Amazon.com
Is there more to Russian cookery than beets, cabbage, and sour cream? Please to the Table, a comprehensive guide that takes readers and cooks from the Baltics to Uzbekistan, should absolutely bury that question. Russia alone is bigger than the U.S. and Canada combined; its people claim more than 100 different nationalities and languages. Throw in the other 14 former Soviet republics, cook a feast, and you'll sample everything from Moldavian marinated peppers to cold yogurt and cucumber soup to Uzbek lamb stew to crawfish boiled in beer to open cheese tartlets, Russian tea, and, yes, beef stroganoff--nearly every major culinary style is represented here. Anya von Bremzen and John Welchman capture the soul of Mother Russia in 400 recipes joined together with a literate overview of each culinary piece in this magnificent jigsaw puzzle of a nation. The cook will be amply rewarded, and readers will travel far and wide through flavors and feasts only dimly imagined in the West.
Book Description
From the robust foods of the Baltic states to the delicately perfumed pilafs of Azerbaijan, from borscht and beef stroganoff to the grains and yogurts of Georgia, Anya von Bremzen and John Welchman take Westerners on a spectacular tour of the many and varied cuisines of the fifteen former Soviet republics.
Anya von Bremzen, a native Muscovite, grew up on regional cooking and has traveled extensively throughout the former Soviet Union, visiting professional chefs, touring markets, and sampling and gathering dishes. Covering eleven time zones and hundreds of recipes, Please to the Table brings to light the astounding culinary diversity of this corner of the world-and the similarities between the cuisines, too.
Here are Byelorussion Mushroom Croquettes, Armenian Stuffed Mussels, and dozens of other zakuski-the "little bites" that are the heart and soul of Russian meals. Soups from Armenian Lentil and Apricot Soup to Lithuanian Apple Soup with Apple Dumplings. Dozens of entrees including Uzbek Lamb Pilaf, Russian Salmon with Sorrel and Spinach, Azerbaijani Quail in Walnut and Pomegranate Sauce, Armenian Pumpkin Moussaka. And side dishes, salads, beverages, and desserts such as Russian Cranberry Mousse and an Almond and Pistachio Paklava. Plus vatrushki, pampushki, halushki, blinchiki, sirniki, and pirozhki. Winner of the 1990 James Beard Food and Beverage Book Award. Selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club's Homestyle Books and the Better Homes & Gardens Family Book Service. 58,000 copies in print.
Priy.tnova Apetita-good appetite!
Customer Reviews:
Poorly organized, poorly edited.......2007-08-18
This is a book that I really really wanted to like, but which has so many irritating quirks of format, editing, and omission that the overall feel is that of a good book ruined by a bad editor.
STRENGTHS:
* Unlike all too many books out there, the author(s) went to the commendable effort of discussing the regional differences in cuisine amongst the many countries that used to comprise the USSR, and they provide recipes for each in separate chapters. Major kudos for that. I wish that other all-in-one type books on Chinese, Italian, Indian, and (to a lesser degree) American cuisine were as diligent. Such nuances add clarity and focus to one's comprehension of foreign cuisines.
GRIPES:
* First of all, as was pointed out by another like-minded and observant reader over on Amazon, the title is totally wrong. This is a book about SOVIET cooking, because it covers many regions within what (at the time it first came out) was still the USSR (of which Russia is was only one country among many). Just a guess, but I'm sure the authors knew better, but the editor/publisher probably forced the issue. If so, how ironic that 'russian' style management should come into play regarding the title of a cookbook on "Russian" cuisine.
* FORMAT/LAYOUT: Just like some other notorious books I've criticized (re: alton brown and steve raichlen), the publisher went hog wild in trying to gratuitously stretch the page count to make the book appear far more encyclopedic than it actually is. Through a combination of recipe headings printed in grotesquely oversize fonts, creative use of wasteful margins, a plethora of useless and annoying sidepanels that add little of value, not to mention overly generous line spacing, the publisher managed to stretch this book to 659 pages. In actuality, if they'd used the same layout and font size used by Julia Child, this book would probably be well under 250. Can you say RIP OFF ? Good. A page count of 659 in order to cover 400 recipes, most of them fairly modest in length and complexity, is ridiculous. The New Joy of Cooking, for instance, has almost 4x as many recipes in roughly the same page count. In this book, a recipe that SHOULD be less than 1 page is gratuitously stretched out to 2 or 3. It's annoying, and it makes the book less readable. Pity all the trees that died needlessly, just for the sake of annoying readers and collecting dust.
