Nov 10, 2006

New Green Eggs and Ham Cookbook

"I've always wondered what green eggs and ham would really taste like and what Dr. Seuss had in mind when he concocted them," writes Georgeanne Brennan in her new Green Eggs and Ham Cookbook. "Was it spinach? Green food coloring? Surely not basil or pureed broccoli. And just how would you get the yolk green and what would stick on ham to cover it so neatly and be so bright green?"

Brennan finds the answers to these and other important Seussian questions in this new cookbook that will delight children and adults alike.

In case you're wondering, it turns out that guacamole covers fried egg yolk very nicely, and an apple jelly glaze over cooked ham coated with green cilantro makes an outstanding green ham.

But the recipes in the Green Eggs and Ham Cookbook are more than just wacky renderings of Seuss's rhyme-ridden imagination. They're actually tasty. And creative.

Remember, Brennan is first and foremost a James Beard Award-winning cookbook author who runs a cooking school in the south of France. In other words, the woman knows food.

Consider her approach to classic mac and cheese. A creamy mixture of ricotta, shallots and Parmesan is stuffed into extra large penne then coated with a bechamel sauce. It's far richer than my Healthy Macaroni and Cheese, but will, no doubt, please the kids.

I was impressed with Brennan's attention to Seussian detail, with recipes for Schlottz's Knots, Nupboards' Nuggets and Pink Yink Ink Drink. Clearly, the woman is a true Seuss aficionado.

Though I must say I was disappointed that Who Roast Beast turned out to be chicken. All those years I imagined roast beef. I mean it's supposed to be served rare, isn't it?

I'm willing to forgive that minor transgression if she could just tell me what happened to Cindy Lou Who's feet. If you look closely at the movie (How the Grinch Stole Christmas, of course), you'll notice that poor Cindy Lou Who never seems to have feet. Was her mother just too frugal to buy a nightgown in her size, so she had to wear hand-me-downs? Or was Seuss trying to cover up some small strange foot deformity? We may never know...