Julie Taboulie’s Lebanese Kitchen: Authentic Recipes for Fresh and Flavorful Mediterranean Home Cooking

Julie Ann Sageer earned her nickname “Julie Taboulie” from her uncles as a girl after they noticed her “obsession with the dish, and food in general.” Though raised in upstate New York, she developed a passion for her ancestral cuisine in her Lebanese-born mother’s kitchen. There, she watched “Mama” rolling out “ajeen (a traditional non-yeasted bread), pickling vegetables for a medley called kabees and blending chickpeas for hummus.” She parlayed those memories into the tv show “Cooking with Julie Taboulie,” and this collection of 125 recipes features many of its favorites. There are chapters on street food, such as lamb meat and onion skewers or fried chickpea, potato and bulgur patties, plus a variety of sauces, spices and pickles, including pickled stuffed baby eggplant and toum (garlic, olive oil and lemon sauce), “an essential sauce in Lebanese cuisine.” Many recipes feature step-by-step instructions for the novice.