Customer Reviews

The Frugal Gourmet on Our Immigrant Ancestors

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I just about cried when I tasted the Hungarian cabbage rolls in this book. I bought this cookbook a few years back and this is my favorite! I never was graced with being able to spend a day with my grandmother in the kitchen learning her recipes that she brought over from Hungary. Jeff has nailed them! I have spent years tasting other peoples Hungarian recepies and none have come close. The secrete is in the paprika gravy!

For anyone who is truly looking for an international cookbook, this is a must! My family and I have had more fun with this cookbook trying all the different recepies from all over the wolrld.

PBS....Bring back Jeff Smith.... Jeff if you are out there...we miss you in Cleveland!

My family has been using this cookbook for about 15 years, and we all love it. My brother and I started using it as high school kids, and loved experimenting with the enormous range of completely different cuisines represented here. When we left home our parents gave us each copies of this book, and it's still a favorite; now my husband loves the Filipino egg rolls, and the authentic Ethiopian section brings back fond memories of time I spent working there.

Over the years we've tried a high proportion of the recipes, and they've never failed or turned out "wrong." You will need access to some unusual ingredients, but many come in dried forms you could order over the internet if the selection in your town is limited. There's a helpful ingredient dictionary that suggests some substitutions. Any unfamilar techniques are explained so clearly, it's hard for even an inexperienced cook to mess things up. This is a great cookbook for any adventurous eater!

If you can't get your kids interested in history or world events, or better yet if they are, this cookbook is just what you're looking for. No lesson about the world at large is complete until we connect with those we hear about. Food is the ultimate form of communication, and this book communicates brilliantly. Every listing of recipes from an ethinic group in this book includes a map of their place of origin, and details of what great events of history shaped them. They also give the dates of major surges of immigration to the US for each group. Help your family develop a hunger for history with this book. You won't regret anything but the pounds (this stuff is delicious!).

This book is an excellent tool to sample cuisines from numerous cultures. Each of the recipes that I have tried are excellent. Also, there is a background of not only each culture, but often a background of each dish.

The book is not only a good cookbook, but also a fun and educational read.

When I was a kid I used to come home and turn on the Frugal Gourmet as he whipped up his meals. It was the first cooking show that I had ever seen and I still have fond memories of it. I bought this cookbook at a second hand store and have loved it ever since. The book breaksdown into chapters introducing and including simple recipes from different countries. Each dish is a typical, common meal that you would be served if you were there. The food is easy to make and all the ingredients are things you should be able to pick up in the local grocery store. The countries range from Cuba, Mexico, USA to Spain, Italy, Norway, France and then on to Ethiopia, Thailand, Egypt, Philippines, and Japan. There are around 60 or so countries represented and I have attempted to try foods from each. I love especially the Cuban, Hungarian, and German dishes. I really like how Smith puts his personal touch in describing fondly some of the reasons he chose the recipes.
The Frugal Gourmet has a series of cook books but this one is a good starter. This is great for someone who likes comfort food, and cuisine from different countries.

My title blurb is a funny quote I remembered, Jeff Smith spoke on his entertaining PBS show. Before 'The Food Network' we had the witty and talented 'Frugal Gourmet'. This book deals with some simplistic, yet very good classic old world dishes. Nothing fancy, just great traditional food!

This is yet another excellent cook book by Jeff Smith! It's full of great recipes and stories by a very talented cook and writer. This one focuses on old world cooking. I have used many of these recipes and found them to be very good. Being a home grown cook myself and having had many of my grandmother's classic recipes handed down to me, I found this book to be very helpful in expanding my culinary taste buds.

Jeff Smith entertained us for years on his PBS program 'The Frugal Gourmet'. Not only did he teach us many savory dishes, he also educated us. Not satisfied with just cooking delicious meals for his viewers, he would give detailed history lessons about the origins of the dish and made it all a lot of fun!

This may be Mr. Smiths best cook book and it is a worthy edition to everyone's cook book library. I own and have read many, if not all of his cook books, not only for the man's knowledge of cooking, but his incredible wit! This guy was funny and I would have loved to have hung out and throw a few beers down with him.

