cookbooks

The Easy way to Chinese Cooking by Beverly Lee
My first impression of this book was somewhat negative as the visual components seemed to leave a lot to be desired. Instead of the colorful photographs i was expecting i simply got hand drawn sketches. However once i got down to the actual content of the book, i found it to be very useful. First of all, it has a large front section devoted to the basic knowledge of chinese cooking, providing names of pots, techniques and lists of important ingredients, which sounds perfect for someone who is inexperienced with this cuisine. The recipes were also easy to follow and contained several variations, giving the person cooking the ability to try new things. the amount of recipes is also generous, and there is an index which would be helpful in looking uo specific meals. This seems like a great tool for novice chinese cooks.

The complete Book of Turkish Cooking By Ayla Esen Algar
Right off the bat this book seems to be helpful because the author grew up in turkey and grew up making the foods that this book will describe. The visual appeal is also very good because it provides the reader with many pictures of delicious looking food. The only downsides are that the recipes are short and sometimes offer little explanation. Since this is an english language cookbook of turkish foods, it seems that the book should be planned out for inexperienced, english speaking people but the shortness of the recipes do not back this assumption up. Once again, there is an index to improve organziation characterisitcs and make things easy to find.