No comments about Momofuku.

5 comments about The Complete Book of Sushi.

1. I bought this book for my sushi-loving-husband as a Christmas gift so that he can make his own sushi. This book is a great investment for the sushi lover. The author's recipes are complete and her directions for making sushi are impeccable.
   Especially helpful were her directions for making sushi rice - it came out beautifully! She provides instructions for making perfect rice whether you have a rice cooker or not. This was especially valuable because you do not need "special" rice for making sushi (I've seen so-called sushi rice in grocery stores for ridiculous prices!).
   The most difficult part of the process for us was rolling the sushi. She explains how to do this very clearly.
   Overall a great book with gorgeous pictures and helpful directions!



2. Purchased for a friend from his wish list. He likes it very much. Nice pictures. Very pretty book.



3. This is a great book for beginners. It comes with full color illustrations, recipes and step by step instructions. It is easy to follow and even has some nice fruit and dessert sushi recipes in it.



4. I purchased this as a present for my 24 year old nephew. At first, I was surprised and a bit underwhelmed by its size. It's a big, heavy book. But the photographs are absolutely beautiful, and there are lots of them. That seems essential for a sushi cookbook where the visual impression is as important as the taste. I can't speak to the taste, but the recipes sounded good even to a non-sushi lover like me, and they didn't sound too complicated. Despite its size, it was one of the things my nephew carried with him (rather than ship) on his flight home after the holidays. In these days of limits on baggage, that says something I think.



5. perfeito , superou as espectativas.... o livro e recheado de fotos em alta resolusao,e modo de fazer,entre alguns sushi comum e incomum....

5 comments about 660 Curries.

1. This book is fabulous. The recipes are laid out in an easy to follow format. There is a lot of great information about what ingredients are used. After receiving my book I headed to an Indian grocery and stocked up on all sorts of dal, now I'm trying to cook my way through every recipe. While we prefer very spicy dishes, I've cooked some which were rather "mild" (at least to spicy lovers) so you should be able to find something for everyone here.
   
   In the back of the book the author presents some "go withs" for the different curries.



2. I bought this book for my wife who loves to cook. She loved it, and well, I'm very well feed now. We've tried several dozens of the recipes and they are all top notch. They are very authentic to the richer Indian foods that are popular world wide. It was also helpful that it explains where some of the recipes come from and why there is such a wide variety of curries. Fantastic!



3. I found this book at the library and planning to buy my own copy. I have lots of cookbooks and several Indian cookbooks, and I've learned a lot from my Indian husband and his family. This cookbook has fantastic explanations of the spices, the foods, the traditions. Iyer adds lots of humorous and personal stories. He describes his experiences growing up in an India and living in America and does a wonderful job of explaining the Indian kitchen to non-Indians. There's how to make your own yogurt, an explanation of the different legumes, a glossary of ingredients... However, I would like to have seen something that tells you how to pronounce some of the names. For example, uppama is actually pronounced "oop-ma" but you wouldn't figure that out until somebody corrected you.



4. Not too many things should get 5 stars. This one deserves it.
   
   I recently bought 5 Indian cookbooks having never cooked Indian before
   (but having eaten quite a bit). My wife as a restaurateur owns a couple
   hundred cookbooks. After trying recipes from all of them, this one is
   the top of the stack, and indeed, better than almost all other cookbooks.
   The only ones I like reading better are the Culinaria series, and they're
   not really cookbooks.
   
   Why? Extensive organization, readability, many sidebars, comprehensiveness.
   
   
   For example:
   Legume curries pg 311
   Some intro, history, etc.
   pg 312 - little sidebar about dal
   pg 312 - general cooking legumes
   pg 313 - sidebar - Digesting legumes
   pg 313-318 types of legumes. 19 in all!
   pg 314 - sidebar, using a pressure cooker
   pg 314 - more types of legumes. half a page on chickpeas, with a parag.
   each about yellow, black, and green. paragraph about chickpea flour.
   each type of legume has pointers to the recipes, as well as mentions
   about regions, packaging, and buying them in the US
   pg 317 - sidebar, serving legumes.
   
   Finally, at page 318, after 8 pages of info, we actually get to a
   recipe. The info continues... sidebars about frozen peas on pg 321,
   cooking peas in a saucepan on pg 322...
   
