International Pantry Cookbook: An Everyday Guide to Cooking with Seasonings, Prepared Sauces, and Spices

As high-concept as the latest Hollywood film, The International Pantry Cookbook features eye-catching graphics and a strongly focussed idea: you can make a great variety of dishes by combining regional spices, sauces, pastes, and other seasonings with staples that are essentially similar the world over. By using prepared versions of many of these seasonings, you can save time while producing good results. Heidi Haughy Cusick provides 50 "Master Recipes" and 275 variations of them that are based on the cooking of seven regions: the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the American South. "Practical Seasoning Tips," such as stirring flour into an overly hot spice blend or rub to cool its flavor, punctuate the text.

The bold design of The International Pantry Cookbook is primarily black and white with brilliant orange accents, and the graphic layout is both off-beat and efficient. One "Master Recipe" and up to seven variations are displayed in two facing pages. For easy reference, Cusick also lists the names, addresses, and phone numbers of nearly every sauce and condiment company that might be of interest. This trove of recipes is best suited for cooks who have little time but who possess an adventurous palate and a desire to enlarge their repertoire with bold flavors. Look particularly for Indonesian Stove-Top Rice, Kung Pao Chicken Sauté, Curried Crab Crostini, and Za'atar-Spiced Roasted Vegetables.