Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1086307 in Books
• Published on: 1998-10-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 352 pages

Amazon.com Review
America's gateway to the Caribbean is one of the most diverse cities in the States, and has produced a delightful melange of foods to satisfy so many different palates. Fortunately for those of us living in colder climates, tropical and subtropical foods are increasingly common on grocery shelves, and Mmmmiami is our guide to turning those mangoes and Scotch-bonnet peppers into delicacies we could once only read about. Written by cooking teacher Carole Kotkin and Miami Herald food editor Kathy Martin, it provides clear, simple directions for 150 dishes, from the simple (good old Key Lime Pie) to the sublime (Coconut Mahi-Mahi with Passion Fruit Sauce). The wide array of flavors is especially wonderful and startling to those used to monocultural cooking; Miami cuisine is the product of many generations of interbreeding and hybrid vigor. Not to worry about tracking down the elusive pigeon peas, though--if the full range of tropical tidbits hasn't quite reached you yet, the authors kindly provide alternatives. Twenty-five menus round out this well-organized book, inspiring respectful salivation in the landlocked. --Rob Lightner

From Publishers Weekly
Cooking school teacher Kotkin and Martin, food editor of the Miami Herald, provide clear, flexible recipes (most of them of medium difficulty) perfectly suited to home cooking in this tribute to the foods of Miami. Miami's melting pot is influenced by many tropical cuisines?including those of Cuba, Jamaica and Haiti?and the authors fuse such Caribbean influences with fare from other parts of the world: Potato and Black Bean Pancakes with Cilantro-Goat Cheese Sauce were inspired by Hanukkah latkes. Clever, unfussy presentations abound (Black Bean and White Corn Soup is two soups presented in a single bowl). There are plenty of piquant dishes (Florida White Chili with white beans and chicken meat) and refreshing salads such as Baby Greens and Arugula with Fat-Free Papaya-Mint Dressing. Historical information (Arawaks, Caribbean natives of several centuries ago, were early Florida barbecuers) is presented with helpful tips on selecting, storing and handling ingredients. Variations are abundant and worthwhile. For example, a recipe for the ubiquitous Arroz con Pollo comes with eight suggestions, ranging from making a soupier dish to incorporating beer rather than wine. The chapter with salsa recipes is a standout. Agent, Jane Dystel.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Thanks to the phenomenon of South Beach, an influx of immigrants, and the work of an increasing number of talented chefs and restaurateurs, Miami has become a culinary mecca far beyond its earlier, simpler reputation for stone crab and key lime pie. Kotkin and Martin have gathered together a book of recipes that reflect the excitement of the new South Florida cuisine. Old and new combine in such dishes as potato and black bean pancakes with cilantro-goat cheese sauce, where Jewish latkes marry with Cuban black beans and contemporary goat cheese. Escovitch fish and jerk chicken reflect the influence of the local Jamaican community. Conch fritters provide an anchor in more traditional Floridian fare. Availabilty of hitherto unfamiliar tropical fruits and of other fresh vegetables on a year-round basis give Miami's cooking a unique source of flavors and textures that can't be duplicated easily elsewhere. Mark Knoblauch

Customer Reviews

Mmmmmm Good, Really Good
Mmmmiami is one of the five best Florida/Gulf Coast cookbooks out there. Well, that's my opinion. I've been updating my Amazon "So You'd Like to Guides" and I have one on Key Lime Pie. Take a look at it if you want. Anyway, I've included fifty cookbooks (the maximum Amazon will allow) in all my guides, so I've had a chance to go through my collection. And quite a collection it is, I've got hundreds of cookbooks and I go through them all the time. That's my problem, how to organize them. While going through what I wanted to include in my guides, I started separating them into piles, the ones I couldn't live without and the ones, if I absolutely had to, I could give away as gifts, you know, like if we moved into a very small place.

Mmmmiami is one I could never part with. I love the food and the atmosphere of Florida and the Gulf Coast, have spent a lot of time there, as I'm a sailing lady. I'm also somewhat of a gourmet chef. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen, or galley, depending if I'm at home in the States or on our boat in the Caribbean. The recipes here will make your family, or even just yourself, if you live alone, drool. They are mouthwatering good and that's the truth.

Review submitted by Captain Katie Osborne

I am cooking my way through now. Love the flavors..
We've been cooking the pork dishes with the salsas and chutneys. Easy to do several at a time and have nice summer food without reheating the kitchen. An even better collection than I first thought.

Delicious recipes/intriguing text give readers a taste of FL
As a former Miamian now living in Virginia, reading this wonderful new book was like taking a trip to my hometown. It has many delicious recipes that seem to me to capture the true essence of tropical cuisine. Try making the Hot and Tangy Black Bean Dip for an easy (and low fat) snack that will wake up your taste buds.I prepared the Calabazas and Sweet Potato Soup for company and received raves reviews from my guests.It's really simple to make and everyone will think you worked all day cooking it.Mmmmiami also offers the reade an interesting history of the growth of So. Florida and the influence that the influx of Latin tourists, businesspeople and immigrants have had on the culture.The book's witty and clever text explains why tropical cuisine is now the hottest food trend sweeping the country.I think this wonderful book should be a staple (like black beans and rice)in the house of any serious cook. I recommend Mmmmiami highly.