[Sca-cooks] tajine?

[Lilinah]

From: "Mike C. Baker" <kihebard at hotmail.com>
>  Ana, off the top of my skull -- while not explicitly Moroccan -- I would
>  suggest an array of tabouleh/tabouli, baba ganoush, hummus, and
>  accompaniment of pita bread / toasted pita wedges.  There is also a
>  cucumber&onion cold dish (served at times in vinegar, and at others with
>  a yogurt-based sauce similar to that often used with gyros) I would also
>  consider as part of an "array".
>
>  Personally, I might add dolmas (stuffed grape leaves) and other "mezze"
>  / savory finger-foods to the array.

Let me note, Mike, that i'm not attacking you. You did specify that 
your suggestions are not Moroccan...

And i sure like hummus bi'tahini, baba ganuj, etc. (sound of lip smacking)

But this reminds me of why i do historical Middle Eastern cooking...

The "default" for Middle Eastern food in the US tends to be these 
Levantine dishes, along with meat and vegetables on skewers. Clearly 
this is the default whether someone is asking about Moroccan food 
(which is quite different from Levantine food) or Medieval Middle 
Eastern food. And people are constantly seeking among the historical 
recipes for those same darn Levantine dishes.

Anyway, i'm a huge fan of modern Moroccan food (sorry i was wrapped 
up in other work, so i didn't suggest a fish tagine for Ana).

The classic modern Moroccan cookbook is:
Paula Wolfert. "Couscous and other good food from Morocco"
It's available in paperback. Wolfert lived in Morocco in the beatnik 
50s, had a home in Tangier, but she traveled quite a bit.

Ana, it's still in print, but you may be able to find a used copy 
from a book vendor in Europe - i start looking at:
http://www.bookfinder.com
i've bought books i found there from England, Spain, Turkey...

Kitty Morse is another good author on Moroccan food, who, despite her 
name, is Moroccan, and was born and raised in Morocco. Her books are 
"flashier" than Wolfert's, with more color photos, but the recipes 
are good.
-- "Cooking at the Kasbah - Recipes from my Moroccan Kitchen" is her 
best general Moroccan cookbook.
-- "The Vegetarian Table: North Africa" is another good cookbook by 
Morse - the cuisine is so rich and varied that one can have a 
fabulous meal without meat.
-- NOTE: her "Couscous: Fresh and Flavorful Contemporary Recipes" is 
NOT Moroccan, but Moroccan influenced fusion cuisine.

A couple other books i have, but haven't used as much are:
-- Robert Carrier. "Taste of Morocco"
-- Copeland Marks. "The Great Book of Couscous: Classic Cuisines of 
Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia"
Both are in paperback and have a wide selection of dishes.

And i have two books of historical interest, since they are sort of 
memoirs with cooking:
-- Madame Guinaudeau. "Traditional Moroccan Cooking: Recipes from Fez"
-- Aline Benayoun. "Casablanca Cuisine: French North African Cooking"
I would NOT recommend starting with either of these two.

And i've got a number of North African Jewish cookbooks, which 
reflect the local cuisines.
-- 
Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM)
the persona formerly known as Anahita

My LibraryThing
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/lilinah