* TABLE OF CONTENTS: There doesn't seem to be a conveient list of recipes anywhere in the book - I flipped through it again briefly last night, and there's only the table of contents (which merely overviews each chapter in general terms), and the index (which is arranged by searchable ingredients). A recipe book without a list of recipes. Duh. If their goal was to render an otherwise interesting book as difficult to use as possible, they succeeded.
* GAPS: Despite the commendable efforts by the authors to cover many of the provinces of the old USSR, there are still some gaps - some small, some gaping. Some of the smaller gaps involve having dedicated too little space to pickled dishes (only 17 pages, and grossly inflated at that), and dressed cold salads (19 pages), both of which are FAR more prominent and commonplace in working-class Soviet cuisine that the book would have you believe. A particularly glaring gap is a total void regarding caviar. Uh, hello ? The caspian sea is THE homeland of all things caviar ... but all that you'll find in this book is 3-4 call outs for cooked or smoked sturgeon meat, and 2 recipes that call for salmon roe. It boggles the mind. Picture if you will a book on American cuisine that omits apple pie, and you'll understand my disbelief. At least the authors remembered to spend a few pages covering staples like borsht and infused vodka. Sheesh.
The authors of this book desperately need to get it re-organized and re-printed under a different publisher, in a leaner, meaner, easier to read and better indexed format. In it's current form, it's gratuitously padded and poorly indexed to the point of near uselessness.
I LOVE BORSCHT!!! .......2007-07-01
This is THE cookbook for spoiled, Americanized Russians who never paid any attention to what went on in the kitchen because their mothers were such great cooks. Turns out we didn't need to...
No pictures but one of the best cookbooks.......2007-01-09
After visiting Russia, I decided to order this cookbook. I use this cook book on a regular basis. As a frequent traveller, I seem to collect a variety of cookbooks and most of them collect dust. I am constantly using recipes from this book.
Please to the Table.......2007-01-04
I bought this book as a gift for my boyfriend. I have the same book in my home and use it often as my mother was Russian and I remember all the wonderful food she used to make. It has good recipes and since my friend is of Swiss and Russian origin and a good cook he really appreciated it. The most often used recipe by me is during Easter when I bake Kulich (Russian Easter bread) and make the cottage cheese spread called Paskha. Thumbs up!
one of the best cookbooks ever!.......2006-07-26
I loved nearly all the recipes I tried from this cookbook. It has all the classics like Borscht, stuffed cabbages, varenekis, beef Stroganoff, plus other dishes I'd never heard of previously. This book also contains a great deal of information about the history of different cultures within the Soviet Union. What I love best about this book is how authentic the recipes taste. I'm half Ukrainian and the aromas that fill my kitchen when I use this cookbook remind me of being back in my Ukrainian grandma's house.
Book Description
Easy-to-follow instructions, adapted for modern American cooking, for over 200 mouthwatering traditional dishes: borsch, shashlik of salmon, Russian squab in sour cream, potato kotlety, pirozhki and pirogi, blini, paskha and many more. Also origins of Russian foods, helpful hints on buying and preparing foods, much else. Definition of terms.
Customer Reviews:
Not recommended.......2006-10-17
This book was recently discovered by me on a bookshelf in a spare bedroom. "Well, it couldn't be that bad", I thought. I was wrong. It can.
As far as I remember, I have not cooked a single recipe out of it in the three years that I have owned the book (the fact that my father sent me a cookbook in Russian from Russia must have played a role). The recipes in Petrovskaya's book are NOT authenticly Russian. So if you are indeed a Russian living in America, don't waste your money (and if you are not convinced, should I mention her recipe for plov without meat?)! It is geared towards an American cook not familiar with Russian food in the least.
