cookbook identification?
June 12, 2019 1:49 PM Subscribe
Years ago, my now-mother-in-law then-boyfriend's-mom gave me a pair of cookbooks. The cookbooks perished in a flood a few years back and I can't remember what they were called. Help me figure out what they were? Snowflakes follow.
The cookbooks came in a pair. Both were larger hardcovers, I think with pages a bit bigger than a sheet of printer/notebook paper, and spines about 1.5" to 2" thick. One was something like "Best Asian recipes" and had a maroon cover with a photo of some delicious-looking dish on it (I don't remember what it was); the other was "Best international recipes" or similar and had a cream or pale yellow cover, again with a photo of some dish on it. The covers were glossy, and I recall there being some overlap in the recipes included. Each recipe was accompanied by a large (perhaps full-page) full color photo of the dish, and the pages of the book were glossy as well.
The only recipe I remember is the one I want to make again, from the international cookbook. It was Turkish and was listed as something like "Sauteed Lamb with Yogurt and Tomatoes," plus bread that you toasted under the broiler or in the oven, a step that I tended to skip.
My now-mother-in-law gave the cookbook to me junior or senior year of college, so it can't have been published later than 2001, when I graduated. This was 20 years ago so I doubt she remembers the provenance of the cookbooks either.
If by any chance you know what these cookbooks were, I would be grateful! Failing that, if you have a tried-and-true recipe for Turkish sauteed lamb with yogurt sauce and tomatoes, that would work too.
Thank you!
The cookbooks came in a pair. Both were larger hardcovers, I think with pages a bit bigger than a sheet of printer/notebook paper, and spines about 1.5" to 2" thick. One was something like "Best Asian recipes" and had a maroon cover with a photo of some delicious-looking dish on it (I don't remember what it was); the other was "Best international recipes" or similar and had a cream or pale yellow cover, again with a photo of some dish on it. The covers were glossy, and I recall there being some overlap in the recipes included. Each recipe was accompanied by a large (perhaps full-page) full color photo of the dish, and the pages of the book were glossy as well.
The only recipe I remember is the one I want to make again, from the international cookbook. It was Turkish and was listed as something like "Sauteed Lamb with Yogurt and Tomatoes," plus bread that you toasted under the broiler or in the oven, a step that I tended to skip.
My now-mother-in-law gave the cookbook to me junior or senior year of college, so it can't have been published later than 2001, when I graduated. This was 20 years ago so I doubt she remembers the provenance of the cookbooks either.
If by any chance you know what these cookbooks were, I would be grateful! Failing that, if you have a tried-and-true recipe for Turkish sauteed lamb with yogurt sauce and tomatoes, that would work too.
Thank you!
Have you Googled the recipe? I get somebody has posted it on allrecipes.com or a similar site.
posted by Enid Lareg at 2:34 PM on June 12, 2019
posted by Enid Lareg at 2:34 PM on June 12, 2019
Response by poster: Sorry, one answer and I'll butt out, I swear.
I have Googled the recipe, but the details are always wrong--everything is either for ground lamb (the recipe I remember was for non-ground lamb), or for couscous (mine had bread, not couscous) or pasta (no pasta either), etc. I suspect the Google versions of being more "authentic" and the cookbook's version of being bowdlerized, but I'd really like to try the recipe I remember if possible.
posted by yhlee at 2:44 PM on June 12, 2019 [1 favorite]
I have Googled the recipe, but the details are always wrong--everything is either for ground lamb (the recipe I remember was for non-ground lamb), or for couscous (mine had bread, not couscous) or pasta (no pasta either), etc. I suspect the Google versions of being more "authentic" and the cookbook's version of being bowdlerized, but I'd really like to try the recipe I remember if possible.
posted by yhlee at 2:44 PM on June 12, 2019 [1 favorite]
Maybe from the Time-Life Foods of the World series?
posted by exceptinsects at 3:06 PM on June 12, 2019
posted by exceptinsects at 3:06 PM on June 12, 2019
Maybe this Turkish "Yogurt kebab" recipe from a mid-90s "All Around the World Cookbook?" A lot of the details don't match though.
posted by crazy with stars at 3:22 PM on June 12, 2019
posted by crazy with stars at 3:22 PM on June 12, 2019
Best answer: I can't help with the cookbooks but the recipe as described (especially the prominence of bread rather than rice or couscous) seems to me to be "Iskender" (sometimes called "Alexander"). I don't have a tried and true version, but googling for "iskender" will pull up many versions.
posted by mhum at 3:31 PM on June 12, 2019
posted by mhum at 3:31 PM on June 12, 2019
Response by poster: vunder, I don't know how you did it, but that's the one! Now to track down the international one in the series. Thank you so much!
