Paula Wolfert
1 WARNING! This is WORLD OF FOOD in sheep's clothing!
This is of course a master work, as are all of Wolfert's books. I am only writing here to spell out what the book blurb above fails to make clear: This is a REPRINT of Wolfert's WORLD OF FOOD book, first published in 1988, given a new, ostensibly more sexy, marketable name. So if you already have WORLD OF FOOD, don't buy this -- but do treat yourself to any other of her books -- they're all winners.
2 Mistress of the Mediterranean
I have now bought ALL of Paula Wolfert's cookbooks and every one of them is magnificent. Even if you are the owner of shelves of mediterranean cookbooks this one shouldn't be missing! Wolfert has the gift of writing recipes that make you want to cook. The recipes in this book are original and exciting, but simple in the mediterranean tradition. The book has no color photographs and lacks even the simplest illustration, but you won't mind. Wolfert's writing is more than enough to get your imagination running in overdrive.