Amazon.com's Best of 2001
Moussaka, grilled fish, and feta salad with olives--that's it for Greek food, right? Wrong, as abundantly proved by Diane Kochilas's masterful The Glorious Foods of Greece. For over 10 years, Kochilas investigated the vast wealth of Greek cooking, traveling to its islands, cities, mountains, and villages and talking to cooks, bakers, fisherman, farmers, and cheese makers. She listened astutely, and the result is not only hundreds of authentic recipes, but a definitive culinary guide.
Following an introduction in which Kochilas details, among other fascinating information, the nature of each region's cuisine (Rooumali and Epirus are shepherds' domains, she writes, "where the reigning food is pita, as in savory pie, hundreds of them...."), she then offers chapter-by-chapter observations with straightforward recipes. These range from mezze (appetizers) and soups to breads, main dishes, sweets, and drinks. From the olive country of Peloponnesus, for example, readers are offered the likes of Roast Leg of Lamb with Wine, Garlic, Allspice, and Cheese. The Italian-influenced Ionian islands provide Chicken Stewed in Fragrant Tomato Sauce with Thick Pasta, among other dishes. Snd from Macedonia and Thrace come such fare as Roasted Potato Salad with Hot Pepper and Mint, and Leek and Yogurt Pie.
Throughout, Kochilas also provides interesting sidebars (The Sardines of Lesvos, for example, profiles this local treasure known for its sweetness), ingredient sketches, and preparation suggestions. A section that explores cooking techniques and a useful source list concludes the book, which is a tribute to a widely undiscovered cuisine and the author's steady yet exuberant powers of investigation. --Arthur Boehm
Book Description
The Glorious Foods of Greece is the magnum opus of Greek cuisine, the first book that takes the reader on a long and fascinating journey beyond the familiar Greece of blue-and-white postcard images and ubiquitous grilled fish and moussaka into the country's many different regions, where local customs and foodways have remaained intact for eons.
The journey is both personal and inviting. Diane Kochilas spent nearly a decade crisscrossing Greece's Pristine mountains, mainland, and islands, visiting cooks, bakers, farmers, shepherds, fishermen, artisan producers of cheeses, charcuterie, olives, olive oil, and more, in order to document the country's formidable culinary traditions. The result is a paean to the hitherto uncharted glories of local Greek cooking and regional lore that takes you from mountain villages to urban tables to seaside tavernas and island gardens.
In beautiful prose and with more than four hundred unusual recipes -- many of them never before recorded -- invites us to a Greece few visitors ever get to see. Along the way she serves up feast after feast of food, history, and culture from a land where the three have been intertwined since time immemorial.
In an informed introduction, she sets the historic framework of the cuisine, so that we clearly see the differences among the earthy mountain cookery, the sparse, ingenious island table, and the sophisticated aromaticcooking traditions of the Greeks in diaspora. In each chapter she takes stock of the local pantry and cooking customs. From the olive-laden Peloponnesos, she brings us such unusual dishes as One-Pot Chicken Simmered with Artichokes and served with Tomato-Egg-Lemon Sauce and Vine Leaves Stuffed with Salt Cod. From the Venetian-influenced Ionian islands, she offers up such delights asPastry-Cloaked Pasta from Corfu filled with cheese and charcuterie and delicious Bread Pudding from Ithaca with zabaglione. Her mainland recipes, as well as those that hail from Greece's impenetrable northwestern mountains, offer an enticing array of dozens of delicious savory pies, unusual greens dishes, and succulent meat preparations such as Lamb with Garlic and Cheese Baked in Paper. In Macedonia she documents the complex, perfumed, urbane cuisine that defines that region. In the Aegean islands, she serves up a wonderful repertory of exotic yet simple foods, reminding us how accessible -- and healthful -- is the Greek fegional table.
The result is a cookbook unlike any other that has ever been written on Greek cuisine, one that brims with the author's love and knowledge of her subject, a tribute to the vibrant, multifaceted continuum of Greek cooking, both highly informed and ever inviting. The Glorious Foods of Greece is an important work, one that contributes generously to the culinary literature and is sure to become the definitive book of Greek cuisine and culture for future generations of food lovers -- Greek and non-Greek alike.
Customer Reviews:
Good Book.......2007-05-13
I liked this book though it is quite heavy for cooking with. It is very informative about the Greek way of doing things
Nice try, but please try again -- with an index.......2006-10-26
Kochilas' "The Glorious Foods of Greece" is the most frustrating cookbook I've ever tried to use. The theme of a regional Greek cookbook is well taken. However, the utterly useless index renders the book little more than a coffee table book - without photos. And it's a shame, as the recipes themselves are quiet good, but trying to find a recipe is virtually impossible. Or, even worse - trying to find a recipe a second time - was it in the Thessaly chapter? No, no - it must have been the Cyclades chapter. No - perhaps, Epirus. The Complete Book of Greek Cooking by St. Paul's Greek Orthodox Church is still the gold standard for a useful Greek cookbook filled with wonderful recipes. Except those who simply enjoy reading cookbooks cover to cover, this is not the one.
