Latin American Books - Page 3

Secrets of Peruvian Cuisine (Secretos de La Cocina)

Emilio Peschiera

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Editorial Review:

In the midst of America's newest food fad, The Wine Appreciation Guild serves up something direct from the source - "Secrets of Peruvian Cuisine", from Peruvian cookbook publisher, Origo. Author, Chef Emilio Peschiera says of his book, "First we'll take a brief tour through the history and evolution of Peruvian Cuisine, from its beginnings with the Incas through the latest international influences. We will then review some basic techniques for preparing recipes with the secrets of true Peruvian flavour." This English/Spanish bilingual book has recipes for: Cocktails (Panthers Milk, Pisco Sour...); Appetizers (Chalaca-Style Mussels, Pork Chicharron...); Entrees (Cebiche, Huancayo-style Potatoes...); Fish and shellfish (Shellfish Cau-Cau Stew, Chorrillos Sea Bass...); Stews (Huaral-Style Duck, Chaufa fried rice...); and Tamales and desserts (Eggfruit Meringue Cake, Torta Aldeana...).

Brazil: A Cook's Tour

Christopher Idone

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

This book is maddening! 1 out of 5 stars.
27 of 28 people found this review helpful.

Like other reviewers, I was bowled over by the fantastic photos throughout this book. They are really beautiful and take me back to the year I spent in Brazil. My problem with the book is simple: There is no way anyone actually cooked by the majority of these recipies!! Ingredient amounts don't make sense, bowl and dish sizes don't make sense, cooking times don't make sense. Let me give one of the more egregious examples: In the recipie for Bolo de Aipim, the author proposes putting 2 pounds manioc root, 2 cups sugar, 4 eggs, 2 cups milk, and 2 cups coconut milk into a 9"x13" pan. These ingredients wouldn't fit into a pan twice that size! In addition, there is way, way too much liquid. This cake would take over an hour to firm up, not the 30 minutes he recommends. This is just one of dozens of examples.
I am tempted to recommend this book as a coffee table fixture, but I can not even do that. It is irresponsible of this author to write a book with grossly untested recipies. It is a waste of my money on ingredients and my time in the kitchen.
I do not recommend this book to anyone. There are many better choices for Brazilian cooking.

Editorial Review:

Christopher Idone, a pioneer of illustrated cookbooks, takes the reader on a fascinataing culinary and cultural journey through the vast and varied landscape of Brazil. Includes more than 100 rich, colorful photographs, a mail-order source guide, and a list of special places to visit in Brazil. 125 4-color photographs.

Traditional Dominican Cookery

Clara, R. Gonzalez, Ilana Benady

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Editorial Review:

Traditional Dominican Cookery contains 100 classic recipes for favorite Dominican starters, main dishes, buffet food, hot and cold beverages, desserts and cakes. The cookbook includes all the Dominican standards from sancocho to majarete, la bandera to morir soñando, as well as some lesser-known culinary gems like the strangely named rabo encendido and mala rabia. The recipes are set out in an easy-to-follow presentation, seasoned with background historical and cultural information and enhanced by anecdotes by the authors who, like our readers, come to Dominican cuisine from several perspectives.

Brazil: A Culinary Journey (Hippocrene Cookbook Library)

Cherie Hamilton

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

Simple and Efficient 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

I liked this book because it is very simple and easy. Besides, in the back there are a list of addresses where it is possible to find the "exoctics" ingredients. Very useful!!

Interesting facts and delicious recipes! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This cookbook entices both your mind and your taste buds! Delicious, easy-to-make recipes with straight forward instructions. A "must have" for your international cookbook collection!

Editorial Review:

The largest nation in South America, Brazil is home to vast rain forests, pristine tropical beaches, and the world's largest river, the Amazon. This book explores the nation's distinct regional cuisine, and explains how Amerindian, European and African contributions have come together to form modern Brazilian cookery. More than 130 recipes range from Feijoada, the Brazilian national dish, to lesser-known delicacies such as Shrimp and Bread Pudding, Crab Soup and Banana Brittle. Also included are suggested menus, a list of ingredient sources, and a glossary of Brazilian culinary terms. The author has travelled extensively throughout the Portuguese-speaking world. She developed a love for Brazilian cooking when she lived in Brazil in the 1960s.

Cuba Cocina!

