This is a Roman cookbook written by Andrew Dalby and Sally Grainger. Sally Grainger is noted for having written and published Cooking Apicus. I can not tell if she wrote the later half of Classical or if she was the one who did the modern redactions…all I can is she has some areas that are more pronouncedly hers then her partners.
Evaluation:
This book has incredible pictures for those researching and needing dinning scenes or period serving dishes. Dates and materials included in this pictorial information wonderland. This is an awesome part of the book!
The recipes range from writing between friends or stories about famous (infamous) dinners. This is one of my favorite aspects as the recipes aren’t just another rendition of Apicius. There are Apicius recipes but I truly enjoy the fact that new recipes/descriptions are given. This is second favorite aspect.
The only thing I am not fond of in this book is the brief nature of the entire book. I had hoped for a book dense enough to swat a charging bull elephant. The book boasts a modest 141 pages… Not bad, but more would have been awesome! The original recipes are included for every recipe though the Roman name is not. There is an attempt to include modern redactions, though as usual I suggest experimenting and not just following by rote some one else’s ideas on how to cook Roman. Overall for both recipes and research I give the book an A-.
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