Better late than never
Nothing at all fancy here, but a cookbook that won't ever let you down offering one great, old-fashioned recipe after another. I wore out my first book (which I purchased in the 1970s), replaced it with a second, and have purchased one for each of my children. Regretfully, I'm forced to buy used copies as it has been out of print for quite a few years. It's a real shame because this cookbook is one of my favorites, and I have studied and prepared Western Armenian cuisine for many years.
Ms Hogrogian cooks the way the old timers cooked, those first generation of Armenians who arrived at these shores after narrowly escaping the genocide during the early part of the 20th century. So, the recipes are historical, free from interpretations, alterations and assimilation with other ethnic cuisine. Of course, when this first generation of Armenians prepared their foods here in America, they did not have all the ingredients they were use to using in their Anatolian homelands, so they had to improvise, as every country has their own special varieties of livestock, produce, and such. (The fat from sheep's tail, or the high-fat milk of water buffalo are not so easily found at the local grocer here in America.) However, what these masterful survivors swapped in order to prepare their foods was sublime culinary artistry, and they had managed to keep alive Western Armenian foods, one of the most delicious and healthy cuisines of the world. Ms. Hogrogian's recipes expertly reflect this first generation's style of preparation. If you can find a decent copy selling at a decent price, grab it! Try a few of her recipes, and you'll be glad you own a copy.
By the way, another historical, Western Armenian cookbook that is worthwhile finding is, Treasured Armenian Recipes", a plastic, ring bound book, first printed by the Detroit Women's Chapter of the AGBU in 1949. The latest cookbook offering this generational style of cooking is, Dorothy Arakelian's, Come Into My Kitchen. This cookbook offers both "International" cuisine and Western Armenian. All of the recipes found in this cookbook are in delicious, and the Armenian ones, are superb.
