5 comments about Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.

1. This is the best desert book I have used. The recipes are very easy to follow and the results are always wonderful.



2. I love this book, thanks to Rick Roger.Last year ,I have a chance to travel to five cities that include Paris,Vienna, Budapest,Prague, and Brussel. My mom and I both have a sweeth tooth, so we visited all the famous pastry house in france like Fouchon, Lauduree,and all local pastry shop, In Austria, We visited the Hotel Sacher, Demel, Aida,and Sluka .as
   well as other local Konditorei ( pastry and coffee shop )In Budapest ,we
   visted the famous Gerbeaud and Grundel, and some cake at the central market. Unfortunatly we only stay one day in Prague ,So we only try some roll that is coated with peanut crust on the outside,but we did brought lots of chocolate back from Belgium.now when we get back to the U S .I laminated all the receipts from all those store and make those as a bookmark. and guess what book I Put those bookmarks in .



3. Rick Rodgers has written *the* definitive guide to the elegant desserts and coffee drinks found in historic Austro-Hungarian cafes. The beautifully illustrated book features interior photographs of several landmark cafes in their Art Deco glory, along with mouthwatering close-ups of featured recipes such as Linzertorte, Sachertorte, strudel, and schnecken.
   
   Recipes begin with basic doughs, such as Viennese Sweet Yeast Dough, sponge cake, and puff pastry, which form the basis for many later recipes. Various icings and glazes (fruit, chocolate, and sugar) are also included, as are flavored whip creams. The book is appropriately divided into simple cakes (apricot tart, farmer's cheesecake, coffee cakes, gugelhupf, pound cakes, plum squares), fancy cakes (linzertorte, sachertorte, various cream and chocolate tortes), strudels (sour cherry, grape, pear, farmer's cheese and raisin), sweet yeast breads (brioche braid, stollen, jam rolls and sweet rolls, dumplings, kolacky), cookies and doughnuts, pancakes and sweet omelets, and coffee beverages.
   
   Rogers also includes a "personal coffee house guide" that offers a tour of some of the more famous (and memorable) cafes (given that several years have passed since the book's publication, hours may have changed). Several e-commerce websites are included, and an in-depth bibliography is included as well. The Index thankfully includes the recipe's German titles as well as the English, so if you're more familiar with the German recipe titles, looking them up is a breeze.
   
   The yeast recipes in particular are superb, particularly the brioche braid, stollen, and the cream puffs, made in Nordic Ware Danish Ebelskiver Iron.
   
   The book's layout deserves a special mention as well. Grounded in Art Nouveau, the numerous page numbers and inserts make use of Alphonse Mucha's vine-and-flowers motif. Inserts feature stories behind famous recipes such as the Linzertorte and Sachertorte, or about the landmark cafes and their role in the Austro-Hungarian empire's history. It's beautiful to look at even in you never make a single recipe.



4. I lived in Vienna for three years as a teenager and recently returned for my honeymoon. These recipes really do seem to capture authentic Eastern European pastry making, adapted for American cooks. Many of the recipes, while clearly written, are time consuming, so alas, all I have made so far is the gugelhopf, which came out great. I recommend this book to slightly-more-ambitious-than-average home bakers with more time on their hands than I have!



5. This is really a terrific book. Other reviews here lead me to purchase this and I am SO glad I did!
   
   First off, it is a beautiful presentation. The photos, the layout, everything. Beautiful.
   
   The recipes are explained very well, and RR takes the trouble to explain further when necessary. He really wants us to understand the recipes without making you crazy. I love that he references every picture so you can match the finished product with the recipe. This might sound like a no-brainer, but many a book will not have this feature, and you have to guess what recipe will get you that yummy cookie on page 14. You don't have to guess anywhere. He even includes a directory at the back of the book. LOVE this! :-)
   
   You can really tell how RR put time and dedictaion into this work. It really is a learning experience on all levels. Being of Czechoslovakian decent, it matters to me that he explains why the coffee houses had relevance in a cultural sense - and where you can go today if you find yourself in Europe.
   