On the positive note, it will not send you on a wild goose chase searching for some exotic ingredient (tvorog, for example) to the local supermarket. So if you fit the description above (American, never been to Russia, never tasted Russian food) it might be for you.
A personal grudge I hold against Kira Petrovskaya is her CONSTANT mention of unsatiable Russian appetite. In fact, from my experience (and from my 20 years of experience living in Russia), Russians don't eat anywhere near as much as Americans (and hence as a nation are not obese).
Overall, pass this book for a much better (although not perfect) Anya Von Bremzen's "Please to the Table"
Awful cookbook.......2006-09-03
My husband bought this book for holidays. I didn't make any recipes from this book because they are disgusting. I grow up in Ukraine so I know Russian and Ukraine cooking and this book wouldn't taste like Russian cooking. I would never make any cooking from this book, better buy a "Please to the Table: The Russian Cookbook" very good cookbook and great recipes. Don't waste your money on this book.
Very Easy.......2003-02-22
Recipes are very easy, you can get all you need at any grocery store. This book is for everyone who likes to eat
Product Description
The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine, layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes rich historical and cultural context. With over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-Honey Filled Pies, A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.
Customer Reviews:
Good cookbook.......2002-04-26
This is a great cookbook. A lot of time & work was put into it. However, some of my favorite Russian recipies are missing from this book. I would recommend "The Art of Russian Cuisine" for those of you who are interested in food that Russians cook daily or for holidays.
Well done!.......2001-07-16
Having spent a lot of time working in the former Soviet Union, and trying to reconstruct many of the wonderful and interesting dishes from various republics, I was delighted to find a book that "translated", "a pinch of this and a gram of that" into something I could understand and make with products available to me here in the US. I recommend this cookbook to anyone who has tried food from Eastern Europe, enjoyed it and wants to bring it up to our standards. The book is so popular with my friends that I keep giving it as a gift. However, I do feel the title "A Taste of Russia" is not "politically correct", since the dishes are from many of the 17 former republics of the Soviet Union, Russia being only one of them.
A taste of culture too!.......2000-06-13
This is a great book on the food of Russia and the culture also. All to many times we seem to channel Russian cuisine into a few simple dishes. Granted the few simple dishes we view as "Russian" are grand and quite tasty, we tend to shove aside the rich culinary history this country has and the peoples grand capacity to share and truly enjoy food and life. Many times it has been written of the sharing and emphasis of food and being together to enjoy it in other european cuisines, however Russia tends to be overlooked in the cloud of past paranoia of the political state of the land. Ms. Goldstein gets beyond that and makes it clear that food is the binding stuff of a country and of people just as it is in this country and all around this globe.
Customer Reviews:
A charming little cookbook........2006-12-05
You may have difficulty getting to the recipes, because Alexandra Kropotkin's narrative is so engaging, you'll want to read it through for all of her insight into pre-Soviet Russian life and manners, especially the life and manners of the upper class. It seems as though Ms. Kropotkin had a not-insignificant position at one point (in fact, the man who wrote the forward calls her "Princess"), and she had to flee to England when the revolution came, and she learned to make traditional Russian meals using the ingredients found wherever she happened to be.
If you focus on the narrative, however, you will miss the fabulous food. The food is all very rich, and none of it is made with pre-prepared over-processed food, but good solid ingredients like milk and eggs and flour, and of course, sour cream and dill and turnips. Though some of the recipes are time-consuming (the 'yellow consomme' used to make cabbage soup simmers for three hours, for example), they are all accessible to cooks with even a little bit of experience. Princess Kropotkin talks you through the recipes like a good friend or a mother might, leading you every step of the way.
Nice book but videos are better.......2005-09-29
Great book with great recipes. But again one can get recipes for free off the internet. Russian cooking videos are the best. There is one that gets sold on EBay which actually demonstrates these techinques.
