African Books - Page 7

The Momo Cookbook: A Gastronomic Journey Through North Africa

Momo Mazouz

List Price: $25.00 By: Simon & Schuster (UK) Amazon Marketplace: 1 new & used starting at $25.00

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

The most inspirational North African cookbook I've read! 5 out of 5 stars.
39 of 39 people found this review helpful.

What a gorgeous book! The photography is unbelievable--I'm tempted to buy a second copy just to cut out and frame selected prints. But this treasure goes beyond appearances--the recipes are delightful and do-able. Some may complain that many of the ingredients are too exotic, but I find that to be much of the appeal of world cuisines. And while the book is indeed a British publication and measurements are most often given in metrics, American ounces are also given (in any case, a good-quality food scale is a great investment for the home chef). This title will be on my holiday gift-giving list for culinary friends and armchair travellers. As good as or better than my vast Paula Wolfert/Kitty Morse/Claudia Roden collection, and that ain't small potatoes! Or small pastilla...

A Passageway into The 5 Senses of N.African Cuisine 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.

This N.African now restauranteer in Europe desires to share his passion for his native cuisine, with its simplicity, mystery, and satisfying qualities.

It is cuisine that is not difficult to prepare, nor difficult to secure its ingredients. It is also cuisine that can use ingredient substitutes with success. It is above all cuisine to relax with and enjoy, not fast food but sensual cusine which takes in all the senses for a feast. I find this cuisine highly attractive and relaxing, a real cuisine to share with special friends.

This cookbook endeavors to be as its cuisine, attractive to the senses -- it has great photos as well as great accompanying copy -- the recipes and history behind them are chosen carefully, so that there is not just an abundance, but some very good ones.

There are fine sections on the people, the ingredients, then three countries' cuisine: Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria. I'm especially fond of this cuisine. These recipes caught my attention and palette: "Harira-- Moroccan soup which is yummy, loaded with lentils and chickpeas, veggies, grains, and lamb or beef. Then one of my favorites due to its being part of my first Moroccan meal -- Pigeon Pastilla, which I substitute with chicken with outstanding results. The King Prawn Tagine is scrumptuous, with its layering in tagine of fennels and tomatoes with prawns cooking on top of this aromatic bed. Or a knockout of main course: Confit of Duck Tagine with pears, figs and glazed carrots. Amazingly refreshing Couscous Seffa--a sugary delight with raisines and tea and orange blossom water with buttermilk, a Moroccan rice pudding type dish.

An Algerian hit is "Lamb Ribs in a Coriander Crust".

There is additional aids on Wines and Drinks, menu ideas, glossary, book references.

Editorial Review:

Sumptuous dishes from one of London's most fashionable restaurants, offering up the sensuous flavors of North African cuisine.

The WELCOME TABLE : African-American Heritage Cooking

Jessica B. Harris

List Price: $16.00 By: Simon & Schuster Amazon Marketplace: 5 new & used starting at $5.95

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A marvelous cultural work...not just a cookbook 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 8 people found this review helpful.

Even though I'm not African-american ( except in the cultural sense that ALL Americans are somewhat African-american...our culture owing so much to Africa ), I LOVED this book! It explains so much about what I grew up calling "soul food", and in a way that neither puffs-up it's subject or trivializes it in any way. The depth of this book simply must be seen and experienced to be appreciated. there is no way, for instance, that this book could well lend itself to making Afroamerican cooking "chi-chi", as has happened to so many other cuisines that have become trendy. The title says it all: "Welcome...whoever you are. Sit down and eat. Enjoy!" But, the book never panders to the hip and trendy. I also liked the recently published Tuskegee University cookbook, which was, unfortunately, stolen recently. Buy this book if you are at all interested in the origins of many things that most Americans think of as "American", but are actually African in origin.

Editorial Review:

The African-American way with food combines the improvisational techniques that gave the world jazz with the culinary techniques and piquant tastes of the African continent. From Hoppin' John to creamy Sweet Potato Pie, from Benne Seed Wafers to the Gospel Bird, African-American cooking recalls its history and speaks eloquently to the richness and diversity of black culture. In The Welcome Table, Jessica Harris presents African-American food at its finest: over 200 recipes, both traditional and contemporary, combined with historical detail and personal interviews and illustrated with beautiful photographs.

