SC - Mongolian Cookbook... Period?

[Elaine Koogler]

I may have to check this one out.  It'll be interesting to compare it to A Soup
for the Qan.  I'll also ask Paul (author of Soup) what he thinks aout this....

Kiri

lilinah at earthlink.net wrote:

> Just got this in a message from Jessica's Biscuit, cookbook vendors
> http://www.ecookbooks.com
>
> This is not an endorsement, since i have not seen the book... just
> wondered if anyone knew anything about it... May just be another of
> those ethnic cookbooks that claims ancient heritage without any
> actual really old recipes...
>
> Anahita
>
> -----
>
> IMPERIAL MONGOLIAN COOKING: RECIPES FROM THE KINGDOMS OF GENGHIS KHAN, by
> Marc Cramer
> Hippocrene Books, Inc., New York
> http://www.ecookbooks.com/products.html?item=01521
> Jessica's Biscuit Price:$19.96
> Retail Price:$24.95
> An important collection for anyone interested in diverse and historical
> culinary culture. This book is the first to explore the ancient culture of an
> amazing empire. In the late 12th and early 13th centuries, Genghis Khan ruled
> one of history's largest land empires, dominating two dozen countries and
> stretching from the Black Sea in Russia to the South China Sea. With this
> splendid book, Marc Cramer opens a window into the fascinating culture and
> diverse culinary traditions virtually unknown in the West, offering an
> original and exciting cooking adventure. This first-ever collection of
> recipes provides easy-to-follow dishes that are taken from each of the four
> khanates (kingdoms) that comprised the greatest empire the world has ever
> seen--an empire that spanned two continents and four hundred years. Mongolian
> Imperial cuisine is rich, sophisticated and exotic. Its complexity is in its
> unique array of tastes and textures, while its preparation is rather
> straightforward and practical. Virtually all dishes can be made quickly and
> easily from ingredients available in most supermarkets or Asian groceries.
> Entries are accompanied by fascinating narratives describing the history of
> the dish and its particular kingdom of descent. The origin of this entire
> collection is utterly fascinating as told in the introduction by author Marc
> Cramer. Its genesis is in fantastic twists and turns of his Grandfather's
> life, a "tempestuous Russian of Mongolian ancestry" growing bored of the
> restaurant trade, searching for adventure, taking up with the Czar's Imperial
> Army, befriending a former lama and chef in the service of the man who would
> become the last khan of Mongolia, fleeing Russia bound up in a sack of export
> grain on a train bound for Poland, turning up a restaurateur in London where
> he spent out his days sharing bountiful meals, recipes and tales of his
> Mongolia days with his family and friends. It is in this way that many of the
> recipes in this glorious book were handed to his grandson, Marc Cramer, who
> thankfully compiled this intriguing and significant book which savors the
> tradition, taste and history of a bygone empire.
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