The Pizzas and Italian Breads (The Book of ... Series)

Seven years ago my husband Dub and I sailed into Whangarai Harbour in New Zealand. On our way in I spied some friends or ours, Gayle and John, who we'd met in Tahiti. They were Kiwis and they were ending their five year circumnavigation, home at last. We anchored close to their boat and later dinghied over for sundowners (usually Coke and Rum). That evening, as usual, we told tall tales of our adventures at sea and we congratulated ourselves on being in this wonderful place at this wonderful time. Later, as we were saying our goodbyes, Gayle gave me her set of the Salamandar Book of Series Cookbooks. They are sold by HP Books in the States as paperbacks. Gayle carried these books around the planet and now she was giving them to me, complete with her notes (written in the books) on the recipes, how well she and John liked certain dishes, which were their favorites, how hard they were to prepare. She knew I was a cook and she thought I'd appreciate them. She was right. Like all the books in the series "The Book of Pizzas & Italian Breads" is about five inches wide and about a foot tall, making them kind of unique among cookbooks. But one should not be put off because of the odd shape, these are real books and you can find mighty darned good recipes in them like in this book. Many people would think that you couldn't bake on a sailboat, but you can. We have a convection microwave on "Tara" and it bakes just fine. In fact the last thing we did in it was the Asparagus and Ham Squares on Page 47 and "Yum Yum" is what I have to say about them. There are so many different pizza combinations and ways to make pizza, probably the list is endless, but there are quite a few good ones presented here. Plus, as an additional added benefit you get some very delicious dessert bread recipes. What a deal. I use this book a lot and if you get it, I bet you will too. Review Submitted by Captain Katie Osborne