It wasn't all that long ago when, outside of a few big cities, most people thought an ethnic meal meant spaghetti and meatballs. How things have changed! Now, not only can you dine out on Mexican, Indian, or Thai foods, you can eat them in as well! This list of ten fine ethnic cookbooks will put some unusual spices on your kitchen shelf--and back into your life.
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Cooking Editor's Recommended Book, 04/01/97:
Jinx and Jefferson Morgan own the Sugar Mill, a much-loved resort on the island of Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. From there, they have explored the Caribbean and packed their culinary discoveries into The Caribbean Cookbook. There are dishes suited to company dinners, as well as easy-going food like Rum-Glazed Chicken Wings, Red Bean and Rice Salad, and Rasta Pasta. Some dishes are traditional, others use the ingredients and flavors of the islands in original ways. The Morgans are friendly and free-wheeling and pack lots of local lore and culinary information into this sunny book.
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Amazon.com: Extending the Table calls itself "a world community cookbook," but it is far more than that. Yes, there are recipes here from all over the globe: Sesame Spinach Salad from Korea, Hunter's Stew from Poland, and Watermelon Jan from Botswana. There are myriad rice dishes, lots of recipes featuring beans and lentils, and an array of delicious beverages--from Philippine Punch to a Ginger Cooler from the Ivory Coast. But what makes this cookbook so special is its social conscience: following the lead of Doris Janzen Longacre, author of the More-with-Less Cookbook, Extending the Table invites readers to reduce their own levels of consumption and share resources with others around the world. Even more, it encourages us to learn from the global community. In addition to the recipes, there are stories about both individuals and whole cultures, explanations of the importance of certain types of food in different lands, and the rituals that surround particular meals. Extending the Table is the work of the Mennonite Central Committee, and many of the contributors are missionaries whose faith in the values of humility, community, and respect for others imbues the pages of this thought-provoking book. Extending the Table is truly food for the body and soul!
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Cooking Editor's Recommended Book, 05/01/97:
Not since his first book, Authentic Mexican, has there been such an accessible opportunity to learn about real Mexican cooking. Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen offers translations of authentic Mexican dishes that preserve their authenticity. The book opens with 14 salsas, sauces, and seasonings that Bayless calls "cornerstones of Mexican dishes." Other than some chile peppers essential to certain dishes, most ingredients are found in any supermarket. For any less common ingredients, a mail-order source or an easy substitution is provided. This brilliant book is engaging, informative, and inspiring.
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In or out of Africa, you can eat as the Africans do with Flavors of Africa, a compendium of delicious cuisines from the far-flung corners of the continent. Whether we're talking Feisty Fish Cakes from West Africa, Tajine Tafarout from Morocco, or Nigerian Ginger Cake, the emphasis in all these recipes is on spice. The first chapter in the book describes the multitude of spices available throughout Africa: North African Harrissa, South African curries, East African piri-piri sauces, and Berbere from Ethiopia--all based, in some part, on chile peppers. Imagine a plate of Sweet-Hot Corn Cakes, some Curried Coconut Soup, or West African Banana and Chile Fritters--a meal guaranteed to sizzle your taste buds and bring tears of joy (and heat!) to your eyes.
Authors Dave DeWitt and Melissa T. Stock are the editors of Fiery Foods Magazine as well as coauthors (with Mary Jane Wilan) of several cookbooks that feature hot and spicy food. But even if you're not likely to eat jalapeños right out of the jar, The Flavors of Africa can still entice: each recipe is rated on a scale from mild to hot, and cooks can make their own spice adjustments. In addition to great recipes, the book contains interesting, in-depth information about a world of cooking many in the West know little about.
Book Description :
African cooking boasts a mouthwatering abundance of flavors. They're enhanced by the influences of the Mediterranean, Portugal, India, and elsewhere. The rich variety of taste and style that results is reflected in 170 recipes here, including: Capetown Curried Prawns, West African Banana and Chile Fritters, African Gumbo, Ethiopian Chicken Stew, Lamb Couscous with Onions and Raisins, Pepper-Peanut Beef Kabobs, and Papaya Ginger Beef.
