The Foods and Wines of Spain by Penelope Casas Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Foods and Wines of Spain
Book Review: Easily adaptable traditional recipes.
Summary: 5 Stars
I regularly travel to Spain on business and was curious to find a book that would give me the opportunities to replicate some of the delicious meals I eat there. By chance I picked up this book on Amazon.com, in part based on the reviews I read. Though the book is not one of those large beautifully photgraphed coffee table cookbooks, it is every bit as intriguing. The book is easily readable and many recipes have been adapted to ingredients found in the US. I have successfully tried at least a dozen recipes of varying degrees of difficulty. All of them were successful. During one of my visits, I noted that a restaurant in Madrid was serving one of the dishes I had tried previously at home. Curious to see how my dish compared to that prepared in Spain, I ordered the dish. To my amazement I actually preferred the recipe provided by Penelope Casas! My only criticism is that the recipes for paella are very limited and I have had to improvise a bit when making my own, but otherwise this is an excellent and useful book.Book Review: Great Gift
Summary: 5 Stars
My husband is very fond of authentic Spanish cuisine. Since it was more economical than a trip to Spain I purchased this book for his last birthday. A year has gone by, but it may have been the most successful birthday gift I have ever given to him. He now enthusiastically makes dinners for me several times a month just so he can keep trying out new recipes! The food (and the generosity of my husband) is wonderful. Most of the recipes in the book can be made with ingredients that you have on hand anyway and the results are well worth it. Check out the recipes for Garlic Chicken, Spanish Tortilla and Veal Extremena and see for yourself.Book Review: Exhaustive research and recipes that work
Summary: 5 Stars
The great virtue of this book is its down-to-earth simplicity; you probably have the ingredients in your fridge and cupboards right now to make 60-70% of the recipes. What a relief, after putting up with the needs of many of today's slick cookbooks, e.g., flipping through a recent "simple" cookbook of a star chef in NYC, I discover I need 3 vanilla beans, fresh chervil, and grapeseed oil. Huh? Who the heck has the time to track this stuff down, let alone use it again in the next 3 years? Ms. Casas has obviously been very careful to anticipate such problems; everything seems to have been tried over and over with the average US kitchen in mind. And amazingly, the dishes still turn out exotic and "Spanish." I have no ability to vouch for authenticity, but who cares; the bottom line is that these recipes work and are absolutely delicious.
I also appreciate the suggested accompanying vegetables and wine. Two favorite main courses: Rice and Chicken, Chicken with Pine Nuts.
In addition to the above virtues, Ms. Casas gives a straight-forward history for each of the recipes, giving context and conveying a keen intelligence and quiet passion that leave the reader wanting to try every single one of these dishes. The research is complete and stunning. There is no hype or filler. This book is a keeper.
Book Review: A Spanish classic, by fermed
Summary: 5 Stars
In 1982 Penelope Casas published the finest book of Spanish cookery ever. It is now in its 11th printing. Although she has written other books on the cuisines of Spain, "The Foods and Wines of Spain" has biblical standing among cooks. For her culinary expertise she has been honored by the government of Spain, but more importantly, she had built a following of gastronomes of all stripes who swear by her recipes. Their authenticity is never in question: she is an indefatigable researcher who goes back to the kitchen and discusses things with the local artists and then includes those recipes and techniques in her book. If a few of the dishes don't taste exactly as they did in Spain it is because not all the ingredients are available here. Still, Ms. Casas gives advice about reasonable substitutes, and now that serrano ham and some chorizos are allowed to be imported, such substitutions can be kept to a minimum.The book contains not one but two recipes for garlic soup, simple to make by even beginning cooks, and highly addictive. The "arroz a banda" described is one of the more subtle and satisfying of the rice dishes; and of course there is the paella (about which Ms. Casas has written a separate book). In this volume its recipe appears a bit intimidating, but it is essentially easy to prepare if one does not think too much about it beforehand.
For those cooks who need exact formulas and pharmacy-like precision in their ingredients, this book will please them. For those who are relativists with active imaginations, the book will also satisfy by pointing them in the right direction: pork chops with prunes, duck with olives in sherry sauce, baked porgy and peppers with brandy, chicken with figs. Yum.
Book Review: These receipes are authentic, delicious, and easily made!
Summary: 5 Stars
The receipes are easy to prepare, require a minimum of ingredients and are not time consuming. Each receipe has been a hit with our family. We lived in Andalucia next to our exchange student's family, and these receipes rival Mama Rosa's cooking! Delicious!