From Boiling water to Master of the Southern European Cuisine: A Travelogue

This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
Buy on BN.com Buy on Bookshop.org
*This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.
Send NetGalley books directly to your Kindle or Kindle app

1
To read on a Kindle or Kindle app, please add kindle@netgalley.com as an approved email address to receive files in your Amazon account. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
2
Also find your Kindle email address within your Amazon account, and enter it here.
Pub Date 31 May 2017 | Archive Date 31 Jul 2017

Description

The book is a didactic cookbook/travelogue. A recount of history, culture, gastronomy and people from Southern European Countries, Spain, Italy, France and Greece. The book includes recipes and Photos of Places and food where I have been.

Janisa J. Brunstein is an executive chef, food geek, and professional artist, born in Mérida, Venezuela. Cooking has been her lifelong passion and inspiration from childhood. She earned her B.A. in Culinary Arts from the Institut Paul Bocuse, Écoles des Arts Cuilinaires et de L’Hôtellerie in Lyon, France. She has her own successful catering/event planning business, La Cuisine de Janisa, in Monroe, New York (www.lacuisinedejanisa.com), which specializes in authentic, all-natural, kosher international food for all occasions. She’s also served as personal chef to rich, famous and other elite and celebrity clientele. Her culinary creations are unique and memorable works of art!

Ms. Brunstein is a true polyglot, who speaks five languages: Spanish, English, French, Italian, and Portuguese. She became a certified medical esthetician in Barcelona, Spain, and received her M.A. in Modern Languages & International Affairs from Universidad de los Andes in Venezuela. She’s a world traveler and fine arts aficionado.

Ms. Brunstein is the proud mother of two grown sons and a granddaughter. She’s active in volunteer work and Chabad of Orange County in her community. She lives with her love, Eli, in Monroe, New York.

keywords: Cookbook, Travelogue, Cuisine, European Cuisine, Masterchef, chef, personal chef, private chef, celebrity chef, european gastronomy, food, cooking lovers, cookinglover, cookingwithstyle, healthyeating, organic, from scratch, handmade, homemade, deliciousness, cookbook author, painter, writer, cookbook writer, ingredients, international cuisine, cook, international food

The book is a didactic cookbook/travelogue. A recount of history, culture, gastronomy and people from Southern European Countries, Spain, Italy, France and Greece. The book includes recipes and...


A Note From the Publisher

keywords: Cookbook, Travelogue, Cuisine, European Cuisine, Masterchef, chef, personal chef, private chef, celebrity chef, european gastronomy, food, cooking lovers, cookinglover, cookingwithstyle, healthyeating, organic, from scratch, handmade, homemade, deliciousness, cookbook author, painter, writer, cookbook writer, ingredients, international cuisine, cook, international food

keywords: Cookbook, Travelogue, Cuisine, European Cuisine, Masterchef, chef, personal chef, private chef, celebrity chef, european gastronomy, food, cooking lovers, cookinglover, cookingwithstyle...


Available Editions

EDITION Ebook
ISBN 9781506904412
PRICE 7.99

Average rating from 9 members


Featured Reviews

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

Was this review helpful?

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.

Was this review helpful?
Not set

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!

Not set
Was this review helpful?

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

Was this review helpful?

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!

Was this review helpful?

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.

Was this review helpful?

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.

Was this review helpful?

Readers who liked this book also liked: