Good Things or Apicius

Good Things

Author: Jane Grigson

A celebration of fresh daily fare lovingly prepared. “Cooking something delicious is really much more satisfactory than painting pictures or making pottery. At least for most of us. Food has the tact to disappear, leaving room and opportunity for masterpieces to come. The mistakes don’t hang on the walls or stand on the shelves to reproach you forever.”—from Jane Grigson’s introduction. Originally published in 1971, Good Things is now available in a Bison Books edition for all those who appreciate good food and Jane Grigson’s witty and stylish way of writing about it. Including recipes for fish, meat, game, fresh fruits, vegetables, and a few splendid desserts, Good Things is a celebration of delicious everyday fare and its loving preparation.

Library Journal

This is one of those cookbooks that's much more than a collection of recipes, although there are plenty of them. The author insists that her work is "about enjoying food," which, she says, "is something to be thought about in the same way as any other aspect of human existence." Dishes using pigeons and rabbits might make some people cringe, but there's enough featuring more usual fare that makes this worth considering. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

New interesting book: Feasting Free on Wild Edibles or Rick Steins Guide to the Food Heroes of Britain

Apicius

Author: Christopher Grocock

This new edition and translation of Apicius will be welcomed by all enthusiasts for Roman food and cookery. The text has been thoroughly reassessed in the light of previous editions and interpretations and has been tested as far as is possible in the kitchen, with a cook's eye, to ensure that the text makes culinary as well as linguistic sense. Latin and English are printed in parallel, and the supplementary source, The Extracts of Apicius by Vinidarius is given similar treatment. The editors argue, in their introduction, that Apicius is not so much the product of a single gourmet author as a collection of recipes and aides memoire transmitted between professional cooks. They investigate the world of Roman cookery and its literature, as well as contributing a detailed glossary to elucidate the meaning of difficult words and phrases in the text. In addition, there is an essay on the place of garum and liquamen in Roman cuisine.

Table of Contents:

1	Apicius and its context
2	Cooks and ancient cookery books
3	Cooking techniques in the ancient world
4	Roman weights and measures
5	The language of Apicius
6	Editorial principles and methods
7	Description of the manuscripts and stemma
8	Previous editions and studies
	The Latin and English texts of Apicius
	The Latin and English texts of Vinidarius