Taste Of Beirut

Collects over one hundred and fifty recipes for Lebanese dishes inspired by the author's grandmother, including breads, soups, mezzes, stews, kibbeh, and desserts.

- Easy-to-follow recipes - Beautiful color photography - Anecdotes and tips - Arabic-language edition

The "home" is a quintessentially quotidian topic, yet one at the center of global concerns: Consumption habits, aesthetic preferences, international trade, and state authority all influence the domestic sphere. For middle-class residents of late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century Beirut, these debates took on critical importance. As Beirut was reshaped into a modern city, legal codes and urban projects pressed at the home from without, and imported commodities and new consumption habits transformed it from within. Drawing from rich archives in Arabic, Ottoman, French, and English—from advertisements and catalogues to previously unstudied government documents—A Taste for Home places the middle-class home at the intersection of local and global transformations. Middle-class domesticity took form between changing urbanity, politicization of domesticity, and changing consumption patterns. Transcending class-based aesthetic theories and static notions of "Westernization" alike, this book illuminates the self-representations and the material realities of an emerging middle class. Toufoul Abou-Hodeib offers a cultural history of late Ottoman Beirut that is at once global in the widest sense of the term and local enough to enter the most private of spaces.

Pomegranates and pistachios. Floral waters and cinnamon. Bulgur wheat, lentils, and succulent lamb. These lush flavors of Maureen Abood's childhood, growing up as a Lebanese-American in Michigan, inspired Maureen to launch her award-winning blog, Rose Water & Orange Blossoms. Here she revisits the recipes she was reared on, exploring her heritage through its most-beloved foods and chronicling her riffs on traditional cuisine. Her colorful culinary guides, from grandparents to parents, cousins, and aunts, come alive in her stories like the heady aromas of the dishes passed from their hands to hers. Taking an ingredient-focused approach that makes the most of every season's bounty, Maureen presents more than 100 irresistible recipes that will delight readers with their evocative flavors: Spiced Lamb Kofta Burgers, Avocado Tabbouleh in Little Gems, and Pomegranate Rose Sorbet. Weaved throughout are the stories of Maureen's Lebanese-American upbringing, the path that led her to culinary school and to launch her blog, and life in Harbor Springs, her lakeside Michigan town.

PRESERVING FOOD AND CULTURE THE LEBANESE WAY -- The very best memories connecting us to time and place are often stimulated by the tastes and smells of our childhood. Freshly-baked bread, hot from the oven, sweet homemade jam dribbling down our chins, or the burst of flavor in each dried grape—these memories bring a smile to our faces even as they call to mind the people who made them possible. Do you remember working alongside your grandmother as she lovingly preserved garden-fresh foods to set back for the winter? You watched Jiddo (grandfather) patiently prepare his arak, but could you reproduce his efforts from memory? Are you lucky enough that they kept written records of recipes gleaned from family history and years of experience? If so, count yourself among the very fortunate minority. The reality for many of us is that we no longer enjoy such a strong connection to our culinary roots. As much as we might wish the contrary, the beauty and simplicity of home-preserved pantry items, the mouneh, taken for granted during our childhood, often seems a lifetime away. In Barbara Abdeni Massaad’s book, Mouneh: Preserving Foods for the Lebanese Pantry, we’ve been thrown a lifeline to a piece of our cultural and culinary identity. So many things we would love to recreate for our own families become possible within these pages, thanks to the author’s diligent research, stunning photography, simply presented instructions and delightful stories.

Winner, Gourmand Best in the World (2015) Winner, Best Eastern European Cookbook in US (2014) Silver, Living Now Book Award, Ethnic Cookbooks category (2015) Winner, National Indie Excellence Award, International Cookbooks category (2016) Finalist of Best Book Awards, International Cookbooks category (2016) "...This amazing, extensive, and comprehensive compilation on this ancient culture and cuisine is a must for anyone interested in expanding their culinary repertoire.” — Sheilah Kaufman, Award-Winning Author of The Turkish Cookbook Imagine a country where East and West are beautifully intertwined in the cuisine and culture and where its treasured cooking secrets are waiting to be discovered. Welcome to Azerbaijan. In Pomegranates and Saffron, Feride Buyuran takes you on a delightful culinary journey through this beautiful land in the Caucasus, her birthplace. Explore over 200 tempting recipes for appetizers and salads, soups and stews, pasta, meat, vegetable and egg dishes, breads, saffron rice pilafs, aromatic drinks, and desserts, all adapted for preparation in a Western kitchen. Interspersed throughout the text are fascinating glimpses of local culture and traditional proverbs related to food that will make your adventure even more memorable. Featuring hundreds of stunning photographs of food, people, and landscapes throughout, this book lends a rare peek into the fascinating culture of Azerbaijan—colorful, rich, and diverse.

Middle Eastern food is meant for sharing, and in The Jewelled Table, Bethany Kehdy departs from the common mezze theme to explore the way locals cook, eat and entertain at home. The book and its chapters are ordered in the style one goes about ‘jewelling’ a table in the Middle East, whether for everyday meals or for celebratory feasts, always much inspired by the seasons and the ritual of hospitality. Featuring over 100 ancient and modern recipes – including appetisers, drinks, show-stopping mains, fuss-free sweets and more – and menu plans that take the stress out of entertaining, Bethany illustrates that with a few key ingredients, this is the perfect fit for every occasion. With her signature flair for creative and tantalising flavour combinations, Bethany introduces dishes such as Winter’s tabbouleh, Orange blossom chicken barida, Charred asparagus & dried lime soup and more. This is Middle Eastern food like you’ve never seen it. Set against the backdrop of beautiful location shots, and Bethany’s charming anecdotes with a lens on history, lineage and etymology, The Jewelled Table is an essential cookbook for anyone who loves the flavours of the Middle East.

Originally published in hardcover in 2011.