This is the real thing.......2005-02-20
I am a professional chef of Greek decent and have lived in Greece for more than half of my life. I have traveled throuout the country and have tried several of the dishes that appear in this book but until now was not able to succesfully duplicate them. I was quite excited when I came across this collection and give the author five stars for her tremendous effort of bringing them together unadulterated.
This book is exactly what it claims to be, if not more than it claims to be and most definately deserves a five star rating. As a few other reviewers have mentioned it is not a collection of Americanized versions of Mousaka and Pastitsio, but a comprehensive collection of recipes borrowed from kitchens across the country which may or may not appeal to all palates. Many of these dishes you will not find outside it's reigion of origin let alone at Kostas opa on Main Street USA. It is worth mentioning that the author has traveled accross Greece collecting these recipes, many of which have not been published before. Having said all of this if you are looking for a recipe for Mousaka, run a search on Google and you will get 100s of results but if you wish to experiment and test your pallate try this book. It is truly authentic!
Doesn't stand on its own, but an excellent read nevertheless.......2004-10-19
The down side of this book is that it essentially functions as a follow-on to Kochilas' earlier book, the Food and Wine of Greece. If you want a basic introduction to Greek cuisine, pass this one by -- it will tell you a great deal about Greek cuisine, but the basics are covered better in her earlier book.
Kochilas writes with a more mature and experienced voice than in her first book -- she's been living in Greece for much of the time since the first one was published, so she's had time to develop more experience. Thus, in the writing of this book, she's had a chance to bring out much more of the history of Greece and how its food got to be the way it is. The book is part cookbook, part travelogue, and as long as you already have a more basic book on Greek cuisine it's an excellent read. It's an expensive book, though for the monumental nature of the subject matter that's understandable.
As I said, though, it's incomplete. A lot of the basic things that fans of the Greek-American diner are used to are not here; look to her first book for the basic recipes for moussaka, spanakopitta, and other dishes famous here, because if you look in this one you will find regional varieties that may be quite good but aren't exactly what you're looking for. What you will find is stunning and varied recipes from different areas that are as different in their own ways as the cuisines of Italy or China.
If you keep all of the above in mind, this book is a worthwhile investment in conjunction with its predecessor. Highly recommended, with appropriate caveats.
Major Contribution to Knowledge of World Food. Outstanding.......2004-05-30
Diane Kochilas stands in the first rank of food writers specializing in Mediterranean cuisine, along with Mediterranean generalists Paula Wolfert, Nancy Harmon Jenkins, Claudia Roden, Clifford Wright, and Joyce Goldstein; Spanish specialist Penelope Casas; Italian specialists Marcella Hazan, Giuliano Bugialli, and Lydia Bastianich; and fellow Greek specialist Agliaia Kremezi. This is Ms. Kochilas' third book on Greek food and I apologize to the author if I slight the first two in my praise of this volume, as I have not yet read or reviewed them.
Considering food writing as a whole, not just the Mediterranean, this is easily one of the best essays of a country's cuisine I have seen. The only volume which I have read and reviewed which may be better is Diana Kennedy's `From My Mexican Kitchen', although the two books take a different route to excellence.
The very first impression is the design of the cover, typeface, and book layout that sets the stage for the feeling that this is an important book. It has the kind of restrained design I typically attribute to cookbooks published by Knopf, but which other publishers have done well. The next impression is that Ms. Kochilas has done everything that I missed from Ms. Kremezi's recent book `The Foods of the Greek Islands'. While the latter volume did a good job on recipes, it did not dedicate itself to informing it's readers in a clear, lucid manner on what it was which distinguished the cuisines of the Greek Islands from one another, from the mainland, and from the Mediterranean in general. Ms. Kochilas does this with skill and insight. The first sign of this serious analysis of her subject is the superior map of Greece with the various island groups identified and icons representing major food product sources placed on the map. This is an easy attention to detail. The next aspect is the organization of the book into the various geographic regions. These are The Peloponnesos, The Ionian Islands, Roumeli, Epirus, Thessaly, Macedonia and Thrace, The Islands of the Northeastern Aegean, The Cyclades, The Dodecanese, Crete, and Athens. As Ms. Kremezi mentions in her book but does not detail with any analytical understanding, there are significant differences between, for example, the relatively poor Dodecanese and the agriculturally rich islands of the northeastern Aegean such as Lesbos.
Ms. Kochilas has artfully combined the analytical insight and presentation of Nancy Harmon Jenkins with the deft personal warmth of Paula Wolfert in discussing her sources of specific recipes. The only adverse effect of Ms. Kochilas' approach is that the book may not fit some readers' expectations to find a volume with the approach of Julia Child, which is heavy on culinary wisdom and recipe and light on exposition. Ms. Kochilas addresses this concern when she says that this volume may not cover many of the architypical Greek dishes, as she has already presented them in one of her two earlier volumes. When references to classics such as moussaka are appropriate, she even gives references to her earlier works if you are looking for that recipe. Another compliment to this book is Ms. Kochilas most recent book on Mezes that is lighter on the analytical approach and heavy on great recipes for these tasty bites.
