OP: Everybody Eats Well in Belgium Cookbook (paperback)

Workman Publishing, 1996. Paperback. Near Fine.

Belgian cuisine is not terribly well represented in American publishing, so it is no surprise that if asked to define it or name a few dishes, we might struggle a bit, having perhaps a general idea but not quite a clear vision.

Ghent-born Ruth Van Waerebeek to the rescue! Everybody Eats Well in Belgium, first published in 1996 and later reissued as The Taste of Belgium, is a total revel in the joys of her national cuisine. 

Each recipe name is given in English, Flemish, and French, and the chapters are segmented in many decidedly distinct categories—Cooking with Beer; Potatoes; Waffles, Pancakes, and Breads—standing out from the more common poultry, fruits and vegetables, meats, etc. 

Charming headnotes extol the virtues of Belgian ingredients and locally crafted accouterments, as in the salsify with Tierenteyn mustard (“made in Ghent since 1790”) and in the monkfish (“highly regarded in Belgium”) on a bed of beer-braised endives.

Other dishes include poached chicken with veal dumplings in veloute, served over rice pilaf; seared venison in a gin and green peppercorn cream sauce with toast; and chocolate chestnut truffle mousse. All very enticing indeed.

This is a Near Fine copy of the paperback edition.