From Booklist
Those who recall Beirut's heyday before the Lebanese civil war brought it all crashing down speak fondly of the city's lively beaches, its cosmopolitan atmosphere, and the multiple culinary traditions intersecting at the Mediterranean's eastern shore. Arabs, the French, Armenians, and Maronite Christians contributed to the melting pot that was Beirut. Uvezian grew up in the city's halcyon years, and she has re-created the recipes for foods she so happily recalls. Spices play a major role in Lebanese cooking; cinnamon and allspice add fragrance to both meats and vegetables. Lamb is the meat of choice, but beef makes a good substitute. Pork appears only in Maronite dishes. Vegetables come to the table lukewarm, reflecting a pan-Mediterranean tradition as well as sparing the cook exertion during the heat of the day. Those wanting to reproduce Uvezian's recipes may find some staples such as pomegranate molasses hard to find, but most ingredients appear in large supermarkets. Mark Knoblauch


Rosemary Butler-Cole, The Times Literary Supplement (London), March 16, 2001
"This handsomely produced and well-illustrated book...puts the cuisine in the context of the culture... Lyrical...evocative...practical."


Alan Davidson (author of The Oxford Companion to Food), Petits Propos Culinaires 64, April, 2000
"Uvezian has...an enviable reputation...Her new book...is quite irresistible...an exciting journey...one could wish no better guide."


Mick Vann, The Austin Chronicle, November 26, 1999
"...could very well be the seminal work on the cooking of the eastern Mediterranean...Entertaining...informative... incredibly delicious food."


Midwest Book Review, November, 1999
"This highly original cookbook...offers a complete spectrum of culinary delights."


Aramco World, March/April, 2000
"Important and valuable...full of informative short essays as well as hundreds of recipes that readers have praised very highly."


Ginger Johnston, The Portland Oregonian, December 11, 2001
A wondrous addition to any cook's library...incredible research...as much a history book as a cookbook.


Book Description
This culinary milestone has been hailed as a masterpiece, a classic, and the first and last word on eastern Mediterranean cooking. A welcome blend of scholarship and entertaining reading, this revelatory work features a wide range of authentic, clearly written recipes, many personal reminiscences, impressive culinary history, valuable information on ingredients, meals, and traditions, stunning period illustrations, and much more.


From the Publisher
From The Siamanto Press ABOUT THE RECIPES: The imaginative use of spices, herbs, and other flavorings, fresh vegetables and fruits, dried legumes, grains, and yogurt highlights all manner of dishes ranging from earthy to elegant, many of them not found elsewhere. You will find sensational dips (Hummus with Mixed Spices, Toasted Nuts, and Mint; Muhammara with Tahini; Yogurt Cheese Dip with Red Pepper Paste; Feta and Yogurt Cheese Dip with Za'atar); colorful salads redolent of their sun-drenched origins (Tomato, Cucumber, and Green Pepper Salad with Walnut Dressing; Fattush; Orange, Lemon, and Onion Salad); soul-satisfying soups (Lentil Soup with Swiss Chard and Potatoes; Meat Soup with Pumpkin, Quince, Apricots, and Prunes); inspired seafood, poultry, and meat dishes (Baked Fish with Tomato Sauce Garnished with Sautéed Pine Nuts, Raisins, and Onions; Chicken, Green Pepper, and Tomato Kebabs; Musakhan; Duck with Quinces and Pomegranate Sauce; Ground Meat Kebabs with Sour Cherry Sauce; Grilled Stuffed Kibbeh); hearty and nourishing grain and pasta dishes (Chicken and Freek with Tomatoes; Lamb, Eggplant, and Saffron Rice Mold; Bulgur Pilaf with Dried Fruits and Nuts; Meat Dumplings in Yogurt); tempting vegetable and fruit dishes (Red Cabbage with Quince or Apple; Stuffed Chard Leaves; Dandelion Greens in Olive Oil; Meat-Stuffed Prunes with Oranges); vibrant sauces (Tahini Sauce with Toasted Nuts, Mixed Spices, and Herbs; Garlic Yogurt Sauce; Pomegranate Sauce with Garlic and Mint; Sour Plum Sauce with Ginger and Mint); time-honored breads and savory pastries (Sesame Pita Bread, Za'atar Bread, Mountain Bread, Lahm bi Ajeen; Fatayer, Sambusak); unusual sandwiches and snacks made with mountain bread and pita (Flatbreads Stuffed with Spiced Ground Meat, Red Pepper Paste Pizza with Pomegranate); and more than thirty irresistible desserts.


