For home cooks looking invigorate their kitchens, Paul Merrett's Spice Odyssey: From Asafoetida to Wasabi, Recipes to Really Excite and Inspire is an exceptional choice. The odyssey he describes is not simply focused on creating a hot, spicy meal--it's about flavor. Merrett goes beyond the expected by incorporating whole spices, fresh herbs and other sources of great flavor to create truly diverse meals. His self-deprecating tone and eagerness to share infuse this cookbook with a spice of its own. The result is so enjoyable even the chapter introductions are fun to read.
Accompanying each recipe is a small story about why Merrett chose to include it or a humorous anecdote about its development. The recipes are adventurous and interesting, but also accessible for even inexperienced cooks. And while the ingredients range from the exotic (such as asafoetida, a pungent powder used in Indian dishes) to the more familiar (like wasabi, the Japanese horseradish), most items should be available in your local grocery store. --Justus Joseph, bookseller, Elliott Bay Book Company