Talking about spice drawers and spice stores yesterday sent me to my cookbook pile for Bert Greene's Kitchen Boquets (available in both hard and soft cover from Half.com for under $5).
Written as a "cookbook of favored aromas and flavors," the 1979 cookbook is organized alphabetically by spice and flavor, rather than by meal or region. For example, in the Nutmeg chapter Greene suggests recipes for Fried Chicken and Turkey Tetrazzini, while Pepper triggers Peanut and Pepper Pie and Pepper Chicken with Dumplings.
The out-of-print book moves through flavors and provides some science, personal memories and recipes for each: almond, anise, basil . . . maderia, mint, mustard . . . rum, saffron, tomato.
If I was unable to cook or blog (gasp!) for a while, this book would be a helpful companion. As NYC-based cooking blog A Chicken in Every Granny Cart says, Greene's cookbook is "almost bloglike in its tone and rhythm."
Iron Chefs could also find this cookbook to be helpful. If forced to cook with poppy seeds and fish, Bert Greene has a few suggestions.
Greene shares his personality, family relationships, and great curiosity for cooking in the book, but the book still feels taut and somewhat sad to me. "Yet there was no savor to our kitchen. My mother was a perfunctory cook whos pride kept a taut galley," he explains in the introduction. Greene writes in an elongated prose in this book decorated with orange calligraphy, both signs of the late 70s.
Greene lived in New York City and Long Island, where he owned a gourmet take-out shop called The Store. With his partner as editor and advisor, he wrote a food column from The New York Daily News in the 1980s. He's also known for his cookbooks on greens and grains, now edited into one book. He died in 1988.
LOL, now that I've seen the cover I'm not sure I ever would have bought this book in the first place. I'm such a judge-a-book-by-its-cover kinda gal! thank god my copy came without its dust jacket.
What Chris says about this book is incredibly true. It is inspiring, comforting and thought provoking... Bert was such a wonderful writer, I highly encourage everyone to check this tome out!
I own and LOVE both Greene on Grains and Greene on Greens (purchased before the combined edition). But I had never seen the Kitchen Bouqets book, so now I have to go out and buy it. I find that his recipes always turn out and are always wonderful. Particularly like his version of gado-gado -- also try his orange honey bran muffins and his recipe for eggplant rollatini!
Ann, great point on the cover and thank you for introducing me to this book.
I have the hard cover, library edition and it has a different cover. Unfortunately, it wasn't in good enough condition to take a clear photo. I searched the web and couldn't find any images of the original hard cover cover.
Chris, I am so pleased to see your comments about Bert! We corresponded for a few years before his untimely death to a rare vascular disease.
He was an amazing "friend via mail," and even when most swamped would reply to missives. When I would 'complain" about the (rare) recipe that could be improved, he was always gracious and honest.
Kitchen Bouquets is much more a biography and food text than simply a cook book. While Green on Greens is a favorite for any vegetables, The Store Cookbook for that amazing Ziti Salad, The Store baked Ham and his deserts, Kitchen Bouquets reigns as the tome for flavors!
Thanks for sharing the book, and even more for sending me to MY copy of the book teaming with letters and postcards from my old friend and mentor via mail!
Jim Hagen
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