In Good Taste

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

This small collection of recipes is slanted to the cook who loves to
entertain with rather traditional dinner parties.

The recipes include a sprinkling of French-Canadian specialities, a
reflection of the author’s heritage. Although tradition reigns, many
of the recipes have been updated to make them acceptable to those
concerned about sodium and cholesterol levels.

The recipes are grouped not by meal type but by main ingredient (pasta,
seafood, poultry, vegetables, and so on). Soups, salads, and desserts
are exceptions, making the arrangement of the book a bit puzzling. The
good index helps.

The book contains four full-color plates. This sounds rather
insignificant, but surprisingly it’s enough to give the book a touch
of elegance and encourage the browser to take a second look. The four
photos are humble in number but definitely not in impact. More than the
actual recipes with their lists of expensive, luxury ingredients, the
photos establish that presentation is everything and that this is a book
for those who approach the production of a meal as the creation of a
work of art.

The book gives both metric and imperial measures, adequate but brief
methods, and suggestions for wine or other accompaniments.