The "21" Cookbook

This is the kind of cookbook I just love. The appeal of wonderful recipes enchanced by interesting facts, trivia and gossip-y information on the history of the 21 club is just irresistable to me!The recipes themselves are really simple in contrast to, for example, some of martha stewart's recipes that get complicated by their telescopic travels into the minutia. In contrast to that the *21* recipes are bold in their simplicity. (Desserts seemed to me to be somewhat more complex, but than desserts tend to be) Some recipes fall into the traditional catagory and have been around for as long as the club has been, others are new. Its interesting to see the appeal of an old time favorite. I have been toying with the idea of trying the 21 traditional chicken hash for a number of year...I have made quite a few of the side dishes and they are excellent. The roasted shallots are wonderful with meats and poultry. Roasted garlic is a classic. Maple glazed root vegetable is great for Thanksgiving. I havent tried the meat recipes because I fear that with the simplicity of the dishes the quality of the meat is crucial. I'm certain that i could hunt out the required grade of beef, if I tried I just havent to this point.The chunky blue cheese and walnut dressing is amazing and the citus ginger dressing is wonderful on asparagus. There are many *winners* in this cookbook. But for me the real appeal is the history of the resturant. What presidents ate there...who was the first woman to wear pants there...who ordered and got a peanut butter and jelly sandwich...things on that line. Cartoons about 21 dot the book, rememberences are interspersed with wine suggestions... news stories and even a photo of michael douglas and charlie sheen from wall street. The 21 club is a cultural icon and this book shows it. Its the best of both worlds..both solid cookbook and warm memories.The book itself has a very nice size for a cookbook. More square than rectangle and with a separate jacket cover than you can wipe spills off of. It lies flat, a must for cook books and the binding has been sturdy over the 4 years that I have owned it. The pages are not all that resistant to spills and staining will occur, unfortunately they are not glossy so you can not wipe them. They are bright white and easily read altho a bit thin, you can see the text from the next page thru them (not enough to be especially confusing but .... )This is an excellent addition to any recipe collection. A great gift for the *foodie* in your life or even someone who enjoys the history of NY city, perhaps.

I've had this cookbook for a few years and use it often - I look forward to the day Mr. Lomonaco publishes another book - his meals at Windows on the World are wonderful.

An excellent history of a landmark New York restaurant. The book is two-fold: Recipes which focus on quality and are quite user-friendly - woven with a history rich with anecdotes, illustrated with wonderful photographs and drawings. A great read for any cook and/or lover of New York City.

The book offers an eclectic set of recipes by Chef Michael Lomanaco of the world famous "21" Club in New York. The recipes generally focus on using top quality ingredients to produce entrees, rather than the use of difficult-to-find or rare ingredients. Neither do the recipes require the cook to follow a complicated and lengthy set of instructions, such as "...hang for four days over a mesquite-wood fire while basting hourly with a vintage Montrachet."The game recipes are particulary good and offer a wonderful departure from the usual hunter's recipes printed in a myriad of specialty game cookbooks. Game prepared using these recipes cannot easily be identified as game and will likely pass muster as beef or lamb by your dear Aunt Katie who hates hunting. After eating a bite of elk venison she will probably go on at length about never having eaten any sort of game.The book is also full of delightful gossip about famous patrons of the "21 & q! ! uot; Club, from Ernest Hemingway and Clark Gable to Marilyn Monroe. Movie goers have probably seen the New Orleans-like grill work facade and the many jockey statues frequently, perhaps without consciously realizing that this was the renown "21" Club.The book is also full of reproduction art, some of which yet graces the walls of the Club. The Club has a number of artworks by Frederic Remington, some of which are reproduced in the book. Other examples of art were done by patrons of the club who were members of the elite New York social scene of times gone by.The "21" Club remained active during prohibition and allegedly managed never to be caught with illegal liquor on the premises when they were raided by New York's finest. One can only wonder whether this was sheer luck or advance notice by patrons who were members of the upper crust of New York politics. Anyone who both loves fine food and is fascinated by New York should have a copy of this un! ! usual cookbook.