2 comments about Greek Cooking for Everyone: Second Edition.

1. As the Greek Food Host at Bella Online, I refer to many Greek cookbooks. Greek Cooking For Everyone is one of my favorites. The recipes are very traditional, yet the ingredients are readily available to American cooks. The first few pages of the cookbook offer background information on the staples of Greek cuisine, and tips on stocking a Greek kitchen, which is very helpful and informative. This cookbook is divided into menus rather than types of food (i.e. 'meat menus', 'fish menus', etc.), so that each section provides a meal complete with appetizers and side dishes. Most recipes are for four or more people, so if you are looking for recipes for two, you will have to adjust the measurements. Although this is not the type of cookbook that includes professional, color photographs of Greece, it is a very handy reference and a great source of traditional Greek recipes.



2. I would not recommend this book to non-Greeks or people who are not familiar with Greek cooking (like myself). Some of the recipes seem to leave out important information - like how to prepare the vegetables before cooking - which might be obvious to a more experienced Greek cook. Also, some of the recipes are good and others a sort of blah. Although maybe this is because it is hard to get really fresh produce year round in the NE US - unlike in Greece. I do like how the book is organized into menus.

No comments about Greek Cooking.

No comments about Tarts: 40 Superb Recipes for Sweet & Savory Tarts (Contemporary Cooking).

No comments about Greek calendar cookbook: A seasonal guide to cooking in Greece.

No comments about Greek Cooking - Traditional Recipes.

3 comments about Greek Generations: A Medley of Ethnic Recipes, Folklore, and Village Traditions.

1. 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.



2. 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.




3. 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

No comments about The Centaur's Kitchen: A Book of French, Italian, Greek & Catalan Dishes for Ships' Cooks on the Blue Funnel Line.

5 comments about Meze: Small Plates to Savor and Share from the Mediterranean Table.

1. Cooking from this book was a great joy after having spent several days with books dealing with French haute cuisine. I heartily recommend this book to just about anyone as a source of tasty, easy, traditional dishes. The only reservations would be to people who may not have the time or inclination to search out some of the speciality ingredients.

   Almost all recipes in this book use fewer than 12 ingredients and the technique rarely takes more than four (4) steps, taking no more than a half page of text. This is not exactly quick cooking, although there are a fair number of quick recipes herein. Some recipes do require long marinades, but very few require long cooking. Most heat is from either a quick saute or a grill.

   The issues with ingredients, especially for those who like to stay authentic, is probably solved if you live in a large city and there is a Greek or middle eastern grocery available. It is also probably not a big issue if you live near a `megamart' which carries a generous supply of Greek and Turkish staples. Needless to say, even if you live in the sticks, there are internet sources for everything. The most important speciality ingredients are:

   Greek feta - There is barrel cured and tin cured. Some recipes recommend one type. Some the other.
   Other Greek Cheeses - Popular Italian cheeses like ricotta will substitute for most requirements.
   Greek Oregano - Dried
   Greek / Eastern Mediterranian yogurt - Fortunately, there is an easy way to make plain yogurt work.
   Dried Mint - Yes, dried. Fresh mint is also commonly used.
   Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil - `What is grown together goes together'. But Italian or Spanish will work.
   Phyllo - Supermarket Phyllo is fine.
   Octopus - The national seafood of Greece.
   Pastourma - Cured Beef

   Once you locate a source, I believe most ingredients such as the Greek olive oil will actually be less expensive than Italian substitutes. Almost all other ingredients such as eggplant, pita, and ouzo are very common everywhere in the country.

   Meze, short for mezethes, denotes small dishes served typically at small eateries like `mezethopoleion'; ouzeri, similar to the Italian wine shop; and the tsipouradiko, serving Greek eau-de-vie. The object of these establishments and their meze fare is to offers its patrons a place to eat, drink, and have conversation in the hours between large meals. The author points out that although there is a strong similarity in portion size and preparation similarity to Spanish tapas, the dishes were specifically developed to be eaten only as an accompanyment to drink in the middle of the day, not as a `before the meal' bite to get you started on the main meal of the day. It is much more comparable to bar nuts, pretzels, and pickled eggs on American bars.

