Home Cooking Around the World: A Recipe Collection - Hardcover

People around the world wax rhapsodic about home cooking. But one would think the definition of home cooking would vary greatly from country to country. To the contrary, in Home Cooking Around the World David Ricketts shows that home-style favorites from far-flung places have more in common than you might expect. Ricketts has traveled the world during his long career as a food journalist--most notably as a staff editor of Food & Wine magazine--and discovered that the basic ingredients and techniques of home cooking remain much the same no matter how far you travel. The striking differences in cuisines lie not in such mundane factors as the type of meat you choose or what method you use to cook it, but rather in the herbs, spices, and other seasonings that differ from place to place.

In Ricketts's clever, international take on comfort food, Pot Roast gets a Middle-Eastern zing from ginger, cinnamon, turmeric, and apricots. New England Clam Chowder becomes Caribbean Sweet Potato Soup with Scallops, spicy with cloves, cardamom, and ground red pepper and rich with coconut milk. Even that Thursday night special, Tuna Noodle Casserole, gets a fanciful twist with the addition of curry powder--and the traditional canned soup is replaced with a luxurious mushroom and cream mixture made from scratch. Ricketts's desserts are equally deft at balancing the fine line between familiar and exotic: in Asian Black Rice Pudding, buttery-tasting palm sugar and smooth, rich coconut milk balance the toothiness of the Thai black sticky rice; a simple dish of roasted figs is brought to life by the sweet heat of candied ginger and the creamy richness of crème fraîche.

Charming stories of the author's extensive travels and the culinary discoveries they led to, along with Mark Thomas's gorgeous photographs, make the book feel like postcards from an old friend sending prized memories home for you to share. Most of the recipes are simple to prepare--many requiring just one pot and a long stovetop simmer--and a handy glossary and source list make finding even the more exotic ingredients a snap. --Robin Donovan

Professor David Ricketts qualified at Guy's Hospital Dental School, now GKT Kings College, in 1986. Following an Oral Surgery House Officer post and two years in general practice he returned to Guy's Hospital to study for an MSc in conservative dentistry. During this period his main research interest in cariology and, in particular, its diagnosis and appropriate management began which led to the award of a PhD in 1995. David has since published widely in his research area and in other aspects of restorative dentistry and his research has led to collaboration with colleagues in numerous European countries and the USA. In 1999 David moved to Dundee and was promoted to Senior Lecturer / Honorary Consultant in Restorative Dentistry in 2003. In 2006 he became Leader of the Section of Operative Dentistry, Fixed Prosthodontics and Endodontology at Dundee Dental School and in 2008 he was awarded a personal Chair in Cariology and Conservative Dentistry.