Who knew that Jewish cooking can have a light touch? Raichlen, like many reformed Jews growing up in Pikesville/Baltimore in the 1950's, lived his Judaism through his foods - soups, mandelech, pirogis, briskets, desserts, flanken, knaidlach, tsimmis, and baklava. But, today, these foods can be done lite. His techniques include bake-frying and grilling, focusing on naturally low fat foods, using egg substitutes, using chicken broth instead of schmaltz, increasing the ratio of vegetables to meats, sauteing with non stick pans, and roasting. His 175 recipes include mock schmaltz made from canola oil, a breakfast sangria (for a Yom Kippur Break Fast) from the Caribbean, Curacaoan hot cocoa, quick bake-fried kreplach, sweet cheese kreplach, sephardic empanadas, baltic pirogi, veggie chopped liver, lowfat chopped chicken liver, a low fat chicken soup, matzo ball soup, hot borscht, Greek egg-lemon matzo soup, sauerkraut soup, salonikan soup, and sorrel schav soup. He includes eleven salads including a two-egg-salad made from eggs and eggplants. Speaking of vegetable dishes, there are fourteen, including a tropical tsimmis, a Jewish Romanian polenta (mamaliga) made with garlic and cinnamon; a basil marinated zucchini dish, and Pesach Spanekopita. Several breads are described, including a honey VANILLA challah, Passover rolls, onion rolls, matzo muffins, and Bukharan steamed buns with cilantro and chives. A Sephardic style scrambled eggs with garlic, paprika, cumin and bell peppers (strapatsata or Tunisian chakchouka) is a standout. In terms of meats, recipes include low fat Israeli spiced turkey cutlets, chicken cutlets with a mushroom stuffing, Syrian style Chicken with eggplant (a new Shepherds Pie); a sweet and sour turkey stuffed cabbage roll; holiday brisket with raisins, grape wine, prunes, and apricots; a Napa Valley style brisket; lamb tagine, and a Three-B's cholent. Five kugel recipes include a carrot apple kugel, and a zucchini kugel. Desserts include zvingous, or Greek Hanukkah fritters that are baked. They became a sensation after being mentioned in 1999 in a NYT Hanukkah recipe. A strudel recipe includes a Greek-Sephardic Pumpkin strudel that is usually eaten at Sukkot (Rodanchas de la Calabaza). Finally, let me add a word on Greg Schneider's photography... great. His picture of assorted low fat blintzes lying atop Hebrew newspapers, corralled by a set of tefillin is worthy of individual sale as a lithograph.

This was a real find of a cookbook. I am looking to expand my repetoire of Jewish recipes and want them to be healthy as well. The introduction is a treat to read as well as the personal entries at the top of each recipe. The recipes I have made thus far have all turned out terrific and inspire me to want to cook more out of this book. I'd eat in this author's kitchen any day!

Once again noted cookbook author, Steve Raichlen has hit a homerun. His adaptations of time honored Jewish comfort foods to suit the modern , healthy life style is phenomonal. Cabbage soup is as good as my bubbe's and it is completely vegetarion. From blintzes to borscht; from chopped liver to chicken fricasse, Raichlen runs the gamut of Jewish cooking perfectly. Add the personal touches of wonderful stories of family feasts, the cookbook is a key to opening the vast storehouse of long held memories that we all share. A must for etnic cooks everywhere.

What makes a credible review of a cook book? Is it enough to read the well written intro material and look at the beautiful pictures? Surely one does not have to prepare all the recipes to get a flavor of the book. I suggest that four recipes constitute an adequate test. Conveniently, I have just finished my third and fourth dish and can honestly say the book lives up to it's title. The food tastes great! I'm a novice cook and found the instructions to be fine. The prep and cook rigor is a little more than I'm used to, but not out of reach. Mr. Raichlen's kitchen must be better equipped than mine (hint: a common four sided grater and a shallow cup will work for the delicious herb spaetzle). A few ingredients are beyond our normal supermarket, but well within a decent gourmet or ethnic shop. These are minor anoyances to be dealt with and worth it. I've been a little reluctant to follow my wife down the low fat road due to bland taste, but this book fully resolves that issue.

This book should be appreciated by anyone who loves to cook, enjoys elegant but simple food and is interested in limiting fat and sugar in their diet. Mr. Raichlen does not sacrifice taste and flavor, and even though the removal of fat usually changes the texture and flavor of a dish, the addition of familiar and unusual herbs and spices more than compensates for the low amout of oil and other fats. Do not skimp on the herbs and spices and do not be put off if some of the ingredients are not in your local supermarket. Making the effort to find the ingredients is well worth it. Recipes are easy to follow with a fair estimate of preparation time. I have been working my way through this book and have yet to be disappointed and my palate is constantly amazed.

My parents have this book and my mother uses it all the time. The food is low fat and really good for you but it tastes like normal food. Actually it tastes better than normal food. I'm taking it with me to college next year, definitely. :)

Steven Raichlen, author of The Barbeque Bible, once again gives an in depth treatment of his chosen subject. In the Carribean Pantry, Raichlen demystifies exotic fruits, vegetables, tubers and spices into laymen terms for the home cook. Proffesionals ,as well, can use this book as an invalueble point of refference.

