Patio Cook Book Author:Helen Evans Brown Helen Evans Brown was an accomplished cook and author who lived and worked in California in the 1950s. (James Beard was a close friend, professional author, and sometimes collaborator of hers.) She was considered the authority on West Coast cooking at the time, and wrote several cookbooks that are still fresh and timely, but passed away before... more » the food celebrity culture of the 60s could catch up with her.
This is a small, charmingly composed guide to patio entertaining. Each page contains a single recipe, written in a narrative style reminiscent of Elizabeth David's, as well as an appropriate quotation or remark. The social aspects of the writing are unmistakably and endearingly mid-century (e.g.,"The only thing a man resents more than being told by another man how best to cook a steak is to be directed by a woman.") But this is not stereotypical midcentury cooking: no Jello here, no cream of mushroom soup, no garlic powder, no white sauce. Everything is fresh, appetizing, imaginative, and suited for casual outdoor entertaining. Many multicultural ideas, too: lamb steaks with eggplant, Korean broiled shortribs, roast spareribs Chinese, adobado, black beans with rum, salsa fria, hominy pudding, potato griddle scones, charcoal-grilled fruits, applejack pie, coeur a la creme . . . Hungry yet?« less