5 comments about The Curry Secret: Indian Restaurant Cookery at Home (Right Way S.).

1. Want to cook dishes as served by your favourite Indian restaurant down the road? Ever wondered why your curries didn't match what you bought at the local curry house? Always wondered what their secret was? Then this book is for you.
   
   Kris tells us the secrets behind the most popular indian dishes, as served in commercial indian restaurants. This book does not teach authentic indian home cooking, but rather authentic "western" indian restaurant cooking. (While this has diverged from what is eaten by those in India, it is now regarded as a cuisine in itself). Tips and tricks include making up generic curry sauces and masalas in bulk, freezing them and then using them to prepare a range of different dishes. These tricks are used by commercial restaurants where individual care and attention for each different dish is just not practical.
   
   I liked this book because it delivers exactly what it claims. The curries are indeed like those you will get in many indian restaurants. What I didn't like was the lack of any pictures. Also, if you are in anyway inclined to cook authentic home cooked indian food, this is not the book for you.
   
   4 stars.



2. We all enjoy a good curry, which is almost impossible to find here in Las Vegas, so making your own is the only way. Friends recommended this book and my wife has made many curries, and they have all been extremely tasty and authentic. The book explains how to make a good curry in a simple and straightforward manner and lets you in on the secret of how all the restaurants produce such good results in the UK.



3. I found this book to be nothing special. There is not magic secret in this book. It is not worth the money.



4. It wasn't terrible but it wasn't very good either. These recipes require tweaking, but are good foundations.



5. I have been looking for a cookbook or collection of recipies that would give me an authentic restaurant taste. Athough I have enjoyed recipies from Indian homecooking they didn't satisfy my restaurant craving. This book gives easy to follow recipies that yeild excellent results. MMM I've tried most of the recipies out of this book and have been surprised and delighted that they taste just like my favorite restaurant version. My only warnings: Use ghee instead of vegetable oil and note that imperial cups used in the book are different than US cups. If you have been dissapointed by other cookbooks, you will be pleasantly surprised by this one. Try the chicken sagwala yummy could't get enough.

No comments about Gourmet Indian In Minutes: Over 140 Inspirational Recipes.

5 comments about In A Cuban Kitchen (Quintet Book).

1. I bought this book about three weeks ago and it has already become one of my favorites. I have used it 3 to 4 times a week and each recipe has been a success, especially the Rabo Encendido (Oxtail), the Picadillo Santiaguero (Sloppy Joe), the Mojito Cocktail, the Flan, Arroz con Leche (Rice Pudding). I highly recommend it. Not only are the recipes delicious but they actually work. I found the intro to be warm and informative (the details about the agriculture and history). Would have liked to have had more personal touches about the author throughout the book. I am still a big fan of Chef Alex Garcia. I was fortunate enough to meet him at Calle Ocho Restaurant and he was every bit as charming and generous as I had heard. By the way Cuban Guy, his show was cancelled because it had been decided that the entire Melting Pot series was not going to be continued to be aired because the Network was revamping programming to reflect more of an "every day kind of person" host than a professional chef. And just so you know, the show had stopped taping way before it stopped airing. They were running strictly on their library. It had nothing to do with any personal misfortunes.



2. Yes, here are a lot of good recipes in a book. The book quality, also OK. However, never mind how that, the author, Alex Garcia, was indicted by US government on drug trafficking charges! (Check the NY Times November 2003.) Is that the kind of author that you want to send your money to? Yes, all are innocent until proven guilty - but he was under surveillance for 2 years - NOT a nice guy! In my country we keep people like him in jail! There are much better Cuban cookbooks - just search for "Cuban Cooking book" here on Amazon!



3. I used to see Garcia on the Melting Pot and he was the dullest of the Food Network chefs. I guess I should NOT have expected any better from his book. The recipes are OK, but the only thing that even mentions him is the introduction. He would have sold a lot more books if he had Emeril write the intro! I guess Garcia was too busy these past two years to do any writing. I've got my copy up on the Marketplace and hope I can get a few dollars for it!



4. The recipes in this book really work!! I have tried few and they are delicious. I have tried other Cuban cooking books and have been disappointed by the dishes. It seems like some cookbook writers are not thinking that readers are actually going to try the recipes. That is not the case of this book. Chef Garcia's recipes are outstanding!



5. Alex shares all the classic flavors of our old country's famous foods. Guava and Cheese Turnovers, Picadillo, Roasted Red Snapper, Grandmother's Chicken Soup and Flan. All of our favorite home-style recipes are in this wonderful book. All are easy to follow and the ingredients are easily found in Latino markets. A must have for your kitchen if you love Cuban food!

2 comments about Cape Cod Wampanoag Cookbook: Wampanoag Indian Recipes, Images & Lore.

