Arab Table: Recipes and Culinary Traditions
Author: May Bsisu
It is one of the world's oldest and most intriguing cuisines, yet few have explored the diverse dishes and enchanting flavors of Arab cookery beyond hummus and tabouleh. In 188 recipes, The Arab Table introduces home cooks to the fresh foods, exquisite tastes, and generous spirit of the Arab table.
May S. Bsisu, who has lived and cooked in Jordan, Lebanon, Kuwait, England, and now the United States, takes you along a reassuringly down-to-earth and warmly personal path through exciting culinary territory. The Arab Table focuses intimately on the foods of Arab countries such as Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Syria.
The book offers a bountiful range of appealing dishes: cold and hot mezza, or little dishes; vibrant salads and fresh vegetable preparations; savory soups, stews, and hearty casseroles; baked and grilled meats, poultry, and fish; cooling drinks; and ambrosial desserts. There are recipes for familiar dishes including Falafel, Chicken and Lamb Kebabs, and Baklava, as well as a diverse selection of lesser known delights greatly enjoyed around the world, such as Eggplant Pomegranate Salad, Zucchini with Bread and Mint, Grilled Halloumi Cheese Triangles, and Arab Flatbread. Celebration dishes, the cornerstone of Arab cuisine, include Moroccan and Lebanese Couscous, Baked Lamb with Rice and Chickpeas, and Baked Sea Bass with Rice and Caramelized Onions. No Arab cookbook would be complete without an ample selection of soups and stews, the customary way to break the fast at the end of each day during Ramadan. The Arab table is also well known for its sweets: Semolina Pistachio Layer Cake, Milk Pudding, and, of course, date-, nut-, andcream-filled pastries perfumed with rose and orange-blossom water are just a sampling of the desserts included here.
Along with these treasured recipes collected from May's extended family, friends, neighbors, and her own discoveries, The Arab Table is also a resource for learning about the traditions and customs associated with this time-honored cuisine. Throughout, essays on Arab holidays, from Eid Al Adha, the feast celebrating the end of the pilgrimage to Mecca, to Ramadan and Mubarakeh, the celebration for the birth of a baby, are explained and menus are provided for each. May enlightens readers as to customary greetings (How do you say Happy Ramadan?), gifts (What do you bring to an Arab home during Ramadan?), and wishes (How do you acknowledge the birth of a baby?) that are traditionally extended during these special occasions.
Now you can bring the abundance and flavors of The Arab Table to your table.
Publishers Weekly
Bsisu, an Ohio chef by way of Jordan, Lebanon, Kuwait and England, sets out to define the cuisine of the Arab world. As she points out, a quarter of the globe is covered in her treatise, and she lovingly explores and clearly explains dishes from Morocco, Tunisia, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen and the Arabian Gulf. What's most apparent is that Arab meals are elemental in nature, more often reliant upon foodstuffs than technique. There are perhaps a dozen key ingredients on which most of these 160 recipes are based. Bulgur (cracked wheat) gives rice a run for its money as the grain of choice and is integral in making Kibeh, an all-purpose dish that also employs beef or lamb, and a mix of spices, and can be made into skewers, balls or cooked in a baking dish. Yogurt is ubiquitous, and pomegranate finds its way into many courses, too, including Meatball Stew, and Saut ed Chicken Gizzards. There are also plenty of classics at hand, including a couple of different couscouses, Grape Leaves Stuffed with Lamb and Rice, and Chicken Shawarma. American home cooks will find this a family-style, down-to-earth, insider exploration of Arab cuisine and culture. Color photos. (On sale Sept. 6) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Zingerman's Guide to Good Eating: How to Choose the Best Bread, Cheeses, Olive Oil, Pasta, Chocolate, and Much More
Author: Ari Weinzweig
Hailed by the New York Times, Esquire, and the Atlantic Monthly as one of the best delicatessens in the country, Zingerman's is a trusted source for superior ingredients — and an equally dependable supplier of reliable information about food. Now, Ari Weinzweig, the founder of Zingerman's, shares two decades of knowledge gained in his pursuit of the world's finest food products.
In this fascinating resource guide, he tells you everything you need to know about how to choose top-quality basics that can transform every meal from ordinary to memorable: oils, vinegars, and olives; bread, pasta, and rice; cheeses and cured meats; seasonings like salt, pepper, and saffron; vanilla, chocolate, and tea.
How do you tell the difference between a great aged balsamic vinegar and a caramel-flavored impostor? How do you select an extraordinary olive oil from the bewildering array of bottles on the grocery shelf? Which Italian rice makes the creamiest risotto (and what are the tricks to making a terrific one)? Is there a difference between traditionally made pastas and commercial brands? How do English and American Cheddars compare? How do you make sense of the thousands of teas in the world to find one you love? What should you look for on the label of a good chocolate?
In Zingerman's Guide to Good Eating, Ari Weinzweig provides the answers -- and includes approximately 100 recipes, many collected from artisan food makers, from Miguel's Mother's Macaroni to "LEO" (lox, eggs, and onions) to Funky, Chunky Dark Chocolate Cookies.
This book is not only an indispensable guide to pantry essentials, it's an enthralling read. You'll visit artisanfood producers, learn fascinating facts, find sources for the best brands and food suppliers, and get valuable advice that will change the way you cook forever.
Publishers Weekly
Weinzweig is a founding partner of Zingerman's, a famed Ann Arbor, Mich., deli. His guide instructs on how to shop, not how to cook, and he opens up a world of gourmet particulars: he tells not just how to select a good olive oil or a real balsamic vinegar from the thousands on the shelf, but explains the differences among varietal honeys like chestnut, eucalyptus and lemon blossom; hot-smoked and cold-smoked salmon; Spanish and Iranian saffron; dry-cured and brine-cured olives. Weinzweig, who has a certifiable obsession with artisanal products, is at his best describing the often painstaking processes that transform raw ingredients into culinary phenomena. If globalization has made many imported foods both more available and less authentic, Weinzweig's paeans to San Daniele prosciutto and Cabrales blue cheese do much to restore the romance of the table. Weinzweig occasionally waxes pedantic or obvious ("better fish tastes better"), but his mouthwatering brand of fanaticism speaks for itself. Does it make sense to spend money buying a book that simply impels you to increase your grocery budget by 50%? Well, as Weinzweig would have it, "good food is for everyone"; when it comes to the luxuries of the table, there's no disputing taste. (Nov.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
What People Are Saying
Mario Batali
Ari Weinzweig is my favorite go to source for every single great gastronomic treasure on the planet, both for information and the actual stuff itself. Zingerman's is the mecca for all foodies who really know that taste is not about fashion or style, but about flavor and impact. This book is the New Testament for the religion of the palette and should be used with a certain sacrament and a pinch of the profane
Paula Wolfert
In this marvelous book, the great food importer Ari Weinzweig of Zingerman's draws on his great depth of knowledge about the many fabulous new culinary ingredients now suddenly available in the U.S.A. For anyone serious about food, this book will be a treasure.
—author of Mediterranean Grains and Greens
Rick Bayless
What a massive and wonderful book. It'll be a cherished resource in our library forever. Ari Weinzweig is our Indiana Jones, intrepid and wise, as he takes us to the heart of honest, delicious craftsmanship. Peppering Ari's chronicles and clear advice are concise, approachable recipes.
—author of Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen
Deborah Madison
This book is brilliant and so well informed that it only adds to the allure of the fundamental foods we love. Certainly anyone who seasons with salt, cooks with olive oil, bakes bread, or loves chocolate should have this in the kitchen.
—author of Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from America's Farmers' Markets
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