Learn to COOK - The Foods of the Greek Islands: Cooking and Culture at the Crossroads of the Mediterranean

	List Price: $40.00 Our Price: $26.40 Your Save: $ 13.60 ( 34% ) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
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Binding: Hardcover Dewey Decimal Number: 641.59495 EAN: 9780395982112 ISBN: 0395982111 Label: Houghton Mifflin Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 312 Publication Date: 2000-11-14 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Studio: Houghton Mifflin
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Editorial Reviews: 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.
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: No pictures of dishes Comment: 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. Customer Rating: Summary: FDOODS OF THE GREEK ISLANDS Comment: What a wonderful book! Photographs are beautifully done, and a great selection of authentic recipes too. Would highly recommend this! Customer Rating: Summary: Great Food, Confusing Directions Comment: 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. Customer Rating: Summary: Feels Authentic Comment: 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. Customer Rating: Summary: The Foods of the Greek Islands: Cooking and Culture at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Comment: 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. More Reviews