Company's Coming: Casseroles

Cecile Ghosh was a librarian living in Rigaud, Quebec.

Jean Pare has written a cookbook based upon meat, fish and seafood, and vegetable casseroles. For some, the preparation of meals is an encompassing pastime, while for others, a trifling necessity to be executed without chore or fanfare. Pare’s book will delight both elements in our population. Ingredients and preparation instructions are printed in evenly spaced blocks, with metric and imperial measures directly opposite. The cook can immediately grasp not only the ingredients needed but also the preparation each ingredient requires. Throughout, short advice at the top of the page describes preparation time and level of difficulty, and the occasional joke lends a friendly and neighbourly tone to the book. The wine-coloured print on a mauve spotted page, besides being decorative, is easy to read. Coloured photographs of favourite meals are reproduced in miniature lined drawings on the page opposite along with the recipes’ page numbers. Recipe ingredients can be found in any supermarket. This cookbook may disappoint the fans of classical cuisine because canned ingredients are continually advocated. However, there are classical favourites in shortened version for the busy sophisticate: seafood newburg, French tortiere, and beef stroganoff. The index indicates the number and variety of casseroles, although it does suffer from repetition. In a book that caters to good sense and convenience, cross-referencing would prevent needless searching. In essence, the book is aesthetically pleasing, has a ringed binding for quick and easy use, and contains delicious-sounding recipes.