   Each of the recipes fits into about 2.5-3 columns of
   descriptions, background, Tips, Notes, history, pointers to the glossary,
   pointers to other recipes, pointers to other tips, possible substitutions
   of other ingredients, etc, etc. Hindi equivalent words for almost
   everything included. No pictures, and none really needed!
   
   The glossary is even readable, with several paragraphs about each item.
   
   The legume section continues on and on and on like this until pg 458.
   
   There's other sections on:
   spice blends
   appetizer curries
   poultry game & egg curries
   beef lamb & pork curries
   fish & seafood curries
   paneer curries
   legume curries
   vegetable curries
   comtemporary curries
   biryani curries
   curry cohorts
   Each packed with similar amounts of info.
   
   
   And the sad thing is that I'm a bad cook. However, with this book,
   most of my Indian cooking has been reasonably good, and I've also gotten
   a lot more understanding of what I'm eating at Indian restaurants.



5. This encyclopedic volume is both thorough and very user-friendly--a great resource for anyone interested in Indian cooking. It's scope ensures that you can find information on dishes that aren't typically found in most of the popular cookbooks. It's similar to Neelam Batra's "1000 Indian Recipes" in that regard. Both of these books are well worth having.
   
   My only issue with this book (and other similarly huge volumes). I feel that when a cookbook author sets a pre-publication goal of accumulating a vast, predetermined number of recipes, typically they're not all going to be of the same outstanding caliber. For this reason, I find that it's often advisable to turn toward the small, first-time, authors who have had a burning desire to put out their best, personally well-perfected and time-tested recipes in their initial endeavor. That said however, this book is still a great resource and contains gems.
   
   One tip: If you try nothing else in this book, please try the South Indian curd rice (p. 710)--it is out of this world! You will not regret it.

5 comments about Sultan's Kitchen: A Turkish Cookbook.

1. I got this cookbook last week. I am planning to give this as a gift to my husband's aunt. She loves to cook and appreciates the different foods from different cultures. So, I thought this will be wonderful Christmas-gift for her/family. I am Turkish, so I know almost all food in this book. They are all very delicious and easy to make recipes. Besides all those, they are very healthy too.



2. I am a Turk living in the US. I first bought this book for myself in 1994. After absolutely enjoying the recipes, I bought it as gifts for two of my American friends. They love it. Then I gave my copy to another friend as a gift. I even asked him to bring it back so I can copy the Ezo Gelin Soup recipe. Make the long love story short, I am getting ready to order 2 more. One for me and one for a friend of mine who is a chef.
   Should I say more?



3. This is an excellent cookbook. The recipes are easy to follow and the results are quite authentic. After traveling in Turkey, my husband and I have become real fans of this type of cuisine. This is a keeper in our collection of cookbooks.



4. Going over the pages of this book brought back many memories and the wonderful aromas that always came from my grandfathers stove top!



5. I have purchased many middle eastern cookbooks and I still return to this one. Fabulous recipes and not difficult for the novice cook. I would highly recommend to all interested in Turkish cooking.

1 comments about Quick and Easy Korean Cooking (Gourmet Cook Book Club Selection).

1. This is a good solid book for cooking Korean food in the US. Most recipes are easy to follow, a few could have used a picture or two showing the steps. I loved some of the history included with the recipies.

5 comments about The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food.

1. I really enjoyed this book. I'm a foodie and will read almost anything about food, but Chinese cusine is my fav. Jennifer does a great job of recreating the food, just wish I could smell it.



2. Well, as a lover of Chinese food, this was an interesting read. Throughout the United States, there are more Chinese Restaurants then there are McDonalds, Burger Kings, and KFC's combined.
   
   Jennifer 8 Lee is an American-Born Chinese who many evenings her mother would send her down the street to the Chinese Restaurant to get supper for them, if she had a busy day at work. Then there is always the fortune cookie at the end.
   
   Later on, as she read about the 110 people across the United States who all won the lottery by what else, using numbers found in their fortune cookies, which I used to throw away. Well, as a lover of Chinese food, this was an interesting read. Throughout the United States, there are more Chinese Restaurants then there are McDonalds, Burger Kings, and KFC's combined.
   
