I liked this cookbook. I would have prefered more pictures of the recipes and food that you are making that person pics but I could make most of these recipes which is good.

Greek recipes are easy to make and healthy too. This book has clearly explained recipes ...... A must book to be in your cookbook collection.......

I really enjoy Greek food and was happy to see how healthy it was and how easy to prepare. I had never idea this was one of the healthiest food diets that was actually beneficial and worked.

I have made so many receips from this book. All very authentic to Greece - not American versions. Simple instructions that are easy to follow. Thank you!

With the Mediterranean diet being in the news, I never really thought about how someone's family recipes could fit within it (my family's recipes certainly did not). I haven't made everything, of course, but those that I did were delicious as well as healthy!

A delicious book jam packed with mouth watering recipes. Filled with stunning and colorful photos, and easy to follow instructions, this book is sure to be a staple in many kitchens around the North America.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I truly appreciate it!

Debbie Matenopoulos's "It's All Greek to Me" is an absolutely scrumptious cookbook. I seriously want to try ALL of the recipes! The Greek foodie in me is screaming YES! Spanakopita, Kolokithopites (Zucchini Fritters), Feta Psiti, Tzatziki, Greek-style Macaoni and Chesse, Baklava, and Tourta (Aunt Aphrodite's Sour Cherry Summer Dessert) are just a few of my favourites. Her attention to detail and the little things keeps these recipes traditional, but also unique to her family's way of cooking over the generations. I cannot wait to share this book and the dozens of fabulous recipes with all of my friends and family! Highly recommended, 5 stars!

The first forty pages of this book are introductory matter, including sections about how to use the book, cooking tips, and the Greek pantry. There are three separate introductory sections - written by the author and two other authors - that explain the benefits of the Mediterranean diet and the Mediterranean lifestyle in general. I was a bit disappointed that the cooking tips offered only occupied one page, and were basics like the quick soak method for beans, peeling and seeding tomatoes, preparing vegetables for cooking, and whether to rinse rice. The section on the Greek pantry was interesting because it introduced several Greek ingredients that I have seldom heard of. Of course, reading this made me curious as to how difficult will be to source the recipes to come. As it turned out, the majority of the recipes were very simple, and the ingredients that were unfamiliar to me were either only found in a few recipes or had more commonly available substitutes.

There are eleven different recipe chapters to the book, ranging from appetizers to desserts, that are twenty to thirty pages apiece. Each recipe chapter begins with a table of contents of the recipes contained in the chapter. There is also a paragraph of description about the recipes in the chapter. Each recipe within the chapter begins with separate paragraph about the recipe, which is followed by the number of servings and the list of the ingredients. The recipe steps are provided in paragraph form, with a separate paragraph for each major activity.The steps seemed quite detailed and easy to follow. On occasion, a recipe would be followed by “Debbie’s Tips” and/or “Yiayia’s Tips,” both of which gave more insight into how to do the recipe or what to serve with the recipe. Because of these tips after the recipe, there was little commentary within the recipe steps themselves.

The range of recipes is quite outstanding. There are the usual suspects - tzatziki sauce, lamb souvlaki, lamb gyros, moussaka, baklava - but then there are recipes for fish, squid, and octopus as well. There are two chapters on vegetables: one for vegetarian main dishes, and one for vegetable side dishes.

In general, the full color photography in this book is amazingly beautiful. The majority of the recipes are accompanied by a photograph that demonstrates what the final product should look like and how to serve it. The filler photography of Greek markets, the author with Greek restaurant owners, and Greek scenery really gives the cookbook a sense of place. Every few chapters the books contains a one or two page profile of a unique aspect of Greek culture - including the Acropolis, a trip to the monastery, bakers, and butchers - that was also filled with lovely photographs.

In general, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who was interested in Greek cuisine. Although a bit of a paean to the Mediterranean diet, the breadth of the recipes selected for the cookbook was impressive, the recipes themselves were well written with an excellent level of detail, and the photographs were stunning.

I have yet to prepare anything from the recipes in this book. When I do, I will update my review.

This is a beautiful book! The pictures are gorgeous. I chose this book because I've read a lot about how the Mediterranean diet is really healthy and I'm trying to eat more of this type food. Many of the recipes could be easily made and much of the food is simple and flavorful. They use a lot of olive oil, lemons, parsley and oregano in many of the recipes. All flavors I like. The only one that is prevalent that I don't care for is feta cheese - but I can get around that by either leaving it out or substituting another type. So far I've only tried two recipes and they were both delicious!

