The Eastern and Central European Kitchen

Taking home the flavors of East and East Central Europe is one of the joys of travel to this region. If you've been served a meal in an Eastern European home or savored local cuisine in a restaurant, you will likely find yourself longing to experience those flavors once again. While some of the typical ingredients may not be readily available at markets in your area (currants, sour cherries), most recipes can be mimicked in your home kitchen.

The Eastern And Central European Kitchen: Contemporary and Classic Recipes by Silvena Rowe (a Plovdiv native), is a cookbook featuring delicious recipes bursting with unexpected flavors. Dishes like kyufteta (Bulgarian meatballs) baked in yogurt are deceptively easy and unquestionably comforting. Other dishes take advantage of seasonal produce, like the berry and buttermilk tart, which is best made with fresh blackberries or blueberries and eaten the day it is baked. For those who love to prepare classic Eastern European dishes, the chapter on dumplings takes cooks on a journey from Hungary to Ukraine, Georgia, Poland, and Russia.

The cookbook is full of colorful photos from Eastern Europe, anecdotes from the author's childhood, and valuable information about how ingredients are used in Eastern and East Central European kitchens. The book makes a thoughtful gift, and it will become an indispensable reference for those who like to impress guests and treat family to hearty, memorable dishes.

If you've just begun to prepare foods from Eastern and East Central Europe, be sure to visit East European Food to familiarize yourself with some of the most famous dishes from this region of the world.