Cooking with Loula

March 15, 2016

Originally funded through Kickstarter and self-published as Cooking To Share, this new edition of chef Stratou's debut is an intimate collection of Greek recipes gleaned from a beloved family cook. Peppered with poetry and memoir, the book contains such homey dishes as lavraki plaki (oven-baked sea bass), taramosalata (cod roe dip), oven-roasted lamb, and baklava. Unconventional chapter titles (e.g., Weekdays, Sundays, Traditions, Essential Recipes) will make perfect sense to home cooks, who will find it easy to determine which dishes can be made every day and which meals should be saved for weekends and special occasions. There's a handy chart that orders all the recipes by cooking time, as well as an array of inviting, unfussy photographs. VERDICT Stratou's unique and intensely personal cookbook is a breath of fresh air. Highly recommended. Libraries should note that the book has an exposed binding and partial dust jacket that may not withstand heavy circulation.

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2016
Although many authors of cookbooks pay homage to the cooks who taught them their trade, rarely is there a sort of reverence to these cooks of days past. Stratou, chef and editor of food website Gourmed, however, does just that. Originally self-published as Cooking to Share through a Kickstarter campaign in 2013, Cooking with Loula is Stratou's homage not only to her Yaya Sofia but to the woman who cooked for three generations of the Stratou family, Kyria Loula. Rich with traditional Greek fare, the book also features favorites of Stratou's family. With beautiful photographs interspersed, the recipes are organized for weekday meals, Sunday gatherings, summer holidays, and traditional feasts (including TsourekiEaster Bread). Stratou also includes essential recipes, such as stocks and standard Greek condiments. Throughout, one can feel the mark that Yaya Sofia and Kyria Loula left on Stratou. This is not just another Greek cookbookit is a cookbook with heart.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)