Customer Reviews

Recipes and Remembrances from an Eastern Mediterranean Kitchen: A Culinary Journey Through Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan

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Sonia Uvezian has written yet another landmark cookbook, her best yet. I am familiar with many books on eastern Mediterranean/Middle Eastern cooking, but none compare to this revelatory and loving volume in which the author brings to life a cuisine and a culture in the way only one who was born and reared in the region could. Recipes and Remembrances from an Eastern Mediterranean Kitchen recreates a time and place inaccessible not only to most Americans, but even to most eastern Mediterraneans. It evokes the world of Uvezian's Lebanese childhood and is a rich portrayal of how people lived once upon a time, a happy time, not too long ago. A masterpiece of culinary instruction as valuable for its authentic and inspired recipes as for its exceptionally informative text, this extraordinary work is an essential guide for anyone who enjoys cooking and reading about eastern Mediterranean ingredients, markets, traditional utensils, scenes of daily life, views of mountain villages and the sea, ancient temples, mosques, and monasteries. I found the content of these illustrations at least as impressive as their inherent beauty. Anyone can make the dishes described by following the author's clearly written recipes, which are almost always based on readily available ingredients. Some of the best cooking I have done-ever-resulted from this wonderful book.

I am so impressed with Recipes and Remembrances from an Eastern Mediterranean Kitchen that I have ordered several copies as gifts for friends and relatives on my Christmas list. I strongly recommend that you buy two copies for yourself, one for your kitchen and the other for your night table. My thanks to Sonia Uvezian for a truly remarkable cookbook.

Bitter experience has taught me not to put much faith in rave reviews of cookbooks. I must admit, however, that all of the previous customer reviews of this book are absolutely on target. Recipes and Remembrances from an Eastern Mediterranean Kitchen is one of the greatest cookbooks I have ever used and is unquestionably the best in its subject area. Fascinating text and fabulous recipes make this inspired volume a must for anyone interested in Middle Eastern cooking. The author gives such clear and east-to-follow directions that I have not had a failure yet. Recently I gave a dinner party using recipes from this book, and it was a huge success. People are still raving about Uvezian's Hummus with Red Pepper Paste, Damascus-Style Cheese Dip with Toasted Sesame Seeds and Nigella, Tabbuleh, Fried Stuffed Kibbeh, Baklava, Aleppan Wedding Cookies, and, last but not least, her Mulled Pomegranate Wine Punch.

Some other favorites of mine from this book include Hummus with Mixed Spices, Toasted Nuts, and Mint (battle-weary hummus gets a new lease on life); Yogurt Cheese Dip with Red Pepper Paste (Muhammara Labna) (Uvezian's version is in a class by itself); Orange, Lemon, and Onion Salad with Black Olives and Mint (full of beguiling contrasts); Lentil Soup with Swiss Chard and Potatoes (earthy and deeply satisfying); Baked Fish with Tomato Sauce Garnished with Sautéed Pine Nuts, Raisins, and Onions (seduces both eye and palate); Chicken, Pepper, and Tomato Kebabs (Shish Tawuq) (a popular restaurant dish that is simple to prepare at home); Musakhan (this easily made version beats all others I've tried); Quail or Cornish Hens with Sour Cherry Sauce (I'll spare you a stream of inadequate adjectives!); Crown Roast of Lamb Served with Saffron Rice with Ground Meat and Toasted Nuts (perfect for a special occasion); Grilled Skewered Pork with Sour Plum Sauce (as splendid as it is simple); Potato Kibbeh (delightfully different); Apricots Stuffed with Meat (unusual and exquisite); Grilled Eggplant with Walnut Sauce (now I know why those Georgian recipes in other books that call for "vinegar or pomegranate juice" did not work when I tried them); Mixed Vegetable Casserole with Garlic and Herbs (excellent as a light vegetarian entrée or as an accompaniment to poultry or game); Stuffed Prunes in Pomegranate Sauce (wonderful with poultry or game birds); Pita Bread (absolutely first rate! the best recipe I've found); Filo Pastry Triangles with Cheese Filling (I could eat these every day of my life!); Knafi with Nut or Cheese Filling (a stellar dessert, fully the equal of baklava); Ma`mul (these stuffed cookies deserve their popularity); Gh'rayba (butter cookies with a difference); Sesame Cookies (Barazik) (altogether addictive!); Orange Cake with Pomegranate Syrup (a brilliant combination); Quince Compote (unforgettable!); Pomegranate Ice (ravishing!); and Sweetened Yogurt Cream (Uvezian's own creation and a godsend for calorie counters).

Since acquiring Recipes and Remembrances I have purchased Uvezian's wonderful yogurt book and was fortunate to find a copy of her fantastic appetizer book, which is, sadly, out of print. How I wish that I had discovered the works of this talented food writer many years ago!

