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LIKES:* INTRODUCTION: For me, the single biggest joy of this book is the in-depth introduction to Georgian history, geography, and culture. Personally, I don't mind unpolished free-form historical recipes that omit helpful things like the optimum size/shape of vegetable dice (and meat fabrication), size/type of pan, suggested cooking times, optimal sequencing of steps, comforting photos, and tips on making ahead or leftovers management. such as "Salt" (is it fine table salt, medium salt, or coarse salt )., yeast (baker's. and those who will go on making the recipe after you are gone. She also spends a little time covering things like `feast' etiquette, and hospitality, that many Westerners will find interesting.MINOR NITS:* UNPOLISHED RECIPES: The author does an excellent job relating historical and cultural tidbits, but her recipe documentation skills are a bit uneven and unpolished. something I wish more authors would attempt, but which all too often is limited to only the most capable, motivated, and historically erudite authors, few of whom bother to turn their attentions to the culinary genre. To me, a recipe is a participatory story in which you commune with those who created and enjoyed the recipe before you. For example, the recipe for "Cold Jellied Pork" on p.96, the authoress indicates the use of pigs feet and a little pork shoulder, but in deference to modern sensibilities, calls for the feet to be discarded after simmering (prior to straining and reducing the stock to a jelly into which the meat is set).
Not the State of Georgia in the Southeastern United States, mind you, but rather THE GEORGIA, as in the (formerly Soviet) Republic of Georgia, which spans the lands between the Black and Caspian seas, north of Turkey, and South of Russia. walking a meandering line between antique/rustic, and (in a few places) modern. However, those who DO feel a strong need for such things may be disappointed by their absence. I'm pretty certain, sight unseen, that period recipes would likely have called for the feet to be simply deboned and coarsely chopped along with the shoulder, rather than discarded. such waste is only common to modern cuisine.* MINOR ERRORS: Minor errors abound - such as the yeast bread on p.138 that appears to call for too much yeast.* IMPRECISE TERMINOLOGY: In addition to the frequent lack of things like dice size, the author sometimes uses terms in a somewhat vague fashion. * MINOR NON-AUTHENTIC SLIPS: The author does a fine job in most of the book giving slightly modernized adaptation of authentic recipes.
The 25 page introduction and 57 page cultural excursion chapters are gems, and are worth the cover price of the book, all by themselves.* HEAD NOTES: Many of the recipes in part 2 also include indepth and informative head notes on the ethnic origin and cultural contexts of a given recipe, sometimes replete with cultural vignettes and famous quotes. instant rise ). * ETHNIC BREADTH: The author covers a wide smattering of the styles present in the cuisine. The veritable crossroads of the ancient world, through which much of the trade between Europe, Greece, Rome, Russia, India, the Mid East, and China flowed. In this case, we are blessed with a Russian Professor who labored to assemble an engrossing overview of Georgian feast cuisine.
grilled fare, pilafs, stews, salads, pickles, soups, desserts, and goes to considerable effort to identify the ethnic and geographical origins behind selections from each. The helpful introductory chapter on ingredients covers some (but not all) of these, but the editor could and should have clarified the recipes on such points.All in all, I was very happy with this book, and I'm looking forward to exploring some flavors and techniques that are a bit new to me (walnut sauces, pomegranate juice, etc).Despite the lack of polish in the recipe section, I highly recommend this book for the culinarily inquisitive who like to cook exploratively, without the comforting training wheels of precise measures and photos. or "Dried Fenugreek", the latter of which the reader must hunt around to confirm that it refers to dried ground leaves, not dried ground seeds. Book: "The Georgian Feast", by Darra GoldsteinWinner of the IACP Book of the Year for 1999, Professor Darra Goldstein's "The Georgian Feast" offers English speaking Westerners an interesting and well researched peek at the cuisine of the Georgia. Again, something I wish more authors would include.
However, in several instances, some recipes are over modernized, to their detriment.
Not good if you REALLY want the real thing. Goldstein's substitutions of less authentic ingredients as some ingredients in the "real" dish are hard to find. Perhaps it is Ms. (Her "adjika" is REALLY bad/wrong for instance.).OK book if you want an idea of what Georgian cuisine is like. This is an ok effort by Ms. Goldstein but unfortunately the recipes don't quite result in the amazing flavors that Georgian cuisine is known for. Perhaps it is something else.
Once in Georgia, the book was an invaluable reference that I constantly turned to whenever I tried something new. Other dishes we have tried and like include tomato soup with walnuts and vermicelli (p. Pkhali was one of my favorite dishes in Georgia, and I'm glad to have the recipe for when I get around to making it myself. This book also helped me learn the correct Georgian names for the dishes and many of the ingredients. 172), and it was delectable.
Most importantly, as the other reviewers say, the recipes *work*. 73) and green beans with egg (p. For the few recipes that seem to be missing from this book, like eggplant with walnut paste, try Please to the Table: The Russian Cookbook, another excellent collection of delicious recipes from all the former Soviet republics. There is a recipe for beets with cherry sauce, a dish a travel companion had tried but that even some of our Georgian hosts weren't familiar with. _The Georgian Feast_ is well worth having even if you don't eat meat - many of the recipes are completely vegetarian. With its charming photos of representative paintings scattered generously throughout its pages, it also made me a Pirosmani fan, and better able to appreciate the originals when I saw them for myself. I tried some of the recipes before leaving for Georgia in summer 2006, and they were great, and gave me a good idea of what to expect.
Just about *everything* I had is in here, along with many things I didn't get around to sampling. We just made the potato salad with walnut paste (p. This book is a real treasure. This is a marvelous, utterly authentic encyclopedia of Georgian cooking. A significant portion of the book is devoted to providing cultural background on Georgia and Georgian food, such the elaborate rules for a _tamada_, or Georgian toastmaster. 130).
I think the author of the wikipedia article might have meant safflower (marigold) instead of saffron though, so I didn't add that. The wikipedia article on khmeli suneli has additional ingredients that can be added to the recipe. I've already written a review of this great book. I have only one suggestion: the basic khmeli suneli recipe can be augmented further to reach the authentic smell and taste. I tried that, about 2 teaspoons of each ingredient that's not already in Darra's recipe (less for black and chili pepper), and it came closer to the authentic smell and taste.
More than just a recipe book, this is also an exploration into the rich history and culture of Georgia, and how the history shaped the cuisine. For vegetarians, Georgians have plenty of healthful and filling ways to prepare veggies and beans, and also some mouth watering sauces that will enliven any dish (veg or not).I enjoy this book both as a cook book, and as a historical book. As someone who was born and grew up in Tbilisi, I was very happy to find this book -- it captures all of my favorite recipes, and when I prepare them according to this book, they taste just like my grandma's cooking. I suggest this book to everyone who would like to add some interesting preparations to their cooking.
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