Books : Arabesque: A Taste of Morocco, Turkey and Lebanon

Rating: - Lovely recipes but not enough photos
Nothing annoys me more than recipe books that don't have lots of photos! I like to try new things all the time and the photos help me know what I'm trying to achieve and also give me ideas when I'm browsing for menus for having guests over etc. The recipes I've tried in this book are fabulous though.

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Rating: - A good guide to authentic turkish cooking...
To address the comments of the misinformed "REAL WORLD COOK" - Of the two examples mentioned, sumac is an everyday ingredient in Turkish cooking, typically used in salads. And "gum mastic" ice cream is again a very popular desert and such "sakizli" (gum-based) ice creams are a norm. Further rose water has many every day applications in turkish cooking, and rose ice cream is a perfectly common widespread flavour. These are versatile ingredients found in the cupboards and spice racks of all Turkish homes much as you might find rosemary and thyme in yours. A commendable effort and highly recommended book reflecting authentic Turkish cooking. I can only assume the same can be said of the Morrocan and Lebanese sections.

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Rating: - Hard to read, pretentious DRIVEL!
Who on earth is going to buy a book with this sort of pretentious drivel in it:-

Grilled Poussins with Sumac
Milk Ice cream with Gum Mastic and Rose Water

Gees! Sack the reviewers!

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Rating: - love food? love this book!
Claudia Roden is a wonderful writer of food. She envokes the fragrances, tastes and cultures of the recipes she tells you about. Each recipe is easy to cook and every dish i've tried has come out beautiful. This is not only a cookery book, its a travel book aswell! As I cooked, the aroma of the food just took me to a places i've never been. I'd highly recommend this book and couldnt praise it any higher.

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Rating: - Perfect
I can't praise this book enough. Not only is it a delight to read and to hold but it also is a teasurehouse of practical recipes that work. This is the third book by Claudia Roden that I have read and it certainly maintains the standard set in the others. In this book she concentrates on the cooking of Moroco, Lebanon and Turkey giving plenty of background information about the place of food with the cultures of the different countries. The recipes themselves are easy to follow, and produce what they say they will. Excellent, just what a perfect cookery book should be.