1. More Patti Page's "Old Cape Cod" than a collection of recipes, The Cape Cod Wampanoag Cookbook is a wonderful concoction of good reading and favorite meals simplified. Essays are interspersed with mouth-watering and heart-warming dinners, soups, chowders, and breads. A history of the cranberry bogs winds its way through one chapter, carefully following the transition from a time when native children crawled on hands and knees to pick cranberries by hand to the modern method of wet harvesting the bogs. A childhood spent as an Indian guide for hunting and fishing expeditions is well documented in charming narratives spinkled through the book. Earl Mills' voice comes throgh in stories which are divided according to the four seasons, telling readers how his people lived according to the land.
   The owner and cook of a popular Cape Cod restaurant for close to thirty years, Mills is Chief Flying Eagle of the Mashpee Wampanoags and former athletic director of the Falmouth , MA public schools. Breen, who has captured his spirit as well as a native respect for Mother Earth, has also captured Cape Cod at its best. Her thoughts on Thanksgiving are worth the price of this little gem of a book.
   I read the book cover to cover and then bought it for every one on my Christmas list. Readers, eaters and cooks alike will cherish this delightful gem!



2. I'm orginanly from Cape Cod and a small part Wampanoag, may even be related to Mr. Mills. Have tried some of the recipes and they
   take my back to my childhood in Orleans. I really enjoy the stories that he has written, I have been to some of those places. The book has been a great joy to me, it brings a smile to my face and a warm feeling in my heart, thank you for the return trip to my younger years, both with the stories and places but also the wonderful recipes

2 comments about Beyond Gumbo : Creole Fusion Food from the Atlantic Rim.

1. oddly soulless versions of the classic recipes of the caribbean and ports of call south; the average criolla cook from bahia to calle ocho has zestier methods of cooking, say, plain black beans -- put the bay leaf in with the beans first, not last, add a small splash of cooked vinegar at the end, serve sprinkled with minced cilantro, lime wedges, avocado slices, and so on.
   from a chef like this one, with restaurant credentials, i would expect first, the classic recipe amped with restaurant kitchen techniques, short cuts and cooking techniques, for example paul prudhomme's cook-everything-on-a-high-flame-stirring angle; second, well-chosen new or fusion flavor touches, garniture, accompaniments, serving suggestions, as per steven raichlen (miami spice).
   from a chef with these academic credentials, i did enjoy some of the work she did, for example, on the sources of pepperpot soup. i wish she had done more of that, given the enduring flavors of africa under the harshest conditions of slavery -- mixed with french, spanish, native american and other influences. that book, defining creole, remains to be written.
   there's also an unpleasant undertone of self-congratulation for having "discovered" recipes that are neither original or All That, for example, molasses-flavored chantilly cream.
   for an expensively published book, nice paper, two color pages, this one has too many typos and unrealistic cooking times.
   one and a half stars. steven raichlen is still the caribbean fusion king.



2. What makes this cookbook, (as well as others by Harris) a delightful read and a solid source of information on Pacific Rim cuisine is the amount of history and the wonderful anecdotes that accompany the recipes. For those of us who are not lucky enough to have lived in or traveled to the many places that comprise the Atlantic Rim, her book is much-needed.

   I only ever heard of the soursop fruit, or the wonderful beverage mauby when I finally traveled to the U.S. Virgin Islands a few years ago, so was eager to learn more. And although there are many familiar foods, such as black-eyed peas, and okra, to an amateur cook like me, the Atlantic Rim variations gave me more reasons to like these favorites from childhood. I especially loved to see cane syrup; it reminded me so of my father, who grew up in Alabama and processed cane at the mill as a child. He couldn't get enough of the syrup or the juice. It also reminded me of the purpose of the book: To show, through cuisine, the marvelous connection between the cultures of Africa, the Caribbean, Central & South Americas, and the United States

3 comments about Old Havana Cookbook: Cuban Recipes in Spanish and English (Bilingual Cookbooks).

1. There's a wonderful Cuban restaurant on our neighboring island of St. Croix. So, I was thrilled to find this charming book. Easy to understand and filled with mouth-watering recipes to remove the drudgery of cooking. If you like this book, you'll love Angela Spenceley's two new cookbooks "Just Add Rum!" and "A Taste of the Caribbean". Both books are valuable additions to any good cookbook library.



2. This was an interesting, early attempt at compiling a cookbook of Cuban recipes. Having the book in two languages may help your local library, but most chefs speak one language or the other -- the result is a lot of wasted space. The simple graphics and lack of photos are uninspiring and there is nothing here that will entice or motivate you. A better choice for contemporary Cuban cuisine: Three Guys from Miami Cook Cuban <ASIN: 158685433X>.



3. I purchased this book because my family is from Havana, Cuba, and I felt I could get some good authentic recipes. I was very dissapointed. My grandmother who has shown me how to cook cuban food was even surprised at some of the ingredients in the recipes. The recipes are from foods we eat but the ingredients were way off. Sorry just my opinion

5 comments about Aunt Clara's Dominican Cookbook.

