For years, James McNair was known as the master of single subject cookbooks. Throughout the eighties and nineties, he published volume after slim, well-photographed volume of cookbooks that each focused on a particular variety of food. Then, towards the end of the twentieth century, he took the best recipes from each of those small books and put them together into one, very large, very comprehensive book. Clocking in at over 600 pages, James McNair's Favorites is full up with great recipes. It starts out with Breakfasts and Appetizers, and then continues with sections entitled Moving On, Big Adventures (full of food from all around the world), Along the Way (breads, condiments and other bits and pieces), Sweet Endings and finally, the Back to Basics section. It also has a bunch of glossy picture pages and lots of notes from McNair, in an appealing and helpful voice.
If you have one or two of McNair's single subject books and enjoy them, then this is a great book for you. Additionally, if you want a big book with recipes from an assortment of cultures, countries and ethnicities, then this would make a terrific addition to your cookbook library.
Cheese Course: Brebis Pardou
A transcendent summer tomato salad
Sliced bread turns 80 today
