[nancya]

My new books are here!!!

Wahoo. They look great and I have many winter evenings of interesting cookbook reading ahead of me.

But, they also sent the new catalog and oh the temptations. I just knew this would be a mistake for my budget.

It has the Sweet Kitchen which Isa recommended.

Professional Baking -- but I may be judging the book by the cover which appears to be a lovely ganache...

Pudding A to Z looks kind of interesting.

Sweet Miniatures...I remember someone here liked it.

Edible gifts looks kind of cool. I like to give homemade food gifts.

Heavenly Chocolate by Linda Collister looks yummy.

and I've been reading so much Greek cooking on Papa's website that I am considering -

Foods of the Greek Islands [Aglaia Kremezi]

or

The Glorious Foods of Greece [Diane Kochilas]

I guess this is the start of my new wish list. Will happily listen to comments.

 

[isa]

It's torture every month or so Nancy. All those books just waiting for you.

Don't hesitate, get In The Sweet Kitchen it has a lot more technical information than Professional Baking. You already know how much I love that book so I won't go on and on again.

I love making miniature pastries, I find it very zen. As crazy as it sounds it really relaxes me. When I heard about Sweet Miniatures I couldn’t wait to get it. It was such a disappointment. In one recipe, she will go from cups to ounces than to grams. Part of a recipe will be given in grams and the other in ounces. It's hard to follow a recipe when you have to constantly adjust to new measurement.

These last few days, I’ve been giving a lot of thought to miniature and realised that my favourites miniature are based on recipes I shrank myself or simply invented.

 

[nancya]

Thank you for your insights...as usual, you are much help.

Of the books I have received so far, I think I am liking The Professional Chef best. It is, however, also the one I have read the most of, so the others may get top billing later. I am enjoying the theory and seeing cooking through different eyes. I must admit to a fit of giggling when I read how to boil potatoes, however.

I was at first disappointed in the 12 seasons. Many of the recipes have ingredients which it will be simply impossible to find here. However, as I read more and began to understand Portale's ideas, I liked it more and more. One thing I learned from our friend Emeril is how to substitute. Most of the time I treat recipes as jumping off points rather than destinations anyway.

I have dreamed of having a little coffee shop that also happened to sell cookbooks and gardening books and hand thrown pottery coffee mugs. Anyone want to finance me?

 

[zorba the greek]

Dear Nancy,

If I was forced to choose one of the two books you mentioned about Greek cooking I would definetely choose Aglaia Kremezi's book.

She knows about Greek cuisine and her recipes are relatively to other books correct.

This was a personal opinion of course.

 

[isa]

I'm so glad you're enjoying your new books and can't wait to hear more about them!

 

[nancya]

Thanks for the input Zorba. Tell me, it you weren't forced to choose between those two books, what would you get?

 

[athenaeus]

Both of them propose "Kitchen for Tourists" and not for normal people...
Very insulting for the Greek Cuisine.
I wonder for how long journalists would think that they have the right to write books on everything...

 

[zorba the greek]

I think that I will agree on that with Athenaeus.
That's why I said that I would choose one only if I was forced to.
There is another one that Athenaeus or Papa must be well aware of that has to do with Greek Kitchen and Olive Oil.
I saw it in a bookstore in my last visit to Athens.
A Cretan is the writer because I remember that his name was an -akis like!
Any ideas guys?

 

[w.debord]

Isa, do you own 'Sweet Miniatures' by Flo Braker? It the best all mini. pastry books I've seen. I've made a couple items.....sometimes it's a bit more complicated reading then the reality but all and all it's a pretty solid book. Her viennese triangles are on my list of regular recipes, I adore them!

 

[isa]

Sorry Nancy, it didn’t come out as intended. I was putting finishing touch to the post when my computer crashed. Didn’t think it would post the unfinished message.

Yes I do own Sweet Miniatures, you’ll find my comments on the book a few post above. I don’t understand how such a problem could be missed. Maybe I’m just making a big deal for not much. Guess the important is that the recipes works.

I made a few recipes, used a few as part of my miniature desserts last Christmas. I know I made the Dutch Chocolate Minicakes and the pistachio buttons without the apricots.


What recipes have you tried?

 

[nancya]

Thanks for the input Atheneaus and Zorba. That's what I'm asking. If those aren't good books about Greek cooking, what are some good ones I might check out?

 

[athenaeus]

Nancy
I will check on that because I have in mind some cookbooks that worth to owe but I don't know if they are available in the on line bookstores.
The one Zorbas is mentioning it must be Nikos and Maria Psyllakis, the Civilization of Olive OIl.
Excellent book, I mean EXCELLENT because in there you can find anything you want to know about Olive OIl and it contains 200 different recipes all of them very tastefull and healthy!