Thank you everyone for your help, and mhum, I will definitely look into iskender--the recipe I remember had you using like a baguette (as I said, probably bowdlerized) rather than pita, but iskender sounds delicious and I will be investigating that too.
EDIT: The international one I was remembering is this one from the same publisher, different author. FEASTING SHALL BE MINE! Teşekkür ederim!
posted by yhlee at 7:21 PM on June 12, 2019 [7 favorites]
Thank you everyone for your help, and mhum, I will definitely look into iskender--the recipe I remember had you using like a baguette (as I said, probably bowdlerized) rather than pita, but iskender sounds delicious and I will be investigating that too.
EDIT: The international one I was remembering is this one from the same publisher, different author. FEASTING SHALL BE MINE! Teşekkür ederim!
posted by yhlee at 7:21 PM on June 12, 2019 [7 favorites]
Afiyet olsun!
posted by Daily Alice at 7:54 PM on June 12, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by Daily Alice at 7:54 PM on June 12, 2019 [2 favorites]
Please post the recipe once you have it!
posted by crazy with stars at 1:32 PM on June 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by crazy with stars at 1:32 PM on June 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Hello, in case anyone's still tracking this! The cookbook arrived and here's the recipe, paraphrased a bit:
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. lean lamb, preferably boned leg, cubed
- 3 Tbsp butter
- 4 tomatoes, skinned and chopped
- 4 thick slices bread (ekmek!), crusts removed
- 1 cup strained plain yogurt
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- salt and freshly ground pepper
- paprika and mint leaves, to garnish
For the marinade:
- 1/2 cup strained plain yogurt
- 1 large onion, grated
1. Make the marinade: blend the yogurt, onion, and a little seasoning in a large bowl. Add the cubed lamb, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and set aside to marinate in a cool place (like the fridge??) for at least 1 hour.
2. Melt half the butter in a frying pan, and fry the meat for 5-10 min., until tender but still moist. Transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon and keep warm while cooking the tomatoes.
3. Melt the rest of the butter in the same pan and fry the tomatoes for 4-5 min., until soft. Meanwhile, toast the bread and arrange in the bottom of a shallow serving dish.
4. Season the tomatoes and then spread over the toasted bread in an even layer.
5. Blend the yogurt and garlic, and season with salt and pepper. Spoon over the tomatoes.
6. Arrange the meat in a layer on top. Sprinkle with paprika and mint leaves, and serve at once.
I am hungry now. :)
posted by yhlee at 4:16 PM on June 18, 2019 [1 favorite]
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. lean lamb, preferably boned leg, cubed
- 3 Tbsp butter
- 4 tomatoes, skinned and chopped
- 4 thick slices bread (ekmek!), crusts removed
- 1 cup strained plain yogurt
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- salt and freshly ground pepper
- paprika and mint leaves, to garnish
For the marinade:
- 1/2 cup strained plain yogurt
- 1 large onion, grated
1. Make the marinade: blend the yogurt, onion, and a little seasoning in a large bowl. Add the cubed lamb, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and set aside to marinate in a cool place (like the fridge??) for at least 1 hour.
2. Melt half the butter in a frying pan, and fry the meat for 5-10 min., until tender but still moist. Transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon and keep warm while cooking the tomatoes.
3. Melt the rest of the butter in the same pan and fry the tomatoes for 4-5 min., until soft. Meanwhile, toast the bread and arrange in the bottom of a shallow serving dish.
4. Season the tomatoes and then spread over the toasted bread in an even layer.
5. Blend the yogurt and garlic, and season with salt and pepper. Spoon over the tomatoes.
6. Arrange the meat in a layer on top. Sprinkle with paprika and mint leaves, and serve at once.
I am hungry now. :)
posted by yhlee at 4:16 PM on June 18, 2019 [1 favorite]
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- The Best International Recipe
But they don't seem to have a "Best Asian Recipe" book, aside from this magazine issue:posted by mbrubeck at 2:10 PM on June 12, 2019