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The Life and Mind of DamnBlackHeart
This is to help me stay actively writing. So expect to see rants, tips on writing, thoughts on subjects, me complaining of boredom, reviews, anime, movies, video games, conventions, tv shows and whatever life throws at me.
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Book Review: Breakfast is Served by Laura Ascari & Elisa |
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Give your breakfast or brunch a global twist and travel the world before lunchtime with this celebration of the most delicious morning meals from around the globe – featuring quick and simple recipes for pastries, soups, cereals, tarts, cakes and more. From popular favorites to new discoveries, transport yourself to Italy, Argentina, Morocco, India and beyond with over 40 recipes for the most important meal of the day.
From the familiar – French Pain au Chocolat, Italian Brioche and Austrian Strudel – to the new and exciting – Swedish Kanelbullar, Brazilian Bolo de Fubá and sweet, creamy Pasteis de Nata from Portugal get your day off to the tastiest possible start, with the best-kept breakfast secrets from countries around the world.
The quality of the book is fantastic as it should be since it is a hardcover. The cover is eye catching and so are the accompanying photography with the recipes, but what drew me in it about it is that it’s specifically on breakfast and brunch from around the world. That certainly peaked my interest because I don’t actually know that much about it.
When you first open this book you’re given an introduction by the authors and a table of contents which list recipes from 42 countries in alphabetical order. To name a few: Afghanistan, Alaska, Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium and so on. Keep in mind that this isn’t meant to be an educational or super accurate book on all the breakfast and brunch foods from around the world. Aside from the United States, they’ve picked only one recipe to showcase in their book from each location.
I am quite familiar with Portugal, but when I saw what was picked for it I was a bit surprised. Breakfast in Portugal and in Portuguese families is typically coffee (usually meia de leite or a galão, which contains milk in the coffee) with buttered slices of toast, jam, or toasted sandwiches of ham and cheese. Obviously, this isn’t anything special which is why I believed the authors went with something not-typical like Pastel de Nata (Portuguese Custard Tart).
This sweet pastry is sometimes eaten for breakfast (think of it as an equivalent to donuts I suppose), along with Pão de Ló (a sponge cake) and Pão doce (a sweet bread). It really depends on personal preference since in my family, we prefer to have these custard tarts for afternoon tea/coffee instead. When I really thought about it, I realize that this would’ve made for a very boring book if it only contained the basic or common brunch and breakfast foods. For that reason the authors picked and choose recipes that were unique to the locations.
I can definitely see this book being used for special occasions, such as birthdays or holidays. For when you want to have something different for breakfast than your typical cereal, eggs, toast and coffee. The recipes are clear and easy enough to follow with ingredients in both metric and imperial.
However, this book may not be for everyone since it is a bit heavy on the sweet side, with a bit more recipes on cakes, biscuits and breads. It’s also not always quick because some of them can take a hour or even a whole day to complete. In those cases I feel like it would be easier to get something at the local bakery than doing it at home.
I like this book, but it could do with a bit more oomph if they included some information about what’s usually a typical breakfast for each country. Or why certain items were chosen. For example I balked at Kimchi for Korea when I saw it because I always thought it was more for lunch or dinner dishes. A little bit of explanation would’ve gone a long way, instead of a flowery purple prose sentence.
I had to look it up to find out that Kimchi is something that can be eaten raw (as a snack, straight from the jar) or cooked, and its usage doesn’t need to be reserved just for Korean dishes. That it can lend a subtle heat to scrambled eggs or to grilled cheese. That makes a lot of sense as to why the authors choose it.
 DamnBlackHeart · Wed Apr 08, 2020 @ 10:26pm · 0 Comments |
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