The other side of the coin is that by not spending a lot of space on well-known classics, Ms. Kochilas and her editors have made space for more recipes on pastries and breads, one of my favorite topics. I have made several of the breads in the book and have found them uniformly excellent. One should also not get the impression from my comparison to Julia Child's works that this book is all exposition and no cooking. The opposite is true. The final chapter on the basics of Greek cooking gives great insights into some of the most important skills in the Greek kitchen. In keeping with a concentration on pastry and baking, this section opens with two different recipes for Phyllo. The first is a traditional homemade dough and the second is a recipe for the style of phyllo made in Macedonia. For the purists, there are even variations to the basic recipe given for the Ionian islands, Roumeli, Afrato, and Epirus.
One of the most interesting discoveries in this final chapter is the story of trahana. To my novice eye, it is a pasta with some similarities to couscous and some similarities to gnocchi. Ms. Kochilas greatly expands Paula Wolfert's brief discussions of the subject with several recipes in the geographical chapters to round out her fascinating summary discussion. I am especially grateful for the paragraph on grating tomatoes. Other books on Greek cuisine give brief descriptions, but Ms. Kochilas tells us enough to give us confidence that this improbable technique actually works.
I have only touched the surface of the great richness in this book. I can hope to whet your appetite for more by quoting from the chapter on Crete where the author
`had come to witness this yearly winter ritual (brewing raki, similar to grappa, from the residuals of the local wine grapes) as well as other things in Crete, from the island's mythic, heart-saving diet, exemplar of simplicity and variety, to its seemingly limitless flora - over half the twelve thousand indigenous plants in Europe are found on Minos's island. ... The island is at the crossroads of Europe, Africa and Asia, the real and mythic cradle of the Mediterranean'.
Exciting words for someone who thrilled to tales of Hercules, Theseus, and Achilles as a boy.
Highly recommended addition to any culinary library, especially for those interested in regional cuisines.
Book Description
This is the year "It's Greek to me" becomes the happy answer to what's for dinner. My Big Fat Greek Wedding, the upcoming epic Troy, the 2004 Summer Olympics returning to Athens--and now, yet another reason to embrace all things Greek: The Olive and the Caper, Susanna Hoffman's 700-plus-page serendipity of recipes and adventure.
In Corfu, Ms. Hoffman and a taverna owner cook shrimp fresh from the trap--and for us she offers the boldly-flavored Shrimp with Fennel, Green Olives, Red Onion, and White Wine. She gathers wild greens and herbs with neighbors, inspiring Big Beans with Thyme and Parsley, and Field Greens and Ouzo Pie. She learns the secret to chewy country bread from the baker on Santorini and translates it for American kitchens. Including 325 recipes developed in collaboration with Victoria Wise (her co-author on The Well-Filled Tortilla Cookbook, with over 258,000 copies in print), The Olive and the Caper celebrates all things Greek: Chicken Neo-Avgolemeno. Fall-off-the-bone Lamb Shanks seasoned with garlic, thyme, cinnamon and coriander. Siren-like sweets, from world-renowned Baklava to uniquely Greek preserves: Rose Petal, Cherry and Grappa, Apricot and Metaxa.
In addition, it opens with a sixteen-page full-color section and has dozens of lively essays throughout the book--about the origins of Greek food, about village life, history, language, customs--making this a lively adventure in reading as well as cooking.
Customer Reviews:
Great Book.......2007-05-13
I loved this book. It is a great read with lots of things most people who are not Greek would not know.
food, facts and anecdotes.......2007-05-12
Hoffman has managed the right mix of anecdotes, Greek myths, folklore, history and recipes. This is one of those enjoyable creatures: a readable cookbook. The recipes are practical and delightful. Be careful: if you have visited Greece, it will make you desperate to return; if you haven't, it will make you want to visit.
The prose is a bit overdone, epecially when she waxes liyrical about how "Greek beckons with rich and vivid people, multifarious folkways - and incredible food." But her passion for things Greek is excusable. A delightful book on all counts.
Fits on any bookshelf, not just in the kitchen!.......2007-02-20
Having never been to Greece, I won't even begin to comment on how "authentic" Ms. Hoffman's recipes are. They are, however, accompanied by many sidebars, articles, anecdotes and mini history lessons that make the recipes seem like illustrations in a wonderful travel book.
The recipes run the gamut from difficult (exotic ingredients and complicated prep) to simple (glass of water, anyone?) and not all dishes are for everyone. But there is a nice sense of generality to the collection, from the traditional to the seasonal, as if everything you ever wanted to *sample* from a Greek table is in this book.
