Regional & International Books - Page 15

Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art

Shizuo Tsuji, Yoshiki Tsuji

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 39 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Japanese food was virtually unknown in many Western cities in the 1980s, when Shizuo Tsujii wrote Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art. M.F.K. Fisher's introduction eloquently sets the stage for Tsujii's classic work. It may be the most thought-provoking piece ever written about Japanese food for non-Asians, pointing out how food and even the physical act of eating differ from what they are in Japan. Tsujii's writing is clear and educational. He talks specifically to a Western, non-Asian audience, demonstrating far more awareness of our culinary preferences and prejudices than most Westerners have for his. Following the preface (which should not be skipped), an arrangement of color photos of key ingredients and dishes sets the scene. Next, part 1 provides a thorough explanation of techniques for Japanese cooking and instructions for making all the basic elements of dishes. These "lessons" cover cutting vegetables, steaming, grilling, and deep frying the Japanese way, and even how to make sushi. Recipes cover Basic Vinegar Salad Dressings, Sushi Rice, and Teriyaki. To prepare Vinegared Octopus, a complete series of drawings clearly demonstrates each step.

Part 2 consists solely of recipes. Gather together fresh ginger, soy sauce, the sweet wine mirin , sake, and rice vinegar and you can make many of them. Beginners might start with Deep Fried Chicken Patties, Steak Teriyaki, Tortoise Shell Tofu, simply bathed in a tasty sauce, and Asparagus Rice, a light and colorful dish. Because of its combination of background information, comprehensive recipes, and excellent instructions, Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art will always remain an important book for learning about this simple yet complex cuisine. --Dana Jacobi

Tapas: A Taste of Spain in America

Jose Andres, Richard Wolffe

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 18 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In Tapas, a collection of 100-plus recipes for Spain's savory small dishes, chef José Andrés writes of journeying during his military service to Cádiz, in southern Spain, where he was "able to see the wonders of frying first hand." The passion that would lead an on-leave soldier to investigate a cooking technique infuses the book, which is something new under the sun. In chapters based on characteristic ingredients, such as fish, rice, and eggs, readers are introduced to authentic yet reproducible tapas of great and flavorful immediacy; these simple dishes, which include the likes of Tomato Toast with Spanish Ham, Pan-Fried Angel Hair Pasta with Shrimp, Slow-Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Cabrales Cheese, and Spring Leeks with Mushrooms, are instantly inviting. They'll also fit into a wide range of menu slots, as hors d'oeuvres, brunch and supper fare, or as side dishes. In well-written notes, Andrés provides context and something more--a sense of a living culinary tradition, which he loves, deftly presented to best advantage. Writing, for example, of the poor quality of most stuffed olives, a favorite tapa, he exhorts readers to make their own. "Simple ingredients prepared in a simple way--that's the best way to take your everyday cooking to a higher level," he says. Amen, and an invitation to cook--and understand--wonderful food. --Arthur Boehm

Latin Evolution

Jose Garces

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

As lavish and exquisite as his food! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Decorated with beautiful pictures, stories and of course recipes, this book will introduce the rest of the world what we Philadelphians have enjoyed for the past three years: amazing latin and spanish cuisine. Get a copy and get to one his restaurants to experience it in person!

Editorial Review:

The flavors and cooking styles of Spain and Latin America have become increasingly popular with American diners and foodies. In this debut collection of recipes, chef Jose Garces explores the future direction of these cuisines through the use of new ingredients and techniques; for example, the classic Mexican dish Turkey Mole featuring sesame-seed praline and shavings of Valrhona chocolate. Professional chefs and adventurous home cooks will find unlimited inspiration in this comprehensive and beautifully designed book.

Chez Panisse Vegetables

Alice L. Waters

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 26 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

More for the market than the kitchen 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Alice Waters made her mark on the culinary world more for her pioneering efforts in sourcing and championing high quality local and organic ingredients than for her culinary skill and imagination, and that's reflected in this book. It's really helped me pick out the best vegetables at the local grocery store or farmers market, and has encouraged me to try new vegetable with sometimes delicious results. Thanks to her, I appreciate the wonders of braised chard or baby garlic soup, things I never expected to explore.

While this book has helped me find the right vegetables at the market, it's had less of a positive effect in the kitchen. The recipes are simple, largely French and Italian inspired, and to my palate, a little too restrained. I prefer a little more lively seasoning or creative flavor combinations in my food. Water's doesn't provide a lot insight on how to use vegetables in cooking, or provide any insights as to the best way to prepare them. That's what I was hoping for here, and often get in other cook books. There's a solid group of recipes here, but I never found any great recipes in those I tried. I rate cook books by how they improve my cooking and this book has encouraged me to experiment with new vegetables and be a better vegetable shopper. Once I got back to the kitchen, it wasn't as helpful.

