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| The Foods and Wines of Spain | 
 enlarge | Author: Penelope Casas
Creator: Oscar Ochoa
Publisher: Knopf
Category: Book
List Price: $30.00
Buy Used: $7.60
You Save: $22.40 (75%)
New (22) Used (38) Collectible (1) from $7.60
Avg. Customer Rating:  18 reviews
Sales Rank: 49695
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 480
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 9.9 x 6.5 x 1.4
ISBN: 0394513487
Dewey Decimal Number: 641.5946
EAN: 9780394513485
ASIN: 0394513487
Publication Date: October 12, 1982
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: EX-LIBRARY; used item may have library binding and show stamps, stickers or other marks. Items not meeting quality expectations may be returned for refund. Buy with confidence - your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics!
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 1-5 of 18 | | NEXT » |
 Literate, fun, superb May 15, 2008
This book has many great recipes, and absolutely the greatest gazpacho recipe I've ever tried! I have many many cookbooks, and I think this is one of the best in my library, along with my Julia Childs and my Marcella Hazans. I've owned it for years, and use it frequently.
A great cookbook in every way November 9, 2006
This book is full of a dynamic range of Spanish recipes, all of which are both tasty and easy to prepare. Every recipe I've made has come out perfect, I have never had a failure. Ms. Casas has clearly gone to great lengths to capture authentic, well tested recipes that anyone can prepare.
This book is so diverse in its scope that it would take a long time to tire of using it. I can hardly bare to cook anything else. Spanish flavor with its simplicity and freshness of flavors could not be better presented then in this perfect book. Highly reccomended!
BEST. COOKBOOK. EVER! October 23, 2006
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book is one of my favorites books in the world. The recipes range from simple to slightly complicated, but there isn't one of these recipes that cannot be duplicated in your kitchen -- and to absolutely deligthful results! The instructions are clear, the chapters are well balanced and the index is thorough. The food is exquisite. But then so are the stories accompanying each chapter and each recipe.
This book is an excellent travel book, filled with all the wonders of Spain. There have been times, when looking for a recipe to cook for a special ocassion, I have taken it off the shelf and found myself completely engrossed, hours later, reading the stories. Even the writing engages all your senses.
Penepole Casas also does something I especially appreciated. She gives you a glossary and a list of substitutions. She goes further and lists mail order suppliers of hard to find ingredients.
In culinary terms this book is truly a gem. It also serves as an indispendable resource to the history and culture of Spain for those who hope to one day stroll through its lands.
Essential Reference on Spanish Cuisine and Wines April 19, 2005
11 out of 14 found this review helpful
`The Foods and Wines of Spain' by culinary journalist Penelope Casas was the only comprehensive coverage of Spanish cuisine when it was published at the urging of Craig Claiborne in 1979 and it is probably still the only book in English which aims at covering the entire range of Spanish cuisine. As such, it stands among some of the other notable American books on national cuisines such as Diane Kochilas `The Glorious Foods of Greece', Jean Anderson's smaller book on `The Food of Portugal', Marcella Hazan's `Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking' and the granddaddy of them all, Julia Child's `Mastering the Art of French Cooking'. Casas shares in this tradition by being published by Child's publisher, Knopf, and having the same distinguished cookbook editor, Judith Jones. Since I have never seen an unattractive book published by Alfred E. Knopf, I am certain this book benefits from this association.
Casas organizes her book by types of dishes, using the usual hodgepodge of type meaning when served and type meaning principle ingredient. The fourteen chapters on ingredients / servings are:
`Tapas', slightly misleading, as classic tapas dishes such as the famous `tortilla Espanola' appears under egg dishes. If your primary interest is in Tapas, get Casas recent book devoted entirely to this subject.
`Embutidos, Pasteles Y Empanadas', or sausages pates, and pies is one of the most convincing arguments that this book covers the whole range of Spanish cooking, as it includes doable recipes for making many classic Spanish Charcuterie such as chorizo. It also contains several very nice empanada recipes that show off one of many differences between Spanish and Mexican cooking. In Mexico, judging by a recipe by Rick Bayless, `empanadas' are just a bit larger than raviolis. In Spain, `empanadas' are much more like calzones.
`Ensaladas' Salads, including a claim that it was the Spanish and not the French who invented Mayonnaise.