   Jennifer 8 Lee is an American-Born Chinese who many evenings her mother would send her down the street to the Chinese Restaurant to get supper for them, if she had a busy day at work. Then there is always the fortune cookie at the end.
   
   Later on, as she read about the 110 people across the United States who all won the lottery by what else, using numbers found in their fortune cookies, which I used to throw away. Jennifer started looking into the mystery and from there into the world of Chinese food and restaurants.
   
   Are Fortune Cookies really from China? Is Chop Suey strictly an American dish?
   
   To me, this was like reading a documentary, which I really enjoy.
   
   Follow along as she travels the country side and visits Chinese Restaurants from Wyoming, to California, to Louisiana. Travel with her as she finds the legends of what most of all love to eat...... Chinese food.
   
   Are Fortune Cookies really from China? Is Chop Suey strictly an American dish?
   
   To me, this was like reading a documentary, which I really enjoy.



3. So what happens when, defying all statistical probability, 110 people all pick the winning numbers in a multi-million dollar Powerball lottery? When authorities investigated for potential fraud, they were stunned to discover that the numbers had come from fortune cookies distributed all over the country.
   
   Jennifer 8 Lee read about the story and went on a quest to visit most of the Chinese restaurants where the fortune cookies had been purchase. This in turn became the inspiration for research into the origins and history of much of what surrounds "Chinese food" in America. From the source of those ubiquitous packets of "soy sauce" to the development of distinctly non-Chinese foods like chop suey and General Tsao's Chicken, her narrative of the way "Chinese" has become an American institution is at once informative and entertaining.
   
   Why four stars instead of five? Primarily because of a misbegotten chapter purporting to find the "best Chinese restaurant in the world." The criteria for the decision are murky, there is no single "best" place found, and the rationale for including some of those mentioned impossible to find. This section detracted from Lee's overall collection of observations and seemed jarringly out of place. The rest of the book, however, was both informative and entertaining.



4. Jennifer 8. Lee's investigative journey started when an unusually large number of power ball winners resulted from "lucky" numbers printed on their fortune cookies. (By the way, if you are wondering about her middle name, "8", here is an explanation. In Chinese, the number eight sounds phonetically like the word for "prosperity").
   
   The author digs into the origins of different aspects of Chinese food in America: who invented fortune cookies? Who writes the fortunes? How did Chinese food become so popular in the first place? From where did the all-popular General Tso chicken originate? Why is it that no matter how remote the place is, one will always find a Chinese restaurant or two, serving up same dishes?
   
   Along the way, she reveals how Chinese take-outs and restaurants are bought and sold in an "underground" market, how Chinese immigrants are smuggled into the states, and how soy sauce created an international trade dispute.
   
   A couple of insights she provided especially stood out for me. She notes that the number of Chinese restaurants doubles that of McDonald's, and like McDonald's, all of the Chinese restaurants provide similar menu items. Yet how is that possible when McDonald's is operated out of a central headquarter that controls every aspect of its franchises? To answer this question, she draws a parallel between Chinese restaurants and open-source systems like Linux.
   
   I will leave this review with her challenge: "Our benchmark for Americanness is apple pie. But ask yourself: How often do you eat apple pie? How often do you eat Chinese food?"
   
   Intrigued? I highly recommend that you pick up this book and read it for yourself.



5. This is a well written, well researched and entertaining book. Starting with the amazing coincidence of 100 people around the country winning a Power Ball lottery because of a similar fortune found in a fortune cookie, the writer gets to the most likely origin of the fortune cookie (not where you would expect), General Cho's famous chicken, the labor market for Chinese restaurants all across the US, and the Greatest Chinese Restaurant in the World (again, not where you'd expect). A real treat for foodies.

5 comments about The MediterrAsian Way: A Cookbook and Guide to Health, Weight Loss, and Longevity, Combining the Best Features of Mediterranean and Asian Diets and Lifestyles.

1. I bought this book because I wanted to feed my family better and reduce our risk of heart disease, etc. The recipes are EXCELLENT! I am not someone who goes in for eating pineconey "health food" but I LOVE Japanese & Vietnamese food, and my husband LOVES Italian food as well. This book is the perfect combination and IT'S ACTUALLY GOOD FOR US!!