The book had a section of various ingredients that are common to Greek food and talked about each item. Then the book had sections for Appetizers, Seafood, Meats, Vegetarian Dishes, Vegetables, and Extras. I highly recommend the book both to look at and to cook from.!

Thanks to Debbie Matenopoulos and BenBella Books through Netgalley for a copy to read and review. I am truly enjoying it.

This was a very interesting read. I loved learning all about Greece, the people, and the food. The writing is witty and easy to follow. The recipes are easy to follow and sound delicious. I can't wait to try them all! Great read!!

Personally, I think that the traditional Mediterranean diet is THE healthiest diet as it is based on whole foods and lots of vegetables. In this book, Matenopoulos shares 120 of her family's century-old Greek recipes. These include:

Moussaka
Pastitsio
Spanakopita
Lemony Grilled Chicken
Tzatziki
Greek Salad
Dolmathes
Youvarlakia Avgolemono
Spanakorizo
Grilled Octopus
If you have ever travelled to Greece, I am sure that you recognised some of those dishes. They are all delicious, very nutritious, full of flavour and good-for-you vitamins. The author does a wonderful job of presenting these dishes in a simple manner that will definitely appeal to you. I loved the book's colorfull photographs and the author's personal stories as it gave the book a personal touch that I enjoyed.



The book is the perfect present for someone:

who has just vacationed in Greece and is excited to recreate his/her favourite Greek dishes at home.
who is interested in eating more vegetables in his/her diet as Greek cuisine relies heavily on high-quality vegetables.
who has just started his/her own home and wants to learn basic Greek cuisine.
anyone who enjoys cooking simple and flavourful recipes!

I have a very large cookbook collection, so anything new has to be really special for me to try to squeeze it onto my already crowded shelves; however, I really wanted a one with Mediterranean recipes after listening to Dr. Oz rave about that particular diet on his show so often. After checking out quite a number of them, I believe this is that special book I've been looking for.

I love that the author states most of the plates in Greece meals are largely filled with vegetables. I was hoping to find more recipes that use them, especially ones not loaded with cream sauces and other high calorie additions, and I am pleased to say this book is stuffed to the brim. There are also meat dishes, soups and deserts, and the author shares her family's favorite recipes so these are the best of the best.

There are a few things that I feel are for more adventurous types such as calamari and octopus, but most of the recipes are things I'd make, so I give this one a solid 5 stars.

Nice book. I got it because I really like Greece, it’s inhabitants, it’s culture and, of course, it’s food. The book is a bit too long for my liking. It tells the writer’s story and it’s full of photos but surprisingly, not of the dishes.

I have been watching Debbie on Hallmark Channel's Home & Family for several years now and was curious about her cookbook. She has talked and shared recipes from her book on the show. I cook a lot but was not as familiar with Greek cooking. The cookbook was interesting. She shares family recipes and traditions in her book. There is also a forward in the book explaining the benefits of Mediterranean cooking to our health. The cookbook list both the Greek name for the recipe and the English name which is a nice addition. The pictures are lovely showing her family, friends and her beautiful country. It would be a nice addition to a cookbook collection.

Gorgeous book. I loved the beautiful photos, the great stories, and yummy recipes.
Debbie brought me right to Greece to eat and visit with her and her family.
She concentrates on healthy recipes that taste great.

I highly recommend this cook book. Interesting stories of Ms. Matenopoulos' culture, easy to follow recipes...some old, some new to me...and photos that give me a peek into her world. I've been cooking for most of my life, and have a few Greek recipe books on my shelf, but this one, by far, was the most usable. Delicious main and side dishes, and the desserts seem heavenly. I won't be making them, because I know they look better on the page than my thighs, but I like looking at the pictures. None of the recipes intimidated me, and when it comes to feeding a family of five, intimidating is a death knell to whether or not I'll try a new recipe. Kudos to Matenopoulos. Well done.

Just this week the Mediterranean diet has been in the news as one of the original supporting research papers has been withdrawn because there were mistakes in the statistics. A reexamination of the work seems to revalidate the original claims, but does not excuse the mathematical mistakes of the original publication.

