Cook it now, serve it later

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Ilaria Gozzini Giacosa

Modern Italians still refer to an elaborate dinner as "a meal worthy of Lucullus," commemorating a Roman general famous more for culinary prowess than any apparent military skill. And our images of ancient Rome usually do include one of an outrageous feast of camel and flamingoes and nightingales' tongues. But, as Ilaria Giacosa reminds us in this fascinating book, Romans did not eat the exotic every day. Here are the real foods of Rome - the rustic and the refined - in more than 200 tested recipes adapted for today's kitchen. Drawing on the writings of Apicius, Cato, Martial, Petronius, Juvenal, and other observers, Giacosa recreates a 2,000-year-old cuisine, from a hearty winter soup of barley and ham to an elegant salad of truffles in an herbed vinaigrette, from appetizers to desserts. Each recipe includes the original (in Latin and translation) and a modern rendering, with substitutions for difficult-to-find ingredients. The repertoire is wide and includes along with more exotic creations solid, satisfying dishes that still grace many Italian tables: a frittata or omelet of young asparagus and sharp Romano cheese; roast chicken with leeks and a garden of green herbs; a salad with peasant bread and cracked olives; and a fresh cheese pie scented with bay and honey. You'll find recipes for breads, porridges, and sauces, including the ever-present garum, which, Giacosa notes, is not very different from the soy and fish sauces of Asia; a guide to preserving fruits and vegetables; seasonal menus for everyday and elegant dining; and a rich social history of Roman eating, drinking, shopping, and entertaining. This is cooking before tomatoes, pasta, oranges, lemons, or even coffee entered the Mediterranean diet. Yet with its intriguing sweet-sour flavor combinations, its lavish use of fresh herbs and fragrant spices, and its base in whole grains and fruits and vegetables, the foods of Rome will be a revelation to serious cooks ready to create new dishes in the spirit of an ancient culture.

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Karen Brown

A collection of simple recipes for a variety of dishes including "Microwave Applesauce," "Cheesy Spaghetti," and "Chocolate Chip Squares."

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Trudy Garfunkel

The Kosher Companion is the first consumer guide to the ever-growing world of kosher food and kosher products. It explains the origin and meaning of kosher dietary laws and tells how to identify kosher products by the symbols used to designate them. Buying kosher meats and poultry, and identifying kosher products for vegetarians and for those who are lactose intolerant or allergic to other dairy ingredients, becomes easy using the information given here. There are tips on how to buy foods that are both healthful and kosher and a selection of scrumptious, easy-to-prepare kosher recipes, as well as information on kosher wines, and on mail-ordering kosher foods. Also included are lists of hotels, restaurants, supermarkets, and caterers that meet kosher requirements. Today, only twenty-five percent of the purchasers of kosher food are Jews. Why has kosher become so popular? One reason is that a growing number of health-conscious consumers accept kosher certification (with its strict labeling laws and stringent meat inspection) as a kind of "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval." Other religious groups besides Jews have turned to kosher foods because of their beliefs. Some five-and-a-half million American Muslims follow dietary laws similar to those of Orthodox Jews, and the 800,000 American Seventh-Day Adventists are encouraged to follow the dietary guidelines given in the Old Testament - the basis of kosher.

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Suzy Kline

Eleven-year-old Orville enters a cooking contest, which he has high hopes of winning with his recipe for chop suey burgers.