'Goose Fat and Garlic'

Originally bought "Goose Fat and Garlic" as the sole copy left on a table of other odds and ends at a Borders in Reno, Nevada. Not your typical foodie book, this test by Jeanne Strang explores the French countryside highlighting the many often overlooked items in French cuisine that have fed generations of farmers. The book gets its title from the abundant use of the fat from poultry and fowl in French country cooking, as preserved dairy was not part of the region's culinary evolution. As such, the region's traditional dishes still are based on the use of bird fat for flavor and consistency. But as a result, the world is given such delectables as duck confit and foie gras.

The book is split into chapters focusing on a particular element of the cuisine, such as soups, mushrooms, fish, poultry and fowl... What makes this book stand out is the author's anthropological perspective -- not so much to analyze, but rather spotlight individuals in their daily lives. The book's focus is food, but along with it comes an appreciation for how these country people live and continue to eke out a living on a way of life that is still very much based on subsistence. Those who appreciate Anthony Bourdain and other culinary greats will get something out of this, if nothing other than to take a break from Tony's often over-the-top diatribes on how the modern culinary world is nothing but a market catering to charlatans and whores. What's more, each narrative is followed up with slews of authentic recipes gathered from families and from the author's own observations. The recipes themselves make this book worth the price. Everything else is a bonus.