A Taste of Heritage: The New African-American Cuisine

Joe Randall, Toni Tipton-Martin

Amazon Price: $15.96 List Price: $19.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Wiley Amazon Marketplace: 29 new & used starting at $3.43

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

This is THE book to have for updated Soul Food recipes. 5 out of 5 stars.
8 of 9 people found this review helpful.

I love this book. So far every recipe I have tried has turned out excellent. The recipes are easy to read and well written for the home chef. To date I have tried the Oven Roasted Rosemary-Garlic Chicken with Corn Bread Dressing, The Rustic Macaroni and Cheese and the Potato Salad to name a few. I just tried the Sweet Potato Pie and everyone loved it. The Authors did a wonderful job, and I have recommended it to my friends and plan on giving the book as gifts.

Editorial Review:

Chef Joe Randall and Toni Tipton-Martin showcase the rich heritage of African-American cooking in this authentic collection of 300 recipes. Drawn from Joe Randall's personal recipes, the book also includes recipes from chefs who have worked with Randall's A Taste of Heritage Foundation, including Edna Lewis and Patrick Clark.

African-American cooking has evolved over more than 200 years to become a sophisticated and distinctive cuisine. More than just "soul food," African-American cuisine has become world class. Experience Catfish Stew with Cornmeal Dumplings, Southern Fried Quail, or Crepes with Country Fried Apples. Geared to the home cook, the recipes are also enhanced by a section of menus, complete with wine selections. The final section introduces readers to the stories and menus of the prominent African-American chefs who contributed to the book.

Lonely Planet World Food Morocco (Lonely Planet World Food Guides)

Catherine Hanger

List Price: $11.95 By: Lonely Planet Publications Amazon Marketplace: 23 new & used starting at $0.01

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

This Book Has a Few Problems, But I Still Recommend It 4 out of 5 stars.
14 of 15 people found this review helpful.

I have lived in Marrakesh, Morocco for the past ten years, and eagerly picked up this book as soon as I saw it. Both the text and pictures in the book are REALLY lovely. If you are planning to travel in Morocco, it is a wonderful introduction to Moroccan cuisine.

However, don't try following the recipies given in this book, because some steps have been left out, and your result will not be correct. I found problems with several of the recipies. For example, the author tells you to make tagines (Moroccan stews) by putting meat or chicken in a pot with spices and water, and bringing ot a boil. While her lists of ingredients are correct, she has forgotten the all-important step of searing all sides of the meat in the pan BEFORE adding any water. If you don't do this, it will jsut taste like boiled meat. For correct and easy-to-follow recipies, adjusted to American kitchens, choose Paula Wolfert's book, "Good Food From Morocco."

The other small problem I found with this book is that some of the author's explanations for Moroccan behaviors are just plain not correct. For example, she states that most Moroccans never eat in restaurants because this would be an insult to the wife's or the mother's cooking. Having lived here for ten years, I can tell you the real reason is that most Moroccans just plain cannot afford even the cheapest restaurants. Upper-class and wealthy Moroccans DO eat in restaurants, nevertheless, often a couple of times a week.

Overall, however, I think the author has done an excellent job, and this would be a great book to either take with you on your trip to Morocco (it's pocket size), or to read in advance of your trip.

Editorial Review:

The kitchens of Morocco combine European infusion, Arab trade and age-old custom. These elements form a cuisine that reflects a vibrant and lively culture. The essence of Moroccan food - from spiced couscous to sweet mint tea - is captured and celebrated in this comprehensive guide. Whether you are travelling the country or expanding your own pantry, Morocco's true culinary spirit is here for the tasting.

• the essential guide to the culture of eating & drinking in Morocco
• exploring cookery as a form of expression for Moroccan women
• the definitive culinary dictionary, quick-reference glossary and useful phrases for every food & drink occasion
• tantalising photography & recipes

Zainabu's African Cookbook with Food and Stories

Kpaka Kallon Zainabu

List Price: $14.95 By: Citadel Press Amazon Marketplace: 14 new & used starting at $6.00

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Exciting and fresh cooking! 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I haven't been this excited over a cookbook in a couple of years. I have been looking for a good African cookbook, but have not had much success. Therefore, it was a real treat to find this one.