So the enthusiastic 2014 Foreword by a cardiologist may sound a little funny this week, his endorsement of a cookbook that encourages health and good cheer is spot on.

TV personality Debbie Matenopoulos dedicates this big fat Greek cookbook to her late father and plants family photos among the ruins, fishing boats and food photos. Even grainy 19?? photos of mom and dad and the kids. She writes of learning to cook alongside the women in her extended family as Greeks have always done. Her dad gardened as so many did in those days. There was no "Mediterranean Diet" here, it was home cooked traditional food!

The book is arranged by courses from appetizers to desserts, with some extra bits thrown in after. There are lots and lots of recipes for every bit of Greek food you will ever want. It all sounds yummy and my stomach is growling. I would love a plate of fried calamari right now.

Funnily enough, the book is a bit dated in that olives of all sorts are now available in any community with a large supermarket like Whole Foods or Wegmans. More kinds of packed olives are on the shelves.

Some of the nutrition information in the book is a bit suspicious, like the claim that dandelion greens have all of the essential amino acids. I tried to check this online. Only one of the sites touting the nutritional benefits of dandelion greens mentioned amino acids and there was no citation. Another nutrition calculator listed 0 on all amino acids. I really wish people would stop giving nutrition advice in cookbooks.

Some of the photos are a bit garish. The eggplant spread photo is unfortunate.

Anyway, my gripes aside, this is a fun book with tasty, homey recipes and cheerful photos. Give it a try.

I received a review copy of "It's All Greek to Me: Transform Your Health the Mediterranean Way with My Family's Century-Old Recipes" by Debbie Matenopoulos with Peter Capozzi (BenBella Books) through NetGalley.com. It was originally published in a hardback edition in 2014 and has been reissued as a trade paperback in 2018.

BEAUTIFUL! Having recently begun looking at the Mediterranean Diet/Lifestyle, I was excited to have the opportunity to review Debbie's book. Obviously, having watched her on The View, my initial reason for being interested in the book was because it was written by her! I knew she was Greek, so I figured she'd have great REAL and TRADITIONAL recipes that I could incorporate into my menu!

As I began reading, the very first thing that I noticed was how gorgeous the photos are. This is the kind of book that you could leave on your coffee table and just flip through time and time again. Truly blown away. But, as I dove into the recipes I was sad because I really prefer that each recipes is photographed. There's something about the picture that hooks me into to consider making the recipe.

I'm excited to make many, even most of the recipes in this cookbook. Some of the recipes on the top of my list are Summer Peach Salsa, Aunt Aphrodite's Beet and Apple Salad, Savory Cheese Pie (because cheese plus pie???) and Octopus Onion Stew!

Eager to purchase, I do plan to purchase this one and make many of Debbie's family favorites my family favorites!

Thank you to Debbie Matenopoulos and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book. I loved it! I'll be recommending it to everyone that I know that loves good food!

Greek food has become very trendy lately, and for those who want to try it, Debbie Matenopoulos has written an excellent cookbook, It's All Greek to Me: Transform Your Health the Mediterranean Way with My Family's Century-Old Recipes. This delightful cookbook includes all of the standard popular Greek dishes, and also features dozens of recipes that are less well-known.

There are beautiful photographs of most of the dishes, as well as some photos of Greece. The author also includes stories about the food and about Greece, which make the book an entertaining read as well as a cookbook.

Not only are the recipes succinct and easy-to-follow, but Matenopoulos has included the pronunciation of the Greek recipe names as well as the English names. It really helps, since those of us who aren’t Greek have trouble pronouncing Greek words. The recipes are tempting enough that many may decide to prepare Greek meals for an entire month or two. Favorites include Keftethes (kef-TEH-thes) Greek Hamburger Patties, Lahanosalata (la-ha-NOH-sah-lah-TAH) Cabbage and Carrot Salad (served this as a side dish at a family BBQ with raves), Youvarlakia Avgolemono (yoo-var-LAH-kee-ah ah-VGHO-leh-moh-noh) Greek Meatball Soup, and Lemonates Patates (leh-moh-NAH-tehs pah-tah-TES) Lemon Potatoes.

The book includes decadent desserts, appetizers that real people will want to eat, vegetarian dishes, and plenty of soups and salads. So far, every recipe has turned out picture perfect.

If you love reading about Greek food, this is a good cookbook. If you love cooking Greek Food, this is a must-have, excellent cookbook.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.