Recipes and Remembrances from an Eastern Mediterranean Kitchen: A Culinary Journey through Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan

Rating:
Summary: Truly a masterpiece
Review: I decided to take a chance and purchase this book after I read a review describing it as a masterpiece and the first and last word on eastern Mediterranean cooking. I have been using it almost daily ever since and am thrilled with the results. "Recipes and Remembrances" is unquestionably the single indispensable volume on the region's cuisine. In addition to hundreds of magnificent recipes and vibrant personal memories, it offers unparalleled cultural and culinary background material. The five-page essay on pomegranates and pomegranate molasses, packed with information not to be found elsewhere, is reason enough to buy this extraordinary cookbook, which will stimulate your imagination as well as your palate. Very highly recommended!

Rating:
Summary: A True Reader Experience
Review: I recently purchased this cookbook and at first I thought that this was absolutely the best Middle Eastern book I could possibly get my hands on. However, after a few weeks use, I discovered that this book is very biased and does not reflect the true culinary journey through the Middle East. Furthermore, none of the receipes faired well with my favorite Courvoisier.

Rating:
Summary: Deserves a permanent place on your cookbook shelf
Review: I was pleasently surprised to read this book . As I have seen many Middle Eastern Cookery books, I expected this book to be just another one. It was not. Sonia's book was written with passion.. passion for the syrian cooking ,and an appreciation for the social context and the historical dimension of that region. The pictures are historical, and the research that was conducted is very extensive. I love various ethnic foods (plentiful in the Chicago Area ), but the Syrian food (Authentically described in Sonia;s book ) is above all.

Rating:
Summary: A culinary milestone; brilliant,comprehensive,indispensable.
Review: Sonia Uvezian has written yet another landmark cookbook, her best yet. I am familiar with many books on eastern Mediterranean/Middle Eastern cooking, but none compare to this revelatory and loving volume in which the author brings to life a cuisine and a culture in the way only one who was born and reared in the region could. Recipes and Remembrances from an Eastern Mediterranean Kitchen recreates a time and place inaccessible not only to most Americans, but even to most eastern Mediterraneans. It evokes the world of Uvezian's Lebanese childhood and is a rich portrayal of how people lived once upon a time, a happy time, not too long ago. A masterpiece of culinary instruction as valuable for its authentic and inspired recipes as for its exceptionally informative text, this extraordinary work is an essential guide for anyone who enjoys cooking and reading about eastern Mediterranean ingredients, markets, traditional utensils, scenes of daily life, views of mountain villages and the sea, ancient temples, mosques, and monasteries. I found the content of these illustrations at least as impressive as their inherent beauty. Anyone can make the dishes described by following the author's clearly written recipes, which are almost always based on readily available ingredients. Some of the best cooking I have done-ever-resulted from this wonderful book.

I am so impressed with Recipes and Remembrances from an Eastern Mediterranean Kitchen that I have ordered several copies as gifts for friends and relatives on my Christmas list. I strongly recommend that you buy two copies for yourself, one for your kitchen and the other for your night table. My thanks to Sonia Uvezian for a truly remarkable cookbook.

Rating:
Summary: A culinary milestone. Brilliant,comprehensive,indispensable
Review: Sonia Uvezian has written yet another landmark cookbook, her best yet. I am familiar with many books on eastern Mediterranean/Middle Eastern cooking, but none compares to this revelatory and loving volume in which the author brings to life a cuisine and a culture in the way only one who was born and reared in the region could. Recipes and Remembrances recreates a time and place inaccessible not only to most Americans, but even to most eastern Mediterraneans. It evokes the world of Uvezian's Lebanese childhood and is a rich portrayal of how people lived once upon a time, a happy time, not so long ago. A masterpiece of culinary instruction as valuable for its authentic and inspired recipes as for its exceptionally informative text, this extraordinary work is an essential guide for anyone who enjoys cooking and reading about eastern Mediterranean food. Uvezian's engaging narrative is threaded throughout with handsome period illustrations of ingredients, markets, traditional utensils, scenes of daily life, views of mountain villages and the sea, ancient temples, mosques, and monasteries. I found the content of these illustrations at least as impressive as their inherent beauty. Anyone can make the dishes described by following the author's clearly written recipes, which are almost always based on readily available ingredients. Some of the best cooking I have done-ever-resulted from this wonderful book.

I am so impressed with Recipes and Remembrances from an Eastern Mediterranean Kitchen that I have ordered several copies as gifts for friends and relatives on my Christmas list. I strongly recommend that you buy two copies for yourself, one for your kitchen and the other for your night table. My thanks to Sonia Uvezian for a truly remarkable cookbook.

Rating:
Summary: Profound, imaginative, definitive
Review: Uvezian's timeless classics, The Cuisine of Armenia, Cooking from the Caucasus, and The Book of Yogurt, turned me into a passionate cook. But as wonderful as those three volumes are, this one is even better. In fact, Recipes and Remembrances from an Eastern Mediterranean Kitchen is surely one of the finest cookbooks ever written. I could go on singing its praises, but to appreciate what a great book it really is, you must read its illuminating text, see its fascinating period illustrations, and try its magnificent recipes, which, in addition to those from Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan, include some superb Armenian ones not found in the author's previous works. I can't recommend this masterful volume highly enough!

Rating:
Summary: A True Reader Experience
Review: While I haven't cooked a tremedous amount of food out of this book yet, it is probably the first cookbook that I have read more than once. It is some wonderful information on the people, history and food of the Levant. It goes through how the different groups in the Middle East serve and prepare food. Talks about the influence of foreign powers on the food and culture. I really enjoyed this book. It's only flaw if that it is long and difficult to wade through if you just in the mood to cook a simple Middle Eastern dish. One of the strengths is the spice mixes. I keep the prepared spice mixes in my cupbard within easy reach and use them a lot.