Mediterranean Books - Page 3

Low-Fat Mediterranean Diet: 110 Slimline Recipes for Healthy Eating & A Long Life: Explore The Delicious Tastes Of The Mediterranean With Specially ... Step-By-Step Photographs (The Low Fat)

Anne Sheasby

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

Very good recipe book. Nice details. Great photos too. 5 out of 5 stars.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful.

I'm glad I found this book. While there are many wonderful recipes, I especially like the color photography of the dish and the listing of calories, protein, carbs, fat content (by type), cholesterol, sodium, etc for each and every dish. That fact alone is worth so much to me. It is an all around well done publication. I wish all my recipe books were this thorough.

Easy to Change 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Having recently been diagnosed with extremely high cholesterol, it was necessary to make some lifestyle changes. Diet was one of them. The mediterranean diet was reccommended. This book made the changes in cooking easy and fun. The recipes are easy to prepare and colorfully and attractively presented. Menus are also suggested. Several recipes have become my new favorites. This book is the cornerstone of my switch becasue it was necessary to also reduce fat in my diet and some of the recipes in the Mediterranean diet, while delicious, are also high in fat calories. Not in my book!

Editorial Review:

Eat better and live longer with the naturally low-fat low-cholesterol diet of the Mediterranean, with expert advice and 110 deliciously healthy recipes

Rogov's Guide to Israeli Wines, 2009

Daniel Rogov

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Editorial Review:

The definitive annual guide to this fast growing region of world class wines created in Israel.

The Parthenon Cookbook: Great Mediterranean Recipes from the Heart of Chicago's Greektown

Camille Stagg

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

The perfect gift for anyone itching to try Mediterranean cooking in their own home 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

The Parthenon Cookbook: Great Mediterranean Recipes from the Heart of Chicago's Greektown lives up to its title with a wealth of wondrous, mouth-watering recipes for Mediterranean cuisine, from keftedes (broiled meatballs) to pan-fried zucchini with skordalia, to stuffed grape leaves, roast leg of lamb, "the Parthenon's famous braised eggplant" and much more. Full-color, full-page photography of the dishes reveal just how tempting these creations can be - and perhaps best of all, the recipes are exemplary of the healthful "Mediterranean diet", which relies on staples that are good for the body such as fish, whole grains, vegetables, and olive oil. Further enhanced with a text introduction offering a retrospective on The Parthenon and Greektown since the 1960s and more, The Parthenon Cookbook is the perfect gift for anyone itching to try Mediterranean cooking in their own home.

Editorial Review:

This collection of terrific Greek recipes, from old favorites to unique house specialties, is also a tribute to the oldest restaurant in Chicago's fabled Greektown, a landmark innovator of legendary dishes like saganaki and the first gyros in Chicago. Filled with colorful history and lush photographs, the book features 40 of the restaurant’s most popular recipes from all courses, appetizers to desserts. They include Feta a la Soto, Marathon Salad with Shrimp, Moussaka, Sokolatina, and more. In addition, Greek wine pairings are included as well as full Greek dinner menus with tips for entertaining.

The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen: Recipes for the Passionate Cook

Paula Wolfert

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

From one of the leading lights of contemporary gastronomy comes an irresistible collection of slow-cooked, flavor-drenched dishes from the cuisines of the Mediterranean
Who can resist the sensuous delights of a slow-simmered stew, salmon fillet slow-roasted until it is soft as silk, or leg of lamb braised until it is meltingly tender? Slow cooking is the hottest new trend in food, and no one better captures the art of sumptuous, unhurried cooking than renowned food writer Paula Wolfert. In The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen, she returns to her favorite culinary regions and shares an enticing treasure trove of more than 150 authentic recipes that wend their way from North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean to Italy, Spain, and the South of France. With her trademark passion for detail and curiosity about cultural traditions and innovations, she offers loyal fans and new converts the secrets to simmering, slow roasting, braising, poaching, and marinating their way to flavor-drenched dishes that capture the enchanting tastes and aromas of the Mediterranean table. Perfect for anyone who loves to cook, this rich resource is a must-have for the bookshelf of everyone who is serious about food.
Paula Wolfert (Sonoma, CA) is widely acknowledged to be the premier food writer in America. Her writing has received many awards, including the Julia Child Award, the M.F.K. Fisher Award, and the James Beard Award. She has a regular column in Food & Wine magazine, and her articles have appeared in such major publications as the New York Times, Saveur, Bon Appétit, and Cook's Illustrated. She is the author of six other cookbooks, including Couscous and Other Good Food from Morocco, Mediterranean Cooking, and The Cooking of South-West France.

