This is not so much a book of recipes per se, as it is a History Book of Recipes. Here is an eclectic mix of Recipes of the World - and could also be called Recipes of the Ages for that is what so many of them are - although some may not recognize them as such. This is because many are "country favorites"; dishes that most of us from Texas and the Deep South were raised on. They are at the same time both current and old, tried and true, forever young recipes, many little changed over centuries of time, which might not be evident unless doing the research that clearly reveals it. This book was originally begun as an effort to preserve the favorite, old-time and much loved recipes and memorabilia of two very different families who were brought together by marriage. Many of the "Recipes of the World" contained herein, are those which have sifted down to us over the centuries, gathered mainly from the settlers and descendants of two main areas of the United States: the Deep South, and the Texas/ Southwest. The recipes of the Deep South are those brought to us by the European settlers along the Southeastern Seaboard, 85% of whom were Irish - and because of that these old favorites also reflect many much-loved favorites of England and the entire European continent time out of mind, i.e., the Food of the Peasantry. Food eaten by those in the Texas/Southwest also include these Deep South favorites (because it was was settled by people from the Southeastern states), but this book also contains the everyday old time favorites of the mass of other Texas settlers as well; the many Germans, Swedes, Czechs, Poles, and others. Indeed, the author's Texas born wife is Czechoslovakian - and this not to mention the many original Texas settlers from Old Mexico, many who died at the Alamo fighting for independence. All the favorite "Tex-Mex" recipes are included along with some basic recipes which the Author collected while living for a time in the rurality of Mexico. Many have personal anecdotes as to how I came by them. Included also, are most of the basic favorites of California (Spanish, Chinese, and Japanese dishes), the Pacific Northwest, as well as the Midwestern and the prominently recognized regional recipes of the Northeastern states with all their different seafood chowders - and the eclectic mix of so many of the ethnic foods of such as Italy, Africa, the Middle and Far East, the Orient and many others from peoples all over the world. And let us not forget that emphasis is placed here as well, on the all-time favorite Louisiana Cajun Seafood Recipes that are included herein. Emil T. Miller ~ ~ One Man's Life Collection of Recipes and Memories ~ ~