   All portions are small and most are designed to be eaten with the fingers, bread, or skewer. Chapters in the book cover:

   Dips, Spreads, and Relishes; Savory Salads; Small Egg Dishes; Phyllo Pies; Fried Finger Foods; Vegetables and Beans; Seafood; and Meatballs and Kebabs

   The author is a recognized authority on Greek food and has a written a widely praised book on general Greek cuisine. The color pictures are decorative, but few. While I found all instructions very simple, the author did occasionally seem a bit opaque. I still don't totally understand her instructions for peeling a roasted eggplant. As Martha Stewart said in one of her book introductions, this book made me want to immediately try many of the dishes. This is a sure symptom that there is good food to be had here.




2. Lovely book, lovely photos...BUT I am disappointed in the recipes. Admittedly, I have only tried five of them, but was disappointed in all five. I am a good cook,lived in Greece for 2 years, and have been cooking Greek food for some 30 years with great success. Some of the MEZE recipes were O.K., but not REALLY good, and one was a disaster. Sorry.



3. Mezes are to share, enjoy, and live life to its fullest!
   
   Greek meze or mezes, (mezedakia) are the "tapas" of Greece. This book, "Meze", does not contradict the conventional tourist wisdom that Greek cuisine is monotonous, strange, and smothered with oil.
   
   Mezes are designed to complement a beverage, tease the taste buds and encourage diners to linger around a table for good conversation. As "Hors d'oeuvres" or appetizers, they should be appealing or stimulating to the appetite.
   
   A platter of Prunes with Bacon, Baked Sardines, Fried Squid with Honey, and fiddly to make Olives Stuffed with Fish Row are not what "tease the taste buds and encourage diners I know to linger around a table for good conversation."
   
   Nor are many of the recipes the type of foods I enjoy preparing. Many recipes are what I call "fiddly". They are full of laborious details that occupy the cook with toilsome busy-work that is not fun, for what I maintain is wearisome attention to produce unmemorable dividends.
   
   Example: Fried Olives Stuffed with Fish Eggs.
   
   First, one makes homemade taramosalata from blanched whole almonds, that are ground with fish eggs to make a paste. This inelegant combination is placed a pastry bag, from which the graceless paste is piped into each individual olive hole. Each olive is then individually rolled in flour, then rolled (one olive at a time) in egg, then the olive is rolled in a third coating; breadcrumbs. The breaded-fish-paste-stuffed olives are finally fried in oil. For my time, energy, explosive mess, and taste preferences, I can think of many dishes that are more rewarding than this sebaceous fare.
   
   An occasional fried crispy savory pastry is welcome; however, there are thirty pages of recipes utilizing phyllo. Some recipes require a stick of butter to tame the leaves of pastry that are subsequently fried. The book contains sundry recipes for fried cheese; fried feta with olive oil and butter, deep-fried cheese stuffed eggplant, fried cheese stuffed squid, batter fried cheese stuffed zucchini blossoms.
   
   The recipes in Meze, offer a dearth of palate cleansing combinations. One lighter attempt combines the unlikely pairing of watermelon with vinegar, feta cheese, and onions. The spoiler in the Beet and Feta Salad recipe was a large amount of brown sugar and nothing to balance the sugary dish.
   
   Meze's recipes do not compliment my taste preferences; many recipes are sebaceous, tortuously effortful and labored to make with no taste payoff for my time and efforts. Lastly, Meze does not make a positive contribution to my healthy diet or cookbook library needs.



4. Bought this book as a gift for a friend - now I'm going to get one for my own collection! Great photos, presentation and very authentic recipes...good for any level of cooking experience



5. This book has some nice twists on traditional Greek dishes. Some of the dishes are easy and some are time consuming, but they all came out great.
   
   I was a little disappointed that they don't have the Greek names of the items - this is clearly a book that is geared for an English-only audience.
   
   Our favorite is the Skewered Ground Lamb Kebabs, which contain cayenne and mint.

2 comments about A Vegan Taste of Greece (Vegan Cookbooks).

1. This is a poorly researched book. Greek cuisine has a wealth of vegan recipes based on vegetables and pulses and one would expect to find them replicated here. Most of them are not. Lenten baking recipes omit eggs and dairy products and not even these recipes are replicated here. It's true that the cost of this book is low: you get what you pay for.



2. I didn't know about many greek vegan dishes. Most of the greek restaurants I have been to may have a few vegetarian dishes, but not many. This book opened my eyes (and stomach!) to the delights of vegan greek cooking.

No comments about The Cooking of Greece (Superchef).