Cookbooks for a cause, with a benefit beyond recipes
It’s a cheerful thought to remember that cookbooks can have the aim of winning support for a cause, of furthering a program beyond that of sending the cook to the kitchen with a great recipe.
Here is a small sampling of recent cookbooks benefiting causes:
•”Star Palate: Celebrity Cookbook for a Cure” by Tami Agassi and Kathy Casey (Documentary Media, 2004, $29.95) is a collection of 85 recipes contributed by a starry group including Robin Williams, Arnold Palmer, Lynn and Britney Spears, Emeril Lagasse (among many chefs), and Andre Agassi (brother of the author) and his wife Steffi Graf.
Recipe styles are as varied as the contributors, who are shown in glossy color photos in this large-format book. As might be expected, the professional chefs offer exactly what they do best, mostly haute; the others’ recipes range from Andre Agassi and Graf’s family roast turkey to Candice Bergen’s salmon cakes, Minnie Mouse’s vegetable pasta — and Joan Rivers’ white bread toast, two slices, made in a toaster. Rivers’ comment: “This recipe has been in my family for generations.”
The introduction explains that the concept for the book was dreamed up by Tami Agassi during her own treatment for breast cancer. The publishers say: “The proceeds from the sale of this book directly benefit research for the fight against two of the most dangerous cancers that affect women today. Half of the funds are dedicated to the Breast Cancer Foundation in New York, and half to the Marsha Rivkin Center for Ovarian Cancer Research in Seattle.”
•”Chef on a Shoestring,” with text and recipe editing by Andrew Friedman (Simon & Schuster, 2004, $12 paperback), features “more than 120 inexpensive recipes from America’s best-known chefs.”
This is the paperback edition of the cookbook first published in hardcover in 2001, based on the CBS television show also called “Chef on a Shoestring,” in which noted chefs on a limited budget shop at a local supermarket and have to come up with a three-course meal for a family of four.
The book is a selection of recipes from luminaries including Sara Moulton, Mario Batali, Charlie Palmer and Daniel Boulud, grouped in chapters spanning the range of dishes from finger foods and small plates through main courses and desserts.
The publisher says CBS will donate all its royalties to Share Our Strength, a leading anti-hunger, antipoverty organization that has been active since 1984.
•”From Asparagus to Zucchini: A Guide to Cooking Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce” (Jones Books, 2004, $19.95 paperback) is the third edition of an information-packed publication from the Madison Area Community Supported Agriculture Coalition (MACSAC), based in Madison, Wis.
Jones Books is distributing this edition of the book, which the organization had previously distributed in a limited way. In the book, the coalition is described as “a nonprofit organization promoting the production and consumption of fresh, local, and sustainable foods. MACSAC is part of the national movement that is connecting eaters to the food they eat and the farms that produce it.”
The book’s aim was to serve both local farmers and the people who buy their fresh produce. Along with plenty of information, there are some 420 recipes, most of them new to this edition, created by a varied group of contributors including growers, farm members, home cooks and professional chefs. Recipes include Hmong-style daikon and beef, eggplant potato moussaka and tequila-braised corn salsa.
A note in the front of the book says the proceeds from its sale support the educational and outreach efforts of MACSAC. Part of the proceeds also supports MACSAC’s Partner Shares Program, which makes food available for low-income households.