Joyce Lafray

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Here is the most complete guide ever to the robust and soul-satisfying flavors of Cuba, both the traditional or classico foods and the exciting nuevo dishes rapidly becoming so popular here and on the island.Caribbean food expert and long-time fan and proponent of Cuban cuisine in America, Joyce LaFray has included hundreds of recipes from home cooks and restaurants that reflect the vigorous and flavorful cooking of this tropical island. The pages of ¡Cuba Cocina! are fitted with the tantalizing scents of garlic, citantro, tomato, sweet peppers, and those ubiquitous favorites, black beans and rice.Distinctively delicious recipes include fresh red snapper served with a tangy citantro-lime sauce, a crab dish that incorporates crisp plantains and a mango vinaigrette, and a Creole stewed shrimp prepared in the style of the province of Santiago de Cuba. Alongside the traditional arroz con pollo, ropa vieja, pollo frito and roast suckling pig are recipes for nuevo-style roast turkey with black bean stuffing. ginger-sherried roast pork, and pork medallions with yuca and mojo.To accompany all these dishes are more than two dozen recipes for salsas, and great tropical fruit and vegetable offerings such as fluffy calbaza souffle and eggplant stuffed with ripe tomatoes, peppers, and raisins.On the more indulgent side there are dozens of island cocktails, with and without alcohol. and a sumptuous array of aaah-inspiring desserts: flan with rum sauce, mango-coconut cake, and acreamy custard called natilla. Cuban traditionalists will love the mamey sapote and mango ice cream.For those new to Cuban cooking. an exhaustive glossary covers the essential terms and ingredients. a shopping list offers Cuban names for major ingredients, and a detailed technique section discusses preparing uncommon fruits, vegetables, shellfish, and more,¡Cuba Cocina! means "Cuba Cooks!" and as this book so amply demonstrates, that activity is cause for celebration.

Steven Raichlen's Healthy Latin Cooking: 200 Sizzling Recipes from Mexico, Cuba, Caribbean, Brazil, and Beyond

Steven Raichlen

Amazon Price: $14.93 List Price: $21.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Rodale Books Amazon Marketplace: 42 new & used starting at $2.60

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

Brilliant! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Although my mom was one of the better cooks I knew, I grew up in a household where dinner was not dinner if there was no meat. I knew first hand of many other cooks who fried foods in lard, or cooked with heavy creams, whole milks, white rice and sugar (brown rice and sugar were unheard of). I loved Latin American cooking and if I ate in my adulthood as I did as a child, I would probably have died of a heart attack by age 40. Stephen Raichlen presents healthy alternatives to traditional ingredients and takes the time to explain why he's made those substitutions. This is a great book if you savor Latin American cooking and want to enjoy it for years to come.

Absolutely great for healthier versions of latin favorites 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Of my ever-growing cookbook collection, this, along with Jay Solomon's Great Bowls of Fire, probably gets the most use. The recipes are clearly presented and easy to follow, and many of them (marked in the book with "Pronto!") can be prepared in under 30 minutes. We've made recipes from almost all the chapters, from Halibut Veracruz (wonderful), to "Plantain Spiders" (delicious and fun appetizer), with only a few missteps. (I found the black bean salsa to be a bit bland). The turkey picadillo on baked plantain "surfboards" was innovative and a real treat.
Recipes and photos can be viewed at:
http://weheartfood.blogspot.com/search/label/healthylatincooking

Editorial Review:

The New Look of Latin-- Lighter, Quicker, Better

Three Empanadas (Pages 80, 81, and 82)
Midnighter Sandwich (Page 182)
Flan (Page 300)

Also available in Spanish under the title Salud y Sazón.

A Taste of Old Cuba: More Than 150 Recipes for Delicious, Authentic, and Traditional Dishes

Maria Josefa O'higgins

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

I bought it so I could cook my favorite recipe! 2 out of 5 stars.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.

Years ago I used to frequent a great Cuban restaurant near where I worked. My favorite dish there was "picadillo" which is basically a hash made with ground beef, garlic, onions, olives, capers and tomato (and served over white or yellow rice). It was my favorite. So, when the restaurant closed its doors forever, I tried to duplicate the dish at home but never came close. One day I picked up A Taste of Old Cuba and lo and behold it had the picadillo recipe (all the ingredients were available at the supermarket). I cooked up the recipe as soon as I could and it was the exact dish that I used to have at the Cuban restaurant. Eventually I tried several other recipes from the book, however, they were not as good as the other Cuban dishes I've had in the past.

Editorial Review:

An evocative feast for all the senses, A Taste of Old Cuba combines a Cuban expatriate's charming and vivid memories of a childhood on the idyllic island before Castro's revolution with more than 150 recipes for delicious, authentic, and traditional Cuban dishes.

