Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Review: The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook Inside the Kitchens, Bars, and Restaurants of Mad Men by Judy Gelman and Peter Zheutlin


SUMMARY FROM NETGALLEY.COM:


UNOFFICIAL AND UNAUTHORIZED
Dine like Draper and Drink like Sterling with More Than 70 Recipes from the Kitchens, Bars, and Restaurants Seen on Mad Men
Ever wish you could mix an Old Fashioned just the way Don Draper likes it? Or prepare Oysters Rockefeller and a martini the way they did fifty years ago at one of Roger Sterling’s favorite haunts, The Grand Central Oyster Bar? Ever wonder how Joan Harris manages to prepare a perfect crown roast in her tiny apartment kitchen? Or about the connection between Jackie Kennedy’s 1962 White House tour and Betty Draper’s Valentine’s Day room service order?
The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook serves up more than 70 recipes to satisfy a Mad Men appetite! From the tables of Manhattan’s most legendary restaurants and bars to the Drapers’ Around the World dinner, this book is your entree to the culinary world of Man Men-era New York.
Packed with period detail, The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook provides invaluable historical and cultural context for the food and drink featured in the show, tips on throwing a successful ’60s cocktail party, and even a guide to favored Mad Men hangouts. Every recipe inside is authentic to the time.
Whether you’re planning a Mad Men-themed dinner party, need to mix up some authentic Mad Men cocktails, or just can’t get enough of the show itself, this is your essential resource, a guide to all foods and drinks Mad Men. So hang up your coat, pour yourself a cocktail, and get ready to dine like Draper and drink like Sterling with The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook.
Includes a color photo insert of 16 dishes, plus additional black and white photos and other images of bars, restaurants, and food advertisements from the 1960s.
Sample Recipes:
* Playboy Whiskey Sour
* Sardi’s Steak Tartar
* Connie’s Waldorf Salad
* Sal’s Spaghetti and Meatballs
* Pat Nixon’s Date Nut Bread
* Lindy’s Cherry Cheesecake


MY TAKE:

I worked in an advertising agency before so Mad Men interested me, even though I haven't actually gotten around to watching an episode yet. It's a good thing you don't really need to know a lot about the show in order to enjoy this book.

The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook features recipes for food that were either eaten by the characters or were served in the restaurants they visited. Before each recipe, you get a short description of the episode and scene wherein the food was shown.

What I liked about the book was the fact that each recipe, restaurant and food seemed so well-researched and we get a lot of background information, but it's delivered in an interesting way. So really, this book is part Mad Men and '60s guide and part cookbook. For someone who hadn't been born yet during the '60s, I really got a sense of what life was like then, and what the restaurants were like and how the advertising world was back in the days of the Madison Avenue men.

As for the recipes, they were divided into Cocktails, Appetizers, Salads, Main Courses and Desserts. I'm not one for cocktails, but everything in the book looks good. My mom made vinaigrette using the recipe found in the book and she seemed to like it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Smart Pop for the e-copy.

THE GOOD:

  1. You get recipes, a Mad Men recap and a history lesson with pretty much each recipe.
  2. Some restaurants actually gave their own recipes.
  3. Everything seems well-researched.

THE BAD:

  1. A lot of the recipes, except for the cocktails, need a lot of ingredients.

FAVORITE QUOTE/S:
Today, the Waldorf Salad served at Waldorf-Astoria includes chopped black truffle shavings and candied walnut halves.
READ IT IF:

  1. You're a fan of Mad Men.
  2. You like the '60s and the recipes from that era.
  3. You are planning on throwing a '60s-themed party.

RATING:
Photobucket

SOUNDS INTERESTING?



Photobucket

Note: This post contains Amazon and Book Depository affiliate links.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...