What really makes it so attractive, however, is the conversational running commentary kept up by the author throughout. One learns why water is such a sacred inclusion at the Greek table, why Constantinoble became Istanbul, and what it takes for a foreign woman to be accepted by her Greek neighbors. Whether giving us a history lesson or just a glimpse into modern daily life, Ms. Hoffman's experiences in the Greek Isles are an invaluble inclusion here. Perhaps even enough to start a new sub-genre: Culturebooks!
Beautiful.......2006-10-02
This book is a very well organized history and recipe book in one. Not only that, the entire book is a work of art, it is soooo beautiful to look at.
A Delightful Adventure.......2005-12-09
This book is truly a winner. The recepies are just delicious and I have been serving them not only to my own family but at school meetings and community parties, and everybody wants to know where I got them and what makes them so increadibly good! But also all the little stories and facts are delightful. Each one is like a new little adventure within a greater adventure. I have never been to Greece but if it's anything like it sounds like from this book, I want to go there--and never leave! I will take this book as my guide as i move from dish to dish! A charming, lovely cookbook which has brought me many happy friends and smiles.
Pasta Primavera
Book Description
Greek cooks make wonderful use of the abundance of seasonal ingredients, cooking only the freshest and best available.
Customer Reviews:
You read the book and getting hungry ......!!!.......2003-10-28
I don't like Cookbooks without or only a few Fotos. I like to see what I choose to cook. THIS BOOK IS GREAT !!!! Each Page a Color-Foto, lot of Infos about the Food, great Recipe's, understandable written ( my english ist not perfect !). I like to cook with items in my Pantry. If you cook not only Hamburger you will have the most ingredient's at home. Some Fish is hard to come by but they mostly not my taste, so it's not so bad at all. Of course, you will never find a Cookbook you like ALL Recipe's but I have a lot to cook 'til Christmas from this book.
RENA, thank you for a wonderful Cookbook.
Book Description
This is a broad-based, comprehensive general study of food in antiquity. The book deals with food as food or nutrition, the discussion revolving around the concrete issues of food availability and the nutritional status of the population. It also treats the nonfood uses of food, focusing on the role of food in forming and marking the social hierarchy. Food defines the group, whether social, religious, philosophical or political.
Download Description
This is the first study of food in classical antiquity that treats it as both a biological and a cultural phenomenon. The variables of food quantity, quality and availability, and the impact of disease, are evaluated and a judgement reached which inclines to pessimism. Food is also a symbol, evoking other basic human needs and desires, especially sex, and performing social and cultural roles which can be either integrative or divisive. The book explores food taboos in Greek, Roman, and Jewish society, and food-allocation within the family, as well as more familiar cultural and economic polarities which are highlighted by food and eating. The author draws on a wide range of evidence new and old, from written sources to human skeletal remains, and uses both comparative historical evidence from early modern and contemporary developing societies and the anthropological literature, to create a case-study of food in antiquity.
Amazon.com
Desire is a dangerous thing, and the relationship between the citizens of ancient Athens and their desires was a complex and troubled one. James Davidson's Courtesans and Fishcakes is a brilliant and kaleidoscopic examination of daily life in classical Athens, and the life he reveals is simultaneously more alien and more familiar than we might have imagined. From fish-guzzling gourmands to the ambiguous eroticism of vase paintings, the cradle of Western culture is artfully, and frequently amusingly, anatomized. Davidson believes that many historians, under the influence of Foucault, are guilty of imposing modern views of desire, and particularly sexuality, on Greek culture, resulting in a simplistic interpretation of what was an extremely complicated issue. He refutes the prevailing opinion that sex in Athens was a simple binary opposition of penetrator and penetrated, drawing on a remarkable number of sources to show how sexuality was a slippery commodity rooted in intricate social negotiations, a characteristic shared with many other objects of desire, from eels to undiluted wine. Davidson sometimes assumes a little too much knowledge on the part of his audience--some basic information about the size of the Athenian population would have been helpful--but in spite of this Courtesans and Fishcakes is both accessible and provocative, offering a fascinating portrait of the private and public lives of ancient Athenians. --Simon Leake
Customer Reviews:
Scholarly book for educated readers.......2007-03-12
Be advised: this book is slow reading. Unlike Athenians at fish fests you will not gorge on the paragraphs as they come hot off the pages. I am a book a day man but this fellow took me more than two weeks. I will admit to other reading during that time , but this book was not for work, which is often the case with chapter a day reads. I know my Lit Crit theory. I have a little Latin and less Greek, and I needed them for this book, and yet every so often a wonderful prospect of words and word connectedness blossomed from this suggestive title, sort of like those rather suggestive amarillis stems and blossoms. I would add, that familiarity with contemporary literary critical theory would also help in appreciating what Davidson has achieved which is a learned and creative picture of that shaping and yet alien culture which was Athens.
