Shameless book plug

[mrdutton]

WW-how did you arrive at $213.00 for garlic and olive oil? What did you do, get the first pressing from the first harvest afer the last full moon and then buy some bulbs of garlic grown in the finest of topsoils?

Foodie - the book was great and a number of the recipes have been noted for future reference to try out in my own kitchen. I would have read it in one sitting, but work got in the way. So it took me a couple of days to get through your book. Everytime I sat down to read, it held my attention! I really liked your stories about your travels through Europe. They reminded me very much of my own travels when I was a young man in the Navy.

I found one error, I think. You mention on page 170 that 10 grams of olive oil includes 9 mg of vitamin E and 100 g of vitamin A. I wondered at your ability to put 100.009 grams into a 10 gram container! I think you meant to say 100 mg of vitamin A. A very moot point, to say the least.

(Reminds me of the days, as a sailor, when we said it was impossible to pack 10 lbs of BS into a 1 lbs stocking. This comment was usually reserved to describe an order from an officer who we thought did not know what he was talking about.)

I also found myself disagreeing with your addition of olive oil to the water when you cook pasta. The olive oil coats the pasta and prevents the sauce from penetrating into the noodles. A lot of "classical" cooking I've observed has recommended against the additon of the oil to the water.

The whole point of the sauce is to flavor the pasta; if the pasta can not absorb that flavor because of its oily coating then why bother with the sauce?

Otherwise a GREAT READ! I am REALLY GLAD I bought the book!

[This message has been edited by mrdutton (edited 09-02-2000).]