Book Description
Alongside the splendors of tsarist Russia-its art, architecture, and literature-sits its cuisine, a marvelous, little-known part of Russian heritage. Based on favorite family recipes, collected by the author from the private collections of the old Russian émigré community of New York City, The Complete Russian Cookbook represents the restoration of an entire culinary heritage, which previously existed only in memory.
Most Americans have experienced little of Russian cuisine: Beef Stroganoff, Pirozhki, Borscht, and a few others. The Complete Russian Cookbook brings together the best of these classic dishes, along with hundreds of recipes for the sumptuous meals that have delighted generations, each tested by both Russian and American cooks and adapted for the modern kitchen. More than 360 recipes are included, covering everything from hors d'oeuvres to main dishes to desserts and beverages. Potato Pirozhki with Mushroom Filling, Carp à la Russe, and Almond Cake with Apricot Wine Filling are just a few of the delicious dishes to be found here, accompanied by useful introductions that provide a history of Russian cuisine.
Customer Reviews:
A Huge World Cuisine Gets Its Due.......2004-07-07
I grew up in a home filled with Russian cooking: the cuisine frozen in time that Lynn Visson captures in the Russian Heritage Cookbook. We tend to know just a few dishes that have some loose association with Russia: Chicken Kiev, and Beef Stroganoff, for example, which both have significant French influences, or Borscht, a simple dish indeed. With the fall of that awful wall Russian cuisine has enjoyed a renaissance, even in Russia herself. Visson exploits today's new interest in this world cuisine with her exhaustive coverage of every conceivable course, all based on authentic, pre-revolutionary recipes. As an example, for kotelety alone she gives us five different family recipes. (It's a shame she didn't consult my mother, former professor of Russian, for another five). For shashlyk (Georgian meat on skewers similar to shish kebab) she gives no fewer than three possible marinades. Real cooking by real people demands such variety and depth. Bravo!
Food writer Elliot Essman's other reviews and food articles are available at www.stylegourmet.com
Very Good Culinary Picture of 19th Century Russia.......2004-05-18
I have seen several cookbooks covering eastern European cuisines that are nothing more than collections of relatively simple recipes, where the primary objective is number of recipes and the secondary objective is a reasonable faithfulness to their sources. These books give no insights into the wellsprings of these cuisines and typically give only the simplest versions of classic recipes. This book does not fit this description. It is a rich evocation of 19th century Russian cuisine and it's influences, and those things it has influenced.
While the current edition is being published in 2004, this is the second edition of a book the author states was originally published 20 years ago, although the copyright page does not state the date of the first edition. The only reason for this I can see is that this is the first edition to be published in the United States. I bring this up for three reasons. First, if a book survives to a second edition, it means the first edition was well received and worthy of an update. Second, this means this worthy book was probably improved in the reissue. Third, and most interesting, is the fact that the two editions straddle the fall of the USSR, and the author has several interesting observations on this fact.
The author's introduction and the discussion of Russian cuisine in the USSR is an interesting take on Paula Wolfert's contention that one of the requirements for a sustenance of a great cuisine is an aristocracy which can support a class of creative chefs. This was certainly true of Czarist Russia, and it was certainly not true of Russia in the USSR. In spite of how immediate these events are to us, it is still surprising to read that even up to the very end of the Soviet regime, access to fresh or gourmet foods was difficult even in Moscow and St. Petersburg, and, this access is much greater today.
It is common knowledge that in the 19th century, Russia was enamored of all things French, especially of French cuisine. Many French chefs were brought in to cook for noble and wealthy families and many Russian chefs were sent to Paris to learn to cook the French cuisine (Some failed to use their return ticket). What may be less commonly known is that many French chefs returned from Russia and opened Russian cuisine restaurants in Paris. Other than France, the greatest foreign influence on Russian cuisine seems to be Scandinavia and fish from the Baltic and northern Atlantic. The most prominent local ingredients are, of course, caviar, vodka, eggs, dairy (yogurt and sour cream), rye, and kasha (buckwheat). The preservation method of choice is pickling. Root vegetables and mushrooms seem to play a very large part of this cuisine. The prominence of mushrooms seems surprising, as I most commonly associate them with temperate forests, not frozen steppes, but then again, Russia is a very large country.