Editorial Review:

By now just about everybody whose interest in eating runs deeper than fast food knows about Alice Waters. The creator of Chez Panisse, the legendary restaurant in Berkeley, California, that helped create a modern American cuisine based on fresh ingredients, she is also equally well-known as a teacher and cookbook author. Chez Panisse Vegetables is one of the best new cookbooks of the season; it's as useful for its information about vegetables and how to use and handle them as it is for its irresistible recipes, which lead to complex and interesting dishes built from simple ingredients and simple techniques.

Arthur Schwartz's Jewish Home Cooking: Yiddish Recipes Revisited

Arthur Schwartz

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A wonderful book! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Arthur takes us on a trip down memory lane-- the food of our bubbies, brought with them from the "Old
Country," some adapted to, or created for Jewish life of the new country. Arthur has updated the recipes, so that they can be enjoyed without guilt. Potato pancakes, noodle kugel, Roumanian carnzelach (meat "sausages")
--and more.

His delightful commentary--he is a very knowledgeable guy--makes the book a great read, and his careful testing of every recipe makes him one of the most trustworthy food writers around. There are plenty of cookbooks about the food of the Ashkenazic Jews--but this book is unique. A wonderful companion to Arthur's superb "New York Food."

Editorial Review:

Arthur Schwartz knows how Jewish food warms the heart and delights the soul, whether it's talking about it, shopping for it, cooking it, or, above all, eating it. JEWISH HOME COOKING presents authentic yet contemporary versions of traditional Ashkenazi foods--rugulach, matzoh brei, challah, brisket, and even challenging classics like kreplach (dumplings) and gefilte fish--that are approachable to make and revelatory to eat. Chapters on appetizers, soups, dairy (meatless) and meat entrees, Passover meals, breads, and desserts are filled with lore about individual dishes and the people who nurtured them in America. Light-filled food and location photographs of delis, butcher shops, and specialty grocery stores paint a vibrant picture of America's touchstone Jewish food culture.

The 1997 Joy of Cooking

Marion Rombauer Becker, Ethan Becker, Irma S. Rombauer

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 296 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Irma Rombauer collected recipes from friends for the first Joy of Cooking, and published it herself. For this sixth edition, the All New, All Purpose Joy of Cooking, Ethan Becker, grandson of Irma and son of Marion Rombauer Becker, worked with Maria Guarnaschelli, senior editor and vice president at Scribner's. Together, they called on top food professionals to produce a Joy that reflects the way we eat today.

Five new chapters satisfy today's love of pasta, pizza, noodles, burritos, grains, and beans, including soy. The roughly 3,000 recipes, most revised from earlier editions, give the food processor and microwave their due. Interest in ethnic flavors, grazing, leaner meats, more fish, and less fat are reflected, and old standbys such as Tuna Noodle Casserole and Fried Chicken are updated. Information on canning, jams, pickles, and preserves is replaced by expanded material on grilling, barbecuing, flavored oils, and vinegars. Also gone is the personal voice of the old Joy. The new Joy of Cooking is comprehensive for today's cooks. Time will tell if it remains the long-loved, dog-eared kitchen companion and teacher Joy has been since 1931.

Newman's Own Cookbook

A.E. Hotchner, Paul Newman

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The thing of it is Paul Newman and his pal and partner, A. E. Hotchner, really did bottle Newman's salad dressing in a basement as Christmas gifts to friends and family. They really did ignore all manner of sane, well-reasoned advice from food production experts, and went commercial on a $40,000 budget. And they really, truly have, in the course of 15 years, grossed $710 million on sales of salad dressing, salsa, pasta sauce, and popcorn, giving away to various charities and just causes the $100 million they realized in after-tax profit.

"We are told," A. E. Hotchner writes in the introduction to Newman's Own Cookbook, "that we are the only corporation in the world that gives away all of its profits and starts with zero dollars in the bank on the first of each fiscal year." The same invigorating spirit can be found in the pages of Newman's Own Cookbook. In fact, it can be removed as a recipe, cooked up, and served for dinner. Why have grilled t-bone steak when you can have Matthew Broderick's Grilled T-Bone Steak with Sweet Onion Marmalade and Campfire Mustard Sauce?