   I REALLY hope we see more books like this from RR. A true five-star book.

5 comments about Between Meals: An Appetite for Paris.

1. Before purchasing this book, I read all the customer comments which gave nothing but praise. I just don't get it. I wish one of the reviewers would have given me tips on how to stay awake while plodding through each sentence/paragraph, along with where to find a single nugget in these pages worth remembering. Okay, I'll probably always wonder how the author's love of boxing was deemed worth inclusion, but then I wonder why the entire book was printed. I feel suckered! And can't think of anything to recommend this book. My advice is to spend your money on ANYTHING written by M.F.K. Fisher, "The Tummy Trilogy" by Calvin Trillin or "Blue Trout and Black Truffles" by Joseph Wechsberg for much more pleasurable reading.



2. This is a fantastic book, but if you've never cracked The New Yorker open before, you might not like the style. Very in the moment and tongue in cheek, Liebling is a master wordsmith leaving no offense done to him by the onset of modernity unheckled. Some of the greatest tidbits come when he derrides the famous Michelin Star rating system for French restaurants, now a standard that chefs have literally killed themselves over - Liebling reminds you that its just a rating from a TIRE manufacturer and that he feels it marked the decline of real French cooking.
   
   I read passages of this book out loud to friends and family, most notably the ones dealing with the immense amounts of food, and always got a laugh. This is not a book dealing with the upper crust of French high society, but rather a street wise, in the guts little tome that entertains and educates - though sadly, it is unlikely one can find the Paris that Liebling describes anymore.



3. I have to say first of all that I'm a sucker for all of the "Paris in the early part of the twentieth century" literature. I love Celine and Miller, but my favorite was Hemingway's A Moveable Feast. Well, Between Meals is no A Moveable Feast but it certainly is a high quality read that I can unquestionably recommend to you.
   
   Liebling, make no mistake, is a top notch writer and his sentence structure, use of metaphor, and style have much to offer aspiring wordsmiths. He has an eye for the essential and this is particularly true if you're at all like me as far as food is concerned. Liebling is a true gourmand and, even though I am completely unlearned and unappreciative in regards to fine dining, I still enjoyed his narration and memories of that splendid age.
   
   The best of these essays is "Passable" where he recalls his old girlfriend from his student years. Liebling informs us that he does a poor job in reconstructing her but his description of their romance is quite compelling. I loved that essay just as I did the one on Mirande. This is a world long gone but we're fortunate that books like this are still in print. Reading it will give you a snapshot of beauty that will hang like a Renoir in the corridors of your mind.



4. This book was strongly recommended to me by a friend who is from Europe and is very discerning when it comes to American writers. I'm glad that I have it.
   
   While not nearly as zany or as challenging as Kerouac or Burroughs, this work, at its best, is rich, insightful and intensely funny: "What he called his pipes("ma tuyauterie"), being insufficiently excercised, lost their tone, like the leg muscles of a retired champion. When, in his kindly effort to please me, he challenged the escargots en pots de chambre, he was like an old fighter who tries a comeback without training for it."
   
   The language is elegant and piercing, despite what the hypercritics have said; and the work stands as an opus to epicurean bliss.
   
   It's well worth the read before, after, or in between the wonderful meals!



5. Did anyone ever love Paris, or at least eating in Paris, like Liebling. I share his love for the city and for the cuisine. Perhaps this colors my view but I really enjoyed this book.

5 comments about Paris Boulangerie-Patisserie: Recipes from Thirteen Outstanding French Bakeries.

1. Do all recipes in this book work? Yes and No. I bought this book 8 years ago, every since then I tried each of the recipes to the dot. Few worked, most didn't come out close like in the pictures. The pictures are certainly pretty. BUT, the contact info regarding the locations of the pattiseries are very helpful. I didn't waste any seconds trying all the boulangeries/pattisseries while I was in Paris. And some newcomers are popping up near the address mentioned in the book. So if you fail make breads or pastries from this book, use this book as one of your 'travel guide' books when you go to France.