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Cooking Editor's Recommended Book, 09/01/97:
Few cooks know their subject as personally as Maya Kaimal MacMillan who in Curried Favors focuses on the less familiar cooking of Southern India, particularly the province of Kerala, her family's original home. "Curry," she informs us, correctly refers to a range of dishes calling for differing blends of spices known as "masalas." Coconut, curry leaves, and mustard seeds are particularly key in the wet masalas often used by her aunt and others in Southern India. MacMillan offers intelligent substitutions, where necessary. Curried Favors provides detailed directions so you can comfortably try dishes such as Idli, Yogurt, Aviyals, Kichadis, and Pachadis as well as more familiar northern favorites such as Khormas and Biriyanis. Something of a mini-coffee table book, Curried Favors would be a good gift, thanks to its handsome presentation and MacMillan's conversational commentary.
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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.
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North Africa is the home to one of the world's great cuisines. Redolent of saffron, cumin and cilantro, Moroccan cooking can be as elegant or as down-home hearty as you want it to be. In Couscous and Other Good Food from Morocco, author Paula Wolfert has collected delectable recipes that embody the essence of the cuisine. From Morocco's national dish, couscous (for which Wolfert includes more than 20 different recipes), to delicacies such as Bisteeya (a pigeon pie made with filo, eggs, and raisins among other ingredients), Wolfert describes both the background of each recipe and the best way to prepare it. As if the mouthwatering recipes weren't enough, each chapter includes some aspect of Moroccan culture or history, be it an account of Moroccan moussems, or festivals, or a description of souks, or markets. Just reading the recipes will be enough to induce ravenous hunger even on a full stomach. Once you've tried the Chicken Tagine with Prunes and Almonds, or the Seared Lamb Kebabs Cooked in Butter, Paula Wolfert's Couscous and Other Good Foods from Morocco will become a well-worn title on your cookbook shelf.
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Cooking Editor's Recommended Book, 03/01/97:
When a New Yorker writes an Asian cookbook, the result is likely to be highly individualistic. In Pan-Asian Express, Barbara Witt clearly expresses personal preferences and offers advice, along with more than 100 recipes. In many instances, both differ markedly from those of other well-respected cooks, particularly where she appears to recommend convenience foods like frozen dumplings. Witt also suggests using liquid smoke in Beef Chow Fun when home cooks singe the bean sprouts in a hot dry wok to duplicate the effect restaurants get from using extra high heat. Pan-Asian Express is a handy, modestly-priced cookbook offering comfortable, middle-of-the-road fusion dishes like Sake-To-Me Chicken Salad and Pacific Steak and Fries. Without using illustrations, Witt gives outstanding directions for making Chinese won tons and Philippine lumpia. There are also useful sections on stir-frying and crisp-frying techniques. Recipes avoid ingredients that may be difficult to obtain, such as lemongrass, dried shrimp, and holy basil.
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Paula Wolfert is one of the first food writers to acknowledge the importance of Mediterranean cuisine. During a five-year journey that encompassed parts of the Balkans, Turkey, Syria and Greece, she collected a myriad of recipes from native cooks that are easily adaptable to American kitchens. The diet of the region depends upon grains, legumes, vegetables and nuts--perfect for the health conscious--and lends itself to recipes such as pumpkin kibbeh stuffed with spinach, chick peas and walnuts and nettle cheese pie. Wolfert is careful to provide special advice to ensure smooth preparation. The book won both the 1995 Julia Child Cookbook Award in the International Category, and the 1995 James Beard Award in the International Category.
Publishers Weekly :
. . .cheerful and encouraging. . .
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Synopsis:
It's time to take the clay pot off the shelf and put it to work--deliciously! Here, in this beautifully photographed collection, 40 mouth-watering recipes that can be prepared in these all-natural pots offer a treasury of cooking ideas.
