European Books - Page 3

Paris Boulangerie-Patisserie: Recipes from Thirteen Outstanding French Bakeries

Linda Dannenberg

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 28 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

    The compelling aroma of fresh, buttery croissants, the delicacy of Savarin au Chantilly, the bliss of the chocolate-mousse Le Pleyel, these are just a few of the specialties that make Parisian boulangeries and pâtisseries the best in the world. Now, in the sequel to her acclaimed Paris Bistro Cooking, Linda Dannenberg presents the gourmet breads and pastries from thirteen of Paris's unsurpassed bakeries and pastry shops.
     PARIS BOULANGERIE-PÂTISSERIE offers more than 70 tempting recipes, including Bombes Amandés (Lemon-Almond Cakes) and Mousse au Caramel et aux Poires (Caramel-Pear Mousse Cake) from Paris's oldest pâtisserie, Stohrer; the signature Délice cake (Chodolate-Cream-and-Chocolate-Macaroon Cake) and lace Florentins from the world-renowned chocolatier Maison du Chocolat; and Pain de Campagne (Hearty Country Loaf) and the classic Gougerés (Giant Gruyére Cheese Puffs) from the archetypal neighborhood bakery Haupois. Linda Dannenberg gathered these one-of-a-kind recipes from the great bakers themselves, and presents them in clear, easy-to-understand recipes specially designed for the American home kitchen.
     More than 150 spectacular photographs and evocative descriptions of the bakeries and the people behind them bring the essence of Paris to your kitchen. PARIS BOULANGERIE-PÂTISSERIE is rounded out with a comprehensive guide to authentic French utensils (although most recipes can be prepared using equipment found in ordinary kitchens), and a directory that includes sources for everything from crystallized violets to baking stones.
     PARIS BOULANGERIE-PÂTISSERIE is the quintessential cookbook featuring the peerless baked goods from the most romantic city in the world.

The Taste of Conquest: The Rise and Fall of the Three Great Cities of Spice

Michael Krondl

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

A beautifully-written and engaging book 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This thoroughly researched and engaging book deserves a prominent place on any food-lover's bookshelf. After reading this beautifully written book, my experiences with spices in my own kitchen will be forever enhanced. Highly recommended.

A journey in history and taste 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I catch myself thinking of this book and its stories of the pepper trade every time I pick up the black pepper grinder in our kitchen. The images and descriptions of flavors in Krondl's book are truly haunting. The history is carefully researched and eloquently told - you learn a lot, from curious little facts to the sweeping big picture of the dawn of globalization. This makes Krondl's book a fascinating read. The best part is the food - his descriptions of recipes and flavors is great - really benefits from his professional cooking skills. Highly recommended, excellent and fun read.

Editorial Review:

In this engaging, anecdotal history of food, world conquest, and desire, a chef-turned-journalist tells the story of three legendary cities---Venice, Lisbon, and Amsterdam---that transformed the globe in the quest for spice.

Taste of Romania: Its Cookery and Glimpses of Its History, Folklore, Art, Literature, and Poetry (New Hippocrene Original Cookbooks)

Nicolae Klepper

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Some fundamentals are still missing... 4 out of 5 stars.
28 of 31 people found this review helpful.

