Eh, this was a bit disappointing. Gorgeous photography and interesting-sounding recipes (even though I don't eat meat), but the one I made didn't leave me really want to make more. Sent back to the library. ( )

Some lovely winter recipes in this book. Also a really nice and unusual recipe for apple bread ( )

Yet another cookbook based on place of origin - but it is exclusively a cookbook - and it has as its theme warming dishes from the colder climates. The recipes originate generally from the more northern areas of the world, the colder parts of Europe and North America including New England, Quebec, Eastern Europe and Russia, Scandinavia, France Britain and Ireland, and even from as far south as northern Italy. The recipes cover the a wide range including meat, fish and poultry dishes, cheese, Vegetable dishes, salads, pasta, soups and desserts. The individual ingredients are for the most part not unusual, but often the combination maybe.

In addition to some very tempting sounding meat dishes, such as beef pie with wild mushrooms and claret, duck breast with aillade (garlic and walnuts), melting leg of lamb with juniper, and Danish roast pork with pickled prunes and sweet cucumber, there is pumpkin tart with spinach and Gorgonzola, onion and cider soup, Swedish halibut with wild mushrooms and horseradish, numerous ways of serving potatoes and other recipes for specific vegetables. For the sweet tooth there is steamed apple and marmalade pudding, sour cream apple-pie muffins with pecans and brown sugar, pecan and pear upside-down cake with cranberries - and many more or all sorts.

This is a well presented book, no gimmicks, basically just clearly presented recipes with introductory comments. The book is divided into various themed sections, each with a page or two of introduction. Many of the dishes are shown in full colour, often full page photographs of high quality. There's lots to tempt here, especially for the colder months.

It was sort of torture to read this at the beginning of summer, but that's when I received it. It's been nominated for design awards and no wonder. Along with lovely photos, there are charming on-topic quotes and poems sprinkled throughout (although sometimes easy to miss in their subtle grey italics). I haven't actually tested any of these recipes yet, but intend to work my way through at least half of them come fall. I also now really want to visit Northern Europe. Also in the winter.

The chapters are by ingredient rather than by country, which works well. And unlike with many books along these lines, most of the traditional mouthwatering dishes described in the chapter introductions actually show up in the recipe section, with the chapter on smoked foods as a sad exception. The author is Irish, so some terms will be foreign to American readers, but pretty easy to figure out. She's also a very fun writer, with references to "great smiling wedges" of roast pumpkin and recommending that Russian pancakes be eaten for dessert instead of breakfast "unless you're a bit of a pig."

There are realistic substitutions for the more unusual ingredients. A few pastry-based recipes could really have used a photo, so you know exactly what shape she is trying to describe, and there is a dead rabbit photo in the game chapter (this is really important to some people). No blood, however.

In keeping with the winter theme, this is not a healthy cookbook. Butter dominates rather than olive oil. There's even an entrée salad based on a traditional English fry-up breakfast. Cream, bacon, and cheese run through every chapter. Maybe I only need to wait for a cloudy day. ( )