It's worth buying this book just for the wonderful photographs. Not only is there a complete listing of exotic ingredients such as fruits, vegetables and spices, there is a nice assortment of recipes to choose from. This is definitely one of my favorite Caribbean books. If you like this book, you will love Angela Spenceley's latest book "A Taste of the Caribbean" featuring hundreds of tidbits about exotic fruits, vegetables and other tropical ingredients. This complete A-Z Caribbean cookbook is a valuable addition to any good cookbook library.

I bought this book after some period of inactivity when I just didn't feel like doing anything at all athletic. But this book was definitely a catalyst for changing my life for the better. Through careful research, Dr. Nelson shows that just lifting weights a few times a week helps women increase their metabolism and start losing weight. Well, I didn't follow her diet plan and just started doing some of the arm exercises. But that was enough to motivate me to start working out with videos (by The Firm) at home, and now five months later, I'm working out 5-6 days a week. I've lost weight, but more importantly, I feel stronger and healthier. The diet plan that she describes in this book seems very sound as well. This book is clear, easy to understand, and is not spouting some crazy fad diet which avoids particular food groups. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to start feeling better and more active and needs an easy to follow plan.

I wish I had read this book when I was 30--at that age, I had absolutely no trouble losing all the weight I wanted quickly--and I did it over & over --until I "hit the wall" approaching menopause at 50, packing on pounds (& rolls) over my mid-section that didn't budge even eating 500 calories a day, always tired, struggling to walk up stairs etc.--all because of the loss of muscle that comes with age. The happy news I learned from this book is that with strength training that can all be reversed--and in my case, it was, in less than two months of following this program. It was simple, enjoyable, I could do it any time, at home, with no special equipment but a few pairs of dumbells. Without dieting (but following better eating principles outlined in the book)I lost 20 pounds, doubled the amount of weight I could lift, run up flights of stairs, and no longer need to take a nap in the middle of the day to get through to normal bedtime. My quality of life is so much improved, it's amazing, and I've passed this book to many friends. Highly recommended for every women, but especially those over 40!

This wonderfully written book describes an easy program that will help you gain strength and lose weight. It is similar to the Weight Watchers' program, but the strength training is really the key. For all women, building bone mass and staying healthy and fit will result in a more deeply satisfying life. By following this program, you will achieve your fitness and weight goals easily and quickly (quickly in a healthy sense: 1-2 pound weight loss a week or you may find your weight stays the same and you drop inches and dress sizes). I read it in a weekend. Additionally, the recipes by Steve Raichlen are to die for! Try the San Antonio Slaw, the Mexican Bean Salad and the Mushroom Pate for sure. Mr. Raichlen is three for three.

I didnt really like the book. Some of the reciepes had extra and unnessary ingrediants. Not many pictures. I would look to have seen more pics and easier instructions.

This book has traditional recipes from every country in Latin America. Each recipe explains the techniques used to reduce the fat and calories while retaining the flavor and texture. Nutritional data is provided for each recipe. To make crisp empanadas without deep-fat frying, he "bake-fries" the meat pies in the oven with only a small amount of oil. His healthy guacamole replaces some of the high-fat avocado with tomatillos. To make a healthier flan, he uses lower-fat dairy products. There are incredibly satisfying recipes like Mexican Hot Chocolate, Huevos Rancheros, Roast Pork, Beef Fajitas, Roasted Spiced Chicken, and Nicaraguan Tres Leches Cake. This is a great book to combine the fantastic flavors of traditional Latin food with contemporary methods for healthy, convenient cooking.

This book is great! I just started using it a few days ago, but I've already made some great, traditional recipes. The book cuts the fat/calories way down on traditional recipes such as ropa vieja, tres leches, and more. I'm a disaster in the kitchen, but I've been able to make homemade tortilla chips and plantain chips, as well as homemade salsa and a yummy chicken-lime soup. This book has healthy recipes that are easy to follow.

I love this cookbook -- it is beautiful and realistic. Tamales, enchiladas, sopa pias and even chips are transformed tastily. This food is simply low fat, there is no skimping on salt or seasonings. The recipes are also flexible == you can add or detract naughty items like cheese and lard. The soups are SPLENDID, and the book is worth buying for the chicken and lime soup recipe.

My only negative comment would be that some of the ingredients are hard to come by, particularly the mexican cheeses and latin style chocolate. And I live in New Mexico!

This is not Steven's best book, but it is a good addition to any serious grill cooks library. Some of the recipes are quite tasty! I'll never put another bird on a rotisserie now that I know how much better they taste when they are cooked on a beer-can. This cooking technique is the secret to the best tasting chicken.

I became interested in this book after watching the TV show BBQ Bootcamp on the Food Network (try to watch that show if you can, it will help you understand the logic behind the recipes). Now that I have the book and have tried some of the unusual easy recipes I am more pleased than ever. The Beer Can Chicken alone may be the best chicken I've ever had. It's extra juicy and a little spicier than I would have expected but VERY GOOD.

As a long-time fan of basic "beer-can chicken", I was intrigued by this book and bought it for my husband. Its terrifically original, with lots of unique recipes and variations on the "beer can chicken" theme. (Including recipes for roasting a turkey on a Foster's can and quail on little bitty cans). If you're looking for new and interesting ways to grill, this is a great book.