Review by Booklist Review
The foods of Lebanon rank among the Middle East's greatest cultural treasures. Sageer has promoted Lebanese cuisine on public television so winsomely that she's become recognizable to her audiences as Julie Taboulie, after Lebanon's justifiably renowned bulgur wheat-and-parsley salad. In support of her new PBS series (Cooking with Julie Taboulie), Sageer documents dozens of recipes from broadcasts in this new volume. Step-by-step photographs lead cooks through the techniques of producing kibbe, those little footballs of cracked wheat and lamb studded with pine nuts that are Lebanon's national dish. Both stuffed grape leaves and cabbage leaves make great party foods. She offers so many vegetable dishes that vegans will find more than enough satisfaction. Lebanon produces a liqueur flavored with anise and she explains how to serve it properly. A glossary of unique Lebanese cooking terms and a directory of sources for ingredients make the book more accessible.--Knoblauch, Mark Copyright 2017 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Sageer so loved her mother's lemony tabbouleh salad as a child in upstate New York that she earned the nickname "Julie Taboulie," a moniker she uses on her PBS cooking shows. She evokes that memory and many others in this collection of recipes for Lebanese foods, from familiar hummus (presented with a handful of variations) to surprises such as panfried patties made with chickpeas, potatoes, and bulgur; a yogurt soup with lamb dumplings; and pickled baby eggplant stuffed with peppers. Sageer's outlook is encouraging, but occasionally she falters on logistics. A narrow-diameter dowel-style rolling pin is recommended or required or both, but she never explains why. There are two almost identical recipes for chicken shawarma, one with spices listed and another with a spice mix cross-referenced. But despite these missteps, there are enough fresh ideas to make the volume worthwhile. A clever technique extracts every drop of flavor from onions that are caramelized until they are almost black for lentil and rice mujadrah. Lamb pastries from the town of Ba'albek combine lamb, pine nuts, and pomegranate molasses. A glossary covers ingredients and equipment and then suggests retail sources, including the author's own website. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
