Cuisines of the Alps

by Kay Shaw Nelson

A majestic mountain system in south-central Europe, the Alps form an arc spanning almost 750 miles from the Mediterranean Sea through northern Italy and southeast France, Switzerland, southern Germany, and Austria and into the northwest part of the Balkan Peninsula. Cuisines of the Alps takes a culinary tour through the region, with stops in Northern Italy for risotto a la Milanese and osso buco; in Austrian for goulash and linzer torte; for dumplings in Bavaria; raclette in Switzerland; French trout au bleu, and in Slovenia for eggplant stew and walnut cake, among many other delights. Cuisines of the Alps will enhance your knowledge of the region's cookery, bringing the snow-capped peaks, with their robust, homey dishes into your kitchen.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Reference, Nonfiction

197 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2004

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this cookbook because on the cover it says it has recipes from Liechtenstein, and I'm trying to collect a cookbook from every country in the world. I'm always skeptical of foreign cookbooks written by American authors, but from what I know from travelling in this region, these recipes seem pretty legit as far as the kind of food that you find in these countries.

As far as how the recipes turned out, however, I'll say they didn't turn out that great. I made the Liptauer cheese, Wiener Schnitzel, potato salad, creamed spinach, and a Linzer torte for an Austrian-themed meal, and all of the dishes were a bit meh. I followed the recipes exactly, and it seems like they could have used a bit more testing before publication - or at least some notes on how to adjust if things aren't turning out quite right. The Liptauer was the right consistency, and had a nice bit of spice to it, but the recipe made sooooo much! That is my fault, though, for not realizing the volume of it. The Wiener Schnitzel was very bland. The creamed spinach was waaaaay too creamy - I definitely should not have used the measurement provided in the recipe. I would have cut it in half, or maybe even used a quarter of it. The cooking time for the Linzer torte was probably 15-20 mins too long as well.

If I use this cookbook for any of the other countries, I will definitely do a test run before serving to others.

[Jennifer Bohnhoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've just come back from completing the Tour du Mont Blanc, and enjoying the food at the alpine huts along the trail and in the towns of Chamonix and Courmayeur, so I picked up this book hoping to find recipes for some of the things I'd eaten. The cuisine of the alps must be more varied than I thought, because the cookbook offers a lot more and different food than I'd gotten while there. Most disappointing to me were the soups; most of the ones in the cookbook are bread soups, not the hearty vegetable and bean offerings in the huts.

I do like Nelson's sections on history and culture, though.

[SFBlau · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy reading Kay S Nelson. Her insights into the culture & cuisines are usually interesting and informative. Her recipes are fairly basic, but easy to follow. I'm finding some jewels in this book I'd like to try... Pissaladiera - pizza with onion, olive & anchovy; Swiss cheese & apple salad w/ walnuts; cherry souffle, and baked peaches stuffed with macaroons... recipes include many classic dishes, too, such as Beef Daube, Vitello Tonnato, Osso Buco, Rouladen, etc. Unfortunately, many of the recipes were already offered in The Best of Western European Cooking.

[The Cute Little Brown-haired girl]

If you find this for me, I will cook whatever you want from any of the recipes within. :) This looks like a GREAT cookbook. I usually only like foreign cookbooks. It is easy to cook "American" stuff. I want cookbooks of dishes, drinks, and cuisine that people eat somewhere else using ingredients I have either never heard of, or or difficult to find, or are used in a way that I never would have considered. To me, that is excitement in the kitchen--and at the dinner table!!!