I was thoroughly disgusted to read the baseless criticisms of this superb cookbook. It is precisely to obtain an accurate account of the cookery of this region along with first-rate recipes that one needs to own "Recipes and Remembrances." Although Claudia Roden's "A New Book of Middle Eastern Food" is better than Paula Wolfert's "The Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean," when it comes to recipes and text neither can approach "Recipes and Remembrances" in quality. I have cooked extensively from many Middle Eastern cookbooks, including these three, and I can honestly say that Uvezian's book upholds the highest standards of eastern Mediterranean/Middle Eastern cooking and is in a class by itself.

My husband grew up in Lebanon and I was a novice to this style of cooking when we married. Knowing I had to compete with his mother, who turns cooking into an art form, I utilized this book as my introduction to preparation of the cuisine of my husband's childhood. I found it easy to use and my husband assures me that I now cook as well as his grandmother. This book has not only introduced me to the cuisine, but also to the culture. The stories are often as fascinating to read as the recipes are to eat. If you buy only one book on this style of cooking, make it this one.

While I haven't cooked a tremedous amount of food out of this book yet, it is probably the first cookbook that I have read more than once. It is some wonderful information on the people, history and food of the Levant. It goes through how the different groups in the Middle East serve and prepare food. Talks about the influence of foreign powers on the food and culture. I really enjoyed this book. It's only flaw if that it is long and difficult to wade through if you just in the mood to cook a simple Middle Eastern dish. One of the strengths is the spice mixes. I keep the prepared spice mixes in my cupbard within easy reach and use them a lot.

I decided to take a chance and purchase this book after I read a review describing it as a masterpiece and the first and last word on eastern Mediterranean cooking. I have been using it almost daily ever since and am thrilled with the results. "Recipes and Remembrances" is unquestionably the single indispensable volume on the region's cuisine. In addition to hundreds of magnificent recipes and vibrant personal memories, it offers unparalleled cultural and culinary background material. The five-page essay on pomegranates and pomegranate molasses, packed with information not to be found elsewhere, is reason enough to buy this extraordinary cookbook, which will stimulate your imagination as well as your palate. Very highly recommended!

Eureka! At last I have found a cookbook that has enabled me to recreate the flavors of Middle Eastern food as I remember them from a sojourn in Lebanon. Although I own dozens of volumes on the region's cuisine, none begins to compare to "Recipes and Remembrances," which contains exceptionally informative text as well as a profusion of imaginative and inspiring recipes, many of which I had never seen before. Some of my other books cover a wider geographical area and include more recipes, but they fall short both in textual content and in the taste of the finished dishes. Uvezian's directions are so clear that even a novice can achieve immediate success. Everything I have made from this inspired volume has been first-rate. Those who want to become truly knowledgeable about Middle Eastern cooking owe it to themselves to buy this book.