Any teacher who has had to explain how tragedy fits into the Athenian vision with its strict moral code but lacking the ideas of sinful guilt will appreciate the careful path the author treads as he looks at a very different vision of addiction and desire from that we find in modern culture. Keep a good dictionary nearby while reading. Keep a bookmark too. You will want to, pause, set this side frome time to time, and think
Extraordinary!.......2005-04-11
A marvelously written, intricate weave from an incredible array of sources that illuminates the significance of Greek appetites (especially for fish -- yes, fish -- and for sex, in multiple forms and layers) and attitudes toward them, and thus, on the way, as it were, what was regarded as virtuous, that the author convincingly shows were central to social, philosophical and poltical life in classical Athens. An extraordinary book offering amazing insights. One awaits the next set of revelations, if there are more to be delivered to us, by Mr. Davidson, with something resembling opsophagia. A tour de force!
brings the ancient world to life but tough to finish.......2004-03-12
The best part of the book is how it brings the ancient world to life. What did these folks do day-to-day? That said unless you're doing an academic thesis on this topic you might lose interest halfway through.
Not just for classicists.......2003-04-17
While I would grant that this is a scholarly work by a serious historian I found it an engaging read and quite fascinating. It is one of the few books I have read that really helps one get into the mindset (mentalite) of another civilization, far distant in time and space. I don't think one needs an encyclopaedic knowledge of ancient Greece to appreciate this book but some exposure to other studies of mentalites might be helpful.
Fishy stuff.......2001-10-23
This isn't a bad book. The writing is pretty good and it is loaded with trivial facts about Athenians. It is interesting in that one gets to flirt with entering quite an alien culture and gets to try and equate it with how we live today.
The author never really brought this alive for me but it was good enough that I finished it.
Book Description
Greece and its many islands are rich with traditional and regional culinary dishes that go far beyond the standard fare of moussaka and spinach pie. To gather these special recipes and the culture that surrounds them, Diane Kochilas spent more than fifteen years living and traveling in Greece. From home cooks and professional chefs she coaxed a wonderful array of authentic recipes to augment her own creations, adapting where necessary to make them accessible to modern cooks with modern ingredients.
This tantalizing collection of recipes covers all aspects of Greek cuisine and pays tribute to the history and tradition behind each dish. Each chapter--from olives and bread to appetizers, stews, savory pies, fish, poultry, meat, eggs, grains, vegetables, and sweets--is filled with detail on the ancient, religious and folkloric origins or various dishes. Basic preparations, such as those for phyllo, avgolemono, and grilling of fish and game, are covered, as are regional variations and local specialties, secrets of village home cookes, and guidelines on how to serve the foods in typical Greek fashion. Also included is a helpful guide on where and how to obtain Greek specialty items by mail.
Customer Reviews:
Great Cookbook.......2006-03-22
I'm Greek and love Greek food of course, but I've lived in the USA most of my life and only get to experience the true Greek dishes when i visit family in Greece. This is a great book of Greek dishes, they are very authentic and i have enjoyed trying something new each week.
LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT........2006-03-08
I have hundreds of cookbooks... I know its sounds nuts. I am a very adventurous cook. I'll try anything... from Indian, to Japanese to Italian to "Good Old American" to Vietnamese and of course Greek (my favorite) and much more in between.
Out of all my cookbooks (including all my Greek cookbooks)this is the one I use most. It is beat up, stained, falling apart and hanging on by a thread. That is how much I use this book.
Excellent Book for Greek Cooking (and drinking).......2002-04-06
I would recommend this book highly. As a Greek American I can vouch for the authenticity of most of the recipies. In some instances the author has to make substitutions (mostly with cheeses) with ingredients that would be difficult to find for the average American.
Her wine selections are helpful and in my experience have paired well with the food.
Her measurements are very accurate. For anyone who has cooked from many Greek cookbooks (in english) you will know that very often measurements are totally off. This is due to the fact for thousands or at least hundreds of years these recipies were verbal and were not written down until relatively recently. I have suffered through many a dish trying to guess what amount is accurate. That has always been my biggest complaint with Greek cookbooks- AND that is not a problem with this one.
Everything I have tried has come out wonderful. I would recommend this as a great book containing all the classics.
Kali Orexi!
Authentic Greek Cooking.......2001-10-18
Having lived in Greece, and having been a professional recipe writer and tester here in the US, I can give this book an enthusiastic thumb's up. In fact, I own the book already and am now getting one for my mother-in-law!
The recipes are simple, deceptively so: you can't bellieve it's going to taste like the real thing, but it will. Greek cooking is truly a cuisine of limited resources and resourceful handling of those resourses, and this book captures it well. The only thing missing is... food photos! But if you know Greek food well, you'll know why: it's uniquely unphotogenic, although the raw ingredients are usually worthy of a shot.
Love that wonderfully scented Greek Lamb.......2001-05-12
We are so blessed here in the Detroit Metro area to have Greek Town with all its outstanding restaurants. You can even get their cookbook which is excellent: Opaa! Greek Cooking Detroit Style.