The Tagine Deck: 25 Recipes for Slow-Cooked Meals (Recipe Card)

Joyce Goldstein

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Editorial Review:

Get ready to experience a tantalizing side of slow cooking with this one-stop guide to the delicious world of tagines. Named for the traditional Moroccan cooking vessel these mouthwatering meals are simmered to perfection ensuring every bite is infused with the maximum amount of flavor. Including traditional recipes such as Chicken with Pomegranate and Walnuts and Fish with Chickpeas and Peppers this deck also features modern classics that show the versatility of the tagine—such as Catalan Beef Ragout and Ossobuco alla Milanese. And with professional tips and tricks throughout this deck makes it easy for anyone to master the fine art of tagine cooking.

The Figs Table: More Than 100 Recipes for Pizzas, Pastas, Salads, and Desserts

Todd English, Sally Sampson

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

Editorial Review:

"Never trust a round pizza"

-- Todd English

Todd English, the renowned chef who brought you The Olives Table, shares his savory, innovative, Mediterranean-inspired food in this collection of more than 100 home-tested recipes from his award-winning restaurant Figs. At Figs, which was voted Best Italian Restaurant by USA Today and cited by Boston magazine and Zagat's as having the best pizza in Boston, there's something for everyone in the family, from Macaroni Simoni for the kids, to Portobello Mushrooms, Mushroom Purée, and Fontina Cheese Pizza for more sophisticated palates. And no one will turn down a taste of the White-Chocolate Challah Pudding with Caramel Sauce.

Everyone loves pizza, and at Figs, pizza is the main attraction. But that's not all you'll find in these pages. The Figs Table showcases Todd English's trademark style: layering flavors to create bold and soulful food, now available to the home cook. Fennel Watermelon, and Black Olive Salad with Feta Cheese makes a refreshing starter on a hot summer day, while the flavors of Roasted, Fried Pear Quarters with Frisée, Prosciutto, and Balsamic Glaze warm a cool autumn evening. Mushroom Minestrone or Black Bean Chill is filling enough to make a meal. Couscous Carbonara with Country Ham is a new twist on an old favorite; Spaghetti with Hazelnuts and Green Beans makes a simple but elegant supper. And why not try Creamy Cheddar and Spinach Polenta or the Asparagus Butter Risotto with Shrimp as a change from pasta? And of course, there's the pizza: White Bean Hummus and Asiago; Fig and Prosciutto; Clam; Spicy Shrimp Pizza with Caramelized Leeks and Tomato Sauce; Classico; even Kielbasa, Sauerkraut, and Potato Pizza with Dijon Mustard Aloli. And for just a taste of something sweet, try a Cranberry Pecan Biscotti, a slice of Torta Caprese, or the Tiramisu that The Boston Phoenix called "the best in town."

Simple or complex, sweet or savory, any dish from The Figs Table makes any meal special.

Honey from a Weed: Fasting and Feasting in Tuscany, Catalonia, the Cyclades and Apulia

Patience Gray

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A rare treasure 5 out of 5 stars.
21 of 21 people found this review helpful.

This is a wonderful book, a true and rare treasure, full of hunger and appetite, joy and toil. Books like this are sometimes called "a labor of love", which is somewhat of a cliche, but this book is brimfull of all the labor and love that goes into gathering, harvesting, preserving and cooking food grown for its own sake. Here, food is not a commodity to be bought and sold but a mainstay of life, a vital ingredient for happiness, a celebration of simple and good - but hard - life. The book would be valuable enough if that was all but there are also so many delightful recipes, so many wonderful anecdotes and descriptions, so much interesting autobiographical material. I've seen someone compare Honey from a Weed to Frances Mayers tedious Tuscanny books but don't let that mislead you; this is a very different book, written with immense sensitivity and hard-earned knowledge of the land the author has cultivated and the people she lived with and learned from.