Somehow, everyone in Romania seems to believe that their heaviest food is also the tastiest. In Romanian restaurants both in Romania and accross the US, in cookbooks -- all I'm finding are the stuffed grape or cabbage leaves, the pork products, the mamaliga. What happened to all those seasonal (in Romania) meals centered around the great vegetables that abound in Spring, stuff that a family would actually eat everyday at home? The light and flavorful zuchinni with yoghurt, the spinach puree, all the many ways to prepare mushrooms, celery roots, even the lowly potatoe? The great sour soups that wake one up with their taste? What about some of the staples, like bors (not to be confused with Russiona borscht), the sour grain vinegar that is so good in those soups? Or all the pickled vegetables that spice up ones winter meal? Also, there are all the holiday preparations, such as a stuffed goose, duck on sourkraut, and, for the kids, the "sweet bites", sort of like a gingerbread cracker, but thicker and with a soft, molasse-like consistency (turta dulce for those of you out there who know :-)...
I'm not a great Romanian cook myself and I bought this book hoping to fill in some of my childhood favorites. It does do a good job of the recipes it presents. I handed the stuffed grape leaves recipe to the chef in charge at my wedding and it ended up being a favorite with my (mostly non-Romanian) guests!
The other complain I have is that some of the ingredients have been "adapted" to suit most American supermarkets. I won't complain about getting some of the fat out (although most of it stayed...) but what about the tarragon, the lovage, dill --they're all available here, with a bit of effort. Why not do what many asian cookbooks do and require the original ingredient, with an easy-to-find alternative where in doubt? And what about those simple salads that "parsley-up" and liven up any Romanian family's dinner?
Maybe it depends on the region -- Transylvania does have its share of heavier food, and with no outlets to the Black Sea, people there don't really enjoy eating fish. But Romanian cuisine has so many other flavors that I constantly see neglected, yet they are the easiest to include in a balanced diet...
And a final word of praise: the romanian wine list at the end is worth the price of the book -- and brings the stars rating to 4. I've been looking for something similar for a while, and I was really glad to find it in this book.

Editorial Review:

Here is a real taste of both Old World and modern Romanian culture in a unique book that combines more than 140 tasty traditional recipes with enchanting examples of Romania's folklore, humour, art, poetry, and proverbs. A wealth of archival material provides a glimpse into the 4,000-year-old history of the Romanian People and their Roman ancestry. This comprehensive and well-organised guide to Romanian cuisine contains recipes for many classic favourites including mamaliga, a polenta-style cornmeal, Eggplant Salad, Fish Zacuscz, Mititei Sausages (The Wee Ones), and Pan-fried Pork with Polenta. Savour the tastes of one of Europe's heartiest and most varied culinary traditions.

The Cooking of South-West France: A Collection of Traditional and New Recipes from France's Magnificent Rustic Cuisine

Paula Wolfert

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Newer, but not always better 4 out of 5 stars.
25 of 27 people found this review helpful.

I would join with the other reviewers here in recognizing this work as a tour de force in the field of authentic, regional French cooking. I have owned the earlier edition for a number of years and have used it to produce successful, one-of-a-kind results. I would also echo the comments of others in warning prospective purchasers not to expect any simple, quick, or uninvolved recipes in this book. Many main courses require several steps of preparation spread over more than one day. It is also true that many of the recipes still call for ingredients that are hardly on the shelves of the average (or even above average) pantry (e.g., ventreche, piment d'Espelette, rendered duck or goose fat, etc.). Having said all that, there are some wonderful recipes here. However, the changes worked into this new edition sometimes leave me baffled. To take one example, both the old and new editions include a recipe for duck "ham," an air-cured preparation that, when it works, produces a prosciutto-like result. The substantive difference between the old and new versions of this recipe call for the cook to "shave off the duck skin [from the duck breast that is used to make the ham] leaving the fat underneath intact." This really calls for an illustration or at least some additional explanation, in my opinion, because the skin and subcutaneous fat on the duck breast I examined after reading this instrucion are, as I expected would be the case, as one. Note that in the earlier version of this recipe, the skin was left intact. I've found a few more such amendments to recipes that didn't seem to make things any clearer (not to mention easier), and while I cannot say that there aren't any recipes that have been improved by revision, they haven't jumped out at me yet. A few of the new recipes look interesting, but they rise to the same level of challenge as all of the other recipes in this collection always have. Still, for those willing to invest a great deal of time and attention in the preparation of authentic Southwestern French cuisine, this is THE text in English.

