gastro gnome wrote:I've really been enjoying this cookbook as well. That said, I do have a few quibbles. It's written without a lot of technical detail (more a conversational recipe-writing style), which is not my favorite. And I've found that I've had to play a bit with the flavors to get things to come out to my taste. So it's not a book that I'm blown way by for its sheer visual style or explanatory ability. But it is a great roadmap for the region's cuisine, which is exactly what I wanted.
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I would basically make all of these again (I've already made the fattoush, kohlrabi salad, and barley risotto twice). I've liked each one better the second time as I tweaked the flavoring to my liking.
At one of my food history meetings, l met someone who judged Jerusalem for the Internationl Association of Culinary Professional's book awards. She had 52 books to read through, prepare three recipes to print instructions and fill out a survey.
From those three sample recipes, she felt the cooking times were too long and some food was underseasoned. From those comments, I have been using the cooking times and temps as advisory and at least paid attention to seasonings.
I would be interested in an food exchange related to this book as well.
Great. Almost the whole last chapter is stuff we may want to do.
What I have cooked:
Chicken with caramelized onion & cardamon rice --- the first time, I did not let it simmer/steam for 50 minutes. Yesterday, I did and found a nice dark, slightly crusty rice on the bottom, which is prized in some cultures.
I prepared both of these for dinner with pita bread to scoop and eat:
Roasted eggplant with fried onion & chopped lemon
Fried cauliflower with tahini (I oven roasted the eggplant instead of frying)
Shakshuka - a variation of eggs in pergatory
Labnam (I finally found a use for the 12-ounce can of goat milk I bought)
Dishes I am intrigued to try sooner than later:
Mejadra
Maqluba
It's always fun to try something new.
Regards,