`Verduras Y Legumbres' Vegetables, showing the importance of potatoes in Spanish cooking. This is historically obvious, as the Spanish brought potatoes along with all the other New World produce back to Europe.
`Sopas Y Potajes' Soups and Meals in a Pot, very similar to the northern Italian love of ministre.
`Huevos Y Tortillas' Eggs and Egg dishes. Evidence that there are many great Spanish frittatas.
`Arroces' Rice dishes, including several types of Paella. `Please use Spanish Rice'
`Mariscos' Shellfish, with as much love of mussels as the French, it seems.
`Pescados' Fish, including several bacalo (dried, salted cod) recipes and fish steaks.
`Aves Y Caza', Poultry and Game, with the usual European love of rabbit, partridge, and other wild things.
`Carnes' Almost a copy of the Italian cuisine with pork, lamb, and veal. Maybe a bit more lamb than Italia.
`Panes, Bollos Y Masas', Breads and Pastries. While I am sure this is not a complete survey of Spanish bread baking, I am just a little surprised that there is no mention of baking with wild yeasts so popular in French and Italian baking. On the other hand, there is the distinction, as in France, between bakeries that specialize in bread and shops that specialize in pastries. While almonds run through all of Spanish cuisine, it is in baking where it comes together with egg whites and puff pastry to form an especially strong affinity with Austrian baking traditions. I am not sure whether this is because these two countries shared interaction with Moorish culture or whether the countries shared the same royal house, the Hapsburgs, for many generations, or a combination of both, but it is little discoveries like this which make culinary anthropology really fascinating.
`Postres' Desserts, sharing the Italian interest in sweetened fruits above most other dishes, plus marzipan and many other almond preparations.
`Bebidas' Sangria, almonds, coffee, citrus, and almonds.
Almost all main course protein dishes include a suggestion pairing the dish with an appropriate Spanish wine. This includes the egg dishes, but not other tapas dishes. The last chapter deals in great depth with the wines of Spain, including the famous Andalusian sherries. Two of the more interesting facts here is the statement that the Italian Marsala is really a form of sherry and that a bottle of sherry may contain wine from grapes harvested over many years. So much for the James Bond quote about giving the vintage of the `underlying wine fortified to create the sherry'. Not only does this chapter give lots of details about regional wine centers; it gives extensive tables of high quality vintage wine and sherry labels and the author's opinion on their quality. Since this book was published in 1979 and not revised since 1982, there may be some question on whether this information on wineries is still valuable. I will venture a guess that it is probably as good as anything else you may find, since the lists are long and most vintners endure, especially since the fortunes of Spanish businesses have improved greatly since the restoration of the Spanish republic after the death of Franco.
Like the recipes in Casas later book on Tapas, I find all the recipes in this volume to be very good, almost as extensive as my favorites from Julia Child and Marcella Hazan. This is a real foodie book, as the discussion of regionality and authenticity of the recipes is a great pleasure to read, even if you never make any of the recipes. It is also great background for understanding the cuisine of Ferran Adria, the great modern Spanish chef working just outside Barcelona. This book also humbled my conceit at criticizing Daniel Boulud's recipe for baby eels. While they may be hard to come by, apparently the Spanish really love them.
Even if you are not a foodie, this is a great source of recipes for eggs, rice, sweet peppers, almonds, lamb, and fish. It is also a great resource if you are not familiar with Spanish wines.
 Great recipes, murky directions December 22, 2004
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
This book is at the same time my favorite Spanish cookbook and the most frustrating. The recipes are terrific. I also have Casas' Delicioso! (which I highly recommend as well), but I prefer this book because it is better organized, with more of the standard Spanish recipes I crave (seafood with green sauce, scallops with sherry sauce, etc.-- fantastic). But with her later books such as Delicioso, Casas (or her editor) has learned to provide clearer, more accurate cooking instructions. In The Foods and Wines of Spain, the instructions are much more vague. How high should the heat be on the stove? How long should you sautee the onions? What does it mean exactly to "dust" something with flour? These things are often not spelled out. I am a pretty experienced cook but I would definitely benefit from some better instructions in some of the recipes. I can see how this book would be confusing for the novice cook or someone fairly new to Spanish cuisine-- if you are in this category you might want to start out with Delicioso!.
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