Shakespeare's Kitchen: Renaissance Recipes for the Contemporary Cook
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Manufacturer: Random House
Publisher: Random House
Author: Francine Segan
Shakespeare's Kitchen: Renaissance Recipes for the Contemporary Cook Description
Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 641.5942
EAN: 9780375509179
ISBN: 0375509178
Label: Random House
Manufacturer: Random House
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 288
Publication Date: 2003-10-14
Publisher: Random House
Product Release Date: 2003-10-07
Studio: Random House
Dewey Decimal Number: 641.5942
EAN: 9780375509179
ISBN: 0375509178
Label: Random House
Manufacturer: Random House
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 288
Publication Date: 2003-10-14
Publisher: Random House
Product Release Date: 2003-10-07
Studio: Random House
Editorial Review of Shakespeare's Kitchen: Renaissance Recipes for the Contemporary Cook
“Shakespeare’s Kitchen not only reveals, sometimes surprisingly, what people were eating in Shakespeare’s time but also provides recipes that today’s cooks can easily re-create with readily available ingredients.”
—from the Foreword by Patrick O’Connell
Francine Segan introduces contemporary cooks to the foods of William Shakespeare’s world with recipes updated from classic sixteenth- and seventeenth-century cookbooks. Her easy-to-prepare adaptations shatter the myth that the Bard’s primary fare was boiled mutton. In fact, Shakespeare and his contemporaries dined on salads of fresh herbs and vegetables; fish, fowl, and meats of all kinds; and delicate broths. Dried Plums with Wine and Ginger-Zest Crostini, Winter Salad with Raisin and Caper Vinaigrette, and Lobster with Pistachio Stuffing and Seville Orange Butter are just a few of the delicious, aromatic, and gorgeous dishes that will surprise and delight. Segan’s delicate and careful renditions of these recipes have been thoroughly tested to ensure no-fail, standout results.
The tantalizing Renaissance recipes in Shakespeare’s Kitchen are enhanced with food-related quotes from the Bard, delightful morsels of culinary history, interesting facts on the customs and social etiquette of Shakespeare’s time, and the texts of the original recipes, complete with antiquated spellings and eccentric directions. Fifty color images by award-winning food photographer Tim Turner span the centuries with both old-world and contemporary treatments. Patrick O’Connell provides an enticing Foreword to this edible history from which food lovers and Shakespeare enthusiasts alike will derive nourishment. Want something new for dinner? Try something four hundred years old.
—from the Foreword by Patrick O’Connell
Francine Segan introduces contemporary cooks to the foods of William Shakespeare’s world with recipes updated from classic sixteenth- and seventeenth-century cookbooks. Her easy-to-prepare adaptations shatter the myth that the Bard’s primary fare was boiled mutton. In fact, Shakespeare and his contemporaries dined on salads of fresh herbs and vegetables; fish, fowl, and meats of all kinds; and delicate broths. Dried Plums with Wine and Ginger-Zest Crostini, Winter Salad with Raisin and Caper Vinaigrette, and Lobster with Pistachio Stuffing and Seville Orange Butter are just a few of the delicious, aromatic, and gorgeous dishes that will surprise and delight. Segan’s delicate and careful renditions of these recipes have been thoroughly tested to ensure no-fail, standout results.
The tantalizing Renaissance recipes in Shakespeare’s Kitchen are enhanced with food-related quotes from the Bard, delightful morsels of culinary history, interesting facts on the customs and social etiquette of Shakespeare’s time, and the texts of the original recipes, complete with antiquated spellings and eccentric directions. Fifty color images by award-winning food photographer Tim Turner span the centuries with both old-world and contemporary treatments. Patrick O’Connell provides an enticing Foreword to this edible history from which food lovers and Shakespeare enthusiasts alike will derive nourishment. Want something new for dinner? Try something four hundred years old.
Customer Reviews of Shakespeare's Kitchen: Renaissance Recipes for the Contemporary Cook
Customer Rating: 
Review Summary: Shakespeare's Kitchen
Review: OK, so maybe Shakespeare never existed. So what? This cookbook is one in a line of recipe compilations using famous artists' names to get readers interested. I found the recipes very much improved over what people generally ate during the times of Elizabeth I. (They ate main dishes with LOTS of sugar and other ingredients the modern palate would find hard to swallow.) The recipes are straight forward, well laid out, and are likely to come out well, even if the reader isn't a super chef. The author (Francine Segan) has taken numerous recipes from historical records of around the time of Shakespeare and adapted them to both the modern palate and the modern kitchen. Users of the book will be especially delighted in the copious use of vegetables: we often think of the people of that time as mostly meat eaters. The recipes open the cook up to a world away from the Chili pepper. Yes, there are ways to spice up a dish without resorting to hot sauces, peppers, and other Tex-Mex derivatives.
Those in need of a good theme for a dinner, or those simply interested in food history, will find this book worth a read. Not cheap, as cookbooks go, it still is well within the price range that would make it a good buy for anyone.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Kitchen fun!
Review: I am having a wonderful time with this cookbook. Not only are the recipes tasty and unique, but the book also helps prepare Renaissance-themed parties. Some of the ingredients are specialty ingredients, so finding them can be a chore unless you order online. I also found some at our local health food store. If you are on the hunt for one-of-a-kind recipes, purchase this book!
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Stunning layout and classic recipes beautifully documented
Review: As an historian of sorts i appreciate the authors research and diligence 'getting things right'.
Not that I am big on the era but the care and perseverance of presentation and supporting information make the whole thing a delight. I originally borrowed thru the library but then had to have my own copy- and bought two to make a gift to an associate also a keen home cooking.
Highly recommended,
cheers dave
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A veritable feast of tantalizing recipes...
