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

This is another landmark cookbook by Sonia Uvezian, 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 just to most of us in the West 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 food. Uvezian's engaging narrative is threaded throughout with handsome period illustrations of 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 ever done resulted from this wonderful book. I am so impressed with Recipes and Remembrances from an Eastern Mediterranean Kitchen that I have purchased several copies as gifts for friends and relatives. 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.

With precise recipes like these, you don't need colour shots (22/23 people found this helpful)

This is an absolutely first-rate cookbook that provides a wide spectrum of authentic and easy-to-follow recipes that make use of healthful and readily available ingredients. Both the narrative and illustrations are fascinating, and there are also some wonderful menu suggestions.

The comments in the 19 December 2002 review are wholly unjustified. Beautiful colour photos are nice, but they aren't really important. I have often found that the more colour photos in a cookbook, the more suspect the quality of the recipes. Because the recipes in this book are so clearly written, colour shots of the dishes are entirely unnecessary. They would have jacked up the price significantly and would be a waste of money. The many stunning black and white historical illustrations, which cost far less, contribute greatly to the work's uniqueness. Fortunately, this publisher had the good sense to put its money into the text and recipes and didn't squander its resources; otherwise the result would have been a book with far fewer recipes, which would ultimately have been of much less value to a serious cook. Regarding the American measurements, I personally have no problem with them and find them to be very convenient.

...If you want a truly outstanding cookbook that is the best in its subject area, "Recipes and Remembrances from an Eastern Mediterranean Kitchen" is unquestionably the one and only choice.

A cookbook without pictures (13/28 people found this helpful)

I enjoy cookbooks that use beautiful colour shots to tempt me to try new dishes - and which give me an idea of what I am aiming for the dish to look like (if all goes well). This book has no photos of dishes. The book is a disappointment for that reason. Also note that this cookbook follows the (to me) curious American practice of giving quantities in "cups" rather than by weight (for solids) and volume (for liquids).

Worth its weight in gold (24/27 people found this helpful)

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 humour 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.

Extraordinary! A great find! (11/12 people found this helpful)

This authoritative and scrupulously researched volume by one of America's most gifted food writers features illuminating text and a profusion of splendid recipes, many of them not found elsewhere. Uvezian's "Recipes and Remembrances" is the first cookbook to document the enormous contributions British writers (both past and present) who lived or travelled in the Levant have made to help us better understand the region's cuisine and culture. It is worth owning this remarkable book for that reason alone.

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

Sonia Uvezian

Reader Reviews:

A culinary milestone–brilliant, comprehensive, indispensable (37/37 people found this helpful)

With precise recipes like these, you don't need colour shots (22/23 people found this helpful)

A cookbook without pictures (13/28 people found this helpful)

Worth its weight in gold (24/27 people found this helpful)

Extraordinary! A great find! (11/12 people found this helpful)

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