I am a passionate cook and collector of ethnic cookbooks. Eventhough I own many books on eastern Mediterranean food, nothing hadprepared me for the astonishing amount of information and hundreds of magnificent recipes found in this extraordinary study of one of the world's most venerable and healthful culinary traditions. Uvezian, who has made illuminating contributions to cooking literature in the past, has outdone herself with this rare and masterly volume full of observation and insight. The depth and quality of her research are constantly apparent throughout the book's 440-plus pages, which are packed with fascinating culinary history and lore, personal reminiscences, quotations, anecdotes, proverbs, evocative illustrations, essential information on ingredients, utensils, meals and menus, and major holidays, and, of course, the recipes, which are dazzlingly rich in scope. Recipes and Remembrances from an Eastern Mediterranean Kitchen is a unique work that has deepened my understanding of the region's cookery as no other book has. It is filled with invaluable information not found elsewhere, and it sets the record straight on a number of points. I have gained a far better historical perspective of the region's cooking from Uvezian's book than from any other eastern Mediterranean/Middle Eastern cookbook. Her chapter introductions and recipe forewords are almost always much more informative. Her extensive discussions of breads and beverages are unparalleled, as are her chapter introductions to appetizers (mazza), fish and shellfish, grains and pasta, sauces, pickles and preserves, and desserts. The geographical information is also vastly superior. For example, Uvezian gives detailed descriptions of the great garden oasis of al-Ghuta, which nurtures Damascus, and of Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, one of the major agricultural and winemaking regions of the entire Middle East. She also includes valuable information about the culinary specialties of numerous regions and towns. The little that has appeared on this subject elsewhere is limited to only a few places such as Damascus and Aleppo so that the reader gains hardly any idea about the range of local specialties. The information on ingredients and beverages found in Recipes and Remembrances far surpasses that available in other books on the region's cookery. For instance, wine has been made and drunk in this part of the world since ancient times (especially in Lebanon), yet Uvezian's is the only cookbook to devote proper space to the subject. Another overlooked item is truffles, which have been an important article of food in Arab cookery for millennia. There is either no mention of truffles at all or only a few lines on them in the other volumes. In contrast, Recipes and Remembrances contains more information on these "diamonds of the table" than all the other cookbooks combined. The same holds true for other ingredients such as grape molasses (dibs inab) and pomegranate molasses (dibs rumman). Uvezian's highly informative entries on these two staples are unmatched. She offers the best material on grape molasses that I have ever come across in any cookbook. Her detailed first-hand description of how it was traditionally prepared in Lebanon is truly fascinating. She also mentions that during her childhood it was made in no less than four different consistencies. In no other cookbook have I read anything like this. Uvezian's outstanding essay on pomegranates (which includes a recipe for pomegranate molasses) corrects longstanding and widespread inaccuracies found in previous cookbooks and magazine articles. This eye-opening section alone is worth the price of the book and will prevent not only many Arab dishes from being ruined but numerous Armenian, Georgian, and Persian ones as well. Recipes and Remembrances also rectifies some other errors found in previous cookbooks, such as mastic being wrongly identified as gum arabic, nigella as black cumin, and soapwort as bois de Panama. A very special feature of Recipes and Remembrances is Uvezian's modernizations and adaptations of several recipes from medieval Arab culinary manuals as well as some highly interesting interpretations of standard dishes. These recipes add considerably to the uniqueness of her book and greatly expand a cook's horizons. The author makes imaginative use of a variety of spices (not just cinnamon and allspice!), herbs, and other flavorings. Many of her variations on traditional recipes invest familiar standbys with born-again interest. For example, her Tahini Dip with Za'atar is an ingenious departure from the norm, as is her Hummus with Red Pepper Paste. A tempting alternative to the usual Aleppan version of muhammara is the Damascene one with tahini, which no other author that I know of has even mentioned! Another outstanding appetizer from Damascus, for which you will not find a recipe elsewhere, is Uvezian's Cheese Dip with Toasted Sesame Seed and Nigella. In addition to superb recipes for such traditional favorites as tabbuleh, kibbeh, musakhan, and baklava, the book includes a number of the author's own creations inspired by the eastern Mediterranean style of cooking. Uvezian's Meat Soup with Pumpkin, Quince, Apricots, and Prunes, Fried Fish with Oranges and Limes, Duck with Apples and Sour Cherry Sauce, and Mulled Pomegranate Wine Punch will be sure to earn you raves from both family and guests. Recipes and Remembrances from an Eastern Mediterranean Kitchen sets a standard that will be extremely difficult to surpass. It is a gold mine of information on the culinary traditions of Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. Anyone interested in the cooking of the eastern Mediterranean/Middle East would be well advised to purchase this book. There is nothing like it on the market. Were I allowed to own but a single volume on the food of this region, Uvezian's would be the one. If only there were more cookbooks as imaginatively and intelligently written

I would purchase any book by Sonia Uvezian sight unseen! As it turns out, "Recipes and Remembrances from an Eastern Mediterranean Kitchen" is one of the most remarkable ethnic cookbooks I have ever come across. Not only is it the best volume by far on the cookery of Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan, it may well be the most important and valuable Middle Eastern cookbook on the market.

This extraordinary work brims with originality, from the epigraph to the last proverb. It is the author's finest and most personal book yet, filled with the spirit of the land and its people as well as with hundreds of magnificent recipes, many of them not found elsewhere (wait till you try her Meat Soup with Pumpkin, Quince, Apricots, and Prunes and her Potato Kibbeh with Pistachio Nuts and Pomegranate Molasses!). The unparalleled ingredient information alone makes "Recipes and Remembrances" an essential purchase. Uvezian's passion for authenticity, her extremely clear instructions, her creativity, and her sense of humor are all impressive. Her understanding of Middle Eastern cooking is profound, and she has the ability to write about it brilliantly.

One cannot help but love this book. Every recipe is a winner. This is Middle Eastern food at its very best!

Also recommended: "The Cuisine of Armenia," by Sonia Uvezian. Anyone interested in Armenian cooking will want to own this definitive volume of inspired recipes that range from traditional to innovative.

I was pleasently surprised to read this book . As I have seen many Middle Eastern Cookery books, I expected this book to be just another one. It was not. Sonia's book was written with passion.. passion for the syrian cooking ,and an appreciation for the social context and the historical dimension of that region. The pictures are historical, and the research that was conducted is very extensive. I love various ethnic foods (plentiful in the Chicago Area ), but the Syrian food (Authentically described in Sonia;s book ) is above all.