The Art of Cooking with Style
By Efrat Libfroind
Feldheim Publishers, 2011, 252 pages
ISBN: 978-1-59826-762-4
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Kosher Elegance The Art of Cooking with Style By Efrat Libfroind Feldheim Publishers, 2011, 252 pages ISBN: 978-1-59826-762-4 |
Reviewed by Israel Drazin - May 31, 2011
This is a Rembrandt-style book with 115 tasty recipes by an Israeli chef, with 115 full-page sharp color beautiful pictures of the food, with detailed instructions on each page, a personalized introduction to each dish, and a tip on how to present the creation with elegance. Each of the artistic dishes is made with basic ingredients.
Libfroind divides the 115 recipes into nine sections. There are ten recipes in the Sophistication section, including "pistachio-liver pate with caramelized onions." She suggests adding thyme because the "herb adds a mouth-watering aroma to the onions." The dozen recipes in the Occasions section has an unconventional upscale vegetable dish "sweet potatoes with onion jam and red wine" that looks like a fetching statue and adds flavor to a meat meal. The dozen recipes in the Brunch section include "eggplant with cream cheese and pesto sauce" that elevates the three ingredients to a new taste level. The other six creative and clever sections are Hors D'oeuvres, Layers, Simplicity, Sushi, Temptation, and Chocolate. The "avocado-salmon sushi" in the Sushi section, for example, is a fine dish for people who are intimidated by the traditional seaweed and raw fish that customarily make up sushi, or for people who don't want to pass up an opportunity to innovate and titillate their taste buds with something special.
The first dish we made from this book was "show-stopping fillet of trout," one of Libfroind's "signature recipes," a stunning dish produced with minimal effort. "All you need is a muffin pan and fresh, skinless fillet of trout. Then stand back and watch as this dish virtually makes itself." We served it to guests, with the result that the guests asked to borrow the book.
All in all, people who want sumptuous cuisine, served elegantly, that taste good, that is different and special, will enjoy cooking with this book.