2. I don't review a lot of products but just wanted to throw my two cents in on this one. Every meal I have made from this cookbook has been a huge hit with the entire family. If you're looking for a good gift for a foodie, a cook, or someone looking to try a new plan for getting healthier, you can't go wrong with this cookbook. And get a second copy for yourself!



3. I've only done three recipes from the book so far, and all three have turned out fantastic and very delicious! I can't wait to try them all.
   
   Also, I love the overall message of this book (being mindful, healthy, active and taking time to relax but still enjoying yourself).
   
   Did I mention the recipes are rather easy too? Double score!



4. It's about time America change their focus from fad diets to a sustainable healthy way of eating. Following this method, people can eat plenty of foods, stay full and stay slim.
   This book reveals about the benefits of good carbs, whole grains and pastas and full of great recipes, especially seafood & poultry recipes.



5. The MediterrAsian Way: A Cookbook and Guide to Health, Weight Loss, and Longevity, Combining the Best Features of Mediterranean and Asian Diets and Lifestyles
   
   I happened across the MediterrAsian website while googling "healthy Asian recipes" for bento. I came across the site, and have been so incredibly impressed that I have been searching the site and trying out recipes all day. I cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner from the recipes they provided. Everything came out incredibly flavorful and delicious, and the healthy eating logic simply makes sense. I ordered the cookbook today, and I consider this website a life saver. I just started to carry bento to work so that I would think ahead and make healthy lunches, and now I have delicious and healthy recipes from my favorite recipe regions. I am very interested in reading the lifestyle section of the book, because in my view, here in the US we don't enjoy our food or our "time" like other cultures. When I was studying in Italy, it was normal to relax, enjoy a long lunch, sit at a cafe and people watch, share a glass of wine with friends. We seriously lack a sense of simple enjoyment of the day, and many of us don't even realize it. KUDOS Ric and Trudy!

5 comments about Modern Spice: Inspired Indian Flavors for the Contemporary Kitchen.

1. The cover of Modern Spice is just the beginning. Monica Bhide helps the average, mediocre kitchen mother/ wife transform her boring dishes in to a higher level of cuisine without fear or failure. She has such a gift for writing; her knowledge base combined with her flair for interjecting wit and reality give the inspired reader a real boost. The outcomes of her recipes leave our plates empty, and my family and friends satisfied. The cover - beautiful - the content - rich - Monica will give you a top 10 recipe as a signature dish for a lifetime. Best and Thank you!!! Amy Nymark



2. "Modern Spice" is hands-down my favorite new cookbook. I am reading it cover to cover, and I simply can't say enough good things about this book. For those out there who fear the exploration of this cuisine, let "Modern Spice" be your guide. The pantry chapter alone will allay your fear of mysterious spices and by the time you've gotten to the first recipe you'll be chomping at the bit to get to your stove.
   
   "Modern Spice" is more than a cookbook; its a deeply personal exploration of food, family, culture and more. Monice Bhide's passion for life and food is infectious - it will draw you in, keep you reading, and encourage you to explore. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of this treasure - your heart and your palate will thank you.



3. There are so many wonderful recipes here, plus I love the little personal stories that Bhide drops into the book, like pearls. I find her recipes for vegetables especially helpful: we're trying to eat less meat in this house, and Modern Spice gives me so many new ways to cook old favorites like eggplant. She's also given me a reason to like green beans. Many nice seafood recipes, too.



4. I heard the author interviewed on NPR and immediately ordered the book. I love Indian food and have cooked a fair amount myself.
   
   I was disappointed in this cookbook, however. The writing is nice - there are some good tips and some good recipes, but she uses an awful lot of Coconut milk - almost seems to be her definition of a curry (and high saturated fat coconut milk is not necessary for a curry). I mostly view this as a cookbook which can give me good ideas which I will then modify (can use less oil - that's easy - but also need to avoid the (yummy sounding) deep fat fried dishes. That's fine, but given the stack of Indian cookbooks on my shelf, I'm not that happy.
   
   (Her cilantro-mint chutney looks like one of the best recipes I've seen, however.)



5. What a pleasant surprise it was to sit down to peruse this highly touted book and find out that it was not just a recipe book, but a 'great read'! I found myself not only wanting to try new recipes and new spices, but wanting to read the whole book in one sitting! Yummy!