About the Author
Sonia Uvezian was born and brought up in Beirut, Lebanon, the gastronomic capital of the Middle East. Winner of a James Beard Award, she is the author of six other highly original cookbooks, including The Cuisine of Armenia and The Book of Yogurt. Several of her books have been Book-of-the-Month Club selections and published internationally. Ms. Uvezian has also contributed articles and recipes to Gourmet, Bon Appétit, Vogue, and numerous other publications.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

This culinary milestone has been hailed as a masterpiece, a classic, and the first and last word on eastern Mediterranean cooking. A welcome blend of scholarship and entertaining reading, this revelatory work features a wide range of authentic, clearly written recipes, many personal reminiscences, impressive culinary history, valuable information on ingredients, meals, and traditions, stunning period illustrations, and much more.

SYNOPSIS

Located in the very heart of the eastern Mediterranean, Syria, Lebanon,and Jordan have provided the world with what is considered by many to be Arab food at its best. In this landmark, one-of-a-kind volume Sonia Uvezian gives this time-honored cuisine the kind of treatment it truly deserves. Recipes and Remembrances from an Eastern Mediterranean Kitchen is a revelatory work rich in personal reminiscences, insightful quotations, anecdotes, and proverbs, valuable information on ingredients, utensils, daily meals, and traditions, and evocative period illustrations.

Sonia Uvezian's many memories and associations establish a sense of place and emotional pull rarely encountered in Middle Eastern culinary literature. The "eastern Mediterranean kitchen" in the title is actually that of her family's summer home in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon's fertile agricultural and winemaking region, as well as the one in their Beirut apartment. It is where the Uvezians prepared the food they grew themselves or bought from nearby farms, orchanrds, and markets.

Written by a leading authority on Middle Eastern and Caucasian cooking and over two decades in the making, this is a fascinating and highly original book imbued with a keen historical perspective and a deep respect for the region's cultural heritage. Few cookbook authors have approached their subjects with the thorough, painstaking research reflected in this work. A profound understanding of eastern Mediterranean food shines through in its hundreds of superb, clearly written recipes, which are often preceded by illuminating introductory remarks. From the definitive and much-needed section on pomegranates and pomegranate molasses through the fabulous chapters on desserts and beverages, this book provides indispensable reading for anyone interested in the cookery and culture of Syria, Lebanon,and Jordan. Like the author's groundbreaking classics, The Cuisine of Armenia and Cooking from the Caucasus, which were among the first to bring Middle Eastern and Caucasuan cooking to America, it is long on such traditional dishes as tabbuleh and baklava but also includes innovations, among them Damascus-Style Cheese Dip with Toasted Sesame Seeds and Nigella and Grilled Quail with Sour Cherry Sauce.

Timeless and timely, Recipes and Remembrances from an Eastern Mediterranean Kitchen is a welcome blend of outstanding scholarship and entertaining reading. A genuine contribution to culinary literature, it will be a treasured addition to the library of anyone interested in Middle Eastern cooking and is destined to become a classic.

FROM THE CRITICS

Alan Davidson - author of The Oxford Companion to Food, in Petits Propos Culinaires, April, 2000

The author, originally from Lebanon, has already acquired an enviable reputation for good writing on food (for example The Cuisine of Armenia...). With this new book...she has climbed several rungs higher on the ladder of excellence. Drawing on her recollections of food in the Eastern Mediterranean, and digging deep into the extensive literature of travellers in the region, she has produced a book which I have found quite irresistible. There is a wealth of recipes, skillfully embedded in their historical contexts. The illustrations (many of the 19th century) are evocative and the quotations from a wide variety of sources constitute one of the best collections I have ever seen in a book about food. The sub-title is "A Journey through Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan": an exciting journey and one for which one could wish no better guide.

Aramco World - March/April, 2000

This is an important and valuable addition to the Middle Eastern cooking shelf, full of informative short essays on such topics as "hospitality" and "pomegranate molasses" as well as hundreds of recipes that readers have praised very highly. But it is the anecdotes, proverbs, quotations from old travel accounts and, above all, the author's commentary that account for the nostalgic charm that may be this book's greatest virtue.

Rosemary Butler-Cole - The Times Literary Supplement (London), March 16, 2001

A leisurely feel prevails throughout this evocative book, which puts the cuisine in the context of the culture, and at the same time gives...simple and straightforward...recipes demonstrating the variety and richness of the ingredients...Handsomely produced and well illustrated...lyrical...practical...covers every aspect of the cuisine.

Ginger Johnston - The Portland Oregonian, December 11, 2001

The incredible research that has gone into his book by well-known author Sonia Uvezian makes it as much a history book as a cookbook. Of her six other major books, "The Cuisine of Armenia" is my favorite, and I have cooked many recipes from it. This new one...is a wondrous addition to any cook's library....But if you don't cook a single dish...the stories behind the dishes, their variations, food history, explanations, little sayings and black-and-white images...make this a wonderful gift as well as adding to your personal knowledge of world cuisines.

Austin Chronicle