Kochilas' cookbook is even larger with over 300 recipes plus variations on most dishes, background sketches and wonderful memories of the dishes she's describing.
I am in love with the way Greeks do Lamb Stews--scented with allspice and cinnamon with just right acidic balance of rich tomato sauce. Kochilas' recipe Arni Kapam (Lamb in a Spicy Tomato Sauce) has become a favorite. Surprisingly so, I am a nut for Snails, so her Cochli me Pligoui (Snail and Bulgur Pilaf) is out of this world as well as the Cretan Classic Snail Stew.
Her classic Pastitsio and Mousakka are excellent as well as Chicken-Lemon Soup and syrupy Bakliva desserts.
One fine, well done cookbook.
Average customer rating:
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The Mycenaean Feast (Hesperia)
Manufacturer: American School of Classical Studies at Athen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Greece
| Ancient
| History
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General
| Greece
| Europe
| History
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Customs & Traditions
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
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General
| Sociology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
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General
| Archaeology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
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ASIN: 0876619510 |
Book Description
The large-scale, formal consumption of huge quantities of food and drink is a feature of many societies, but extracting evidence for feasting from the archaeological record has, until recently, been problematic. Now new techniques of scientific analysis are being combined with greater theoretical sophistication to shed exciting new light on this conspicuous social practice. This collection of essays, also published as a special issue (73.2) of the journal Hesperia (ISSN 0018-098X), investigates the rich evidence for the character of the Mycenaean feast. While much of the evidence discussed comes from the Palace of Nestor near Pylos, the authors also discuss new material from Tsoungiza near Nemea, and from other Bronze Age sites on mainland Greece and Crete. Textual evidence (from Linear B tablets) for the collection of raw materials, and the stocktaking of equipment, is complemented by discussions of the faunal and artifactual assemblages feasts left behind. Specially commissioned papers put Mycenaean practice in context by comparing it to contemporary activities on Cyprus and in Minoan Crete, while a final chapter compares Bronze with Iron Age Greece, especially as seen through the lens of Homeric epic. While not claiming to be a comprehensive survey of the practice of feasting, this volume offers, nonetheless, a rich and detailed collection of evidence, from a variety of sources, for conspicuous consumption in the Mycenaean period. As well as being core reading for Aegean prehistorians, it will be of interest to students of later Greek culture, anthropologists, and other scholars interested in the wider social aspects of eating and drinking.
Average customer rating:
- Greek Generations
- A culinary and cultural delight
- A wealth of identity, history, and more
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Greek Generations: A Medley of Ethnic Recipes, Folklore, and Village Traditions
Susie Atsaides
Manufacturer: Noble House Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Cooking, Food & Wine
| Subjects
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Reference
| Cooking, Food & Wine
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General
| Regional & International
| Cooking, Food & Wine
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Mythology & Folklore
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ASIN: 1561677183 |
Book Description
Everything you need to have your own "Big Fat Greek Wedding..." Join in the celebration of food and folklore! Author Susie Atsaides has collected over 400 recipes straight from authentic Greek-village kitchens, fourno ovens, and olive orchards in this compendium of food and culture. This treasured collection has been handed down from mother to daughter through generations. Filled with mouth-watering dishes, ancestral superstitions, and amusing bits of folklore, "Greek Generations: A Medley of Ethnic Recipes, Folklore, and Village Traditions" will delight the palate and the hearts of readers from every background. Food and family are central to every culture, and Atsaides' easy-to-follow recipes are simple and fun. Written in an informal manner, adults as well as children can enjoy the delicious results of Greek cooking, simply and easily. An encyclopedia of good taste, "Greek Generations: A Medley of Ethnic Recipes, Folklore, and Village Traditions" offers readers a buffet for the senses and a delicious "taste" of a time-honored way of life.
Customer Reviews:
Greek Generations.......2007-07-04
Fodor's Athens:
The Collected Traveler
by Barrie Kerper
Citation:
Greek Generations:
A Medley of Ethnic Recipes, Folklore, and Village Traditions
by Susie Atsaides
page 456
" I found this gigantic book at the Kitchen Arts and Letters in New York and fell in love with it - less for its recipes, truthfully (and there are more than four hundred of them), than for all the other interesting stuff that's documented in it. I like books like this because they are created and compiled as a labor of love and are authentic archives of a community. In this case, the community includes village kitchens, ovens, and olive orchards in Greece. The recipes, cultural details, ancestral superstitions, and stories have been passed down from mother to daughter for generations. This hardcover compendium is a great joy to read, even if you never make a single recipe. Atsaides, who hails from the Greek community of Baltimore, now lives on Rhodes and maintains a good website, www.faliraki-info.com, which is devoted to the history of Rhodes and also includes accommodation information, travel tips, recipes, and a good section on Greek traditions and village superstitions. This Book is a major accomplishment."
