Crete on the Half Shell is a fascinating hybrid of a book, part travelogue, part culinary adventure, and part personal odyssey for the author. Byron Ayanoglu is a food critic and writer with an intriguing resume. He has written such well-received cookbooks as The New Vegetarian Gourmet and Simply Mediterranean Cooking , more than a dozen plays, a novel ( Love in the Age of Confusion ), served as the personal chef for Mick Jagger, and been the restaurant critic for Toronto's NOW magazine and The Montreal Gazette . Yearning for a quieter life, he decides to retreat to Greece, the land of his ancestors, but one he left behind for Canada at an early age. The richly historic island of Crete is his destination, though he's more attracted by its culinary than archaeological "In Chania, one never questions the purpose of life, one simply eats it." Ayanoglu's retirement plans are put on hold when long-time friend and master chef Theo decides the island's cuisine desperately needs the pair's talent. In what could be called Byron and Theo's Excellent Adventure (or perhaps Big Fat Greek Feast ), they scour Crete for new taste treats and opportunities to dazzle the locals. Ayanoglu's aromatic descriptions of the ingredients and cooking will leave the reader literally drooling on the pages. Freshly caught fish, organic vegetables and meats, raw goat cheeses, local honey and yoghurt, and the omnipresent olive oil are all given loving treatment in the kitchen and in the book. Additionally, descriptions of the island's history, culture, and inhabitants are nicely integrated into the text. It is a pity more photographs could not have been used, especially as some of the best stories involve the author's photographer friend Algis, but that shortcoming is amply compensated for by Ayanoglu's breezy and colourful prose style. Chances are that the first call you make after happily digesting Crete on the Half Shell will be to your travel agent. --Kerry Doole

Crete on the Half Shell: A Story about an Island, Good Friends and Food

Travel

AYANOGLU, Byron

Europe

Harperperennial

Byron's New Home Cooking

Viking/Penguin

125 easy and delicious Thai recipes. 
 Thai cuisine is considered one of the world's most delicious and continues to maintain its enormous popularity in North America with its unique blend of tastes: hot, sour, and sweet. 
 With fail-safe, easy-to-follow recipes, Simply Thai Cooking now includes fifteen new recipes and an expanded vegetarian and chicken section. 
 Create your favorites like Pad Thai, Yum Mamuang (Green Mango Salad), Nuer Num Mun Hoy (Beef with Oyster Sauce and Mushrooms) and Kaeng Khiao Wan Kai (Chicken in Thai Green Curry). Savor new tastes like Pad Kana (Chinese Broccoli with Shiitaki Mushrooms), Tom Ka Tofu (Coconut-Tofu Soup) and Kang Pa Kai (Jungle Curry Chicken). 
 Most of the dishes can be prepared in less than 30 minutes. Because these recipes provide excellent nutrition with little fat, they are as healthy as they are delicious.

Simply Thai Cooking

Cookbooks, Food & Wine

Young, Wandee

Regional & International

Robert Rose

Authentic curries made easy. 
 Curry is enjoyed throughout the world. This wonderful selection of curry recipes draws its inspiration from India, Thailand, China, England, Indonesia and the Caribbean. 
 These quick, easy and tantalizing recipes feature ingredients found in supermarkets, yet the dishes maintain authentic tastes and flavors. 
 Some of the creative curry recipes include:
<ul>
<li>Vegetables masala (mixed vegetables, tomato, gravy, curry leaf); chicken and wild mushroom curry with saffron; Indian-style butter chicken; Kashmiri-style lamb with root vegetables</li> <li>Thai beef-tamarind curry with potato; braised beef with chililime and lemongrass; Caribbean coconut lime braised pork; grilled fish tikka</li> <li>Shrimp curry, Calcutta style; Caribbean-spiced tilapia; calamari curry</li> <li>Dansak (lentils with vegetables); eggs sambal goreng; chili coconut dal.</li> </ul>
 Among the accompaniments and side dishes:
<ul>
<li>Tomato onion rice pilau; spicy Singapore noodles; zucchini pancake</li> <li>Caramelized mango relish; spicy pickled green beans; fresh mint raita.</li> </ul>
 These and other authentic recipes will allow home cooks to experience international curry cuisine at its most tantalizing.

