Salt & Pepper: The Cookbook

Books on foods, regional and international cuisines, and monographs of elements of the culinary palette have become increasingly artistic in recent years. SALT & PEPPER is one of the prime examples of taking a simple topic (sort of one of the fundamentals of life!) and making it blossom into a treatise of historical interest, exquisite photography, excellent writing, and superb recipes related in terms that make them jump into your psyche. Sandra Cook and Sara Slavin with photographer Deborah Jones have addressed the importance of salt and pepper in our culture and in the world's history of trade and cuisine, and together have created a beautiful little book, radiant with color and classy design, and not only informative to the mind but also to the kitchen. The uses of both salt and pepper are discussed not only as ingredients in standard cooking, but also as matrices to support the flavors of foods placed atop them, dredging, brining, and decorating in extraordinary ways. Jones' photographs have a fine Zen quality to them and would look well framed as kitchen art! The very low cost of this superb book makes it a terrific must for the kitchen, for bread-and-butter gifts, or for stocking stuffers for the gourmet cook. It is a knockout! Grady Harp, November 05