Customer Reviews

The Vegetarian Table: America

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4 star:		(1)
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This book is a bargain at its full price, but given the offer, it is a true find. Grab it! Deborah Madison is an accomplished food writer with several other vegetarian cookbooks to her credit. This one focuses on traditional American foods and ingredients. I made several recipes out of this book over the holidays-Corn Pudding and Hominy Grits Casserole are two that were especially popular. The book is visually pleasing, and the recipes turn out like the photographs. Madison is a lucid, non-preachy writer and the recipes are easy to follow. She does not insult the reader with hard-to-find ingredients or complicated procedures. While American culinary traditions are thought of as meat-oriented, she has done a fine job of reminding us that our heritage includes worthy vegetables, fruits, grains and dairy products. Although not for vegans, this collection works well for ovo-lactos as well as carnivores who are seeking ways to complement or de-emphasize meat in their diets.

All sorts of really great recipes that we seem to have grown up with or experienced here and there. Fantastic pictures to inspire you throughout. Lots of variety - from salads and things you'd see at a picnic to casseroles and side dishes. Some of the things I've tried are: marinated artichokes (much better than buying them in the jar from the supermarket), boston black bean soup (I add a bit of sherry to mine but otherwise, great recipe), corn chowder (super), salad w/ goddess dressing, coleslaw (had a nice twist of horseradish which I would not have thought of), egg salad sandwich (nothing too adventurous here but she does add green pepper which I hadn't tried before), sinach souffle. These were all really good. I've liked all of Deborah Madison's cookbooks - every one has been a winner for me and this one is no exception.

Everything from Pear Chutney to Fried Green Tomatoes! Deborah Madison certainly livened up some old favorites but still kept them simple and fairly quick. My personal favorite is the Broiled Eggplant with Tomatoes and Cheese!! There is nothing boring nor to extreme in this vegetarian cookbook. I am not a diehard vegan so this is a good compromise with dairy and veggies.

This was the first book from the Vegetarian Table series that I purchased, and it remains one of my favorites. The recipes are not only attractive, but easy to make. The book is illustrated with great photos.

I was wowed by this book. The pictures are gorgeous and the recipes, vegetarian versions of American classics, are appealing and useful. However, I checked another of Ms. Madison's cookbooks out from the library and I was *not* impressed--the recipes were very fancy with nonsensically long names.

I'm not sure what it is about this installment of the Vegetarian Table series. It just doesn't grab me, and it doesn't scream "American food" at me.

I guess I was expecting things that scream "American" or "All-American," like burgers and pizza (yes, they can be made vegetarian-style, with a little creativity), shepherd's pie, tacos and hearty chili, apple pie and rootbeer floats, real icons of Americana. Easily identifiable. I just didn't get that from this book.

But, then again, what *is* American food? It seems like "American food" is anything but. We Americans eat anything and everything foreign and domestic. Somewhat of a literal and figurative culinary melting pot. But what foods define our eating habits as a culture?

While concord grape pie sounds mildly interesting, is it really a major American dish? To be honest, until cracking open this book, I'd never heard of it. Could the author not have gone with variations on the American favorites? Pumpkin Pie, Apple Pie, Marionberry Pie, Rhubarb and/or Cherry pie?

Granted a few familiar dishes do make an appearance, such as tamale pie, grilled cheese sandwiches (not exactly haute cuisine, but widely prepared by mothers / housewives), open faced broiled sandwiches, coleslaw, German potato salad, Waldorf salad. But a number of the recipes seem to be of relatively obscure dishes I've not heard of. Perhaps it's because I live in the Pacific Northwest and some of these recipes are from the east coast or the southeast.

Also, for a vegetarian book, remind me how a "cheese plate" is considered vegetarian? I didn't realize cheese comes from plants. I generally thought it came from milk from cows and/or goats. Silly me. Anyway, the vegans and/or more literal "vegetarians" might be annoyed by some of the use of dairy / egg products. Substitutions might work in some cases, but it would be nice if "vegetarian" dishes really stuck to using vegetable sources, exclusively.

Don't get me wrong, I like the Vegetarian table series, despite the latter foible and this particular entry. I especially recommend the Thailand, Mexico, and Italy entries, and am waiting on the France, Japan and India entries to arrive for review. Not quite rich enough for the overinflated Marketplace prices of Vegetarian Table : North Africa, yet, though I hear it's good...

Anyway, while this isn't my favorite of the series, it does still offer good recipes (even if I've not heard of them, and some recognizable Americana is conspicuously missing). The recipes seem straightforward enough, and the illustrations are up to par with the rest of the series; generally full-page color photos every few pages.

So, if you're into American food that's a bit "outside the norm," or not "widely known" maybe this book is for you. If you're looking for iconic "Americana," I don't know that this is the right book for that.