Barrie Kerper
A culinary and cultural delight.......2003-10-27
This is the most extensive ethnic cookbook that I have ever seen. "Greek Generations" has over 480 pages of recipes, preparation tips and tricks, and meal suggestions. An exhaustive collection of Greek recipes it includes many recipes for lamb, pork, and beef as well as vegetable dishes, sauces, marinates, desserts and any other food category. It also includes traditional Greek recipes that would be pretty hard to find in any other cookbooks. For example, it includes traditional recipes for fish roe, grilled eel, fried brains, and squid rings. If you have a favorite Greek dish and would like a recipe for it I would be greatly surprised if you could not find it here. Pilafs, pastas, meats, breads (some wonderful bread recipes), appetizers, soups, desserts, drinks, it is all here including my favorites - gyros, souvlaki, and baklava.
At the end of the book Susie Atsaides includes a section on Greek superstitions, traditions and legends. She has done a great job of sharing this fascinating aspect of Greek social customs and history and it is great reading for anyone who has Greek friends or is interested in their traditions. She also has sections on holiday celebrations, different men and women in the village, and common ceremonies. By the time I had finished the book I had a new appreciation for the Greek people and a greater understanding of their history, society, and traditions. Susie Atsaides has opened up her life and family for all to understand and appreciate. This is a very highly recommended read for anyone interested in Greek recipes or Greek society in general, Susie Atasaides effectively welcomes you into her life and makes you feel like a friend of the family.
A wealth of identity, history, and more.......2003-06-17
Greek Generations: A Medley Of Ethnic Recipes, Folklore, And Village Traditions is a combination cookbook, cultural preservative, guide to tradition, and celebration of a Greek cultural heritage. Black-and-white photographs, down-to-earth narration and a wealth of identity, history, and more comprise this fascinating celebration of the Greek cuisine and a robust way of life. After providing a wealth of recipes for sauces and dressings, marinades, appetizers, salads, savory pies, stuffed vegetables, pilafs and pastas, vegetables, soups, meats, poultry, game meats, organ meats, seafood, breads, desserts, preserves and pickles, and beverages, Greek Generations devotes entire chapters to "Greek Cooking for Children"; "Kitchen Techniques"; "The Greek Pantry"; and "The Greek Menu Planner". Greek Generations then goes on to cover Greek superstitions, traditions and legends; holiday celebrations; male and female village roles and occupations, and the Greek ceremonies of marriages, baptisms, and funerals. Greek Generations is especially recommended to the kitchen cookbook collections of those who enjoy multicultural dining experiences in general, and a Greek cuisine in particular.
Amazon.com
The food of the Greek Islands, which stretch from the Turkish shore to the eastern Ionian Sea, is simple but packed with flavor. Aglaia Kremezi has gathered over 150 recipes from these ancient, sunny lands and presented them with fascinating historical and cultural notes in The Foods of the Greek Islands, a landmark collection. The dishes she offers, such as Spaghetti with Lobster Sauce, Meatballs with Rice and Herbs in Lemon Broth, and Baked Mixed Vegetables, are as easy to prepare as they are wonderful to eat. Readers long hoping to find authentic recipes for the best Greek cooking, and those who enjoy fine Mediterranean food, should hail the book.
Beginning with island-by-island food profiles, the book then offers sections on meze, the famed small-dish appetizers; pitas and pies; entrees; seasonal salads; bread; and desserts. Welcome attention is also given to beans, rice, bulgur, and pastas, and dishes such as White Bean Soup with Wild Celery and Lemon, Bulgur with Chicken Liver and Currants, and Penne with Olive Oil and Toasted Cheese should become everyday and special-occasion household favorites. Bread and dessert recipes are equally satisfying: Kremezi's Olive and Mint Bread and Saffron, Allspice, and Pepper Biscuits, among others, will please bakers amateur and pro, while the sweets, based on honey, fruits, nuts, and cheese, are similarly tempting. Illustrated with color photos, and with a comprehensive ingredient glossary, the book is a window on cooking few of us could enjoy until its much appreciated arrival. --Arthur Boehm
Book Description
Stretching from the shores of Turkey to the Ionian Sea east of Italy, the Greek islands have been the crossroads of the Mediterranean since the time of Homer. Over the centuries, Phoenicians, Athenians, Macedonians, Romans, Byzantines, Venetians, Ottoman Turks, and Italians have ruled the islands, putting their distinctive stamp on the food. Aglaia Kremezi, a frequent contributor to GOURMET and an international authority on Greek food, spent the past eight years collecting the fresh, uncomplicated recipes of the local women, as well as of fishermen, bakers, and farmers. Like all Mediterranean food, these dishes are light and healthful, simple but never plain, and make extensive use of seasonal produce, fresh herbs, and fish. Passed from generation to generation by word of mouth, most have never before been written down. All translate easily to the American home kitchen: Tomato Patties from Santorini; Spaghetti with Lobster from Kithira; Braised Lamb with Artichokes from Chios; Greens and Potato Stew from Crete; Spinach, Leek, and Fennel Pie from Skopelos; Rolled Baklava from Kos. Illustrated throughout with color photographs of the islanders preparing their specialties and filled with stories of island history and customs, THE FOODS OF THE GREEK ISLANDS is for all cooks and travelers who want to experience this diverse and deeply rooted cuisine firsthand.
