Customer Reviews

Cooking the Russian Way (Easy Menu Ethnic Cookbooks)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a good little book for children or a beginning cook looking for Russian flavour. But honestly, the price was a bit much for a book with less than 50 pages and less than 2 dozen recipes. You can find the same recipes in the larger books.....plus many others, for less money.

The one plus this book gets over the others is that it has pictures. Lots of pictures. If you aren't hungry when you get the book you will be after you open it!

Our two children are from Russia, and this book has lots of wonderful authentic Russian recipes that they enjoy making. The Russian names of the dishes are also given. Great, simple recipes.

This books is almost okay, but it isn't really a true cookbook in my opinion as a foodie. It should be called instead "eating the Russian way." The images are wonderful, but the recipes are lacking--there are not that many of them. I guess I should have been warned by the "Easy Menu" series title, and it is just because I didn't pay attention that I am giving this 3 stars rather than 2. I was really looking forward to cooking some authentic, made-from-scratch Russian dishes. If there is a sausage recipe, I except to learn how to make and stuff authentic Russian sausages. I copy (in full) the ingredients list for the "Russian sausages" or Sardelka recipe.

1 lb. smoked, precooked beef or pork sausage (such as kielbasa)

That is it! Go buy precooked sausages and boil them. That is not a recipe! And kielbasa is just the Slavic word for sausage--we never learn what is distinctive about Russian sausage or what kinds there might be.

I was most disappointed though with the zakuski section--and this is why the cookbook nearly got two stars from me. Zakuski, or the appetizer course, is one of the unique features of Russian culture. Vodka is traditionally drank with an array of such dishes, from meats, pickles, and rye bread to carefully prepared aspic dishes (known as "kholodets" or "studen" in Russian). Again, rather than a single recipe for these myriad of dishes instead we are given a shopping list and told to "Arrange all ingredients attractively in an assortment of small dishes and bowls."

There are a few excellent recipes. However, the shopping list instead of zakuski recipes incurred my reviewer's wrath. For those who really aren't foodies but want a handy "Russian entertainment" or eating guide, this would be adequate. There are some good recipes--the borsch recipe was great. Overall,, though, if you are a real food enthusiast and want to truly explore what makes cuisines unique and strive for authenticity--even if it means a full weekend in the kitchen--then this book is probably not for you. If you really want an "easy ethnic menu" just order take-out.