I wanted to like this book. Based on the preview I wanted to love it. But I found the writing to be forced and very slow. I couldn't focus my attention because of the lack of compelling engagement. I was so interested to read a travelogue of so many places that I wanted to go. Alas, this book was simply too dry and too stilted to make an impression.

Cookbooks and travel books are my favorite. Sadly I was very disappointed with this one.
It felt like a collection of recipes, mixed up with some Wikipedia articles. And some BLA.

I really loved his book it tells you about the places he visits and gives you recipes,what more could you want from a book,plus there is some great recipes in it,a must read.

From Boiling water to Master of the Southern European Cuisine: A Travelogue by Janisa J Brunstein, is both a travelogue with personal vignettes, and a cookbook. The author is a professional chef, but the recipes she includes are not over-the-top and are doable by those of us who are home cooks.

Brunstein writes in an easy manner, and her vignettes are quite fun to read, albeit some give a little too much information (since we don’t know her, we are subjected to more divorce and relationship details than are necessary), and one gets the idea that the author considers herself superior to those of us who are simple commoners. Given that, for most of us who are of average income, it’s obvious that we won’t have an opportunity to travel to the places she describes in the same style that she does, because she constantly hints at the fact that she is extremely wealthy (having her own driver, attending high society events, etc.) and is frankly, a bit on the snobby side.

While the book does contain some excellent recipes, Brunstein obviously flunked the course in recipe protocol. Experienced cooks will be able to fill in the blanks, but beginning cooks may be confused because some of the instructions are left out (i.e. Greek Olive Bread – it doesn’t ever instruct the baker to form the dough into loaves – although the finished product is absolutely delicious). In her French Macarons recipe, she instructs you to “Bang the baking sheets against the floor” to settle them before baking. Generally floors aren’t the cleanest, and I believe banging on a countertop will suffice.

Once you have translated and filled in the blanks in the directions in her recipes, you can rest assured that they turn out very well. The Chicken with Marsala and Mushrooms was quite easy, and also very good. The Cold Watermelon Salad is luscious (although she fails to tell us to crumble the feta), and the Gâteau Basque was delicious, although I haven’t heard the term “karate heat” and simply cooked my filling over medium heat. I had to look up the definition of “Omelette Quercynoise” is an omelet in the style of Quercynois, a place in France. Incidentally, the omelet, with a filling of walnuts and bleu cheese, is delicious.

While there are pictures of most of the dishes, they are small, and some seem a bit washed out – the pomegranates which are generally red, look pretty sick in the Pomegranate Honey Roasted Chicken.

All told, this isn’t a must-have cookbook/travelogue, but it is interesting and has some excellent recipes.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

For the first couple of chapters in “From Boiling Water To Master Of The Southern European Cuisine: A Travelogue” by Janisa J. Brunstein, I thought the book should’ve been titled “A Love Story To Myself”. But after plugging on and getting through to the actual travelogue, I did start to enjoy it much more.

I did particularly enjoy reading about the various European countries to which the author had traveled. The recipes do not seem to be overly difficult, although in some cases small details are missing. For instance, for how long does one refrigerate the gazpacho prior to serving? This missing detail may cause problems if you’re trying to figure out how far in advance to make it before your dinner party. And a Russian Salad in the middle of the Greek Cuisine section, why?

Several formatting and editing errors were extremely distracting for me. They didn’t take away from the overall value of the book itself though. The Carbonnade Belgian Beef And Beer Stew was the weirdest thing I found. It recommends transferring the prep work to a slow crock pot and cooking it overnight. If you do, then that means you’re eating beef stew for breakfast. I’m thinking that it might be a better idea to prep it in the morning so you can leave it to cook for eight hours during the day so it’s ready in time for dinner. If we actually did put the crockpot on overnight it would be mush come dinnertime the next day, or again we would have to eat stew for breakfast.

Worth A Read

In all, I believe that the book is worth reading, but I prefer books which are for any cooking level. The experienced cook seems the target audience for these recipes. Read them well before you try any of them to make sure you know what is needed.

The “Date and Almond Tart” recipe was going to be included in my review, but there are a couple of things that aren’t explained clearly. Instructions for how to create the filling have you cream the butter and sugar together. It then it says beat the egg. But it doesn’t say beat the egg in with the mixture. It also says to “stir” almond flour, all-purpose flour, and orange flower water, it’s not clear whether or not you should be adding this to the butter and sugar mixture or keeping it in a separate bowl. I am certain they meant “stir in”, again an editing issue I’m sure, clarity is so important.