The division of dishes into chapters gives us:
Zakuski, the Russian take on hors d'ourves and antipasti. I do not take the author seriously when she says this is a distinctly Russian custom after hearing stories of Italian Trattoria tables groaning under the weight of heaping antipasti. The stars of Zakuski are pickled herring, mushrooms, cucumbers, cottage cheese, and hard cooked eggs. In fact, I was surprised to find hard-cooked eggs with filling from spiced yolks so common, as it is also such an American stable.
Soups, or, borshch, borshch, and more borshch, and potatoes and onions (All spellings are Russian, not necessarily the most familiar spelling to American eyes, as in borshch for borscht).
Pirogs and pancakes includes the famous Russian platform for caviar, the blini.
Fish, primarily salmon, cod, pike, carp, and trout. A large number of recipes are simply for `fish'. It is probably not surprising that there are no recipes for salt cod, as it was probably cold enough to naturally refrigerate the fish for half the year. I suspect also that salt was not as plentiful as it was on the temperate Atlantic coast or certainly not as common as in the Mediterranean.
Meat and poultry features beef with many traditional Russian ingredients, as in Beef Stroganoff made with sour cream and served on noodles.
Vegetables, a classic intersection of Russian ingredients and French preparations. Potatoes and cabbage are the stars here, with a strong showing by mushrooms and other root vegetables and cabbage family members.
Desserts feature cakes and tortes. There are few tropical fruits here, but bananas and pineapple do make an appearance. Chocolate is common and cherries are very big along with kasha and dairy.
Sauces, jams, and drinks provides the usual pantry items, starring horseradish, beets, and sour cream.
The author is more of a scholar and writer than a chef and almost every recipe is attributed to a contributor who was born in Russia or born of Russian parents. The culinary cautions are a bit slim and an experienced amateur cook may have much more success with them than a total newbie.
The background writing approaches the quality found in works by Claudia Roden but not quite up to the breathless immediacy you can get from Paula Wolfert or the freshness you get from Patricia Wells or some of the better Italian regional cuisine specialists. Most of this is due to the fact that the subject is so clearly in the past, so some dryness may be expected. I did miss a recipe for Easter bread, but I did get four different recipes for the Russian Easter cheese dish, Pashka.
Highly recommended source on eastern European food.
An outstanding guide for any fan of Russian culture.......2004-04-04
Almost four hundred recipes are packed in a culinary discussion of Russian traditions gathered from the Russian émigré community of New York City. Russian Heritage Cookbook goes far beyond the familiar dishes of Borscht and Stroganoff to explore other classic dishes such as Mushroom Solianka and a wealth of veal dishes, introducing each chapter with cultural insights and including variations on dish themes. An outstanding guide for any fan of Russian culture and cuisine.
Classic, Delicious "White Russian"cuisine.......1999-12-15
I love this cookbook -- I actually own an earlier edition, which is well worn by now. The recipes were gathered from Russian emigres while the cold war was still raging. Back then, this book was something of a revelation: written proof that Russian food is a lot more than Borscht and the "Bleenies and caviar" that were served daily at the (now gone) Russian Tea Room in NYC. (For Russians, Blini are a seasonal treat!)
The only drawback to this book, in my experience, is that one or two of the recipes seem to be a bit vague or off the mark regarding specified quantities. Maybe it's me, but I always find myself with too much filling for the allotted amount of dough in some of the pirozhki recipes. Fortunately, the dough is easy enough to make more of, and you can't make too many pirozhki (once you're on a roll!); they freeze and re-heat beautifully. (Try the Nabokova recipes - the cabbage filled pirozhki are especially delicious!) This problem may be a result of the book being - essentially - a collection of recipes from various sources, and perhaps this new edition has tested the recipes anew and solved this infrequent problem.
Other than finding myself with too much cabbage filling, my results have been consistently good and extremely tasty!
In addition to the great zakuski section, and the classic dishes (try 'Pozharski Kotlety'), I highly recommend the sweets! The Trifunovich Napoleon is divine, the flourless, vodka-infused Apricot cake is fabulous, and the Paskha and Kisel' desserts are uniquely Russian and quite delicious.
Other Russian cookbooks I have seen offer more cultural commentary, though this book has some of that, too. Some are also broader in scope, covering more cultures and cuisines that were encompassed by the Soviet Union (i.e. Georgian, Ukrainian, Mongolian, etc.). But this is the book I turn to most frequently when I want to make something that's traditional and delicious. "The Russian Heritage Cookbook" is a must-have if you like Russian food, or are looking for some inspiration for party food (appetizers AND desserts).
Average customer rating:
- An excellent collection of recipes in an attractive package
- Great recipes from an underestimated region
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Russian, German & Polish Food & Cooking
Manufacturer: Hermes House Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0681280085 |
Product Description
This large-sized book contains over 185 recipes from Russia, Poland and the Ukraine in the north; German, Austria, Hungary, and the Czech Republic; and the warmer regions of Romania, Bulgaria, and the East Adriatic in the south. Includes recipes for soups and starters, meat and poultry, fish dishes, vegetables, grains and pasta, and desserts and other baked delights. Each recipe is shown step-by-step with more than 750 color photographs. 256 pgs.
Customer Reviews:
An excellent collection of recipes in an attractive package.......2007-09-24
I really love this cookbook! I bought it for the countries mentioned in the title, but it actually covers a wider geographical range that touches on the Greek-ish foods of the Adriatic Sea. The recipes range from simple and easy to very labor-intensive dishes that take hours to prepare. In all cases, the instructions are thorough and easy to follow, and the work-in-process photographs are extremely helpful. I'm no expert in the kitchen, so that level of clarity is important to me. Another thing I like about this book is that, unlike other books in this international series, the recipes do not contain a lot of difficult-to-find ingredients or obscure cuts of meat. With very few exceptions, the components to these dishes can be found at any supermarket. So far I have personally cooked about 30 of the recipes in the book. My favorites are the Torte Varazdin (magnificent!), Bigos (a Polish classic), and Hungarian Goulash (delicious and easy to make). It's particularly strong on stews and desserts. There are also a lot of fish dishes, which I have not tried. Not every dish in the book is a winner, but the masterpieces far outnumber the disasters.
Great recipes from an underestimated region.......2006-09-24
I spent over two years studying in Russia and Poland. I've spent a couple months in Germany. I've been looking for recipes from this region for quite awhile. This is a great collection. It has many of the dishes that I became familiar with while I was there.
In particular, I recommend:
Hungarian Gulyas (pg 119)
Fish baked in Dough (pg 210)
Pampushki (pg 63)
Lamb Plov (pg 43)
Average customer rating:
- A Charming and Authentic Book!
- don't waste your time with this one.
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Best of Ukrainian Cuisine (Hippocrene International Cookbook Series)
Bohdan Zahny
Manufacturer: Hippocrene Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Hospitality, Travel & Tourism
| Industries & Professions
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Cooking, Food & Wine
| Subjects
| Books
European
| European
| Regional & International
| Cooking, Food & Wine
| Subjects
| Books
Russian
| European
| Regional & International
| Cooking, Food & Wine
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0781806542 |
Customer Reviews:
A Charming and Authentic Book!.......2003-09-08
An American with family members who make regular trips to Ukraine, I have some knowledge of the hearty and delicious cuisine of that wonderful country. I love this book because it presents the cuisine as it actually is in the towns of Ukraine. You are not presented with bastardized, Americanized recipes, but with the authentic cookery you would experience during a visit to a normal, middle class home.
The book starts with a brief foreword on Ukrainian food traditions. In the back there is an 8-page bilingual dictionary of food terms and phrases to use in restaurants. In between, the book is packed with both traditional and contemporary recipes for everything from appetizers to main dishes to sweets and even a substantial section on beverages both alcoholic and not, and recipes for making several different kinds of beer.
I highly recomment this book.
don't waste your time with this one........1999-08-21
Excited to find the best of Ukrainian cuisine won't work with this book unless you're still on a farm in some other decade. Or you like cooking with lard, grinding meat, and of course removing organs and bones from pigs - oh, yum! The author's translations in the back of the book from English to Ukrainian for ordering meals are worth a laugh. However, I think he's serious. Pass this book up.