Complete Curry Cookbook

MacKenzie, Jennifer

Cooking by Ingredient

The perennial bestseller is back with a new look. 
 The first two editions of Simply Thai Cooking have sold over 100,000 copies, and it's not hard to see why. Thai cooking is exhilarating, it's exotic -- and it's easier to make than ever before. The exciting, flavorful ingredients can be found everywhere, and nothing else so magically combines the savory with the sweet, the tart with the spicy. 
 These easy-to-follow recipes for a wide range of Thai standards are virtually foolproof and taste deliciously authentic. In addition to a new cover treatment, this new edition features 16 new color photographs of this wonderfully enticing cuisine. 
 All the favorites are back: 
<ul>
<li>Thai cold spring rolls </li>
<li>Chicken satay </li>
<li>Lemongrass-shrimp soup </li>
<li>Thai hot and sour soup </li>
<li>Green papaya salad </li>
<li>Glass noodle salad </li>
<li>Pad thai </li>
<li>Coconut noodles with chicken and shrimp </li>
<li>Thai beef curry </li>
<li>Marinated grilled beef </li>
<li>Roast duck in red curry </li>
<li>Pork with red chili sauce </li>
<li>Shrimp in spicy coconut milk. </li> </ul>
 Most of these amazing recipes can be prepared in less than 30 minutes, and helpful hints on the essentials of Thai cuisine will appeal to beginner and experienced home cooks alike.

Features an alphabetical listing of all restaurants, a mini-review guide at the front of the book for quick reference, listing by type of restaurant and district, and complete information including hours, credit cards, and wheelchair access.

Eating My Words: 1998 99 Guide to Montreal Restaurants

Cooking Education & Reference

Véhicule Press

Restaurant critic and food guru Byron Ayanoglu recommends Montreal's best restaurants--only for those which feature a compelling blend of great food and professional, caring service. These are restaurants to visit and visit again. 
My most sacred restaurant-scouting duty is to the reader, not the restaurant. My task is to provide informed, unprejudiced, uninfluenced reports. And of all the criteria--décor, service, wine list, cachet--it is the food that I try to judge most carefully. FEATURES: - Quick-reference capsule reviews - Major reviews - Comprehensive indexes - Complete information on each restaurant 
As an added attraction, Byron Ayanoglu awards "Byrons" for outstanding achievement in Montreal eateries, including Best Antipasti, Best Dim Sum, Best Grilled Fish, Best Chocolate Dessert, Best Terrace, and (even) Best Toilet.

Montreal's Best Restaurants

Canada

Simply Thai Cooking, has 100 recipes featuring soups, stews, seafood dishes, hot sauces and much much more. They are all low in fat but high in nutrition and taste.

The New Vegetarian Gourmet, is a must for people who love great tasting food but want all the benefits of eating vegetarian meals.

The New Vegetarian Gourmet

Vegetarian & Vegan

Simply Mediterranean Cooking reveals to the reader where the world's best food can be found - from the Mediterranean. And once you've sampled the extraordinary dishes in this book, you'll find it impossible to disagree.

Simply Mediterranean Cooking

Kemezys, Algis

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by AYANOGLU, Byron. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by AYANOGLU, Byron

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by AYANOGLU, Byron. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Crete on the Half Shell: A Story about an Island, Good Friends and Food

Byron's New Home Cooking

Simply Thai Cooking

Complete Curry Cookbook

Simply Thai Cooking

Eating My Words: 1998 99 Guide to Montreal Restaurants

Montreal's Best Restaurants

Simply Thai Cooking

The New Vegetarian Gourmet

Simply Mediterranean Cooking