2. Beautiful book, enticing photos and the recipes, when they work, are excellent. This is not a book for beginning bakers, though. It requires some experience with home baking and patience because some of the quantities given are not exact and need a bit of adjusting and the essembly procedures need improvisation as well. Because many of the recipes are so involved, it takes some dexterity to reach the desired look and taste of the pastries. But when it works it is superb. I enjoyed the challenges, but buyers should beware.



3. This might be an okay cookbook but the font is so hard to read that I don't find it worth the time when there are other cookbooks out there that are not hard to read. I hope this printer of this book reads this.



4. 
   This is one my favorite books and even though I've been reading it for over 10 years ,I still go back to it and read it like it was just published.
   It 's like every time you read it you discover new things in it !
   
   a real jewel .



5. I bought this book in Paris before heading home on my last trip to France. I was spending change in the airport before heading home. I sat down on the plane with the book with no expectations of anything grand. I was engrossed for the first two hours of the trip home! The stories and content are really quite good. When I got home, I began to make the recipes. I didn't expect much at first, assuming that they would be too advanced because while I am certainly no novice, neither am I a French pastry chef! Wow! The recipes worked wonderfully and looked just as fabulous from my oven as the pictures. I love to be in Paris, but being in my kitchen creating these wonderful things is the next best thing. And for all of those who think these recipes are impossible, I've got two little ones helping who are under the age of four so it CAN be done!

4 comments about Breakfast, Lunch, Tea: The Many Little Meals of Rose Bakery.

1. I noticed the book Breakfast, Lunch, Tea by Rose Carrarini being mentioned in the Lifestyle magazine that came with Sunday The New York Times newspaper. The idea of little meals caught my eye. Over the years I have handpicked cookbooks into my small collection, but I'm constantly on the market for something that I might like or might not have imagined. The latter appeared in the form of this book. I ordered the book, opened it on a random page and - it took my breath away, literally, with its structure, beauty (needless to say - Phaidon press)and a promise of finer things, food included. I opened it on a back flap, which quoted Rose Carrarini saying "Life can be improved by great food." Oh yes - they are my kind of people! The Carrarinis prefer and prepare their food simple and natural, preferably, but not necessarily organic. They put vegetables above meat or fish with ambition to blur the line between home and restaurant cooking; they have put together menus, and based on them, a cookbook that is too filled even to be read in many sittings. Rather, it is to be enjoyed by tiny morsels that make your lunch, snack or day. A thousand thanks for this masterpiece!



2. What a charming and wonderful book this is! From the lemon, rice and polenta cake to the Pistachio cake using a bit of wheat flour and ground almonds and pistachios, to the Eccles Cakes (cookies that use pie dough as cases) filled with raisins, spices, lemon zest and brown sugar to the lamb shank with cumin, eggplant and chickpeas, it's all wonderful. I've tried several other recipes, and, although I've only had this book for a few months, it's covered with smudges and bent pages.
   
   I love this book!



3. This is a delightful book that operates on a number of levels. First the exquisite photographs capture the beauty of the mundane doings of the Rose Bakery. From the simplicity of a zested lemon to the ruddy faces of the apple suppliers to the delivery truck to the ooh so chic clientèle, the pictures transport the reader to this Paris cafe.
   
   Then there is the author's story, a tale of a woman who loves food and people. With no formal training and a belief in natural, fresh and unpretentious dishes, Rose Carranini built the wildly successful business. Her sense of purpose and commitment to quality and sustainability is impressive and her affection for her patrons is palpable.
   
