South Wind Through the Kitchen: The Best of Elizabeth David Edited by Jill Norman

This hefty book of "best" food-writing selections from Elizabeth David's cookbooks reflects a woman who could not only offer a good recipe but could write ever so appetizingly about it. Unlike most cookbook authors, David, who died in 1992, blended her recipes into her essays. She writes about the simplest and the most popular of Provencal dishes, aioli. She gives the concisest of recipes for such dishes as Piselli Al Prosciutto -- aka green peas and ham. She slso ventures into the likes of Rabbit Cooked in Marsala, Ratatouille Nicoise, Cinnamon Ice Cream and Cornish Saffron Cake. She was ahead of her time in many ways but also of a generation didn't shy from using lard as an ingredient.

The selections are chosen by the likes of Anne Willan, a celebrated cookbook author and teacher herself whom I've been honored to meet and interview; and cookbook author and TV personality Barbara Kafka. Of David, Kafka writes, "When I finally met her, I received another gift, the surprise of her physical beauty. She remained Mrs. David to me, not a friend but a respected and graceful mentor, as she was to much of my generation."

The book is far more than cookbook selections. It's a glimpse at some of David's best writing and food memoirs.