Reviews In The News: Greek, It's What's For Dinner

by Judi Baxter, PW Daily for Booksellers -- Publishers Weekly, 8/27/2004

As the Olympics winds down, readers can continue to savor the flavor of Greece. With help from cookbook author Susanna Hoffman they can soon be enjoying Classic Shrimp and Tomatoes, Melintzanosalata (Eggplant Caviar) or Potato Salad with Olives, Capers and Caraway. "It's reimagined Greek food," Hoffman says of her book, The Olive and the Caper: Adventures in Greek Cooking (Workman Publishing, $19.95). "There are a lot of the ancient flavors, but not used in ways you would expect."

The cookbook's roots are found in Hoffman's anthropology doctoral manuscript, written after years of study in Greece beginning in the late 1960s. Those studies led to her love affair with Mediterranean cuisine.But her focus changed in 1991, after devastating fires in the hills of Oakland, Calif., destroyed her home--and the finished manuscript.

Years of research, writing, dedication and enthusiasm turned to ash, and with it, any desire to begin again. Hoffman left the Golden State (where she had also been one of the first owners of the legendary Berkeley landmark, Chez Panisse) for her native Colorado, and moved on to other projects.

But friend and fellow cookbook author Victoria Wise finally succeeded in convincing her to rewrite the book, and helped her recreate many of the original recipes. "Hoffman, who divides her time between Telluride, Colo., and the Greek island Santorini, sounds a little like the father played by Michael Constantine in My Big Fat Greek Wedding," writes Janet K. Keeler in the St. Petersburg Times. "Give him a word, and he'll tell you what Greek word it's derived from."

"'I love the word 'aroma,'" Hoffman says. "Most people think of it as perfume. But it's Greek and it means 'the scent of newly plowed earth.'"

In addition to the mouth-watering recipes, Hoffman fills the book with lively essays on village life, origins of Greek food, language, customs, mythology, botany, literature and history, making it a treat not just for cooks but for armchair travelers, too.

Any chef worth her spice rack knows that cooking without garlic is like shopping without credit cards--it can be done, but it just isn't the same. Author Sara Perry promotes this sound belief in Everything Tastes Better With Garlic(Chronicle Books, $18.95). The book features "clear, easy to follow recipes, luscious color photographs...and a theme deserving of a collection," according to Monica Stark writing in January Magazine.

Perry writes in her introduction: "To love garlic, to completely give yourself over to its glory, is to banish all worries about breath and bad odors. Garlic tastes fabulous... Its magic fills your mouth with a fantastic flavor. As for the smell, heck, it's downright perfume. The beauty of garlic is that it can be as sweet and delicate as a first kiss or as lively and lusty as an all-night orgy. It's all in the way it is wooed...Imagine cooking without it. Who would onions play with?"

She begins with basic garlic knowledge--where it comes from and how to tell different types apart. This is followed by Garlic Tips, which deals with buying, storing, handling, preparing (chopped, minced, grated, mashed, sliced, pressed, sautéed, roasted, etc.) and cooking with the stinking rose.

Recipes include appetizers, dips, soups, sandwiches, pizzas, pastas and main courses. For lovers of traditional dishes, there is Spaghetti Aglio E Olio and Forty-Cloves-And-Who's-Counting Chicken; for the more adventurous, Six Cloves Mac and Cheese, Aioli Tuna Melt, or Chilled Cucumber Soup with Garlic and Mint.

"Relax everyone, The Berry Bible, by Janie Hibler (Morrow Cookbooks, $29.95), is neither about Chuck nor Halle," writes Ellen Sweets in The Denver Post. "It's about salmonberries, jostaberries, marionberries and mayhews as well as our dear friends, the blueberry, blackberry, raspberry boysenberry and cranberry."

After a dinner cooked with Greek spices and forty cloves of garlic, a sweet, juicy, delectable berry dessert would make a crowning touch. Hibler offers 175 recipes to choose from, spanning the courses. In addition to tasty offerings such as Morning Glory Muffins with Blackberries, Sautéed Chicken Breast with Blueberry Port and Madame Rose Blan's Crème de Cassis, Hibler shares an A-to-Z encyclopedia with 68-full-color identification photos, berry lore and facts, tips on picking, buying, washing, freezing and measuring berries; how to substitute them in recipes, and how to remove their stains. There is also a magnificent primer on creams--whipped, clotted, crème fraiche, and Double Devon.It all makes for a berry good addition to any cookbook collection.