Editorial Review:

Greeted upon its publication in 1983 as one of the truly great works of culinary art, Paula Wolfert's The Cooking of South-West France is an exploration of the gastronomic delights of one of France's most extraordinary regions. While its cuisine makes use of sophisticated ingredients like foie gras, truffles, and Armagnac, it is, at heart, rustic, abounding in such deeply flavorful dishes as cassoulets and the delicious preserved meats and poultry known as confits. In her five years of research Wolfert has collected and refined over 150 recipes from both local home cooks and some of France's greatest chefs, and has produced a book anyone who is serious about food will want to own.

Cherished Czech Recipes

Pat Martin

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Short But Has Most Common Czech and Slovak Favorites 5 out of 5 stars.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful.

There are many variations for cooking Czech and Slovak dishes. This brief flip-chart bookelt has about 100 recipes. It is weak in the soup department but strong in bakery and main courses. Included are meat dishes like Chicken Paprika and one version of Marinated Beef (Svckova).

Other favorites include liver dumplings, nut cake, poppy seed pastries, and of course, Kolacki (Kolaches). The last section of the book includes the words for the Czech and Slovak anthems and proverbial sayings from the region. It is not a complete Czech and Slovak cookbook, but contains good tried and true recipes.

What do I do with my leftover Pig Snouts? 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 4 people found this review helpful.

Why, make hash, of course!! A lot of interesting recipes in this little book, and many of them, including Christmas recipes look pretty tasty. I probably won't make anything with Pig Snouts, Brains, or Cheeks, but you never know!!

Editorial Review:

This inexpensive, index card size spiral-bound recipe book features over 100 Czech-American recipes. Makes a great gift or "stocking stuffer" for friends and relatives.

Cooking for Kings: The Life of Antonin Careme, the First Celebrity Chef

Ian Kelly

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

“Cuisinier, architect, and one of the most prolific writers of the 19th century, Carême was the founder of a classic cuisine that would influence generations of chefs. In this well-researched book, Ian Kelly deftly recounts the exploits of this remarkable man.” —JACQUES PÉPIN

Aunique feast of biography and Regency cookbook, Cooking for Kings takes readers on a chef’s tour of the palaces of Europe in the ultimate age of culinary indulgence.

Drawing on the legendary cook’s rich memoirs, Ian Kelly traces Antonin Carême’s meteoric rise from Paris orphan to international celebrity and provides a dramatic below-stairs perspective on one of the most momentous, and sensuous, periods in European history—First Empire Paris, Georgian England, and the Russia of War and Peace.

Carême had an unfailing ability to cook for the right people in the right place at the right time. He knew the favorite dishes of King George IV, the Rothschilds and the Romanovs; he knew Napoleon’s fast-food requirements, and why Empress Josephine suffered halitosis.

Carême’s recipes still grace the tables of restaurants the world over. Now classics of French cuisine, created for, and named after, the kings and queens for whom he worked, they are featured throughout this captivating biography. In the phrase first coined by Carême, “You can try them yourself.”

Simple Sourdough: Make Your Own Starter Without Store-Bought Yeast and Bake the Best Bread in the World With This Simplest of Recipes for Making Sourdough (or Sour Dough)

Mark Shepard

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Very interesting small book. 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I think this is a very interesting book, and the foreword answers why:
"I first learned to love this bread while visiting the Community of the Ark, a utopian society founded in France by an italian disciple of Gandhi. On my return home, a friend tought me how to make the same bread - or pretty close. Some further experimenting ended up with the method in this booklet."

Simple book, simple recipe, great taste 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I need to pay attention so that I don't write in this review more than this book's content. Ok, I'm exaggerating a bit, but this is a brochure with 16 pages, left-side pages contain only some decorative drawings, and on the other 8 the writing is rather big and covers only 60% of the surface, so it feels very airy. I'm not saying this is good or bad, just that's the way it is.
The book is basically a simple recipe - how to make a tasty and natural bread just using whole wheat, salt and water. You don't need any yeast - that's the special part, the yeast-like micro-organisms are being collected from air (which means that the taste depends on where you live and make the bread).
It is named "sour" because there is a stage where you let the yeast "eats" the gluten (wheat sweetness), the result being a pre-digested (and more sour) and tasty product, easier to assimilate, especially by people who otherwise have a gluten allergy. Sourdough breads are healthier than other breads.
He explains how it works, where you can make variations (he even suggesting some ideas) and ends up explaining that until 150 years ago this was he way bread was made, but commercial baking had people stop carrying their own yeast and made them buy it (or even buy the entire bread).
It's easy to make bread, now I know it first hand, and actually it was the first I made any kind of bread. If I did it (with a yummy tasty result), then anyone can do it.