The author is from West Africa and I would venture to say that the recipes are focused on the cooking of her region. Although she does include some indentifiable dishes from other parts of Africa, it is not a comprehensive "all-Africa" cookbook, but I think that this is its strength, as it gives an in-depth view of one region.

I was able to find what I needed for the recipes at the local supermarket - the most exotic ingredients were coconut milk and fresh ginger. The first recipe I tried was Lagba Lagba Chicken, a kind of sweet and sour lemon chicken cooked in coconut milk with lots of fresh ginger and bell peppers. It was just terrific, so fresh-tasting and different.

I also tried Maama Lahun's Chicken in Kponwoh Plasas, a chicken stew flavored with mushrooms, tomatoes, and ginger, and chockful of vegetables - lima beans, okra, asparagus, and spinach. Like the Lagba Lagba Chicken, this dish was very easy to put together and the resulting dish unbelievably fresh and delicious.

All of the recipes emphasize the use of fresh vegetables and although some deep-fried items are included, this is naturally healthy cooking. As the author urges people to experiment on their own, this is also very flexible cooking. I cut the hot peppers out of the Lagba Lagba Chicken so that my young sons would eat it, and everyone was happy. I substituted turnip greens for spinach in the Chicken in Kponwoh Plasas and the result was fine. The presentations and some of the garnishes suggested (such as spiced nuts or beans) seem original to this American cook.

I learned some surprising things - for example, that mushrooms are used in West African cooking. The author's stories are heartfelt, finely told, and interesting, and add to the experience. I am really enjoying this book and am looking forward to the next dinner that comes out of it.

Traditional Moroccan Cooking: Recipes from Fez (Serif)

Guinaudeau Z.

Amazon Price: $11.66 List Price: $14.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Serif Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 28 new & used starting at $8.84

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Good for the traveller, bad for a cook 2 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

this would make a great book to know what you are eating if you went to morocco, it has all the weird ingredients and traditional cooking methods.

this is then also its big downfall. the recipies all call for these traditional implements with no substitutions given, the only one people may even have heard of is a tagine.

Most of the recipes are catered to serve upwards of ten people with many weird ingredients, there are even recipes for sheeps head stews and camel!! (also i hope you like mutton)

Finally the translations are hard to understand in many parts, either vital words or explanations have been entirely omitted. if you can work around all of this some of the recipes are nice, however in order to make them small family sized portions you make everything 1/4 and find yourself using miniscule amounts of spices for example to keep the ratios right, then you dont get the righ taste!!!

overall do not buy unless your going to morocco or have a family of 12 that like mutton

Editorial Review:

Capturing the atmosphere of Fez, cultural capital of the medieval Moorish world, Madame Guinaudeau takes us behind closed doors into the kitchens and dining rooms of the old city. She invites us to a banquet in a wealthy home, shopping in the spice market and to the potter's workshop; shares with us the secrets of preserving lemons for a tagine; shows us how to make perfect Moroccan bread. This is the ideal introduction to a mouth-watering culinary heritage and a vivid description of an ancient and beautiful city.

Modern Moroccan: Ancient Traditions, Contemporary Cooking

Ghillie Basan

List Price: $27.50 By: Aquamarine Amazon Marketplace: 2 new & used starting at $34.00

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Superb cookbook of a great flavorful cuisine 5 out of 5 stars.
62 of 62 people found this review helpful.

This cookbook by Ghillie Basan shows Moroccan cuisine at its best: flavorful dishes which are quite easy to prepare. If you have never tried Moroccan food and like bold flavors, you should really give this cookbook a try. If you have been on holiday in Morocco and you are craving for some of the food you had over there, you will be pleasantly surprised with the quality of these recipes.

