Modern Flavors of Arabia: Recipes and Memories from My Middle Eastern Kitchen: A Cookbook

I bought this cookbook through another provider but checked Amazon reviews before I made the purchase, so I'm reviewing here. I had high hopes for the cookbook and all the recipes do indeed look delicious, but after trying one out last night, I suspect that the recipes were ghost written or were not all tested before publication. (As the author bills these as her own family recipes, this was really disappointing to me.)

I tried the recipe for stuffed peppers. Whenever I'm trying a new cookbook, I like to follow the recipe very precisely to find out if I can trust the cookbook or not. I followed the directions precisely, even though I was suspicious about the process: The recipe clearly tells you to take rinsed and drained rice, blend it with raw meat and spices, stuff it into bell peppers placed in a dish, pour a spiced tomato puree "all around the peppers", then cover with foil and cook for 45 minutes "until rice is cooked." I was suspicious that the rice would actually cook, not being directly in any kind of liquid, but decided to follow the directions to test out the recipe and therefore the cookbook. Surprise surprise--after 45 minutes, the rice was still nearly raw and completely inedible. I had to scoop the mixture out, ladle in a bunch of the puree, and cook it in a pot in order to have anything to eat for dinner.

Any cookbook that asks you to cook rice not in some kind of liquid can't have been well-tested before publication and certainly can't be the author's tried-and-true family recipes.

I'm a huge fan of Middle Eastern food. I grew up in Wisconsin but we have a very diverse population in Milwaukee with every type of cuisine imaginable here and Mediterranean and Middle Eastern foods are my favorites. If you're already a fan of Middle Eastern food you will definitely like this cookbook. All the usual suspects are in here like hummus, Shawarma, Baklava. What I liked, though, is that there are other recipes in here that I hadn't heard of before. The author is an Arabic woman whose family immigrated to Canada when she was young so the recipes are authentic but also accessible.

The author explains very clearly and gives precise directions so you're not left trying to figure out what to do. Some ethnic cookbooks seem to assume you have knowledge that you don't about ethnic food preparation so it's nice that the author imparts that knowledge to you as well. I do cook quite a bit so I didn't find anything really daunting but if you're a novice cook just starting out you may look at the recipes and think you can't make them. Definitely not so, most of the recipes have very few ingredients (especially if you compare them to many traditional, European recipes) and don't take a huge amount of time. (There are exceptions to this in the book; read the entire recipe through once to figure out if you have the time for it.) The author helps you out quite a bit also in that she tells you what things you can make ahead of time and freeze - there's actually a LOT you can make ahead and freeze which definitely helps out in the entertaining department.

I've made two recipes so far - the one for hummus and the one for tabbouleh because those are my two favorites. Both turned out phenomenal. I'm probably not going to like store bought hummus after this.

The only problem an individual would probably encounter, however, is the ability to obtain many of these ingredients. Many recipes call for standard things any American grocery would carry but there are other specialty items (like Tahini sauce for instance) that may be hard to find if you don't live in an urban area. Milwaukee has several specialty grocery stores like Whole Foods and Middle Eastern groceries that I've found the ingredients in easily but if you live in a rural area in the middle of North Dakota, you're gonna have a problem.

I’ve started a cookbook discussion and dinner party meetup group that meets regularly (1x a month or so) at my apartment in Alexandria,VA to discuss cookbooks and enjoy a shared meal cooked by the members from recipes published in the monthly selected cookbook.

Each year we work our way through an eclectic mix of cookbooks, including time honored classics, rare finds from every corner of the globe, and current up and coming advanced evaluation copies.

For our July cookbook discussion and dinner party, we reviewed Suzanne Husseini's 2012 cookbook Modern Flavors of Arabia (Random House).

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قائمة طعام (Menu)

Halloumi & Feta Cheese Bread Rolls
Labneh Three Ways
Shamandar (Beet Dip)
Hummus
Beet & Purslane Salad with Citrus Dressing
Kofta with Sweet and Sour Cherry Sauce
Roasted Cauliflower with Citrus Tahini Sauce
Lemony Braised Stuffed Vine Leaves
Shish Barak (Lamb Ravioli in Herbed Yogurt Sauce)
A Thousand and One Nights Pistachio Ice Cream
Arabic Shortbread (Ghraybe)
Rice Pudding with Date Compote
Mint tea

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This might be the first time in all of my years of cooking and reviewing cookbooks that I’ve sampled twelve different recipes from a cookbook and found every single one to be on point. I give the beet dip a solid 5 (out of 5) fork rating AND I DON’T EVEN LIKE BEETS. The Kofta were tender and the cherry sauce to accompany them was another highlight of the menu. Oh my gosh, and the cheese rolls, they were amazing. Tender, pillowy, and warm, they hid the perfect little tangy bite of cheese within. The grape leaves were savory and bright with the citrus flavor. Every single dish was hit. Husseini clearly has some kind of culinary magic up her sleeves. And I wasn’t alone in my assessment; Paige was so taken with the shortbread that she lost her capacity for coherent speech and just kept moaning as she nibbled through her serving of cookies.

This is definitely a cookbook that has earned a permanent space on my bookshelves in the kitchen and I urge to you pick up Modern Flavors of Arabia to add to your collection as well.

I have cooked Palestinian/middle eastern dishes for 30 years after marring a Palestinian and I love this cookbook! New recipes or twist on old ones. I love the pictures and everything has came out as expected, delicious!!

I have spent my adult life pursuing the art of Middle Eastern cuisine, especially that from the Levant. My Palestinian mother-in-law helped me most. I believe she would appreciate this new taste of her cooking as much as I . So far each of my two daughters-in-law, and all five of my grandchildren are receiving copies of their own for the holidays from me.

I saw the author on a TV show making one of her recipes, babaganooj salad and just HAD to try it.
It lived up to every expectation and so do the other recipes. Puts a slightly new twist on a lot of old family favorites.

The book is in great condition!!!

The recipes are from her Facebook videos. I can watch her make the item and all the details are in her cookbook. The cookbook reads easily.

It is difficult not to write an insanely enthusiastic review for this arabic cookbook, so, to cool my temper I will take it systematically:

1) Taste: I have cooked about 15 times from the book, 9 recipes in total. Each and every one of them was a great tasting experience, by far superior to what i have eaten in restaurants. Suzanne gives the chance for a complete cullinary experience, as she includes all the steps in recipes, even if it sometimes makes them more labour consuming. But it is worth it. Sometimes she may add a tiny twist to a recipe to make it more moden, which is great because it enhances the taste.

2) Instructions: generally I feel ok with the instructions, i haven't really felt like anything is missing. Generally you do get timing instructions, just not the overall time it takes to prepare the dish. I have never found this to be a problem as I do take my time with these recipes, but i can imagine that if you are used to cooking something in 45mins, you will be surprised that these recipes take much much longer (at least some of them).

2) Book: the way the book is made enhances the cooking experience. The typography is great and every recipe comes with a sharp and expressive picture. This is important because it creates anticipation and puts every recipe in a special light of which you form a mental representation. After all, eating is not just something you do with your mouth, but with your mind as. i really appreciate the care that went into every little detail, including the type of paper chosen. This complete exeprience is what makes it worth buying a cookbook. For information we have the internet, for experiences we stil need a book.

To sum up, this cookbook is a complete and great experience in the world of arabic cooking. I really love it.

wonderful cookbook
i felt like I went to heaven
plan to prepare every single recipe in the book
can not wait
great buyer
our family thanks you so much