5 comments about Madhur Jaffrey's Quick & Easy Indian Cooking.

1. I had never cooked Indian food before. This book made it easy. Many of the items have to be purchased in a specialty grocery store but since we have an Asian market a couple blocks away that was easy to do.



2. If you are looking for an easy adventure into Indian cooking, this book is for you. The recipes and instructions are precise and simple to follow. There are ample photographs of the prepared dishes so that you will have a good idea of what your meal should look like. Certainly read through first, as you may need to shop for some of the spices required. All other ingredients are readily available.
   Having prepared some of these recipes for friends who eat Indian food as their cuisine of choice, I was a little nervous, but they were very impressed. And it was great fun learning about all the spices and different cooking techniques.



3. I've wanted to try making Indian dishes for awhile now but frankly, I've been a bit intimidated by it. Let's face it, Indians are known for their magical use of spices in cooking and a lot of those spices I've never even heard of. That's why I love this cookbook so much. Madhur Jaffrey keeps the list to a mininum and most of those you can find fairly easy. You may even already have some of them on hand from holiday baking!
   
   So far, I've made about six or seven dishes from the book and all of them have been wonderful. Although, I was less impressed with the mushroom curry. However, that might have been user error. All the recipes have been clear and not hard to make at all. I love the way my house smells when I'm cooking them and feel that if I were served them in a restaurant, I'd come back for more! Add to that, the author's intimate way of writing makes it seem as if she wrote these recipes especially for you. It is by far, my favorite cookbook now. If you've ever wanted to try cooking Indian food, I think this is the perfect book for beginners.
   
   That being said, if you want to know nutritional information for the recipes, it's not here. Just in case that's a deal-breaker for some of you. For those of you who think ignorance is bliss, dive on in! You won't regret it.



4. A lot of recipes in this book are a repeat from other books of Madhur Jaffrey. You will need a lot of indian spices and grocery to be able to make the exact product. But the recipes are quick enough as some use pressure cooker for faster, healthier cooking. And they taste good too!



5. This book offers quick and easy Indian dishes for preparation in the American kitchen with appropriate substitutions.

5 comments about 5 Spices, 50 Dishes: Simple Indian Recipes Using Five Common Spices.

1. I have always loved Indian food, but I never thought I'd be able to cook any. This book has taught me that I can cook it, my husband will eat it, and most of the ingredients are already in my kitchen! This is a great way to eat more vegetables, because they taste so much more alive using the ingredients and techniques described in this book. 5 Spices, 50 Dishes is THE cookbook that I turn to for inspiration when I'm tired of my usual cooking; I can't recommend it enough.



2. I haven't read the book and don't intend to buy it. This is to provide a bit of balance for all of the 5-star reviews that were written by the same person. You'll find this collection of reviews cut and pasted in the reviews of other Indian cookbooks as well. Shame.



3. I got this book and immediately made one of the recipes the same night. I have made a few more since and so far I have liked everything I tried. Nothing is too long or too complicated. Only four stars since the binding began to seperate from the pages after only a few weeks of use.



4. I am not a gourmet chef...heck, I'm not a chef by any definition. I enjoy cooking, but I like dining out more. I say all this to communicate how very feasible it is to cook the dishes in this book. I was looking for something to change up my usual regime of home cooking, and this was exactly what I was looking for!
   
   Thus far my favorite dishes have been the "Simple Cabbage Stir-Fry," "Steamed Cauliflower in Spicy Tomato Sauce," and the "Fire-Roasted Eggplant Raita." I love having a cookbook that gives me different flavors without requiring the purchase of a complete pantry's worth of spices. It's wonderful to have new vegetable sides that practically upstage the main course of the meal!
   
   But my favorite thing about this cookbook is that I think it truly lives up to its promise that it is simple. Nothing in here has been beyond my ability to make and the dish comes out tasting absolutely delicious. All of the dishes I've made will become part of my permanent repertoire!



5. This is a fabulous cookbook. My daughter discovered it and I have given it to many friends. So many delicious, easy to make dishes. Easy to understand and beautifully presented. After buying the core spices, just remember to buy fresh cilantro each time you shop, and you have dozens of recipe choices. (Save money by shopping in an Indian Cash and Carry, if you can.)