   Finally, the recipes themselves are superb. Basically, there are two types of people: those who follow recipes to a tee and those who view recipes as a guide or starting point for their own creativity. The author advocates the flexible approach. She encourages the cooks to use their favorite ingredients and substitutions, cautioning that it is the method as opposed to the ingredients that is crucial to the ultimate success of the recipe. She correctly points out that cookie cutter results are impossible when using natural ingredients...the juiciness of a piece of fruit, the humidity,the weather, the rainfall or lack thereof, the temperature of the room all impact the final result. The amateur cook should not be deterred. While some of the recipes are a bit labor intensive, they all are fairly easy. Additionally there are plenty for vegans and vegetarians.
   
   The author embodies the joy of cooking. Food should be fun not fake. Her secrets are all revealed...always buy fresh, seasonal and local; use organic and sustainable when possible and remember the most important ingredient is love.



4. I love this book.
   Admittedly I am a sucker for beautiful presentation, but this book is beautiful far beyond its visual appeal. Each recipe is the pinnacle of its kind. The pancake recipe, for example, outshines any I've ever tried. The salads are spectacular and have been the talk of many a collaborative dinner party. I haven't yet come across a dish I even slightly dislike. The recipes are accurate, as well. The quantities and cooking temperatures/times yield the perfect product. I can only assume that this accuracy comes from years of meticulous testing and tasting. The effort is well appreciated and results in recipes that are not only perfect every time, but are destined to become the classics you reach for time and again. The recipes, photgraphs, the quality of the binding and printing, the book in its entirety is simply wonderful.

2 comments about The River Cottage Family Cookbook.

1. This is actually 416 pages! Gorgeous yet realistic and very homey food photos including kid-next-door children, misshapen & imperfect dishes, and exquisitely crafted recipes with sublime descriptions of exactly how and why certain things are done, and when, in the creation of your meal. All ages will not only enjoy, but LEARN from this cookbook. Simply divine, and not to be missed.



2. This is the anti Martha Stewart. These are recipes that you (yes, YOU) can actually make "properly". It may not look perfect, but every recipe I've tried so far has turned out delicious (and I think they're even good for you). They are simple and fun and easy to follow. The kids can really help cook and will love to eat the results. Get messy, have fun, and make fabulous food. My 3.5-year old especially loves making Strawberry Fool; mashed strawberries mixed with sugar and cream--how can you go wrong?

5 comments about Brew Like a Monk: Trappist, Abbey, and Strong Belgian Ales and How to Brew Them.

1. Very informative book on the belgian styles in question. The best in the series.



2. If you've ever wondered how people brewed beer in centuries gone by this book's for you! There are few, if any, modern conveniences in use in the Abbey breweries around the world and yet the Monks continue to produce some of the best brews available anywhere. A great read for those dreaming of making good beer with minimal equipment! It's also a great read for those interested in life in a monastery as there is a lot of information given concerning the living conditions, activities, expectations, etc., of the Monks who inhabit those facilities. It's a sad thing, but the very folks who brew those liquid treats are themselves prohibited from consuming more than just a sampling of their work. On the other hand, that is good news for the rest of us. We can sample lots of their handiwork!!! If you like beer (you do, or you wouldn't be interested in this book!) and if you are even remotely interested in its production, then, by all means, buy this volume. You won't be sorry!



3. I highly recommend to this anyone who wants to learn more about Trappist and Trappist inspired ales. Very accessible and thorough.



4. Inspiring view into the brewing techniques of the Belgium beer. Outstanding historical look along with what is going on today. A must read if you are into the Belgians.