With photos, endless quips, and chapters that include Starters, Soups, Stews and Chilis, Main Courses, Pastas, Pizza, Breads and Snacks, Desserts, and Rice, Vegetables and Side Dishes, Newman's Own Cookbook provides a rich compendium of family faves. Special guests the likes of Tony Randall (Grilled Veal Chop with Bourbon-Cracked Black Pepper Sauce), Julia Roberts (Fresh Peach Crisp), Gene Shalit (Spaghetti Carbonara), and Whoopi Goldberg (Big Bad Ass Beef Ribs) fill in around the edges. Good people. Good food. --Schuyler Ingle

Think Like a Chef

Tom Colicchio

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 30 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Cookbooks by chefs can be daunting. They're apt to include tricky restaurant recipes, or, alternately, watered-down "translations." Tom Colicchio, chef at Manhattan's top-rated Gramercy Tavern, has a better way. Think like a chef, he advises, and you tap into food preparation creativity--the ability to forgo recipes, when you wish, for spontaneous kitchen invention. In a series of innovative chapters that explore cooking fundamentals, culinary themes and variations, and "plug-in" component preparations, Colicchio provides a cooking "anatomy" for gaining kitchen mastery. The book's 100-plus recipes are offered not as ends in themselves (though they stand as delicious examples of Colicchio's simple yet sophisticated style), but as illustrative keys to the culinary processes.

How does it work? Beginning with a chapter that reviews basic cooking techniques, and includes exemplary stock- and sauce-making formulas, the book then presents a series of "studies," building-block recipes like Roasted Tomatoes, followed by simple-to-sophisticated variations, such as Roasted-Tomato Risotto. A chapter called "Trilogies" explores clusters of three-ingredient recipes--duck, root vegetables, and apples is one ingredient grouping--that show how various techniques, applied to the same ingredients, yield various exciting dishes. "Component Cooking," which focuses on vegetables (Colicchio's major source of inspiration), provides recipes like Corn and Potato Pancakes to be used for assembling a "plate." Concluding the book is "Favorites," a selection of Colicchio's specialties that range from My Favorite Chicken Soup to Poached Foie Gras, a taste bonus that also stimulates the cooking imagination. Illustrated with more than 100 color photos, and including a wide range of tips, Think Like a Chef succeeds at helping readers see through a chef's eyes--and in so doing to visualize cooking with fresh insight. --Arthur Boehm

Ayurvedic Cooking for Self Healing (2nd Edition)

Usha Lad, Vasant Lad

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Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Ayurveda, the ancient healing art of India, teaches that food plays an essential part in one's health and sense of well-being. Here is an authentic guide of the Ayurvedic approach to food and tasty vegetarian cooking. The recipes are formulated using herbs and spices to help balance the constitution of each person. The effects of the foods on individual constitution is included with every recipe together with the medicinal properties of many of the foods.

This is a cookbook and much more. Included in this book are chapters on: the principles of Ayurveda and individual constitution; maintaining one's health, digestion and constitutional balance; the importance of proper food combining for optimal well-being; setting up an Ayurvedic kitchen and planning menus inclusive of every member of your family and more than 100 recipes of delicious Ayurvedic cuisine.

These important sections include even more benefits from Ayurveda: nearly 300 simple remedies for everything from the common cold and skin problems to stabilizing blood sugar in diabetics, all using familiar household herbs, fruits and vegetables! A chart for determining your individual constitution. Comprehensive food guidelines for basic constitutional types. A listing of the qualities of foods and their affects on the doshas.

The Best of Mexico (The Best of ...)

Evie Righter

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Among the world's great cuisines, the foods of Mexico stand out in their diversity and creativity. Rooted in its history of great and ancient Indian civilizations, inspired by the Spanish Conquistadores of the sixteenth century, and influenced by European tastes in the later revolutionary years, it is indeed a dynamic cuisine -- adaptable but remarkably complete even in its melding of different cultures.

In The Best of Mexico, food editor Evie Righter has chosen the finest examples of culinary creativity from this intriguing and vibrant country. From the chiles, chocolate, nuts, and tomatoes puréed into exquisite sauces, to the corn, beans, avocados, and seafood combined into flavorful dishes, she presents the Mexican cook's ingredients and techniques in a clear and accessible style that will enlighten and inspire.

Here are the favorite drinks, salsas, and tacos; festive dishes including enchiladas, tamales, and pozoles; elegant entrées like Mole Poblano de Guajolote and Pescado a la Veracruzana, and well-loved desserts like Flan and Buñuelos.

Color photographs throughout feature the dishes themselves as well as the bountiful waters and lively marketplaces so representative of Mexico. An essential guide to this distinctive cuisine, The Best of Mexico helps turn an ordinary meal into a fiesta.