Review: I bought this book because I am a Shakespeare/Renaissance freak and I hoped to be able to make some dishes of the time.
While I cannot vouch for the complete historical accuracy of the recipes, I can tell you that you won't be disappointed by the use-ability of them or the beauty and taste of the end result. My sister and I put on our own "Renaissance feast" for the family, which was loads of fun to do and a big hit.
The recipes call for common and unusual (but not hard to find) ingredients and often use interesting combinations of flavours, such as fruits with meats. All this creates dishes with complex, rich taste.
The Shakespearean quotes and historical tidbits sprinkled throughout the book are fascinating. Original recipes are often given and prove quite amusing. The layout of the book is simple and attractive, enhanced by the lovely photos of award-winning food photographer, Tim Turner. A masterpiece of a cookbook...
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Not Completely Shakespeare's Kitchen
Review: Close but not quite there. As a member of a rather heralded Guild of (amatuer - we do it for love not money) Medieval and Renaissance Cooks, I was anticipating less 'making it up as I go along" and more true redactons of the books Ms Sagan references.
I was delighted that in roughly half the recipes, she quoted the original recipe and acknowledged the source. I was less delighted when she deliberately changed ingredients, left ingredients out or in one case where it was clear that the intent of the recipe was for periwinkles (snail like mollusks greatly esteemed in Elizabethan and slightly post Elizabethan times) and she admits that in a fit of whimsy, she substituted periwinkles the flower.
Not having hauled out the books and done the research I cannot attest that the unattributed recipes come from period, nor may I suggest that they do not. Where I to serve these unattributed recipes, I would label them as "peroid" (period like) rather than period.
For the most part even those period-like recipes do sound delicious!
This is a nice book, and if it piques an interest in Medieival and Renaissance cookery,then it has served its purpose.
Do NOT take her redactions as Gospel - read them, think of the aim of the dish you are making and consult other sources, both modern and medieval period. If you need help google MEdieval Food....
The photos and garnishes are lovely however.
Review Summary: Shakespeare's Kitchen
Review: OK, so maybe Shakespeare never existed. So what? This cookbook is one in a line of recipe compilations using famous artists' names to get readers interested. I found the recipes very much improved over what people generally ate during the times of Elizabeth I. (They ate main dishes with LOTS of sugar and other ingredients the modern palate would find hard to swallow.) The recipes are straight forward, well laid out, and are likely to come out well, even if the reader isn't a super chef. The author (Francine Segan) has taken numerous recipes from historical records of around the time of Shakespeare and adapted them to both the modern palate and the modern kitchen. Users of the book will be especially delighted in the copious use of vegetables: we often think of the people of that time as mostly meat eaters. The recipes open the cook up to a world away from the Chili pepper. Yes, there are ways to spice up a dish without resorting to hot sauces, peppers, and other Tex-Mex derivatives.
Those in need of a good theme for a dinner, or those simply interested in food history, will find this book worth a read. Not cheap, as cookbooks go, it still is well within the price range that would make it a good buy for anyone.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Kitchen fun!
Review: I am having a wonderful time with this cookbook. Not only are the recipes tasty and unique, but the book also helps prepare Renaissance-themed parties. Some of the ingredients are specialty ingredients, so finding them can be a chore unless you order online. I also found some at our local health food store. If you are on the hunt for one-of-a-kind recipes, purchase this book!
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Stunning layout and classic recipes beautifully documented
Review: As an historian of sorts i appreciate the authors research and diligence 'getting things right'.
Not that I am big on the era but the care and perseverance of presentation and supporting information make the whole thing a delight. I originally borrowed thru the library but then had to have my own copy- and bought two to make a gift to an associate also a keen home cooking.
Highly recommended,
cheers dave
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A veritable feast of tantalizing recipes...
Review: I bought this book because I am a Shakespeare/Renaissance freak and I hoped to be able to make some dishes of the time.
While I cannot vouch for the complete historical accuracy of the recipes, I can tell you that you won't be disappointed by the use-ability of them or the beauty and taste of the end result. My sister and I put on our own "Renaissance feast" for the family, which was loads of fun to do and a big hit.
The recipes call for common and unusual (but not hard to find) ingredients and often use interesting combinations of flavours, such as fruits with meats. All this creates dishes with complex, rich taste.
The Shakespearean quotes and historical tidbits sprinkled throughout the book are fascinating. Original recipes are often given and prove quite amusing. The layout of the book is simple and attractive, enhanced by the lovely photos of award-winning food photographer, Tim Turner. A masterpiece of a cookbook...
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Not Completely Shakespeare's Kitchen
Review: Close but not quite there. As a member of a rather heralded Guild of (amatuer - we do it for love not money) Medieval and Renaissance Cooks, I was anticipating less 'making it up as I go along" and more true redactons of the books Ms Sagan references.
I was delighted that in roughly half the recipes, she quoted the original recipe and acknowledged the source. I was less delighted when she deliberately changed ingredients, left ingredients out or in one case where it was clear that the intent of the recipe was for periwinkles (snail like mollusks greatly esteemed in Elizabethan and slightly post Elizabethan times) and she admits that in a fit of whimsy, she substituted periwinkles the flower.
Not having hauled out the books and done the research I cannot attest that the unattributed recipes come from period, nor may I suggest that they do not. Where I to serve these unattributed recipes, I would label them as "peroid" (period like) rather than period.
For the most part even those period-like recipes do sound delicious!
This is a nice book, and if it piques an interest in Medieival and Renaissance cookery,then it has served its purpose.
Do NOT take her redactions as Gospel - read them, think of the aim of the dish you are making and consult other sources, both modern and medieval period. If you need help google MEdieval Food....
The photos and garnishes are lovely however.