Average customer rating:
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Cookbook for Germans from Russia
Nelly Das
Manufacturer: Germans from Russia Heritage Collection
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Spiral-bound
Russian
| European
| Regional & International
| Cooking, Food & Wine
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1891193481 |
Customer Reviews:
Review.......2006-03-10
I think the authors captured the essence of the region well. There are however some russian recipies mixed in, but that understandable as Uzbekistan was part of the Soviet Union and the mix of cultures occured.
Fabulous recipes - book binding terrible.......2002-10-25
I found this book wonderful for two reasons - exotic yet undaunting recipes (delicious!); plus the fascinating background cultural information. I agree with the other readers - Hippocrene did a terrible job with the binding - cheap and falling apart! Nevertheless I strongly recommend this book - it is a culinary and cultural masterpiece regarding a cuisine little known in North America. Lynn Visson - Great Job!
Great Recipes, Lousy Binding.......2002-10-24
Due to the course of world events, Central Asia has been in the news a great deal lately, but the cuisine and culture of this region remains a mystery to most people in North America. This book makes the food of this region accessible to the English speaking world. Uzbek cooking bears an intriguing mixture of influences: The Middle East, Russia, India, and China have all influenced the cuisine. The recipes in this book are excellent and easy to prepare. We enjoyed the Lamb Plov, served with flatbread and the pomegranate and white radish salad. One negative, though: I must agree with Djonn from Toronto that the binding of this book is of very poor quality: ours fell apart on the first use!
Wonderful, delicious recipes........2001-12-12
Growing up Bukharan in 1970's North America, I have had a difficult time explaining to people where I'm from etc. Thank goodness someone has finally taken an interest in and published a book about my favourite aspect of my culture . . . Food!
In terms of the actual recipes, this is a very good book. They all turn out as they should and are fairly authentic (which is rare in any cookbook). My only caveats have to do with the book iself:
1) It is poorly bound. My copy fell apart after about 2 months.
2) There are no photographs accompanying any of the recipes. This is a shame considering that most people are unfamiliar with this cuisine and wouldn't know how it's supposed to turn out or what the ideal presentation should be.
3) The index (is bad).
However, after all this I still urge you to buy this book. Why? Because the recipes are easy to follow, nutritious, filling and delicious. (And of course, exotic.) Also, if you're interested in the history of this fabled land of the Silk Road, you'll find this a well written & researched book that you could curl up with as well as cook from.
Solomat!
Thank you, Lynn Visson.
This is a delightful introduction to an exotic cuisine.......1999-02-18
Uzbek cooking may be unfamiliar to many Americans, but it is simple to prepare, exotically spicy, and healthy to boot. This cookbook gives an excellent introduction to Uzbek cuisine through recipes that emphasize basic techniques of Uzbek cooking, such as pilafs, soups, dumplings, etc. I have not been disappointed with one recipe from this book. My only complaint is that the cookbook was too short!
Books:
- Pork and Sons
- Quick Fix Meals: 200 Simple, Delicious Recipes to Make Mealtime Easy
- Quick & Healthy Volume II: More Help for People Who Say They Don't Have Time to Cook Healthy Meals
- Raw
- Scones, Muffins, and Tea Cakes: Breakfast Breads and Teatime Spreads
- Simple Italian Sandwiches: Recipes from America's Favorite Panini Bar
- Small Bites
- Small Business Management: An Entrepreneurial Emphasis (with CD-ROM and InfoTrac®)
- Tamales 101: A Beginner's Guide to Making Traditional Tamales
- Tamales 101: A Beginner's Guide to Making Traditional Tamales
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Russian Cookbook
The Georgian Feast: The Vibrant Culture and Savory Food of the Republic of Georgia
Classic Russian Cooking: Elena Molokhovets' "A Gift to Young Housewives"
A Taste of Russia: A Cookbook of Russian Hospitality
A Year of Russian Feasts
