Review: How to roast a lamb

*How to Roast a Lamb—new Greek classic cooking

by Michael Psilakis

  

Description from Hachette:

A rising star in the food world, Michael Psilakis is co-owner of a growing empire of modern Mediterranean restaurants, and one of the most exciting young chefs in America today. In How to Roast a Lamb, the self-taught chef offers recipes from his restaurants and his home in this, his much-anticipated first cookbook.

Ten chapters provide colorful and heartfelt personal essays that lead into thematically related recipes. Gorgeous color photography accompanies many of the recipes throughout.

Psilakis's cooking utilizes the fresh, naturally healthful ingredients of the Mediterranean augmented by techniques that define New American cuisine. Home cooks who have gravitated toward Italian cookbooks for the simple, user-friendly dishes, satisfying flavors, and comfortable, family-oriented meals, will welcome Psilakis's approach to Greek food, which is similarly healthful, affordable, and satisfying to share any night of the week. 

Click Here to read an excerpt of this book.

Review: this is a beautiful (huge! like, 2 inches thick.) book bursting with incredible pictures that make me crave salad like i never have before and make octopus actually look edible (and appealing), information that I never would have known or thought about about the ingredients, and fantastic (and some… interesting…)recipes. A typical recipe will include a beautiful full page photograph, description of the food, very easy to read and easy to follow instructions, extra ideas and variations, and little notes and tips and pieces of advice.

There are eleven categories: My Father’s Garden, Open Water, Dinner family style, My First Recipes, The hunting trip, a Lamb and a Goat, Psilakis Birthday Dinners, Kefi—A time to dance, Big party cooking, Anthos—the new world, and The Aegean Pantry. the back of the book includes recipes by type of dish and even metric conversions.

Each section is headed off with a two or three page story about Michael’s life and lots of photographs. some of the stories are sweet, like him remembering cooking for his parents for the first time. some are things i can relate to, like the thrill and pride of learning to dance. (though I never learned to dance on an empty glass beer bottle.) and some stories are sad and sweet, like him telling the time he watched his father kill the lamb that was his friend for Easter dinner.

a quick sampling of the recipes, some that sound fantastic:
*Warm Feta with Tomato, Olive and pepper salad
*Whole Spit roasted lamb
*Grilled watermelon and grilled manouri (which sounds discussing but the photograph looks incredible)
*roasted scallops with cauliflower, tart dried cherries, and capers in brown butter sauce
*Steak with bone marrow htippiti
*Dumplings with sausage, dandelion greens, sundried tomato and pine nuts

Now I’m hungry.

Recommendation: anyone who enjoys cooking really good food, gourmet, beautiful photographs of really good food, or just loves cooking in general.

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About the Author:

Michael Psilakis, the son of first-generation Greek immigrants, grew up on Long Island, where his first foray into the restaurant world was waiting tables at a T.G.I. Fridays. He now co-owns, with Donatella Arpaia, four restaurants in Manhattan—Anthos, a showcase for his modern take on haute Greek cuisine; Kefi which serves the classic home cooking her grew up on; Mia Dona, an Italian restaurant with Ga Greek accent; and Gus & Gabriel—as well as a new Greek restaurant, Eos, and the Viceroy hotel in Miami. In March 2009, in honor of Greek National Day, Psilakis was the first outside chef invited by the Obamas to cook at the White House. He lives in Long Island with his wife, Anna, and son, Gabriel.

~Haleyknitz

*Thank You to Anna Balasi from Hachette for providing me with a review copy of this book.