22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A worthy tome..., May 23, 2003
An excellent abbreviated edition of a best-selling cookbook in Poland, the more exotic recipes (e.g. peacock brains 21 different ways...) pared out in favor of the classics, such as Pierogi, golabki (cabbage rolls), barcz (borsht), and bigos (hunter-style soup).
While the book is on the whole quite strong, there are no pictures, which doesn't bother me much, but I am disappointed that the book entirely lacks a section on Polish baking, which is the only reason why the book didn't get 5 stars from me.
Don't let these trivialities keep you from picking up this bargain book!
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13 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very Nice, Inexpensive Book of Authentic Polish Recipes, July 11, 2005
`The New Polish Cuisine' by Chicago chef Michael J. Baruch and `Polish Cookery' by Marja Ochorowicz-Monatowa, translated from the Polish by Jean Karsavina are two common extremes in the presentation of a national cuisine, if that cuisine is not French, Italian, Spanish, Indian, Thai, Chinese, Japanese, or Mexican. I have seen many of the latter style for virtually every nation from Norway to Rumania, most especially from the central European countries. Many of the recipes are presented in the most simple of forms, with little or no discussion of technique. Their primary virtue lies in their containing a lot of authentic recipes so that if you are handy around the kitchen, you should have no trouble with the simple instructions. After all, Elizabeth David started her prodigious career as a food writer by doing a book on Mediterranean recipes with relatively simple recipe descriptions.
As a native Pole wrote `Polish Cookery' in Poland, I have to assume the authenticity of the recipes is unimpeachable. And, in spite of my picturing the recipes in books of this class as `bare bones' descriptions, I am especially happy to say that the general introductions to all the major sections have great suggestions on how to get the best out of each type of dish. The introduction to the section that includes pierogies is an especially good example, as it gives excellent general rules for preparing pastry fillings. These rules are:
1. Cook meat until tender, but do not brown, or it will be too dry.
2. Grind meat at least twice through a meat grinder.
3. Pates may be baked, but they are best steamed, as baking dries and toughens them.
These three simple rules contain an enormous amount of wisdom as they clearly distinguish this cooking style from braising and sauteeing and show a great common ground with the famous steamed meat filled dumplings of Chinese dim sum. This second rule also points out that the author is talking about a kitchen where a meat grinder is a common appliance and a blender and food processor are not. This may seem odd, except that my Hungarian grandmother did have a meat grinder and used it on a regular basis. (One warning is that while the index is excellently done with both Polish and English entries, it may be just a little difficult to find some familiar dishes if you only know the English name. I had to look carefully to fine pierogies recipes, as the only reference to pierogies was in Polish.)
I give this detail to warn anyone who may be inclined to ignore this book in favor of the volume with which I will compare it. This little book is marvelously inexpensive, hard covered, and sound. As complete as it is, I am surprised that it does not include any bread recipes and most basic pastry recipes are attributed to the French.
This is one thing which pleases me so much about Michael Baruch's book, as it starts out with a chapter of excellent recipes for fresh yeast breads, featuring great rye and pumpernickel bread recipes, which are not always available in bread baking books. All bread recipes are done with a yeast sponge and technique that would make Peter Reinhart proud.
I am happy that chef Baruch started out with such a great opening chapter because there is much in this book to turn one off if you are inclined to nit-pick. In fact, if this book were a general cookbook by some new TV celebrity show off cook, I would pan it for its misspellings, conceits, and clumsy statements. As it is an excellent presentation of Polish cuisine as interpreted by an American chef with several worthwhile sections and good details on cooking techniques, I overlook the copy editor's mistakes and focus on the chef's content.
One thing in this book that is odd to find in a volume on a minor national cuisine is a catalogue of cooking and baking equipment. I tend to pan these lists, as they are often a basis for buying things you may never need. This is particularly true of the list of baking equipment. The list of pots and pans has it's foibles, as certain types of equipment are listed twice for no reason, but if you overlook that, the list is especially good, especially with the recommendation for having two non-stick fry pans. I do warn you against his critique of Calphalon pots, as I have found their anodized aluminum ware to be excellent and their inexpensive all metal Teflon ware to be perfect for the amateur cook.
For an oversized book with really excellent photographs, I find the $32 list price to be a very nice deal. One thing the author establishes very well is the influence on Polish cooking from Renaissance Italy. The danger in this observation is that it is sometimes hard to distinguish between Polish dishes with Italian influences and Italian dishes the author added to pad his pages. If you think I am just guessing about this, check out the recipe for `Hail Thaddeus Caesarski Salad'. In spite of the Polish name, the recipe looks almost identical to the original prepared in Tijuana by Caesar Cardini. This filler is odd in that the author states that he has enough material for another volume sometime in the future. I strongly suspect the contents of this volume have more to do with Chef Baruch's professional repertoire and childhood experiences in Chicago than with a comprehensive presentation of Polish cuisine.
In one very important area, Chef Baruch may have the advantage over the translation from the Polish. The sections on pirogues gives recipes for at least three different doughs, none of which are French and all of which were probably prepared by legions of Polish grandmothers.
If you really love Polish cooking, get both books. If you simply want a book on Polish recipes to round out a collection of national cuisines, get the `new' book.
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