May 15, 1999
Berry is known as the "Bean Queen"--although she grows other things at her northern New Mexican ranch, it's her heirloom beans that have made her famous in culinary circles. She started out growing specialty produce for Coyote Caf, Mark Miller's well-known Santa Fe restaurant, but now the focus of the ranch is what New York Times food writer Fabricant refers to as Berry's "library"--the 300 or so different bean plants she grows each season and what could be called the reference section, jars of dried beans from adzuki to white emergo. The authors cover just 30 of these beans in their book, providing description, background, cooking information, and (usually) one recipe--often from a chef who cooks Berry's beans--for each type. A nice book, but considering Berry's knowledge of unusual beans, disappointing in its brevity. For larger collections. Carpenter and Sandison are the authors of more than half a dozen previous cookbooks, including Hot Wok (LJ 6/15/95). Although their subject this time seems a rather narrow one, they offer dozens of delicious recipes for ribs--spareribs, baby back, country-style--inspired by cuisines all over the world: Szechuan Fire Ribs, Moroccan Glazed Ribs, Southwest Barbecued Ribs, and more. There's a good introductory section on cooking techniques and an illustrated glossary of ingredients. For most collections.
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