# Silver Spoon



## wetlander (Nov 7, 2005)

Hello, although I have been "lurking" in this forum for about a month, this is my first post. Has anyone seen the new English translation of the Italian cookbook, The Silver Spoon? I haven't seen a copy of the book yet, and I am wondering if it actually lives up to all the hype. Your input is appreciated, thank you.

Patty


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

They had it at Costco for a couple of weeks for about $22.00. I haven't seen it there in the last two weeks, but I haven't looked as closely.

LOTS and LOTS of recipes. Not particularly clear recipes, but not bad either. If you have cooking experience, you'll be able to fill in the info on technique and time andyou won't have a problem with the recipes. Not for the beginner in my opinion.

The index is weak. I recommend making a list of recipes you like inside the front cover with page number, or adding them to the index in ink so you can find them later. I was trying to find the roasted red pepper cream sauce recipe which is attached to a bucatini pasta. I suppose it was indexed with the bucatini? Couldn't find it in the index at all. I did find it by hand search later and made a note up front in the book. 

The recipes in their simplicity are actually kind of enlightening if you have the experience to read between the lines. I've become so used the handholding recipe writing popular in america that I began to close my mind somewhat to alterations. I made alterations, certainly, but the simplicity of these recipes really shows you how to make a cream sauce with most any additive for example. At least the simplicity struck me with that insight. It kind of freed my mind in a way.

Some odd terms. I hadn't ever heard of mache referred to as corn salad so I was confused about corn salad until last night when Martha Stewart's Hors D'oevres Handbook explained it to me. I was beginning to think it meant a canned corn product, but then I saw a recipe that called for canned corn so I figured I was wrong. I guess I still need SOME handholding.

It was worth the price to me. My budget is such that I would have been hesitant to pay the cover price, but now that I have it, I think the value is there for the cover price.

Phil


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## wetlander (Nov 7, 2005)

Thank you, Phil. This is exactly the input I was looking for!


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## dorit (May 27, 2004)

I have the book. It's a very basic Italian cookbook. 
Nice to have it as a reference book, but nothing inspiring, except the new chef recipe collection. 
As Italian cooking is my favoirte. I am not sorry I bought it but it doesn't live up to all the hype.


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## lamington (May 2, 2003)

Opinions appear to divide a bit about this one. I think you have to keep in mind that this is an old book, a traditional book, a snapshot of a period in Italian history. It hasn't been modernised in the translation, beyond making it a little more accessible. It's probably best to think of it as the equivalent of, say, a reproduction of a 1950s edition of the Joy of Cooking or Good Housekeeping Cookbook.


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## omi (Dec 6, 2005)

Phil, 
I haven't had a look at the book but when you mentioned the term 'mâche' I thought you were talking about 'lambs lettuce' which is a delicious lettuce for salad often used in France or even maque choux which is a corn dish we often had growing up in Louisiana. Sure enough though, in my French dictionary, mâche is indeed a corn salad! Thanks for the little bit of info. Omi


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