Customer Reviews

Chorizos In An Iron Skillet: Memories And Recipes From An American Basque Daughter (The Basque Series)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

When I travel, I like to pick up cookbooks about the regional foods and folkways of the places I visit; I got this book in Reno, Nevada. It has a lot of good recipes, but it's much more than a cookbook. It's also a charming memoir that documents the Basque-American way of life in Nevada when the author was growing up. I enjoyed learning about the Basque immigrants' attitudes toward the family, food, and the animals that surrounded them on the ranches where they worked. There are a number of other Basque cookbooks, but as far as I know, this one is unique in its emaphasis on the Basque adaptation to the milieu of the American West. The reviewer who complains about Fresca in the Sangria recipe is really rather missing the point. I give it Five Stars.

Mrs. Davis has been a friend of our family for nearly 50 years. As a child, I heard many stories about her upbringing in Battle Mountain, NV and the challenges and hardships she faced as a child. I also heard more than a few stories about her fabulous cooking. Only now, as a middle-aged man do I get to experience some of her cuisine outside of an all-too-rare visit to her kitchen.

I have only recently received my copy, but the two selections I have tried so far have been unique and mouth watering. I can heartily recommend this book, both as a lover of food and as one who appreciates the stories, anecdotes, and vignettes included in this unique work.

I guarantee you'll like it.

Chorizos in an Iron Skillet is a disspointing cook book. I know and am very familiar with Basque cooking, therefore, the recipes here are a big let down. I had heard so much about this book before its publication and had great expectations. Mrs. Davis presents a mix of recipes of (what she refers to as) 1.old world, 2. new world adaptations, and 3.American recipes. At best there are maybe 4 or 5 recipes in the entire book that prompted any interest. It is not clear why she would even include American recipes (they're out of place in this book). There are some truly weird recipes, such as Sangria made with Fresca, and orange soda? Just because they may be serving this in some tapa bar in Bilbao or San Sebastian does not make it Basque nor does it make it good! It is very sweet that Mrs. Davis has all these wonderful memories of her childhood in Nevada but her recounting of them is rather boring and uninspired. Please skip this book.