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The Arab Table: Recipes and Culinary Traditions

by May S Bsisu

The Arab Table: Recipes and Culinary Traditions Cover

ISBN13: 9780060586140
ISBN10: 0060586141
Condition: Standard
Dustjacket: Standard
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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

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-, and cream-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.

Review:

"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 Sauted 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)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Synopsis:

Experience the vibrant flavors and foods of the Arab world, in this fascinating compendium of 175 easy-to-make recipes. Informative and inspiring, "The Arab Table" provides a glimpse into the essential aspects of this rich culture. 32-page color insert.

About the Author

May Shakhashir Bsisu is a resident of Cincinnati, Ohio. May has lived, eaten, and cooked in many parts of the world; however, paramount in her cooking, writing, and teaching is the authentic "old country" food of her Palestinian heritage. Today, both as a culinary professional and as an Arab-American woman, she has dedicated herself to preserving and teaching this healthful and delicious cuisine in the United States. She is a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, Women Chefs & Restaurateurs, and Chefs Collaborative.

What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 1 comment:

The Fuzzy Chef, January 5, 2010 (view all comments by The Fuzzy Chef)
I was first sent a xeroxed recipe from this cookbook by an online friend. I'd told them that I had more oregano than I new what to do with, and they sent me recipes for oregano salad and oregano biscuits. I made both, and they were great. Next Hanukkah, my sweetie got me a copy of the book.

Far too many of us Americans are used to thinking of Arabic food as Lebanese fast food: felafel, schwarma and hummus. But the Arab world has a rich and diverse food tradition, going back to the early middle ages when Damascus was the center of civilization and Paris was a huddle of unwashed barbarians. Ms. Bsisu explores this tradition, giving us dozens of interesting recipes from Syria, Iraq, Arabia, Jordan, and a few other places.

To date, I've made the oregano salad, oregano biscuits, Tbisi-style red snapper, fish kibbeh, and zucchini-garlic dip meze. All of them were good, and offered flavors which were distinctively Arabic. If the recipe book has faults, it's that the recipes assume that the cook is experienced, and has time to make or purchase regional ingredients, spice mixes, and specialty seasonings. Most recipes calling for hard-to-obtain items like dried limes do not offer substitutes.

The book offers an extensive glossary and commentary on Arab cooking in general. It's full of information and cooking tips in callouts, and colorful reminiscing in the prefaces to many recipes. Also, the attractive cover and well-designed layout make it a good book for gift-giving.

I have only a few middle eastern cookbooks: Paula Wolfert's Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean, Middle Eastern Street Food, an Israeli cookbook, and this one. If you are building out your library of ethnic cookbooks, I think you will find The Arab Table indispensible, as I do.

This review with picture available at: http://www.fuzzychef.org
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No

Product Details

ISBN:
9780060586140
Author:
Bsisu, May S
Publisher:
William Morrow & Company
Author:
Bsisu, May
Author:
Bsisu, May S.
Author:
by May Bsisu
Subject:
Cookery, arab
Subject:
Regional & Ethnic - International
Subject:
Regional & Ethnic - Middle Eastern
Subject:
Middle Eastern
Subject:
Cooking and Food-Middle Eastern
Copyright:
Edition Description:
Hardcover
Publication Date:
20050931
Binding:
HARDCOVER
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Y
Pages:
384
Dimensions:
10 x 8 x 1.21 in 38.24 oz

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The Arab Table: Recipes and Culinary Traditions Used Hardcover
0 stars - 0 reviews
$21.00 In Stock
Product details 384 pages Morrow Cookbooks - English 9780060586140 Reviews:
"Publishers Weekly Review" by , "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 Sauted 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)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
"Synopsis" by , Experience the vibrant flavors and foods of the Arab world, in this fascinating compendium of 175 easy-to-make recipes. Informative and inspiring, "The Arab Table" provides a glimpse into the essential aspects of this rich culture. 32-page color insert.

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