan, China, South America, Africa, Spain.... Really, from everywhere. A delicious mish-mash is made from this.

For example, there's a recipe for quesadilla where where the salsa for it is made from Cantalopes, Oranges and Onions. Similarly there's a recipe where fillo cups are filled with feta, mustard greens and fennel.

Some recipes are less adventurous. The sizzling steak, for example, is topped with scallions, asparagus and blue cheese butter. Yum!

There are also recipes that fall in the middle ground. Wild game is just something most American moms don't have in their repertoire.

SUMMARY
BOLD is a delightful book, BUT in my estimation it's a book for already ACCOMPLISHED COOKS.

One reason I say this is that there are ZERO Pictures. Nothing to show the cook what the presentation should be. Nothing to draw the eye in order to get the mental taste buds working. An accomplished cook won't be bothered by this as much as someone with less experience. They are going to be able to imagine what turnips, rutabagas, parsnips, sour cream, nutmeg and parsley might taste like. I've cooked for decades and certainly I'm not able to do that.

The other reason I'd suggest this to more accomplished cooks is that the instructions, while precise, seem to assume familiarity with all of the ingredient and techniques. There's a little help in choosing venison, for example, but none for buffalo steaks. So it's a bit hit and miss there. At least from my perspective.

There's lots of wonderful ideas in this book. And it's not expensive, so it would be an interesting addition to someone's cooking library. show less