5. This is another excellent book from Brewers' Publications. Non-brewers will find herein an engagingly written history of Belgian brewing both within and outside the monastary walls. You'll become acquaintaed with the brewers of Orval, Westveletren, Duvel, and others, their history, their personalities, and most importantly, their beers.
   For those who are brewers, the book offers even more. Ingredients and specifications (gravity, IBU) are given for commercially available beers whenever possible (and the author has done a *lot* of homework to get his hands on this information). Additionally, full recipes are provided for various Belgian style and Belgian-inspired beers. Even better, the authors of these recipes explain *why* they formulated their recipes as they did, and the author supplements this advice with his own, with advice from professional brewers, and from BJCP judges. This enables the brewer to not just mimic the recipes he finds in the book (though believe me, they are definitely worth mimicing!), but to thoughtfully exercise his own creativity within the rich history and style of the Belgian tradition.
   Beginning brewers will find a lot of technical information regarding krausening, PH adjustment, etc. that goes over their heads. But this shouldn't scare anyone off. The technical information is easy to skip over and there's enough in this book for readers of all levels.
   This book represents the state of the art in knowledge regarding Belgian brewers and brewing. No matter how long you've been brewing, you will come away from this book entertained, sometimes surprised, and better informed.

5 comments about The Saucier's Apprentice: One Long Strange Trip through the Great Cooking Schools of Europe.

1. Bob Spitz bares his soul in his new travelogue book.The mouthwatering recipes included in the text make me want to travel to Europe and cook. A great read for anyone who likes to cook or travel.



2. I love foodie books, and this one's delish. An ideal book club read---lots to talk about, smart and fun---plus you'll be itching to whip up another meal for your club members. We all wanted to pack our bags and rent a summer house in France together. A delightful memoir with a balance of flavors. Highly recommended!



3. Bob's an utterly self-absorbed yet complex character hoping to escape his relationship unhappiness by plunging into an intense regimen of cooking classes in France and Italy. He's the guy you pick out on the first day of any and every international guided tour, the guy who'll do his darndest to make everyone around him as miserable as he is. Willing to be indignant by slightest of slights and the most minor inconveniences, Bob is hugely entertaining as the clear source of all his problems. Relationship troubles? Hmmmm.
   
   I laughed out loud when he received his comeuppance from a fellow traveler who refused to put up with even one minute of his sulking petulance. Once in a while Bob glimpses himself for who he really is, resulting in a hilarious moment of forced sensitivity and spirituality. The perfect book to take along on a vacation for anyone who's ever traveled or ever cooked.



4. I purchased this book after reading some of the reviews here. After reading the book I was disapointed. The book has some good receipts and he travels to some great places. But his overall tone is depressing. He complains through out the book and makes a few off color remarks (in regards to Jews).



5. Knowing one of the people he cited, as well as her wonderful place, I found several instances of misinformation. We spent 2 weeks there - he spent 3 days. One wonders about the remainder of the book. Food/travel books are my favorite reads, and I have an extensive library to prove it. This one is not a keeper.

5 comments about Fish Forever: The Definitive Guide to Understanding, Selecting, and Preparing Healthy, Delicious, and Environmentally Sustainable Seafood.

1. This book is really a great seafood cookbook. I learned how to search out healthy seafood and then cook it in a simple but tasty way.



2. FISH FOREVER: THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING, SELECTING, AND PREPARING HEALTHY, DELICIOUS AND ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE SEAFOOD is for neo-pros and chiefs who would choose sustainable seafood, and is written by the owner of the Monterey Fish Market in San Francisco who has supplied such seafood to some of the nation's best chefs. His guide blends an international recipe book with in-depth profiles of both fish types and discussions of fish health issues and concerns. Access to a range of fish types is required, but any library catering to patrons who love to cook seafood must have this, with its bright centerfold of photos and detailed fish cooking insights.



3. I have always enjoyed fish when I go to restaurants but the fish market and cooking fish scared me. 'Fish Forever' gives me the information to select and cook great seafood dishes. The results of the recipes are spectacular. I am lousy cook, but the recipes are so easy to follow, they improved my cooking. The book is also an interesting look at fishing and the seafood business.



4. As both an amateur home cook and a devotee of sustainable seafood, I think this is the best sustainable seafood cookbook on the market. The recipes are simple and healthy, and the factual information is well-balanced. I highly recommend this cookbook!