1. I always wanted to have a Dominican cookbook in English, none were to be found. If you are proficient in Spanish you were lucky, but if your Spanish had got rusty after arriving in the States at an early age (like my eldest child), or your children couldn't follow simple directions in Spanish - let alone follow a recipe - (like my younger ones) well, sorry, no cookbook for you!
   
   And then, I came across this book. I have bad and good things to say about this book. Luckily mostly good or I would be US$49.99-short and a disappointed customer.
   
   The good news: The book is absolutely faithful to Dominican cookery. No made-up recipes like many other "Caribbean" cookbooks that promised authentic recipes and delivered none. The recipes are also very simple and don't call for fancy ingredients. The dishes that I have prepared taste exactly like the ones my "mami" prepared. Every recipe has a picture! That was the selling point for me. What point is there in a cookbook that doesn't show you how the dishes are supposed to look at the end? The pictures are fantastic. The book is filled with much more than just recipes and is seasoned with good humor, you can actually enjoy reading it.
   
   My complaints: How comes they had enough money to fill the book with photos but couldn't make it a hardback? This is the kind of book destined to become a family heirloom, it should be a hardback. I hope they make a hardback edition in the future. And second, although the authors give each recipe in its original Spanish name and also in English, I don't agree on how they translated some of the names (perhaps they did it into British English?). But the last one is a minor nitpick really.



2. I love Dominican comida (food). Whilst I can prepare a few dishes, my husband does most of the cooking. Every traditional Dominican recipe I can think of, I have found in this book. In my opinion, the authors couldn't have done a better job. The photos are beautiful, and throughout the book, there a wonderful stories for the reader's enjoyment. A traditional Dominican cookbook made in English has been long-awaited. I plan to pass one down as a treasured family heirloom to each of my children.
   
   Thanks for a wonderful idea that has finally come to fruition.



3. I recently purchased this cookbook and so far I'm very satisfied with it. All the recipes are easy to follow true Dominican recipes. The book itself is very entertaining and inspiring. I tried making "Pastelon de Berenjenas" or Eggplant Torte (which at first sight seems kinda weird if you've never made it before) but it was delicious. It tastes like the one my Mom used to make. I normally substitute regular salt for Goya season salt with pepper and add some Sofrito and Sazon here and there to make the recipe my own. If you know how to cook then you know exactly what I'm saying. It tastes great!
   Being Dominican myself I am very familiar with most if not all the recipes in this book. I wish the authors would have incorporated more meat recipes. I also would've liked to see the book on paperback but it's not a big deal. This book gets a 5 star regardless.
   Aunt's Clara Dominican Cookbook is well worth buying. I will definitely pass it on to my children. Highly recommended!



4. When I saw the price of this book I figured I would get a nice hardback with tons of wonderful recipes...instead I received a cheaply printed paperback with no "wow" recipes in it. In fact, there are some recipes that call for certain ingredients which aren't even mentioned in the directions! I would suggest getting the other Dominican cookbook which is half the price and offers the same recipes, this one is not worth the money.



5. I've only had the cookbook for about a week, but I have tried a few of the recipes and read through a few more. Overall, I really like it, even if it is a little pricey. The pictures and layout are great, and the recipes look really enticing.
   My only complaint is that I wish the directions were a little more clear; sometimes they are downright ambiguous. This is probably fine for someone who is more familiar with the food, especially if they have seen it prepared before, but for a gringo like me, I am often left questioning what I am supposed to do.
   One examples is the recipe for Pera Pina doesn't ever say how much water you are supposed to use, and although sugar is called for in the directions, it isn't listed in the ingredient list. Like I said, if you have made or have seen Pera Pina made before, this wouldn't phase you, but for someone like me, it made it hard to figure out what I was doing.
   I think the cookbook could benefit greatly from another editing and a run through in a test kitchen by cooks unfamiliar with Dominican cooking.

No comments about Pueblo Indian Cookbook: Recipes from the Pueblos of the American Southwest.

No comments about Latin & Caribbean Grocery Stores Demystified: A food lover's guide to the best ingredients in the traditional foods of Mexico, Peru, Chile, Argentina, ... Rico, & Jamaica (Take It with You Guides).

2 comments about Island Cooking: Recipes from the Caribbean.

1. the recipes in island cooking cookbook are great and easy to follow. it has allow me to keep in touch with my caribbean roots by trying out and tasting the delicious recipes. Bigup to Dunstan Harris for a job well done. I recently purchased the Island BBQ cookbook and look forward to trying the recipies. I would recommend this book to my family and friends.



2. My sister has this book and I was impressed by the range of recipes it carries. (see the Search Inside the Book for a sampling)
   The format is easy to use, with the list of ingredients down the side of the page next to the instructions. At a glance, you can see if you have on-hand what the recipe requires.
   Some ingredients are not on the average American's cupboard shelf, but the author tells where to search for them (Hispanic grocery stores) or suggests a substitution. The glossary goes into more detail on this, such as explaining the six forms of coconut (grated, shredded, coconut water, milk, cream & oil).
   Cook up an island feast for a party of friends or just treat yourself. This book makes it easy.