The full review with the recipe for Greek Hummus recipe is available at RecipesNow! Reviews and Recipes Magazine. Enjoy!

HA! I loved the opening story of this memoir/recipe book! The party was too funny! Apart from that, I thought all the little story lead ins to the recipes were wonderful and the recipes themselves sound scrummy! I can't wait to try a few of these over the summer!

Southern European cuisine like Italy , spain and Greek recipes with well explained instructions.........

I began to read this book because of the recipes listed in it. The writing reminded me of essays written by 5th grade students. I wanted more day to day detail on the places the writer visited throughout the book but all you get is poor me-The personal driver was late, the house maid did this or didn't do that, I was crazy and tried to dye my hair in someone's kitchen during a fancy dinner party. A very unlikable narrator. If you just want to look at the recipes they do look interesting but don't read any of the text or you will be bored silly.

While the premise of the book soundd promising , the writing was choppy. There was little explaantion given as to why the cities and countries were chosen for her journeys. The desriptions of foods she enjoyed in specific regions seemed to bear little relationship to the recipes included, which would have benefitted from brief introductions somehow relating them to the previous text.. I would not find this book particularly helpful in planning my own travel or as a cookbook.

Oh, my. I really don’t want to write a bad book review. Ms. Brunstein is, according to a quick internet search, a talented chef and caterer. Indeed her recipes and photographs all seem to be in order. They are not particularly imaginative but that’s fine since they are presented as traditional Southern European dishes. It’s the rest of the book that I have a problem with.

The author begins the book by getting on a train in West Chester, NY on her way to visit her granddaughter in Buffalo. She introduces herself to her seatmate and, deciding that the poor fellow is a “captive audience,” proceeds to tell him a bizarre dreamlike story about a Christmas fund-raising dinner that she attended with her ex-husband. It isn’t exactly clear where this fundraiser is being held, it could be a private home, restaurant or hotel. What is clear is that it is in a second floor ballroom and that someone has gone to great lengths to make arrangements for canine guests. Quite extravagant ones too for there are grooming stations, beds, sitters, and doggie dishes scattered about. For some inexplicable reason, the author decides to shock her philandering spouse by leaving the party to run out and buy the supplies needed to color her hair. She sneaks back into the party venue to dye her hair (unbelievably, unnoticed) in the kitchen.

I suppose her intent was to embarrass her husband, since she was dripping with hair dye as she left the kitchen to return to their table. On the way past the dog food dishes a glob of dye slides off her head into a bowl of chow. She scoops up the goop and deposits it into a nearby water drain, whereby the drain becomes blocked and sewer water spews about the party. Okay, stop right there. Why is there a water drain in a ballroom?

At this point, I am thinking that this poor woman must have suffered a complete break-down and the travelogue will continue with her leaving her cheating husband to find solace in the sunny climes of Southern Europe. Along the way we will hear charming little stories about how she finds peace cooking simple peasant meals. But, there doesn’t seem to be any purpose to her travel vignettes. It is just a vehicle to share recipes from different regions.

The last chapter features Greece. I don’t have a clue why she went, who she went with, or what she did while she was there. There are some nice recipes and a few photos, including a picture of the author outside a hotel in Crete. Then, just as suddenly as the book began, it ends in back in the train car with this unfortunate guy who has presumably sat through a recital of Mediterranean dishes.

In the beginning, when I first saw this book going off the rails, I hoped it could be resuscitated with good old fashioned editing. But, that isn’t enough. The difficult bit is getting around the premise. It simply isn’t a travelogue. There just isn’t a story to tell, or if there is, I couldn’t find it. Surely, the recipes and the culinary photographs would have been enough. Oh, and I did like the book jacket.

This book is so fun! And so very interesting. It was like I was taking the trips myself. My mouth is still watering.

This book was a mix of personal stories, travel experiences, and recipes. It was a bit difficult for me to relate to on a personal level -- a world of galas is beyond me -- but the recipes were interesting. It's hard for me to recommend a book that I couldn't really feel strongly about, however it may be of interest for those who are looking to learn more about food and appreciate close, personal experiences mixed in with recipes.