Recipes are divided in 6 chapters:

-- mezze & soups (with a recipe for cinnamon-scented chickpea and lentil soup with fennel and honey buns)
-- street food (among other recipes the bus-station kefta with egg and tomato)
-- couscous & tagines (I love this chapter, but will just mention four highlights: casablancan couscous with roasted summer vegetables, couscous with lamb cutlets, harissa and fennel, tagine of spiced kefta with lemon and spices, and (the obligatory but oh so good) tagine of lamb with crunchy country salad (add some almond slivers to make it even better!)
-- roasts, grills & pan-fried dishes (the butternut squash with caramelized pink shallots is amazing, as is the fiery chicken wings with blood oranges)
-- salads & side dishes (lentil salad with red onion and garlic)
-- sweets, pastries & drinks (poached pears in scented honey syrup).

On the opposite side of each recipe there's a beautiful fullpage photo of the dish itself, making browsing the book a mouthwatering experience.

To conclude, I highly recommend this book for anyone: the recipes are relatively easy, and the results stunning.

(Some info on me, to put the review in perspective: I love to cook and would describe my skill level as intermediate. I went to Morocco because I love the food in this particular cookbook --- and although the food in Morocco was great, the food I make at home using the recipes in this book is often even better.)

Editorial Review:

This beautiful book uses the ingredients and techniques of Morocan cooking to introduce dishes that are as much fun to make and serve as they are to eat.

Quiet Food: A Recipe for Sanity

Ixopo Buddhist Retreat Center

Amazon Price: $26.56 List Price: $34.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Double Storey Books Amazon Marketplace: 10 new & used starting at $11.27

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Editorial Review:

This unique and special cookbook comes out of the renowned Buddhist Retreat Centre in Ixopo. Here the experience of preparing and eating food has been raised to a level that is increasingly unknown in the fast, convenience world outside. Quiet joy and deep enjoyment are its characteristics. This book, beautifully illustrated with contemplative black and white photos and anecdotes of wisdom from the masters, shows us how we too can savor Quiet Food at home. The recipes in the book feature exceptionally flavorsome, nutritionally balanced vegetarian food that has been honed to perfection by a multitude of cooks and housekeepers. But it is also, simultaneously, food for the mind.

Automatic Y'All: Weaver D's Guide to the Soul

Dexter Weaver, Patrick Allen

List Price: $17.50 By: Hill Street Press Amazon Marketplace: 17 new & used starting at $0.01

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Fantastic Book From a Fantastic Person 5 out of 5 stars.
11 of 13 people found this review helpful.

Dexter Weaver is the most down to earth person around...and it really comes through in his book. Everything, from his views on life to the recipes in the back are GREAT. If you want to read an uplifting story about life and how to live it, read this book.

ps. His food is mighty fine too.

Funny, unique voice 5 out of 5 stars.
10 of 11 people found this review helpful.

This is a great book by a soul-food master. There were two parts which were so funny that I literally dropped the book out of my hand, but there are other passages, like the one in which little Weaver adds too much salt to the canned peas he is making for his bed-ridden grandma, that had me bawling! If you've ever been to R.E.M.-country (Athens, GA) and had Weaver's great food, you'll love his easy-to-follow home-style recipes that are in the back of the book after his memoir. I've made his Three Cheese Mac N' Cheese two times already and I'm not particularly a whiz in the kitchen. Just by coincidence, this is the third Hill Street Press book I've ordered--they are a cool, little publishing company based in Weaver's hometown.

Editorial Review:

Meet the hardest working man in soul food. The world got a taste of home-style chef and philosopher Weaver D when his motto 'Automatic for the People' was used by hometown band REM as the title for their best-selling album. But his own loyal fans know that being Automatic -- keeping on with the keep -- in good times and bad, and knowing that life, like food, is always better with a few generous shots of hot sauce -- is really Weaver D's down-to-earth recipe for business success and personal happiness. His pragmatic philosophy is as soul-satisfying as a double serving of his Three Cheese Mac 'n' Cheese. Includes 50 of his long-sought-after soul food recipes.

Pain and Pleasure: Peri-Peri - The Contrasts and Contradictions of the African Bird's Eye Chilli

Amazon Price: $32.13 List Price: $51.00 Not yet published By: Jacana Media

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