Editorial Review:

The author has for the last 20 years shared her life with a sculptor whose appetite for marble and sedimentary rocks has taken them to Tuscany, Catalonia, Naxos and Apulia. She has written a passionate autobiographical cookbook, Mediterranean through and through and as compelling as a first class novel.

Small Plates

Marguerite Henderson

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

An instant favorite 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

I was given this book as a gift just a few weeks ago and it has since become my favorite cookbook. The recipes are accessible to even average-skilled cooks and are absolutely trustworthy, meaning that if you follow the author's directions, you will end up with delicious, impressive dishes that are exactly as she describes. She offers a broad range of recipes, but nothing so esoteric that you can't find the ingredients at your local market. Although the book is about small plates, each of the recipes can stand alone as a meal or a course. I find myself picking it up in the morning and selecting a dish to cook for dinner. I'll pick up whatever fresh ingredients I need on the way home from work and then in under an hour I'll have a masterpiece ready to serve. I have a lot of cookbooks, some that I keep for only one or two favorite recipes that I got back to regularly. What makes this cookbook different is that there are dozens of recipes I know I'll use.

Editorial Review:

Passionate chef, caterer, cooking instructor, and consultant Marguerite Henderson presents an exciting new book on a revolutionary new way to eat and entertain: small! Small Plates collects tried-and-true recipes and inventive new selections for bite-size dishes, tapas, appetizers, and hors d'oeuvres for every occasion.

Saffron Shores: Jewish Cooking of the Southern Mediterranean

Joyce Esersky Goldstein

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

Delightful Resource for KosherCuisine. Great for Foodies too 5 out of 5 stars.
21 of 21 people found this review helpful.

`Saffron Shores' is the first of Joan Goldstein's Jewish Mediterranean cuisine books I have read, and it is easily the best book of Jewish cuisine I have read and reviewed. I say this with the reservation that there are several books on Jewish cooking out there which have excellent pedigrees, such as Claudia Roden's `The Book of Jewish Food', so you may have to take my opinion with a grain of salt.

That said, I still believe this is an excellent book on Jewish cooking and an excellent book on southern Mediterranean cooking. I am surprised this book makes no mention of the fact that that Ms. Goldstein is the author of a really excellent general book of Mediterranean recipes entitled `The Mediterranean Kitchen', published in 1992 by Morrow. While there are dozens of good, well-known books on Mediterranean food by a pantheon of authors headed by Paula Wolfert, Claudia Roden, Nancy Harmon Jenkins, and Clifford Wright, Ms. Goldstein has a light touch in all of her books which make her recipes especially easy to follow.

The very first thing which impresses me about `Saffron Shores' after the delightfully designed dust jacket is Ms. Goldstein's history of the Jewish peoples after the Diaspora, especially the Shepardim who, unlike the Askenazim of eastern and central Europe, settled around the Mediterranean in lands dominated by the Arabic, Moorish, Berber, and Ottoman cultures of Islam. This essay goes far to explain the similarities between Islamic cuisines and the Jewish `dhimmis' who on average had a better time of things under Islam than their Northern brethren had under Christians.

The next thing that impressed me and should impress you is the sketch of Jewish kosher dietary laws. As a gentile, what I knew about these traditions and laws was entirely based on hearsay. My only surprise with this description is that the primary categories of food (fleishig, milchig, parve) are named in Yiddish not Hebrew or Spanish or any other language more familiar to the Shepardim than the Askenazim.

The kosher dietary laws are not only covered in general, they are also discussed as they are applied to the major holidays of the Jewish calendar, including the Sabbath, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Hanukkah, Purim, and Passover.

`Saffron Shores' means primarily the modern lands of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya, also known collectively as the Maghrebi. As such, reading this book immediately sounds like an echo of writings by Paula Wolfert. Among the appetizers are the classic chickpea preparations, olive dishes, and salt preserved lemons.

I also detect Ms. Goldstein's drawing a bit outside the lines when she selects some dishes. The `Savory Pastries chapter includes dishes from Iraq and Lebanon. Closer to home, the Maghrebi, we have the b'stilla, a version of savory pie of North Africa which seems to pop up in some form or other in every Mediterranean land from Morocco to Armenia.

