The Coming to America Cookbook: Delicious Recipes and Fascinating Stories from America's Many Cultures [Paperback]

Joan D'Amico (Author), Karen E. Drummond (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 17, 2005 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

COOK UP A HEAPING DISH OF CULTURE WITH TASTY RECIPES FROM AMERICAN IMMIGRANTS

Who knew culture could be so delicious? In THE COMING TO AMERICA COOKBOOK, you'll discover how America's immigrants have lived and dined over the centuries. This scrumptious survey of a wide variety of cuisine--Mexican, Irish, Chinese, Moroccan, Turkish, Ethiopian, Nigerian, and many more--blends together an appetizing mix of kid-friendly recipes and fun food facts throughout each chapter.

Kids will have a great time learning about each culture's distinctive foods and traditions while they cook up easy and yummy recipes, including:
* NAAN, a bread made with yogurt, which is a staple of Indian cooking
* SAVORY SHRIMP OVER RICE, a recipe from Northern Italy passed down through generations
* BRATWURST WITH SAUERKRAUT, a favorite dish of Wisconsin, where many Germans settles in the nineteenth century
* BANANA STRAWBERRY BATIDOS, icy Cuban drinks that are as common as cola in cities with many Cuban residents, such as Miami
* DUTCH WINDMILL COOKIES, which are traditionally made in the Netherlands at Christmas time


THE COMING TO AMERICA COOKBOOK also includes information on cooking tools and skills, with important rules for kitchen safety and cleaning up.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-7–Eighteen countries, including Brazil, Ethiopia, Norway, and South Korea, are represented in this book that offers recipes as well as some background on how cooking and dining are affected by a nation's climate, geography, culture, and history. Also provided are a few details about the country's typical immigration patterns to the U.S. and how some dishes have been Americanized over time. While the simple black-and-white illustrations depict young people, the recipes are not necessarily for beginners: many require fairly specialized ingredients and/or complicated techniques. There is a good balance of main dishes, side dishes, vegetarian meals, and sweets. Safety rules, step-by-step instructions, preparation times, and lists of utensils needed are given, but nutritional information is not. Diane Simone Vezza's Passport on a Plate (S & S, 1997) is a more attractive book for those who are interested only in recipes from other countries. Mark H. Zanger's The American Ethnic Cookbook for Students (Oryx, 2001) focuses on immigration but is for older readers. Overall, D'Amico's title might be useful for larger collections, especially where the topic is frequently assigned.–Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-8. The authors of The United States History Cookbook (2000) provide information about American immigrants from 18 nations as well as recipes representing each group. After defining and illustrating utensils and cooking techniques, the introductory section offers safety tips for using appliances and knives. Accompanied by line drawings of ethnic families choosing, preparing, and eating food, subsequent chapters discuss each country's climate, history, major waves of emigration, and traditional foods. Typically, three recipes follow, such as Korean short ribs, sweet rice cakes, and dumpling soup. The choices sometimes seem ambitious, given the target audience. Still, teachers and students looking for recipes from American immigrant cultures will make good use of this handy resource, and home-schooling parents may appreciate its creative combination of social studies and culinary arts. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (March 17, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471483354
• ISBN-13: 978-0471483359
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #737,528 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A brief introduction to the different cultures featured and a kid-friendly tone distinguish this varied and delightful cookbook, November 13, 2005

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Coming to America Cookbook: Delicious Recipes and Fascinating Stories from America's Many Cultures (Paperback)

Written by an instructor at King's Cooking studio in New Jersey and a registered dietitian, The Coming to America Cookbook: Delicious Recipes and Fascinating Stories from America's Many Cultures offers delights from Mexican, Irish, Chinese, Moroccan, Turkish, Ethiopian, Nigerian, and more cultures, immigrants from whom have come to America over the course of centuries and shared their individual cooking traditions. Recipes such as Oh-So-Hot Salsa, Korean-Style Short Ribs, The Best Baklava, Fried Bananas with Cinnamon and much more reflect a wide range of mouth-watering international morsels to please any palate. A brief introduction to the different cultures featured and a kid-friendly tone distinguish this varied and delightful cookbook.