Aunt Clara's Dominican Cookbook [Paperback]

Clara Gonzalez (Author), Ilana Benady (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2007

The second edition of this bestseller, this cookbook introduces the reader to the Dominican cuisine as a whole cultural experience with its humorous anecdotes, cultural references and information about the history and background of each recipe. This book is fully illustrated with beautiful color photography. A must-have for the Dominican and Caribbean cooking enthusiast and the perfect gift for the Dominican food lover!

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A much-needed and long-awaited book... Beautifully illustrated, easily explained... This book will bring Dominican cooking to the world." --Himilce Amelia Tejada, Cookery writer, Diario Libre Newspaper --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Clara Gonzalez, writer, designer, amateur cook and Dominican cuisine enthusiast is Dominican and lives in Santo Domingo with her Danish husband and their baby daughter. Ilana Benady, writer and development worker, originally from Gibraltar, she works and resides in the Dominican Republic. She lives in Santo Domingo with her Dominican husband and their young son. Jill Wyatt, writer and self-described lover of "all things food and words", resided for over half a decade in the Dominican Republic. She is now back in her native Canada with her two Canadian-Dominican sons. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 104 pages
• Publisher: Lunch Club Press; 2nd edition (April 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9945045008
• ISBN-13: 978-9945045000
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #282,815 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #51 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Regional & International > Caribbean & West Indian

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very faithful to traditional Dominican cookery, December 16, 2005

By 

Ana Medina "Ana M." (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Aunt Clara's Dominican Cookbook (Paperback)

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.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Waaaay overpriced, December 2, 2007

By 

C. Peralta (North Carolina) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Aunt Clara's Dominican Cookbook (Paperback)

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I couldn't be more pleased with this cookbook, December 27, 2005

By 

TCL - See all my reviews

This review is from: Aunt Clara's Dominican Cookbook (Paperback)

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.