Unfortunately, this man had some very seriously bad press released about his personal life and well..... I am not one to spread rumors.....he seemed like a great guy and sadly he died before he was able to clear his name.

R.I.P. Frugs!

I refer to this book often! It's a MUST HAVE! Of course I adore Jeff Smith and his assistant Craig. I used to watch them regularly on PBS. In fact, there have been many times while I was reading one of the recipes or the little anecdotes that he has written when describing the recipes and I could practically hear his voice, reading it to me.

The history lessons given in the book just by themselves are awesome! I learned more reading this book (and actually remember it) than I did in high school history! I may not remember everything about the War of 1812 but I can sure tell you about who the Basque people are and what Haggis is!

My three favorite books are:

Better Homes & Gardens "New Cook Book", "The L L Bean Cook Book" and Jeff Smith's "The Frugal Gourmet Immigrant Ancestors". These are the books that I refer to most!

I love this cookbook! I just pulled it out to look something up, noticed how torn up it has gotten, and thought I'd look online for a replacement copy. This is, hands down, my favorite and most used cookbook. Recipes are easy to follow and delicious. I've had "authentic" cooking from some of the countries included, so I can vouch for the fact that the recipes are right on target.

The Mexican section of this book is well worn in my house, even though I own over 15 Mexican cookbooks -- Jeff's just hit the spot. The Armenian recipes are wonderful, and my Armenia FIL loved the meals. The only sadness I have with this book is the Three Ancient Cuisines that are missing! I love to take a country and make an entire meal and my family loves it, too. I HIGHLY recommend this cookbook, which I can read like a novel.

I never really watched The Frugal Gourmet when he was featured on Public TV. One of my Amazon Friends recently reviewed this book, and that review piqued my interest. I recently received my copy of Jeff Smith's "The Frugal Gourmet on Our Immigrant Ancestors: Recipes You Should Have Gotten from Your Grandmother." What a fascinating concept and what a nice set of recipes!

Smith begins by laying out the methodology of this book (Page 2): "We have traveled all over this great nation eating with immigrants, many of them grandmas, who know that it is terribly important to retain those characteristics of our immigrant ancestry, characteristics that will help us remember who we are." Hence, we have a cook book with a small set of recipes from many countries, from Armenia to the Basque region of Spain to Ethiopia to Jamaica to Ireland to Korea to Lebanon and through Yugoslavia (countries are in alphabetical order). I just received the book and have not had a chance to try out any recipes. But there are a number that I already find tempting and expect to begin trying these out soon!

The first part of the book is a standard discussion of cooking tools needed, a glossary of ingredients and condiments, and an essay on the immigrant experience. But it's the recipes that are the heart of this book. Let's take a look at a few examples.

Armenian Stuffed Meatballs. Ooh. This looks like some work, but it seems scrumptious! A meatball within a meatball. The inner meatball is made from ground lamb (or beef), onions, green bell paper, parsley, pine nuts, paprika, mint leaves, and a set of spices. After cooking these and rolling small meatballs, one makes the outer meatball, with a different set of ingredients.

From Ethiopia, Lamb and Cardamom. Some onions, a couple Ethiopian sauces (recipes included in this section), lamb, cumin, cardamom seeds, ginger, garlic, salt and pepper. Once one has assembled the ingredients this looks pretty straightforward--and tasty!

A Lebanese dish, Baked Lamb Kibbe. Boneless leg of lamb, butter, pine nuts, onion, cinnamon, allspice, salt and pepper. Sautee the lamb in butter, and then assemble Kibbe (recipe on the preceding page), and move ahead. Again, a recipe that really sounds delicious.

And so on. It's fun just to skim recipes from different countries and enjoy contemplating what each would taste like! The book ends with a quotation from the author (Page 574): "The point of this book is simple. If we do not understand our ancestral table, I doubt that we can understand our history." Maybe a bit overstated, but that sums up the author's philosophy in this volume. Worth taking a look at!