Product Description

This anthology is taken from the nine books written by Elizabeth David on the subject of food and cookery. It contains many pieces which have been added to by her friends, including chefs and writers that she influenced, such as Prue Leith and Terence Conran.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #452986 in Books
• Published on: 1998-10-29
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

Customer Reviews

This anthology, collected from Elizabeth David's 9 books
is a wonderful tribute to the most inspiring and influential food writer this century.

But of course - `the best of Elizabeth David was Elizabeth herself.
She was very old-fashioned, she loved conversation, five hour lunches and, of course, wine - conversations and long lunches are unthinkable without a glass in hand.......Her writing, souvenirs of people and food, in particular, is a loyal and vibrant reflection of her conversation.........

Elizabeth David, 1913-1992, changed the way we cook, and how we think and write about food.

`South Wind Through the Kitchen', is the best of Elizabeth David, compiled by her friend and editor - Jill Norman - with many of the chefs and writers Elizabeth David inspired.
Here are classic essays on the food of Provence and of Paris, on Italian fish markets and Middle Eastern herb gardens.
Here, too, are nearly 200 recipes.....whether describing the pains of rolling puff pastry or the ease of making pizza, railing against the practices of English bakeries or praising the sausage rolls at the Hotel de Midi, Elizabeth David always speaks her own mind. Best of all she is a contagious enthusiast; she makes you want to rise from your chair to travel, shop or try your hand at making an omelette.
`Reading her,' writes Julian Barnes, 'you have a strong sense of a person whose cardinal principles are truth and pleasure. Perhaps it is not absurd to compare her effect on a certain sector of tired, hungry, impoverished fifties Britain with Kinsey's effect on America.'

Paperback format with 384 matt pages, split over various chapters plus a foreword, an introduction from Jill Norman, an impressive list of contributors and an index.
Main chapters:-

HORS D'OEUVRE
SOUPS
EGGS AND CHEESE
FISH, SHELLFISH AND CRUSTACEA
MEAT
POULTRY AND GAME
VEGETABLES
PASTA, PULSES AND GRAINS
SAUCES
SWEET DISHES AND CAKES
PRESERVES
BREAD AND YEAST COOKERY

Interspersed with the typical black and white illustrations one has come to expect in an Elizabeth David book.

Recipes include:-

Boeuf en Salade
Gazpacho
Poached Eggs
Omelettes
Fonduta
La Quiche Lorraine
Ragout of Shellfish
Lobster Courchamps
Aioli
Boeuf a la Bourguignonne
Sussex Stewed Steak
Spiced Beef for Christmas
Norman's Recipe
Baked Pork with Wine and Oranges
Baked Middle Gammon
Lamb on the Bone
Chicken Pot-Roasted with Fennel and Ham
Welsh Salt Duck
Mushrooms in Cream
Peperonata
Ratatouille Niçoise
Polenta
Risotto aux Fruits de Mer
Cumberland Sauce
Lemon Soufflé
Syllabub
Gooseberry Fool
Chocolate Mousse
English Lemon Curd
Mincemeat
Rice Bread
Sausage in Brioche Crust

This anthology, collected from Elizabeth David's 9 books
is a wonderful tribute to the most inspiring and influential food writer this century.

But of course - `the best of Elizabeth David was Elizabeth herself.
She was very old-fashioned, she loved conversation, five hour lunches and, of course, wine - conversations and long lunches are unthinkable without a glass in hand.......Her writing, souvenirs of people and food, in particular, is a loyal and vibrant reflection of her conversation.........

Elizabeth David, 1913-1992, changed the way we cook, and how we think and write about food.

`South Wind Through the Kitchen', is the best of Elizabeth David, compiled by her friend and editor - Jill Norman - with many of the chefs and writers Elizabeth David inspired.
Here are classic essays on the food of Provence and of Paris, on Italian fish markets and Middle Eastern herb gardens.
Here, too, are nearly 200 recipes.....whether describing the pains of rolling puff pastry or the ease of making pizza, railing against the practices of English bakeries or praising the sausage rolls at the Hotel de Midi, Elizabeth David always speaks her own mind. Best of all she is a contagious enthusiast; she makes you want to rise from your chair to travel, shop or try your hand at making an omelette.
`Reading her,' writes Julian Barnes, 'you have a strong sense of a person whose cardinal principles are truth and pleasure. Perhaps it is not absurd to compare her effect on a certain sector of tired, hungry, impoverished fifties Britain with Kinsey's effect on America.'

Paperback format with 384 matt pages, split over various chapters plus a foreword, an introduction from Jill Norman, an impressive list of contributors and an index.
Main chapters:-

HORS D'OEUVRE
SOUPS
EGGS AND CHEESE
FISH, SHELLFISH AND CRUSTACEA
MEAT
POULTRY AND GAME
VEGETABLES
PASTA, PULSES AND GRAINS
SAUCES
SWEET DISHES AND CAKES
PRESERVES
BREAD AND YEAST COOKERY

Interspersed with the typical black and white illustrations one has come to expect in an Elizabeth David book.

Recipes include:-

Boeuf en Salade
Gazpacho
Poached Eggs
Omelettes
Fonduta
La Quiche Lorraine
Ragout of Shellfish
Lobster Courchamps
Aioli
Boeuf a la Bourguignonne
Sussex Stewed Steak
Spiced Beef for Christmas
Norman's Recipe
Baked Pork with Wine and Oranges
Baked Middle Gammon
Lamb on the Bone
Chicken Pot-Roasted with Fennel and Ham
Welsh Salt Duck
Mushrooms in Cream
Peperonata
Ratatouille Niçoise
Polenta
Risotto aux Fruits de Mer
Cumberland Sauce
Lemon Soufflé
Syllabub
Gooseberry Fool
Chocolate Mousse
English Lemon Curd
Mincemeat
Rice Bread
Sausage in Brioche Crust

Liz is god....
It's the "best of" Elizabeth David. What's not to like?

No nonsense, anecdotal, scathing, informative, intelligent, witty, interesting. And the food's superb too. Makes Delia look like the amateur she is.