Among soups, there are several recipes for specific holidays including Passover and Rosh Hashanah. Lentils and fava beans are the stars in many of these recipes. Some recipe headnotes include comments which reveal some parallels between Jewish and Islamic (Ramadan) fasting traditions and meals designed to break one's fast.

A large number of fish recipes seems quite natural, as fish with scales seem to have very few limitations on cooking technique and we are talking about the shores of the Mediterranean here. This section includes a Moroccan tagine, fish with couscous, and fish with citrus. All very Moroccan. I am tickled to see fish braised here, as I was just a bit surprised to read fish braising recipes in a book dedicated to braising.

Chicken is another Jewish / Mediterranean culinary favorite. The chapter on same has the usual tagines, couscous dishes, and roasts, but no Frenchy game bird dishes here, thank you, as kosher rules forbid food killed in the wild. More Moroccan inspired b'stilla recipes appear here. As chicken was rare in North Africa and more valuable for its eggs than its meat, many of the chicken dishes are specifically allocated to important holidays.

What would a North African cuisine be without a few lamb dishes done in a tagine? I'm surprised to see some sausage recipes here. This is simply a reminder that sausages do not have to be made with pork.

It is fun to see in North African cuisine some dessert themes which made their way all the way to Vienna at the high tide of the Ottoman incursion into Europe. As raw sugar is uncommon in the desert, desserts are made mostly with dried fruits, nuts, and honey, and are typically done in small portions.

This is not a scholarly book, but it was created with scholarship from scholarly sources in English, Arabic, and French. For scholarly sources, see the excellent bibliography at the back of the book, especially the works of Ms. Wolfert and Ms. Roden, which will be much more accessible than most of the other works.

For one who cooks for a family that observes Jewish dietary laws, this book should be a delight. I can easily imagine the constraints of kosher cooking can lead to a limited palette without some inspiration, as you will find in this book. General readers who are fond of the cuisine of the Maghrebi will also find much to enjoy in this book; however, if you already have a sizable collection of books on North African and Mediterranean cuisine, you may find a fair amount of overlap.

All in all, I recommend this book to foodies and strongly recommend it to kosher foodies.

Editorial Review:

Bargain Books are non-returnable.

Celebrated chef and author Joyce Goldstein has a gift for sharing her extraordinary knowledge of unusual and delicious cuisines in such an approachable and joyful way that they quickly become part of the home cook's repertoire. In Saffron Shores, she brings to the table the sensual aromas and exquisite flavors of the Southern Mediterranean in a celebration of its rich Jewish heritage. From Morocco comes a vibrant orange salad strewn with olives; from Algeria, a hearty tagine of chicken with quince; from Tunisia, a spicy eggplant puree; from Libya, a saffron and paprika infused fish soup-all are authentic, kosher, and a delightful introduction to a healthful, flavorful cuisine for the modern cook. A fascinating exploration of cultures and cuisine, lush with images, Saffron Shores is as beautiful to look at as its always-accessible recipes are delicious to eat.

LEBANESE CUISINE

Anissa Helou

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

Good Source for Authentic Recipes. Weak on cooking technique 4 out of 5 stars.
13 of 17 people found this review helpful.

`Lebanese Cuisine' By Lebanese / British culinary author Annisa Helau, author of the more recent and more widely popular `Mediterranean Street Food' is a good, if somewhat flawed presentation of an important cuisine of , in the author's emphasis, the `true' middle east.

For starters, this book is much better than some works on local cuisines of, say, Poland, Hungary, the Philippines, and Latvia which were written twenty to fifty years ago and may still be lurking on the shelves of your library in rebound, dusty editions with nothing more than one skimpily described recipe after another. One of the benefits of the renewed interest in traditional food is that the bar has been raised for writing about all ethnic cuisines, primarily by the very important works on Italian regional cuisine and works on African and Middle Eastern cooking by Paula Wolfert and Claudia Roden. And, while Ms. Helou obviously has an enormous amount of respect for Ms. Roden's important `The New Book of Middle Eastern Food', Ms. Helou takes issue with Ms. Roden on including Egypt, properly part of Africa rather than being in western Asia, the `true' middle east.