5. This is an absolutely essential cookbook for your kitchen if you are a serious cook. The recipes are beautifully presented, and are not difficult to prepare. They don't require a lot of hard to find ingredients. You know you are eating wonderful food, as it was meant to be prepared. Taste the fish. Can't recommend it more highly.

5 comments about Local Breads: Sourdough and Whole-Grain Recipes from Europe's Best Artisan Bakers.

1. I've been making sourdough bread for 5 years with two cultures I've sustained. I have numerious bread books which all are good. The sourdough books I had were very informative. While it's important to understand the science behind sourdough bread, I feel it's equally important to understand the techniques and styles. That's something other books don't emphasize. They basically provide a recipe with directions. With Local Breads, I've learned so much more!! I never realized all the different techniques for making the various types of bread, ranging from the moisture of the bread (and tips to handle it) to the various ways of kneading the breads. Some breads need more kneading.. others need less. It's all fully explained in his book. While it may not cover every country in Europe, I don't thing that was his scope for this book. I think you'd need volumes of books to cover that!! But it does give you a flavor of the various regions of bread making in Europe, with each one being distinctly different. It's a book well worth the money!!



2. I have always felt that Bread Alone was the best bread primer on the market both because of the simplicity of the recipes and Mr. Leaders description of his journey to great, simple breads. This book is far simpler in many ways but his love and respect for bakers, their tools, and their craft still comes thru. This is a much better book for a beginning baker, much broader and deeper explanations then in other books. He has also expanded his repertoire with the addition of Italian breads, Biga based recipes, and many of the other non-French recipes.
   
   If you are a "sourdough" baker this is the book. If the section on starters and theirproblems and fixes had been around 10 years ago when I started baking life would have been a lot easier, he has all of the hard lessons that I have learned over the years.
   
   All in all a good first bread cookbook, and a great addition to the bookshelf



3. Here, Daniel Leader explains starters that can be done in the home without tons of flour. Beautiful stuff. Beyond recipes. Exceptional formulas plus a narrative about fermentation, flours, yeasts. Applause, applause.
   
   I have a collection of BREAD books, including those from France and Italy in their original languages -- because I love bread.
   
   This is one of the best bread books: clear, accurate, and
   remarkably easy to understand.
   When I originally made bread in France, it took about 6-8 days to get a good loaf. I usually had to make a huge amount to get good results. Here, the home-scale versions are very true to the originals, and you can see the details in the formula ratios.



4. Growing up with my grandmother, who always baked homemade rolls and pastries, I loved watching her mixing the dough and kneading the mixture.
   I wanted to duplicate it, somehow it never turned out right. So in reading the book, it showed me many reasons where I could of went wrong. I was enlighten on the poofing, the yeast and so many other areas in bread making, that I am sure that when I do start making the breads and roll again, it's sure to be a success.



5. A wonderful, extremely well-written book that should be on the bookshelf of any bread baking fanatic, or anyone who wants to delve into the world of artisinal breads. I would give it 4.5 stars, but that is not an option here.
   
   The book focuses on breads made with starters and sourdoughs, and provides easy, step-by-step instructions to make them. Leader's book covers some of the breads of specific regions of France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Poland, and the Czech Republic. If you area looking for European breads from other regions, they are not in the book.
   
   Overall, the recipes are clearly written. Even the most complicated recipes are very doable because Leader provides clear instructions. Novice bakers may have a bit of trouble if they stick to the recipes exactly, because anyone who bakes bread for a while will tell you that flour measurements are ESTIMATES, so be ready to add a bit more flour than called for in the recipes, especially if you live in a humid climate.
   
