Customer Reviews

Classic Lebanese Cuisine: 170 Fresh and Healthy Mediterranean Favorites

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As a self-professed foodie, I love being able to connect culture with food. What makes this book a stand-out for me is not only the delicious and easy to follow recipes but the way it takes me to a world that's very different from my own. A lot of cookbooks are just ingredients and directions. Chef Kamal has succeeded in providing readers with something more--a cultural experience where food is the vehicle of choice to another way of life. I've tried several different recipes and all of them are stand-outs and very user friendly. If you enjoy new tasting sensations, pick up this excellent cookbook. It's full of experience and taste!

The problem with many Lebanese cookbooks is that there is no single "Lebanese" cuisine. There are as many ways to prepare warak al areesh (stuffed grape leaves) as there are villages in the country. But after preparing more than a few of the dishes in "Classic Lebanese Cuisine," I can honestly say that these recipes are the closest I have ever tasted to the food I grew up with. A truly wonderful book that is on a par with "The Culinary Heritage of Lebanon" by Chef Ramzi N. Choueri; not as comrehensive but just as delicious.

I first developed a passion for Lebanese food about 20 years ago. There are several restaurants in the Washington, D.C area that offer decent Labanese dishes, but none of them compared favorably to the catered meals I enjoyed when Med Catering and Chef Kamal prepared a dinner. He left Washington, to the dismay of many of us, so certainly I had to have Chef Kamal's book and try his recipes. He provides wonderful, easy to understand directions and his luscious photos help me know that I'm at least close. I've prepared a few dishes a couple times and I have delighted dinner guests. He's to be congratulated not only for his talent as a super chef but also in having the ability to impart his techniques to a reader.

I am in love with this cookbook! It has everything - the best of the Lebanese food recipes with beautiful photography of each dish and even the Lebanese translation of the name. The recipes are thorough and nicely presented in an easy to read format; it is a pleasure just reading the recipes.

Chef Kamal gives a step-by-step approach to food preparation and has included many tips along the way. My favorite tip so far is his method for preparing Turkish coffee. I never would have thought to prepare it as he does and yet it is simple and logical and each cup turns out great. Another surprise was his method for cooking grape leaves; again, simple and logical with excellent results. Each step to his recipes is purposeful and indicates great thought and technique. It is fun to learn new cooking methods for favorite foods, especially when those dishes are improved.

As an added benefit, it is wonderful to be able to identify the Lebanese dishes in the native language. The book provides a great learning tool to be able to put the English and Lebanese names together with the picture of the dish. A thousand thanks for that alone, Chef Kamal!

I eat out of the microwave and the refrigerator. Cooking is not my thing, but I like Lebanese food and this book was suggested to me. I have tried a couple of recipes and was very pleasantly surprised by the results. I made baklava and the Lemon Garlic Chicken to great reviews from the family (and the co-workers who got the extra baklava). They said they'd never have known I had a "black spoon" (the culinary equivalent of the black thumb for a gardener who kills plants easily) if I could turn out dishes like this. I'm looking forward to trying more of the recipes. Having attended a tasting party using recipes from this book makes me all the more willing to try them as they were really delicious. The directions were easy to follow. "Expert" level terms were explained and the DVD showed the techniques in an easy to follow manner. This is a book for the expert and the novice both.

I purchased this cookbook a month or so ago. I recently moved to an area where it is impossible to get Lebanese cuisine locally, so I decided to make it on my own. I have tried several recipes from this book, including Toom (garlic puree) and chicken kebabs. Both of the recipes yielded delicious results, and the ingredients were easily obtainable. I felt such a sense of accomplishment after having made restaurant quality Toom. And my chicken kebabs were so moist and exploding with flavor, it was unbelievable. Most of the ingredients for these recipes are easily obtainable, and the author has a website where you can also purchase many of the imported ingredients, spices, and special equipment at very reasonable prices. (I purchased a vegetable corer, rose water, orange blossom water, and turmeric from his site. Those items arrived quickly and I was very satisfied.)

One thing that really sets this Chef Kamal apart from many others is his supplemental material. I will advise you that while the cookbook is cheaper to purchase on Amazon than on his website, if you buy it from his site, it includes an instructional DVD. I cannot speak of the DVD, as I purchased the book from Amazon. I do, however, recommend you check out Chef Kamal's YouTube channel.

He has posted instructional videos there that you can view for free. I would not have been as confident when making the Toom had I not viewed his video beforehand. Watching his videos may also give you a good idea of whether or not you will use this book. He has also included basic instructional recipes for separating a chicken into pieces, making clarified butter, and making simple syrup. After having read his cookbook and watching his videos, I feel like Chef Kamal has become my guide to creating authentic Lebanese food at home. He clearly cares very much about teaching people how to cook the food of his culture. I absolutely love this cook book, and would recommend it to anyone who wants to try Lebanese cooking, or even just try experimenting with new spices! I cannot wait to make his recipe for Baklava. His video on making Baklava is great as well! Watching it has taken away my worries that I might botch my Baklava. I'm also excited to try his recipe for hummus, as he has a step (boiling even the canned garbanzo beans) that I haven't yet seen in any other recipe. I'm wondering if this is the secret to ultra-creamy hummus. There are so many recipes in this book that I want to try, I only wish I knew more Lebanese cuisine enthusiasts!

I am Lebanese, grew up in Lebanon....I purchased Classic Lebanese cuisine after trying the Robust Toom ... it was delicious. I finally was able to make my own garlic paste. I did the Kebbe as well and it was good. bought the book for all my nephews when they have the craving for a Lebanese meal... thank you Chef Kamal.

Being Lebanese living in the USA, i found this book's recipes extremely amazing and easy. no complications whatsoever, and the author makes sure to list the ingredients with consideration to what is available on the american market. very easy, delicious taste of home. also i like the pride he takes in his title "lebanese cuisine" for genuine recipes similar to what mom cooks. A+

I love this cookbook so much I bought it to give as Christmas presents to my family this year!! And I'm part Lebanese and have been eating Lebanese food since I was a baby. Chef Kamal has really brought home to me how rich and wonderful our heritage is and the flavors of the recipes I have tried from his cookbook are a divine experience!! You really want to hum and make noises when you eat foods made from this Amazing cookbook!

This modest-looking little cookbook deserves a reprint with better photos, but that is my only criticism, and one that has no effect on the worth of the recipes inside. I have made many of the recipes, including the cardamom beef, the lemon and garlic roasted chicken, the country salad with tahini dressing, the cardamom chicken, the vegetable couscous and the yoghurt/semolina cake with lemon syrup (I added the 1/2 tsp of rosewater to the syrup and it was like eating poetry). Everything I have made has been superb and I've experimented on company with new recipes from the book that I had not tried before and got rave reviews. This is currently the most heavily used cookbook I own, out of a collection of dozens and I haven't made a bad dish yet. I own several Middle Eastern cookbooks and this is my favorite. Purchase it and I guarantee that you will be very pleased!!