No comments about The Art of Turkish Cooking, or, Delectable Delights of Topkapi. The historically renowned Ottoman cuisine -- on excellent dining terms with the modern American palate..

5 comments about The Cafe Paradiso Cookbook (Atrium Press) (Atrium Press).

1. I love meat but really you don't miss the meat from these recipes, they are brilliant. Dennis Cotter uses a lot of squash and sweet potatoes, in my opinion overlooked in many cookery books.
   
   The desserts are great too.



2. Cafe Paradiso is unquestionably one of the best restaurants in the whole of Ireland; it should be a priority on the itinerary of anyone planning a visit. Even diehard carnivores have loved this place: I've taken many of them there when they've visited me in Cork, and they always come away from the table singing its praises!
   
   As a result, I can't recommend this cookbook enough for anyone interested in doing more with their veg than just a slab of butter and some garlic. This book is just a preview of what is by far a culinary trip through the best vegetable, fruit and dairy produce in all of the island. Of course, being that the restaurant is a Cork-based institution, some of the ingredients Denis specifies in the book (Gabriel cheese, for example) will only be available locally; however, there is always room for experimentation in the recipes and often times, Denis himself will do so, changing one or two ingredients of what we locals feel is a staple dish to try something new. Denis Cotter uses some interesting combinations (lemon and liquorice with basil, to name one) in his cooking, which is one of the main reasons that the restaurant has become the talk of the vegetarian world. The marriage of flavours found his recipes are so vivid and palatable that it's like eating a rainbow. Of course, the restaurant's wine list is a particular complement to the food! (All the more reason to book those tickets to Cork...)



3. I've eaten often at Cafe Paradiso in Cork. Everytime I go I find something more innovative and more delicious. Even if you're not a vegetarian, and I'm not, you won't miss the meat in these beautifully planned meals. I've got several of Denis's cookbooks; this is the first one I've gotten in the US and having the measurement conversions is GREAT. There's a terrific range from straight forward and simple, to eye-dazzling and complex. Dig in.



4. This book is wonderful -- but I am very confused. It would appear from searching for Mr. Cotter's books that there are two books, The Café Paradiso Cookbook -- Vegetarian Cooking Season-by-Season (named above) and Café Paradiso Seasons -- Vegetarian Cooking Season-by-Season (pictured above). The reason I think that there are two books is that I recall a reference in Café Paradiso Seasons to the Café Paradiso Cookbook ...
   So I give 5 stars to the book pictured. The recipes are delicious and managable. The text and background to the recipes make from charming reading -- and, of course, the photos are lovely ...



5. Having convinced my husband to eat vegetarian meals four times a week, I was determined that they be something special. This book made it easy. The recipes are straightforward and simple, but not simplistic, highlighting the taste of each featured vegetable. My husband was impressed -- and never missed his meat!

No comments about Binnur's Turkish Cookbook: Kebab & Meatball Recipes.

5 comments about Turkish Cookery.

1. Ever been to Turkey and wonder how to make all that great food? with this book you'll gain access to one of the world's greatest and tastiest cuisines. The recipes are clear, precise and ...tasety Great investment of money!



2. My Turkish sister-in-law searched the bookstores of Istanbul for this specific cookbook to give to me as a reminder of my first trip to Turkey. A gourmet cook, she says that this is the most authentic of the available Turkish cookbooks. The recipes are simple, easy to follow and bring back memories of wonderful meals with family and friends in Istanbul.



3. I'm at a military base and just married a Turkish woman. Since Turkish people live at home until they marry (her mother does most of the cooking), we've been looking for good recepies of Turkish food. I found this book in the base library.
   
   It's a great book and the recepies seem authentic - even the Adana Kebab (we're near Adana). Instead of copying half the book that my wife wanted the recepies, I'm just buying it instead.
   
   I would recommend this book to a friend.



4. I bought this book to add to my collection; my hobby is Turkish cooking and I thought from the reviews it sounded rather worthwhile. My overall verdict is 'it is & it isn't'. There are some useful & interesting desert recipes in here, and a few vegetable ones as well. I found the rice, main dish & fish recipes rather disappointing - rather of the meat & 2 veg. style of British cooking I guess.
   I think if you're a beginner, interested in simple dishes that are easy to make & with no hard-to-find ingredients, this could be an interesting the book for you. It reminds me very much of the Turkish working-people's cafe-style food which is simple & no-nonsense. The book is certainly authentic; there are lots of typo's & the photography is a little lacking. The writer explains things simply & in an easy to follow way. I have made many of the dishes before & the recipes have very little capacity for things to go wrong! However, they are a little bland for my taste - most recipes use only salt & pepper as seasonings & I prefer at least a few herbs here & there.
   If you're looking for a book which is beautiful as well as functional, I'd go for Ozan Ozcan's 'Sultan's Kitchen'. If you want a basic 'how-to' book of authentic dishes to get started, Inci Kut's book might be a good option. However, I'd actually recommend the best cookbook of any style of cooking I have ever bought, one from which I have made almost everything and which I've used almost every week for years; 'Turkish Cooking' by Gulseren Sancakli & Margaret Oliphant. This is a small, cheap book, maybe a little hard to find now, but every recipe in it (apart from the Wedding & Yoghourt soups) are absolutely infallible. I'd definitely give that one a 5.



