Michael Smith, Michael R. P. Bartlett
List Price: $12.95
By: John Wiley & Sons
Amazon Marketplace: 38
new & used starting at $0.01
|
Buy at Amazon.com
|
Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Baking -> General
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Baking -> General AAS
Subjects -> Cooking, Food & Wine -> Drinks & Beverages -> Coffee & Tea
Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8
Average rating: 4.5 of 5
a fascinating, detailed book, but. . . 4 out of 5 stars.
45 of 47 people found this review helpful.
The author is a British chef who was the culinary advisor to the PBS Masterpiece Theater series "Upstairs, Downstairs" and "The Duchess of Duke Street." The first 80 pages contain information about tea -- its history, how to make it, how to serve it, the names and uses of every type of implement, and so on. The subsequent 174 pages consist of recipes, and are followed by 15 pages of index. The entire book is sprinkled with amusing anecdotes, some from his childhood.I found the book fascinating, but I don't know that I'll ever try any of the recipes. These are authentic British recipes (this man has cookbooks dating from the 1700's, and he quotes from them!). The recipes have all been updated for the modern American kitchen and are easy to follow, but I'm not sure how many will appeal to American tastes. I know I'll never convince my family and friends to eat sandwiches containing minced tongue! I couldn't wait to check out the recipes on potted meat because I'd read about it so many times in novels, but discovered it's boiled, shredded meat turned into a paste via melted butter! And there are 8 different potted meat recipes!
If you are interested in history, authenticity, and details, this is the book for you. If, on the other hand, you just want to have a lovely party with foods that more Americans are familiar with, try "Tea with Friends" by Elizabeth Knight (for how to give a tea party), and "The Book of Afternoon Tea" by Lesley Mackley or "Totally Teatime Cookbook" by Helene Siegel (for recipes).
Editorial Review:
The Afternoon Tea Book enables you to re-create at home a complete English tea. This book contains a complete collection of recipes as well as all a full description of the rituals and customs of an afternoon tea.