   There are also some problems with typos. For example, in his recipe for Flax, Sesame, and Sunflower Rye (Dreikornbrot) pg p. 282, Leader calls for 22 CUPS of water - a pretty significant typo. There are also errors in baker's percentages. Luckily, one of the strengths of the book is that it provides measurements in US volumes, US weights, metric weights, and baker's percentages. So, I would recommend reading the recipes carefully before starting, and while you don't need a kitchen scale, it would be a great investment for anyone who is serious about bread baking. I also think that a few photos of properly kneaded bread dough would be very helpful for a future edition - the rye breads look a lot different than the semolina breads, and photos of this (and more detailed descriptions) would help.
   
   I've made about 6 different breads from the book so far, and they have ALL been absolutely outstanding. My family raves about them, and even though I've had the book for only a few months, it's already looking pretty worn. I highly recommend this book, and hold back on a full 5 stars is because it could use a few more photos, and needs some more careful editing of the amounts and baker's percentages.

5 comments about Mediterranean Diet Cookbook: A Delicious Alternative for Lifelong Health.

1. Has good recipes and provides a little history behind the mediterranean diet. I can feed my kids many of the recipes I find in here.



2. I bought this book because my Doctor recommended a Mediterranean Diet for heart health. It is a big book, full of recipies and asides about living in Mediterranean countries. That part was interesting. However, I found the recipies way too ethnic for our use. They use many ingredients that can not be found in our South-Western community. Also, most of them don't even appeal to me. I did read it cover to cover and tried to glean from it some basics of a Mediterranean Diet that I could try to apply to our circumstances. In that respect, it was helpful.



3. I read this cover to cover and enjoyed every delicious word! YUM. I love to cook this way anyway, and having just returned from the Mediterranean, I had a great appreciation for the menus and foods (which I just recently ate - double yum). I'm excited to have this in my inventory of cookbooks.



4. I have a lot of heart trouble and I bought this cookbook specifically to look into The Mediterranean Diet as a means to benefit my precarious health. I cook a lot, every day, as I'm retired and it's my job to prepare a balanced suppertime meal for my wife and me each day -- she's still working full-time and, of course, she's pretty hungry when she comes through the door each evening. (If you want to see what my own chefing skill-level is, go to "Recipezaar" and look up "Bone Man" -- that's me and I have about 300 recipes posted there that you can view and/or print for free).
   
   This cookbook is intelligently written, bulging with great and useful advice, and details of The Mediterranean Diet are clearly stated therein; however, one would be very hard-pressed to complete all the tasks which go with owning a home and raising a family, and balancing that burden with cooking the dishes found in here.
   
   These are, in fact, fine recipes (I've made several of them), but my point is, they're too complex and ingredient-diverse to pull off every day and that objective is sort of the purpose of any particular diet. An example of the problem is that sometimes, one recipe refers you to yet another recipe, on a different page, for preparation. Another evaluation is that one would need to go to the grocery at least every other day as this author uses a LOT of different ingredients -- while conforming nicely to The Mediterranean Diet requirements, these recipes are very diverse in regard to ingredients. A final comment is that these dishes are not largely all that cheap to make and, over time, this becomes a problem for many of us.
   
   One other criticism I have is that, while the book is nicely bound, it's inappropriately bound for a cookbook. It's fairly large and it doesn't lie flat. The paper is not of a "slick" variety and it's of a type of paper that seems to absorb every splash and stain that gets near it. All this is really just a minor complaint but I think that this was a huge oversight on the part of the publisher and certainly represents an inconvenience for the home cook.
   
   So, my summary is this: if you have a helper in the kitchen who can also go to the grocery for you on short notice, this cookbook might be okay. I would also say that the recipes are quite worthwhile for folks (even non-dieters) who wish to prepare one of these dishes just once in awhile -- but to stick to the recipes herein, day after day, would be notably difficult and costly.



5. Recipes are oke, but I already have a lot of those. I wanted to learn exactly what is the mediterranean diet and what exactly are the benefits. I expected more background and scientific information.
   
   If you want to know more about foodscience, you better read Good calories, bad calories, written by Gary Taubes.