“Culinarians have long debated the world’s major root cuisines and commonly settle on Turkish, Chinese, and French, sometimes including Italian. Ilkin and Kaufman (coauthors, A Taste of Turkish Cuisine) argue that while the other cuisines center on one basic element (e.g., French is based on sauce and Italian, pasta), many ingredients share the focus in Turkish owing to the country’s geographic location. Here, the recipes are divided into seven regions and include mezes, soups, pilafs, and boereks with ingredients like tahini, eggplant, legumes, halloumi, sumac, and Aleppo peppers. Novices will appreciate the details like exact temperatures and explanations of ingredients’ cooking characteristics… Verdict: An ingredient glossary, 200-plus recipes, and a shopping guide covering major U.S. regions round out the good instruction and revealing narrative detailing one of the world’s most influential cuisines. Recommended.” — Library Journal

“This eye-catching cookbook’s full-color illustrations only enhance the engaging text, which thoughtfully lays out the differences in cooking styles among Turkey’s several regions.” — Booklist * “To give a sense of the country as well as its recipes, authors Nur Ilkin and Sheilah Kaufman have organized their book regionally. Their recipes are clearly described, and the color illustrations highlight the dishes as well as the landscapes and cityscapes of Turkey. These pictures make this volume pretty enough to sit on a coffee table — but keen cooks, enticed by the recipes, will certainly carry it off to the kitchen.” — Amherst Bulletin

“Ilkin, food writer and wife of the former Turkish Ambassador, and veteran cookbook author Kaufman reunite for this sequel to A Taste of Turkish Cuisine to give fans a rich and varied collection of over 200 regional dishes. Each of the country’s seven regions is presented as a cookbook-within-a-cookbook; recipes follow a short overview of the area’s history and culinary highlights. This makes for an engaging read… fans of Turkish cuisine will delight in a veritable feast: multiple kebabs, pilafs, koftas, and mezze (appetizers) ensure that cooks have plenty of options when planning a meal. And modern riffs like Chickpea Ravioli sit comfortably alongside Ottoman Army Stew, a recipe dating back to the eponymous empire. Anyone unable to procure seemingly omnipresent Aleppo pepper, the complex smoky undertones of which are crucial to many dishes, or other key ingredients will find a helpful list of sources in the shopping guide, though the vast majority of recipes call for easily-sourced ingredients.” — Publishers Weekly

“What is most valuable about Ilkin and Kaufman’s recipes is the wisdom of the proverbial ‘tasty hands, ‘ expertise from skilled cooks, that they share…From elegance to simplicity, there is a Turkish dish for every meal and occasion. And as Ilkin and Kaufman show, each one has a storied history that adds real savor.” — Claudia Kousoulas, Appetite for Books

“‘The Turkish Cookbook: Regional Recipes and Stories’ by Nur Ilkin and Sheilah Kaufman is a total trove of great ideas for making vegetables stars. As the cover indicates, it does not flinch from meat, and meat is integral to the Turkish kitchen. But what appealed to me were all the spreads and salads and pastas and boereks.” — Epicurious

“It is always a pleasure to find another cookbook that explores Turkish cuisine on the market. Turkish cuisine is so varied and rich — much of it is still unknown outside of Turkey. Nur Ilkin and Sheilah Kaufman’s ‘The Turkish Cookbook: Regional Recipes and Stories’ (Interlink 2010) is an important addition — and a lovely cookbook. It focuses not on Ottoman cuisine and restaurant Turkish cooking, but on regional cuisine and home cooking. ‘The Turkish Cookbook’ will expand your ideas of Turkish cooking — and remind you just how inventive it can be.” — Superchef

“Turkish cuisine is said to be one of four global greats, along with French, Italian and Chinese. It’s colorful and healthful: the original Mediterranean diet. Turks gave the world yogurt, an impressive array of kebabs, and side dishes with ingredients most urban Americans can get their hands on…So why don’t we know it better? … Nur Ilkin and Sheilah Kaufman have their theories about why that is so; in the meantime, the longtime friends are producing cookbooks that might put Turkish food on more American tables.” — Washington Post