The Foreign Service Journal, November 2003

20 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 3 full publication data along with a short commentary. While many of these books are available from book- stores and other sources, we encourage our readers to use the link to Amazon.com from the AFSA Web site to order your selections. We have created a new Bookstore in the AFSA Marketplace (see p. 36 for instructions). For books that cannot be ordered through Amazon.com, we have provided the necessary contact information. But enough crass commercialism. On to the books! — Susan Maitra, Associate Editor CULINARY AFFAIRS A Year of Russian Feasts Catherine Cheremeteff Jones, Jellyroll Press, 2002, $16.95, paperback, 192 pages. This is a culinary journey into the heart and hearth of Russia undertaken during the exciting and turbulent years from 1991 to 1994. “Communism was on the verge of collapse and Yeltsin was trying desperately to convince his fellow citizens that democracy was the path of the future,” the author explains in her introduction. “Gorbachev’s ideas of glasnost and perestroika, loosely defined as openness and restructuring, did in fact create a more accessible Russia, one that allowed me to make Russian friends, enter Russian homes, and explore Russian traditions and culture — all things that would have been difficult, if not impossible, under Communism.” The result is an enjoyable and informative read fea- turing 40 of the best recipes from the author’s Russian collection, thoughtfully adapted for American kitchens. The recipes were gleaned from the yellowing pages of notebooks of her Russian friends, from cooks whose memory is their only guide, and from the kitchens of her grandmother and mother (a descen- dant of the Sheremetev clan of the Romanov dynasty) — and each one comes with a good story. Catherine Cheremeteff Jones was born in India and traveled the world with her father, retired Ambassador Brandon Grove Jr. Today she travels the world with her FSO husband Paul Jones, whom she met in Moscow, and their two children. Eating for Pregnancy: An Essential Guide to Nutrition with Recipes for the Whole Family Catherine Jones, with Rose Ann Hudson, R.D., L.D., Marlowe & Company, 2003, $16.95, paperback, 332 pages. “Delicately balancing optimum and unnecessary weight gain … simple yet flavorful dishes … an over- whelming amount of information,” is what Publishers Weekly had to say about this book. An excellent culinary guide, it is chock-full of reliable and up-to- date information on the special nutrition needs and issues of pregnancy. And it contains more than 120 easy-to-prepare recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as tasty and healthy snacks and treats for the whole family — picky young children included. A chapter on vegetarian delights is an added bonus. Each recipe is accompanied by clear information on its nutritional value, preparation and storage tips, and menu suggestions. An appendix contains weight- gain charts, lists of food sources for all the essential nutrients, and food cleaning, handling and safety tips. Essential for the pregnant woman, this book is a valuable addition to anyone’s kitchen. Catherine Jones, also the author of A Year of Russian Feasts , is a gradu- ate of La Varenne Culinary School in France, and worked for the late Jean-Louis Palladin. Rose Ann Hudson is a perinatal nutritionist who served on the staff of the Columbia Hospital for Women in Washington, D.C., for 12 years. The Gringo’s Guide to Chilean Wine Fred Purdy, Impresos Offset Bellavista Ltda., 2003, 5th edition, $8, paperback, 205 pages. This new, fifth and final edition of “a brief, irreverent and opin- ionated tour of the wines of Chile” has the distinction of offer- ing detailed sketches of more individual Chilean wineries and winemakers than any other source — including the glossy and expensive Guia de Vinos de Chile , top competitor to the Gringo’s Guide . The Guide also pioneered with the inclusion of a section on where to find wines, and in spreading understanding and appreciation of the once esoteric but now world-famous wines of Chile in, as author Fred Purdy puts it, “the language of F O C U S