Thinking Outside the Recipe Box is a cookbook unlike any other. Beginning with commonly known recipes such as Egg Foo Young, Caesar Salad, and Beef Wellington, Jack Foster has experimented and created new versions that stand on their own merits: Egg Foo Old, Brutus Salad, and Beef Napoleon. As such, this is a cookbook for people with a sense of humor that matches their culinary sense of adventure.
Each recipe is introduced by an explanation of the origin of the original recipe and the inspiration for Foster's new improvisation. The recipes themselves are divine, promising new tastes, textures, and pleasures. Accompanying the recipes is one of the most enjoyable collections of food quotes ever assembled.
The 101 original recipes are gathered under the following four categories:
Beginnings (breakfasts, appetizers, salads and dressings, soups and chowders)
Some of Foster's new creations include Oysters Bill Gates (instead of Oysters Rockefeller), Angeled Eggs (instead of Deviled Eggs), Reuben Soup (instead of Reuben Sandwich), Sweetbraten (instead of Sauerbraten), Chicken Oscar (instead of Veal Oscar), Hoppin' Juan (instead of Hoppin' John), Montecito Sandwich (instead of Monte Cristo Sandwich), German Fries (instead of French Fries), Baked Vermont (instead of Baked Alaska), 'I Can't Believe It's Not Butter' Cookies (instead of Butter Cookies), and Chocolate Elk (instead of Chocolate Mousse).
Thinking Outside the Recipe Box also provides an ample selection of cooking and preparation tips and techniques, metric conversion tables, and a helpful bibliography.
