Customer Reviews

Russian, German, & Polish Food & Cooking

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I really love this cookbook! I bought it for the countries mentioned in the title, but it actually covers a wider geographical range that touches on the Greek-ish foods of the Adriatic Sea. The recipes range from simple and easy to very labor-intensive dishes that take hours to prepare. In all cases, the instructions are thorough and easy to follow, and the work-in-process photographs are extremely helpful. I'm no expert in the kitchen, so that level of clarity is important to me. Another thing I like about this book is that, unlike other books in this international series, the recipes do not contain a lot of difficult-to-find ingredients or obscure cuts of meat. With very few exceptions, the components to these dishes can be found at any supermarket. So far I have personally cooked about 30 of the recipes in the book. My favorites are the Torte Varazdin (magnificent!), Bigos (a Polish classic), and Hungarian Goulash (delicious and easy to make). It's particularly strong on stews and desserts. There are also a lot of fish dishes, which I have not tried. Not every dish in the book is a winner, but the masterpieces far outnumber the disasters.

I spent over two years studying in Russia and Poland. I've spent a couple months in Germany. I've been looking for recipes from this region for quite awhile. This is a great collection. It has many of the dishes that I became familiar with while I was there.

In particular, I recommend:
Hungarian Gulyas (pg 119)
Fish baked in Dough (pg 210)
Pampushki (pg 63)
Lamb Plov (pg 43)

I learned to make gravy, mashed potatos, relish and dumplings, things I probably should have known a while ago. This book has also helped me experiment with different tastes I wouldn't have thought to put together (nutmeg and flounder, oh my!), and challenged me to try new things.

The instructions are clear and specific, but leave plenty of room to change the recipe to your tastes. The pictures are extremely helpful, and so far I haven't had any problems with measurements or times.

I'm looking forward to defeating my worst culinary enemy with this book in hand: The pastry!

My MIL is Polish and has taught me some of her family recipes which my husband loves. I just received this book today and am so impressed. It has beautiful pictures and great sounding recipes. Can't wait to get into the kitchen and create.

"Russian, German & Polish Food & Cooking" is an absolutely excellent cookbook. It gives traditional food recipes from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea. Included are, about, 185 recipes from Germany, Austria, Poland, The Czech Republic, Ukraine, Russia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, the east Adrriatic Sea, and other countries in a huge area of central and eastern Europe. Published in 2005, it has 256 pages and 750 pages.

The recipes are fully described and the photos are beautiful. This is a terrific book for cooks who may want to expore a different set of cusines than most Americans know. The dishes are beautiful and taste great. If you cook your way through this cookbook, you may want to concentrate on one or more specific nationalities. Each of these countries has hundreds or, even, thousands of food recipes from which to choose.

However, start with this terrific book. Choose a simple set of dishes to start. Then work your way into the more difficult dishes. Do you want a nice, simple, dessert for a fancy pot luck? Try the Polish Honey Cake.

I recommend this book, highly. I hope the publisher offers a new printing, soon.

I have got this book as a BD present and was sceptical at first - I am a very strict cook-book critic. But this book is amazing! Not only it's full of pictures and very clear instructions, but also all recipes I've tried so far worked wonderfully.
Just as mentioned in an earlier review, ingredients are very reasonable - and you get amazing taste from very basic products. It's also nice that in each of three parts there is a special section on Vegetable dishes - for those, who strive for healthy lifestyles.
I'm buying a copy for my friend's BD today!

The over-all condition was acceptable however, the front cover sleeve was stuck/glued on to the front of the book. I didn't notice this at first and when I went to inspect the book without the cover sleeve it began to tear, this was quite unfortunate. I would have been very happy with my purchase, now I am a bit disappointed.
Regards, Henry Wegwitz