ÒClassic Russian Cooking is a book that I highly recommend. Joyce Toomre has done a marvelous job of translating this valuable and fascinating source book. ItÕs the Fanny Farmer and Isabella Beeton of RussiaÕs 19th century.Ó ÑJulia Child, Food ArtsÒJoyce Toomre . . . has accomplished an enormous task, fully on a part with the original authorÕs slave labor. Her extensive preface and her detailed and entertaining notes are marvelous.Ó ÑTatyana Tolstaya, New York Review of BooksÒ. . . should become as much of a classic as the Russian original . . . dazzling and admirable expedition into RussiaÕs kitchens and cuisine.Ó ÑSlavic ReviewÒWhat a delightful discovery this is! . . . an astonishing and immensely appealing work that will serve adventurous readers and curious cooks.Ó ÑNahum Waxman, Owner, Kitchen Arts & LettersÒWhat a joy to be introduced to RussiaÕs Joy of Cooking by way of a scholar as knowledgeable as Joyce Toomre, who tells us what it was like to be a young housewife in the days of Chekhov and Tolstoy, feasting in Butter Week before the Great Fast, making pirogs and kvass, hazel grouse souffle [acute accent over e] and ÔDrunkenÕ plums, gathering berries, pickling mushrooms. A rediscovery of pre-Bolshevik times.Ó ÑBetty H. Fussell, author of I Hear America CookingFirst published in 1861, this ÒbibleÓ of Russian homemakers offered not only a compendium of recipes, but also instructions about such matters as setting up a kitchen, managing servants, shopping, and proper winter storage. Joyce Toomre has superbly translated and annotated over one thousand of the recipes and has written a thorough and fascinating introduction that discusses the history of Russian cuisine and summarizes Elena MolokhovetsÕ advice on household management. A treasure trove for culinary historians, serous cooks and cookbook readers, and scholars of Russian history and culture.Indiana-Michigan Series in Russian and East European StudiesAlexander Rabinowitch and William G. Rosenberg, general editors