cover image The Ethnomusicologists' Cookbook: Complete Meals from Around the World

The Ethnomusicologists' Cookbook: Complete Meals from Around the World

Sean Williams. Routledge, $32.95 (305pp) ISBN 978-0-415-97819-4

To savor better its fascinating essays on culinary rituals across the globe, this cookbook is one to pore over in the living room instead of the kitchen. Recipes are attached, but are not the primary pleasure; instead, it is learning about the ceremonial drinking songs of Namibia, or the meals that celebrate the return of the swallows in Korea. However, the recipes serve as worthy accompaniments to the accomplished essays: Dates Stuffed with Almond Paste, from Judeo-Spanish Morocco, are sweetly irresistible, and Bolivia's addictive Avocado with Uncooked Salsa begs to be downed with a bucketful of chips. A sophisticated Palestinian Baked Chicken is served alongside flat bread, the chewy bread a foil for the chicken's pleasant spiciness. And, from closer to home, Appalachian Leather Britches are green beans awash in delicious porky broth-a brilliant way to get kids to eat their veggies. While some recipes demand ingredients that might be difficult to find in American supermarkets, for the most part they're easy to source and require few unorthodox cooking methods. Williams, a professional ethnomusicologist, includes listening suggestions alongside the recipes; if it proves too difficult to scrounge up some konyaku for Soybeans With Vegetables, you can still get a taste of Japan by listening to the Satoko Fujii Orchestra. 35 b&w illustrations.