Editorial Review:

This booklet tells how to make the best bread in the world. And it's made from only wheat, water, and salt! You'll love this tasty, wholesome, easy-to-make bread from a tradition thousands of years old. In fact, it may spoil you for all other bread! Topics in this book include "The Starter," "The Ingredients," "The Sponge," "The Two Things You Must Always Remember," "The Dough," "The Rising," "The Baking," and "Amazing Facts."

Kibbee 'N' Spice and Everything Nice : Popular and Easy Recipes for the Lebanese and American Family

Janet Kalush

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Excellent, Delicious, Nutritious...what more can I say? 4 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.

This book is well laid out with a myriad of Lebanese dishes. The Author being Lebanese-American has adapted the recipes easily to the American Kitchen and Supermarket. Everything I have tried out of this cookbook has been delicious. I grew up eating this kind of food and the smells and flavors take me back. I would highly recommend this book for anyone that wishes to learn and more importantly eat Lebanese food. The copy I have has nutritional information with each recipe. The only reason it didn't get 5 stars is because I would have like more pictures and to have them with the recipes themselves. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

like sita used to make 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

this book is extremely simple to read and understand and very much like the country recipes from rural lebanon that my grandmother (sita) used to make.

A Great Cookbook! 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

I have really enjoyed owning this cookbook. My great-grandparents were from Lebanon so I've grown up eating Lebanese food but this was the first Lebanese cookbook that I've seen where the recipes are just like what I used to eat at Sittee's house on Sunday after church. Also, I want to add that the recipes are relatively easy and require ingredients that you can get at your local grocery store.

I HIGHLY recommend it!

Editorial Review:

A cookbook that celebrates the flavours and aromas of Lebanese cuisine: from hummus, tabouleh, baba ganoug, labanee, kibbee and more. Easy-to-follow recipes include explanations of ingredients and nutritional values.

Czech & Slovak Kolache Recipes & Sweet Treats

Guild National Czech & Slovak Library & Museum

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Editorial Review:

Recipes featuring the traditional kolache in its many variations plus other Eastern European sweet treats are included in over 100 recipes.

Black Forest Cuisine

Walter Staib, Jennifer Linder

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

If the only thing that comes to mind when you think of Black Forest cuisine is the infamous cream-slathered, cherry-studded Black Forest Cake, then Chef Walter Staib has a thing or two to show you!

Nestled in Southwestern Germany, the region surrounding the Black Forest, or Schwarzwald, is known throughout Europe and beyond for its rich and internationally influenced cuisine, making it a top destination for gourmands from around the world. In Black Forest Cuisine, renowned chef and cookbook author Walter Staib takes home chefs on a mouth-watering tour of the culinary treasures found in his homeland. Each chapter introduces dishes as they are served in a variety of Black Forest environs—from the comfort food of a Home Kitchen to the more portable meals of the Café, from the complicated banquets of a Gasthaus to the grand menus featured in fashionable Hotels. In this compendium of local yet worldly cuisine, Chef Staib shows that the cuisine of the Black Forest inspires much more than just a cake. Recipes include: • Hungarian Goulasch
• Spätzle & Potato Stew
• Bienenstich
• Sauerbraten
More than just a cookbook, Black Forest Cuisine is a photographic and culinary exploration of the famous region, lovingly presented by one of its own sons. Fully illustrated with 4-color photographs of the enchanting Black Forest and its mouth-watering food, this cookbook will transport readers to the warm and magical land that many Europeans already know and love.