5. My mother is Turkish and I've been eating Turkish food forever---as well as many a trip to Turkey and my Turkish family and friend's homemade meals. This book truly captures the traditional flavors and dishes that you will find in any Turkish household and restaurant, without the complication that should not exist. As one reviewer stated, you may not find loads of spices and difficult recipes, but that is NOT Turkish cooking anyhow. They like to make many dishes at once and you want to taste the true flavors of the food, and this book will help you do that. Beautifully illustrated as well.

1 comments about Turkish Cooking: Authentic Culinary Traditions from Turkey.

1. This book has all the everyday recipes I love to enjoy in Turkey. The recipies are pretty easy to follow and the authos have included EVERYTHING you might want to make in the way of authentic Turkish Dishes.

No comments about The Complete Book of Turkish Cooking.

No comments about Contemporary Turkish Cooking.

1 comments about The Ottoman Kitchen: Modern Recipes from Turkey, Greece, the Balkans, Lebanon, Syria and Beyond.

1. I originally got this book about 5 years ago. I believe I enjoyed the book at first because of the beautiful pictures and gorgeous text. I've tried some of the recipes and they were good over the years including the Imam Bayaldi and mezze dishes. However, as I've become more familiar with Turkish cuisine, I am less enamoured with this cookbook. For Manti, they suggest using meat tortellini smothered in yogurt sauce. I've gorged myself on manti more times than I care to remember and cannot see how meat tortellini is a fair substitute. I much prefer "The Art of Turkish Cooking" by Neset Eren. It's not beautiful but it is practical and useful for this yabanci.

No comments about The Food and Cooking of Turkey: All the traditions, techniques and ingredients, including over 150 authentic recipes shown in 700 step-by-step photographs--discover ... the modern table (The Food and Cooking of).

3 comments about Vegetarian Turkish Cooking: Over 100 of Turkey's Classic Recipes for the Vegetarian Cook.

1. I find this book disappointing. Firstly, one fourth of the book is taken up by the author's travel accounts. It's a different story when an author gives some background to each recipe. But it is not the case here and I find the result of those two books rolled into one very awkward. Second, and more annoyingly, many recipes rely on meat substitutes. I have always found it sad and the sign of a certain lack of imagination when vegetarian cooking tries to mimick meat-based dishes. It is particularly regrettable in a book on Turkish cooking which has a rich tradition of NATURALLY vegetarian dishes. Which is why I ordered the book in the first place !



2. We just got back from a wonderful trip to Istanbul and Greece and I must say upon returning I was looking for some more of those wonderful meze and the Turkish Delights (yum). So I took a chance on this cookbook since there aren't many (any others) out there that are vegetarian never mind vegan! I'm really enjoying this cookbook - the first 76 pages (out of 249 so that's not a big deal) are indeed history/travelogue but its kind of fun to flip through and the pictures were of some of the same places we visited so that was neat. Just before the recipes there's a section on subsitites and here the author gives you the info you need to find certain ingedients that might not be in the local supermarket - e.g. there's discussion of egg substitites and where to find them, non-dairy butter substitites and where to find them, meat/fish substitites and where to find them etc. In the recipes there are some ingredients like non-meat chicken broth that is called for. Why not just go with a vegetable broth? I did. Anyway, the recipes have all been great so far. I've tried mostly mezes so far - the fried carrots, the fried eggplant with two sauces, stuffed grapeleaves (mine never turn out looking like they should - need more practice...). There are wonderful soups in here - the only one I've made so far was the hot and spicy soup, but others like the lentil look good too. I definitely recommend this cookbook. I had a *really* hard time finding vegetarian dishes in restarants in Istanbul which is why I enjoyed a lot of mezes, so I can see why there are recipes in here (like Sultan's delight) that use meat substitutes. I think this is quite authentic and the author did a terrific job at trying to bring the Turkish flavors to the vegetarian table!



3. This cookbook is easy to understand and does not require a lot of cooking skill. The recipies are easy and delicious, and a lot of them use the same basic ingredients so you can mix and match with appetizers and dinners. I am very happy with my purchase.