Food & Wine
Cooking a Fairytale by Alexia Alexiadou

[Code : 9789608587519] Cooking a Fairytale by Alexia Alexiadou

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From the publisher...

The happy outcome of "love and marriage" is the miraculous creation of a new life. Ten little fingers, two little feet, one big smile and the pattering around the house are what really fill our lives and hearts with happiness. With a lot of respect for those who appreciate the value of the family, I present to you "Cooking a Fairytale" the last book of the culinary trilogy begun by the award-winning "Cooking a love affair" and the also award-winning "Wedding Days".

Prepared with special love at a period in my life when my firstborn daughter drew all my attention at the tender preschool age, this book brought me extra blessings, more than I could have wished for, as at its final stage I heard the happy news; my second baby was on the way! The release of this book will coincide with the birth of my second daughter and the feeling is overwhelming...

Creating this book was a fun-filled experience, watching happy faces running around the studio all day long, munching away at all the muffins, cookies and cakes prepared by them, my sweet little chefs! I wish to dedicate this book to all the children of the world, the strong foundations of the future, who look to us, their parents, for guidance, creative companionship and traditional values. Like blank pages, their little minds await for us to draw beautiful and meaningful pictures on them, memories which will later develop into a family tradition that they, in turn, will pass on to the next generation.

Every single day, the "little buds" seek attention and acknowledgment from the adult members of the family. Using their imagination creatively, usually with drawings and quite often by singing and dancing, they try to fill their spare time and elicit admiration from their parents. Teach your children the art of cooking and discover how to spend endless hours of fun with your whole family. The most important thing is to include your children in everyday work in the kitchen, give them responsibilities and roles, so that their time in the house is spent pleasantly and creatively. Invent beautiful things with them; imagine that your kitchen is the stage, a perfect setting for dreaming up a unique fairytale.

Every day can be a celebration, from the simple preparation of a Sunday meal en famille, to baking cookies and cakes for school lunches, to organizing a children's party. The contribution of the youngest members of the family is important, from setting the table to preparing the food. Children can decorate the party room, draw the invitations, bake cookies, create unique sandwiches, and even garnish the most elaborate cake. Children are capable of anything, as long as we trust them.

All my childhood memories are filled with aromas of food, freshly baked cookies and cakes, caramel, chocolate, vanilla, bringing to mind the little nursery rhyme "Sugar and spice and all things nice". My favorite working space in our old house was the large oak table in the center of our kitchen. Coming from a family whose work has always been cooking and creating beautiful books, my whole life could not but be tightly entangled with the kitchen and its aromas. No wonder then, that today my kitchen is the most beautiful and spacious room at home. Sweet memories from my childhood fill my mind; all those years when my father and I baked traditional Easter cookies and prepared mayonnaise-based salads for every family gathering. In that same kitchen, my mother and I baked meringues on a weekly basis as this was her favorite dessert, and I still tingle at the memory of the velvety sweetness of beaten egg whites and sugar left over on the whisk. Next to my mother, I learnt everything I can or dare to claim I know today about my favorite sector, confectionary.

When I was at the age of twelve, my mother wrote her first book on children's parties dedicating it to me and wishing that one day I would write my own book. I believe I was her inspiration as much as today my daughter Hara inspires me. At that age, I cooked and organized my first school party; the first but not the last, because from then on, all my friends' home gatherings became my exclusive responsibility. On school holidays my house was always full of classmates, girls and boys, and our main occupation would be to bake a cake, prepare a Chinese meal or make pancakes and enjoy them with chocolate praline cream. We enjoyed feeling like responsible 'adults', getting a small glimpse of the magic world of grown-ups, while some parents certainly felt happy knowing where we were and what we were doing.

Loving family memories, joyful times with good friends, laughter and creative occupation; that is what cooking has always meant to me, and that is the image of work in the kitchen that has been imprinted in my mind since I was a child. All this has taught me that we should trust children, even the youngest ones, to create works of art in cooking or confectionery. Since she took her first steps, my daughter has spent her time in the kitchen with me. Her creations, marzipan fruit and vegetables, cup-cakes and cream cheese desserts concocted by her, have been photographed, and I am proud to present them in this book.

First steps are always difficult, so don't despair if the first attempt, especially with preschool-aged children, ends unsuccessfully with a "half" baked dessert and a "totally" dirty kitchen. Spend time consistently with the children, guide them and teach them with patience, show them the right way to work in the kitchen, how to succeed in what they are doing and how to consider tidiness a game, so that they always leave their work space clean and tidy. Children receive numerous messages. In considering work a game, and without realizing it, they learn to be tidy, organized and close to their family. They learn to offer and share, to compete and create, to produce and to perfect. You will achieve all this especially if you invite two or more children to spend time creatively in the kitchen.

Don't wait for Christmas, a special anniversary or someone's birthday to organize a small or large children's gathering. Go through the book together with your children and find more than one opportunity in every season to organize a small or large celebration. Remember that the greatest responsibility is raising your children in the right way, in these hard times when visions, values and ideals are constantly contested, especially by those who do not realize that it is our obligation to form a generation that resists and creates. Give this generation love, warmth and security, and rest assured that it will be returned to you open-handedly in the future.

About the Author
Alexia Alexiadou was born in Thessaloniki, Greece and received her MBA at City University, London. After working for a time in the field of finance, she gave it up to enter the world of gastronomy, thus following a family tradition. Her love of the ethnic cuisines she encountered while living in the USA, Great Britain and Italy, and her trips all over the world, from the capitals of Europe to far and exotic places like: Bali, Bangkong, Hong-Kong, Sydney, Beijing, Tokyo, Oahu, inspired her to write and publish her first cookbook, "Exotic Cuisine". Favorably received by modern Greek cooks, this exciting "taste" of the cuisines of Mexico, Hawaii and the Far East will soon be available in English.

Mrs Alexiadou's talent for imparting a fresh youthful air to traditional Greek and international dishes has made her a popular contributor to several Greek magazines and newspapers.

She frequently appears with her mother, Vefa Alexiadou, on Greece's popular Morning Coffee Show on Ant-1 TV station and together they have created the best-selling cookbook series, "20 Best Recipes for ... " which won international acclaim and the Diplome d' Honneur at the 1998 World Cookbook Fair at Perigord, France and which has sold in a total of 30 titles, more than 2,500,000 copies in Greece alone!

Her most current publication in cooperation with her mother, was a book of recipes without any animal protein or fat entitled "Sunny, Mediterrannean Cuisine".

She attended the 1999 TASTING AUSTRALIA event, with her mother where they were awarded the silver Laddle award for the photograph and recipe of Soused Sardine. She is an active member of the International Association of the Culinary Professionals.

Mrs Alexiadou latest publication Cooking: a Love Affair was presented in Greece on Valentine's Day 2001, in a glorious ceremony where more than 300 honored guests had the chance to "Taste" the book. The book is already a best seller in the Greek market and its English edition will be available in February 2002. Mrs Alexiadou now makes her home in Athens with her husband, Evangelos Kitsakis and their four year old daughter, Hara.

Hardcover. 240 pages. In English

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