Fourth Thrifty Week of 2015 #2 ~ Meat & Asian Cooking

Recipes on Parade - Meats, published in 1969. Also including seafood and poultry, the 2,000 recipes were collected worldwide from the wives of military officers. A few first lady favorites kick off the book: Lady Bird's BBQ spare ribs, Jackie Kennedy's Beef Stroganoff and Mrs. McNamara's Beef Bourguignon. There are chapters on meat cookery, a meat calorie chart, an herb & spice chart, plus cooking terms and definitions.

Appetizers are the first recipes with an interesting sounding dish titled Drunken Meatballs (made with beer) and pickled pig's feet,. Salads are next with 16 recipes featuring chicken, followed by sides, soups and garnishes. There are casserole and combo dishes ~ tamale pie ~, ground beef and hamburger favorites with even more meatball dishes, plus a few chili options. Up next are beef and veal recipes, with pork and lamb favorites trailing behind. Lastly variety meats explores corned beef, kidney, liver, heart and tongue.

The poultry and wild game section has dishes with chicken, dove, duck, partridge, goose, pheasant, plus antelope, moose and venison. There is a slim chapter on seafood and fish, while favorites from foreign lands wraps up the recipes.

The Art of Asian Cooking, published in 1990. This is the fourth book of recipes compiled by the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts and the first featuring Asian cooking. The book was a part of the centennial celebration of the Asian Department at the Museum and there are recipes from numerous Asian nations, especially India and China, but Nepal, Iran and Japan also make an appearance.

Scattered among the pages and the recipes are photos of the museum's permanent collection of objects and art from the Far East. We start off with a glossary of terms and then proceed to the recipes, beginning with appetizers ~ pakoras from India, egg rolls & seafood wonton from China, then move onto soups with a few familiar Chinese versions of hot & sour and egg drop, plus a mulligatawny from India.

There are several salads, followed by entrees ~ lamb, ribs, pork, beef, a few noodle & rice recipes, lots of shrimp, at least 4 versions of chicken curry and a bang bang chicken. Closing out the recipes we have vegetables, sauces & chutneys, a word or two on spices and of course desserts. The sweet treats include almond cookies and banana fritters.