Ms. Annisa Helou begins her book with a brief but nice outline of Lebanese history. The land began as the home of the Biblical Canaanites, who became the great merchants and alphabet inventors, the Phoenicians. Since then, they have been the proverbial welcome mat over which walked the Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Turks, and French. With all these landlords, the conclusion is that the Lebanese cuisine is one of the most interesting in the region. The cover, in fact, proclaims this as `250 recipes from the most elegant Middle Eastern cuisine'. I confess that it may be one of the most varied, but the degree to which hands are required as cooking and eating utensils tends to keep me from enlisting in this idea. And, while the author claims that the recent 25 year French protectorate of Lebanon laid the typically immense imprint of French cuisine on Lebanese cooking, I cannot easily see if from the recipes in this book. It seems to have much more in common with its Arab neighbors, including Egypt, than with the land of Escoffier.

On reading the first three chapters on `hors d'oeuvres', salads, and soups, I began to think there was simply nothing special going on here. So many things seemed like variations on Italian and Greek dishes such as the bread and tomato salads so reminiscent of panzanella. Things started picking up in the chapter on savory pastries. While any pop food commentator worth his salt will point out that stuffed dough dumplings are found the world around, the fact that we find them in an important niche of Lebanese cuisine is very interesting and a good source of recipes worthy of an earnest foodie conversation. In Lebanon, the roles of Ricotta and pork of Italy are taken by yogurt and lamb. While the author points out that until recently, the majority of the population of Lebanon has been Christian and not Arab or Jewish, there are very few recipes in this book, which include pork. In the index, I count only two, while I count 29 references to lamb, some with occurrences on many different pages.

Then, I got to the chapter on eggs, and I began finding a few genuinely distinctive dishes. Here, I found a style of omelet which is genuinely different from French or Italian models. It is a sautéed egg mixture done in such a fashion that you can easily make several servings in a single pan, in very much the same way as you may make pancakes or English muffins on a griddle. The novelty of this dish is doubly interesting as it makes use of a really unusual ingredient, the liquid squeezed from the pulp in the middle of a zucchini. Most of the other egg dishes are pretty standard combinations of European style scrambled eggs with Middle Eastern ingredients. Be prepared to bone up on your egg technique before trying these recipes, as there is no good instruction on how to achieve light, uncolored cooked eggs.

The real star of Lebanese cuisine appears to be `kibbe' Anglicized from `Kibbeh', which may easily be to Lebanon what pasta is to Italy and cous cous is to Morocco. Like both of these dishes, it is characterized by an extreme simplicity of ingredients, using only bulgar, chopped onion, and lamb, combined in a great variety of ways, with a great variety of sauces and accouterments. An entire chapter is devoted to the subject, but Kibbe dishes pop up in other chapters, just as pasta shows up in soup, salad, and appetizer recipes. Kibbe is baked, sautéed, and braised in balls, cylinders, and circles the size of piecrusts.

After Kibbe, we are back in familiar territory with a chapter on Kafta, the proper Lebanese name for shish kebabs. Next are stuffed vegetables, which seems to be at least as important to Lebanese cuisine as it is to both Italy and my central European ancestors from the banks of the Danube.

The book also covers the classic breads of Lebanon such as pita, although advance knowledge of bread baking and yeast may be needed to work through the recipes.

Other than a family interest in Lebanese tradition, the primary reason to check out this book would be for the rich source of healthy recipes including bulgar wheat, yogurt, nuts, lean meat, and fruits and vegetables. The writing and editing is not that of a scholar. There are many word usages which are simply the result of the author's less than perfect grasp of English and there is disorganization's in parts of the book which detract from a careful study of the volume.

But, this is still a very worthwhile coverage of a truly interesting and rewarding cuisine.

Editorial Review:

Throughout history, Lebanese cooking has ranked as one of the world's finest cuisines, using simple, healthy ingredients in delectable combinations.

Helou presents over 250 authentic, classical recipes which represent an important part of the rich and turbulent history of this beautiful and bountiful country. The delicious arrays of world-famous mezze, offering light and refined servings, a delight to both eye and palate, provide a style of eating perfectly suited to today's health-conscious cook. There are wonderful vegetarian dishes as well as aromatic stews, many of which can be left to cook slowly, allowing flavors to develop and often tasting even better when eaten the following day.

It is Mediterranean food of elegance and infinite variety, using in delectable combinations, simple, healthy ingredients - vegetables, fruit, nuts, grains and cold-pressed oils, rich in vitamins.