The Latin American Kitchen: A Book of Essential Ingredients with over 200 Authentic Recipes

Elisabeth Laurd

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

Fantastic Learning Resource 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I am an avid cook, but after moving to Costa Rica, I was presented with new ingredients that I didn't know what to do with. Though willing to try my gringo favorites, my Costa Rican boyfriend was used to a different diet and "comfort foods" that I had never even heard of. I wanted to adjust to my new life and environment, and learning to cook traditional Costa Rican & Latin American foods was a key part of the process.

My suegra (boyfriend's mother) gifted me this book for Christmas, after I had fawned and drooled over it at one of my favorite bookstores. It has been an incredible resource for me, detailing each ingredient with incredible detail, explaining how it is used throughout South America.

One of my favorite details is that Laurd tells readers the names of each ingredient in different countries, which if you're familiar with Latin American Spanish, can vary greatly. After each one of her detailed descriptions, Laurd provides two or three typical recipes that include the ingredient, giving new L.A. cooks a good beginning typical foods arsenal.

If you're new to Latin American cooking, I can't recommend this book highly enough. However, keep in mind that it's more of a learning tool than a recipe book.

Editorial Review:

In Latin America, centuries of collusion between peoples-indigenous tribal cultures, European conquerors, slaves from Africa and the Caribbean-and complex patterns of immigration have produced a fabulous fusion of flavors. Renowned food writer Elisabeth Luard meanders across half a continent and its distinct island cultures, surveying all the essential ingredients and 200 regional recipes in this delicious introduction to Latin American cuisine.

The Book of Latin American Cooking

Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

This award-winning cookbook by Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz includes 500 recipes from the exotic culinary traditions of the Latin American World, covering the coasts, mountainous areas, and fertile plains between Mexico and Chile. Ortiz selects appetizers, soups, main courses, salads, and desserts from each region and explores the wild array of spices and styles that make these recipes unique.

Using delicious examples, she describes how the Spanish, Portuguese, African, and Middle Eastern influences have combined with the indiginous cooking of the Maya, Aztec, and Inca civilizations. Her recipes range from familiar favorites such as Guacamole and Feijao Preto (black beans), to more unusual recipes: Sopa de Topinambur (Jerusalem Artichoke Soup -- Chile), Matambre (Stuffed Rolled Flank Steak -- Argentina), Pichones con Salsa de Camarones (Squab in Shrimp Sauce -- Peru), Salada de Palmito (Hearts of Palm Salad -- Brazil), Quimbolitos (Steamed Puddings -- Equador), as well as a wide variety of sauces and breads.

This book is the prototype for all books on Latin American cooking and remains the definitive text on the subject.

Delicioso! The Regional Cooking of Spain

Penelope Casas

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

Another Great Book by Casas 5 out of 5 stars.
17 of 18 people found this review helpful.

I was first introduced to Penelope Casas' books several years back when a friend gave me "The Foods and Wine of Spain". I have been hooked since. Her recipes are always on target and delicious. A particular focus of this book is the regional differences in Spanish cuisine. From the Moorish influenced lamb and melon stew to the Catalan garlic chicken, Casas covers the cuisine deliciously. I use this book regularly and have followed its suggestions on restaurants and tapas bars when visiting Spain.

Worth every penny! 5 out of 5 stars.
12 of 12 people found this review helpful.

Penelope Casas is surely an authority on Spanish cusine. She has won numerous awards and The Spanish government has awarded her both the National Prize of Gastronomy and the Medal of Touristic Merit, naming her Dame of the Order of Civil Merit.

I own three of her books and have never come across any other Spanish cookbook that is as authentic and at the same time simple to follow as hers.

Delicioso is a collection of classic spanish recipes, but goes far beyond that. If you are interested in learning some of the history behind what the Spaniards eat depending on their region this is the perfect book for you. There are no glossy pictures here but the detailed explanations make up for that.

One thing that is missing here is a reference of where to find some of the ingredients utilized in Spanish cuisine. "Cesar" by Olivier Said and James Mellgren offers such a reference (the best one in my opinion is tienda.com) and I stongly advise using authentic ingredients and not the chorizo from your local grocery store. Trust me it is worth the expense!

Editorial Review:

Bursting with the enticing and varied flavors of the seven culinary regions of Spain, this new cookbook by the most knowledgeable American expert on Spanish cuisine takes readers on a gastronomic journey filled with new discoveries. Over 400 recipes. of color photos.