Customer Reviews:
No pictures of dishes.......2007-01-24
My husband LOVES to cook and try different recipes. I bought him this book but he didn't care for it because it has no pictures and he likes to see what the dish is supposed to look like or even to decide whether he wants to try it or not by seeing the picture.
This books gives a lot of Greek culture, he says, but he wasn't interested in that.
FDOODS OF THE GREEK ISLANDS.......2007-01-15
What a wonderful book! Photographs are beautifully done, and a great selection of authentic recipes too. Would highly recommend this!
Great Food, Confusing Directions.......2007-01-07
This book is gorgeous, both in the sumptious photos and the stunning layout. The intro is fantastic with its summary of differences in cuisine between the mainland and the various islands, and the glossary in back is extremely helpful. Best of all is the food -- not a bad recipe so far and I've tried vegetables to meat to fish, appetizers to mains. This book has even made me like leafy greens. Braised corfu style, mustard greens and spinach turn out to taste as good as anything on the planet. Once that is, you get past the confusing directions. This book is not for beginning cooks. Even experienced cooks are likely to stumble. For instance, in the recipe for braised greens, the ingredients list calls for 2 large ripe tomatoes or 1 cup canned tomatoes with their juice or 1 cup water. Does this mean you can use fresh tomatoes, canned tomatoes or water, or does it mean that if you use canned tomatoes you can use either the juice they come in or a cup of water? Ambiguities like this abound. Do you know which are the tender stalks on fennel? When making meatballs with rice and herbs in lemon broth, when the recipe says the chicken broth mixture should completely cover the meatballs, what do you do when it doesn't? If you've cooked before you can eventually figure these things out, but it's clear that while the author really knows how to cook, she didn't have a fresh set of eyes and hands try out the recipes. Still, don't be scared away. Everything in here is great. The food tastes fantastic, and the introduction to each dish that sets it in context is wonderful. It never would have ocurred to me to serve greens over polenta with currants and onions. It was quite a wonderful combo, especially when viewed with the intro that says the recipe came from a doctor in Ithaca who considered it a tribute to the people who ate it on cold, winter nights during World War II as they waited for freedom. As long as you can figure out what set polenta ought to look like, you too can enjoy this simple and tasty dish. The food may be traditional but Kremizi gives it a modern take. I use this book alot and know I will discover something new every time. I just wish the directions were more obvious, but I'm getting over it. The food is that good.
Feels Authentic.......2005-10-22
This book is well-written. Instructions are easy to follow and "toothy" Sometimes you get the feeling the recipe author took the shortest path possible when writing the directions, not here. However, the directions aren't overly lengthy, just enough insight to ensure success. The photography is beautiful. I like the variations and background that accompany the recipes.
The Foods of the Greek Islands: Cooking and Culture at the crossroads of the Mediterranean.......2005-09-05
I ordered the book for my husband's father, his grandfather was from Greece. He loved it,the recipe's and the storie's about the foods and the people of the different islands.
Average customer rating:
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Famine and Food Supply in the Graeco-Roman World: Responses to Risk and Crisis
Peter Garnsey
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
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Binding: Paperback
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The Archaeology of the Roman Economy
ASIN: 0521375851 |
Book Description
This is the first full-length treatment of food supply and food crisis in classical antiquity. Hunger was never far away in the world of Greece and Rome, yet ancient historians have generally left unexplored the role of the food supply in shaping the central institutions and practices of ancient society. This book demonstrates that a study of systems of food supply and their breakdown leads to a fuller understanding of political behaviour, social mechanisms and economic relationships in classical antiquity.
Dr Garnsey poses the following questions: What caused food crisis? Was it a common feature of the Mediterranean region in antiquity; how frequently did it assume the proportions of famine? What 'famine relief' measures developed in urban communities; did popular pressure play a role in their evolution? How adequate were those measures? Did different political systems find different solutions to the problems of supply and distribution of food? How did the peasantry, who made up the bulk of the population, cope in the face of the constraints imposed by nature and man?
The author provides detailed case studies of Athens and Rome, the best known states of antiquity, but also illuminates the responses to the problems of the food supply in the mass of ordinary cities and rural communities in the Mediterranean world between roughly 600 BC and AD 500.
The book will be of interest to ancient historians studying the politics, economy and society of classical antiquity; it will be of equal importance to social scientists of all kinds concerned with the problems of famine and food supply in other complex societies and those who have become attuned to the issue of world hunger and areseeking a longer perspective. It is written with the non-specialist in mind as well as the scholar.
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