What an interesting cookbook! The title gives the impression that this will be tongue-in-cheek funny, but it's a serious collection not only of traditional Romanian recipes (I'm desperate to try out the fried dough stuffed with feta & spinach and the baked zucchini dish) but also its history and folklore. The photos are beautiful and the brief history of the country add to the charm of this cookbook. It's well worth a read.

Romanian cuisine is unique and largely unknown, at least in my region. I expected it to be the same as some of the surrounding cuisines and while there is some crossover, I was pleased to discover dish after dish that I hadn't seen before, with flavors I would want to taste to try. I love how the author combines folklore in with the recipes, which makes for an enjoyable read whether you want to cook from the book or just learn from it. I plan to revisit it in 2021 when I focus on Eastern Europe in my reading and cooking.

Romania-a hidden gem of Eastern Europe-is better known for its brush with communism than its cuisine. But, just because it's hidden, doesn't mean it's forgotten. Filled with lush ingredients, many picked fresh from the field, you'll find a traditional Romanian plate loaded to the brim with vegetables and lean proteins, never lacking in flavor.

And nestled in those hidden hills and winding landscapes, lies a culture as rich and decadent as their meals. Journey through the countryside with over 80 recipes as unique as the people who have been perfecting them for centuries, all the while learning about the folklore and traditions that have steeped Romania in mystical mystery for so long.

Romanian cookbooks are scarce so I'm glad that this one does the cuisine and culture justice. I enjoyed the mythology, the photos are beautiful and the history enjoyable. Definitely recommended.

This book could not be more aptly named, delivering on its promise of both Romanian food and folklore. But in addition, the reader also gets an introduction to language and customs, and photographs of Romania worthy of any high-end coffee table book. (The food photography is droolworthy too!)

Reading through the folklore section at the start of the book really set me up and provided a context for the recipes that followed. This is the food of the people - homecooking. No fancy equipment or ingredients required. I tried 3 recipes along the way. Fasole Bătută cu Ceapă Calita (white bean dip with caramelized onion), Bulz (stuffed grilled polenta) and Mazăre cu Pui (chicken and pea stew). The instructions were clear and my results came out more or less the way I expected (the Bulz were trickier to construct than I'd thought, but that's more about my proficiency than about the recipe - still tasted really good). I've since made the white bean dip a number of times, well on the way to becoming a weekend grazing staple in my home. The chicken and pea stew was delicious and I will also make that one again after my freezer stash is depleted. Actually there were quite a few names on my list of potential dishes to try, which is a good indication of the accessibility of both the cuisine and the cookbook.

I had a temporary digital copy for review purposes, but would happily purchase a physical copy to keep upon publication.

From Dill to Dracula is a culinary and cultural homage to Romanian food and folklore curated by A.M. Ruggirello. Due out 10th Nov 2020, it's 262 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats.
Roughly 20% of the content is used to provide a nice capsule introduction to the culture, attractions, folklore, and history of Romania. The photography is attractive and well done. I've wanted to visit the area for a long time and I liked looking at the photos of the Danube, churches, markets, and mountain castles of the area. Throughout the book, the author has included keys for extra info: Romanian language/words, folklore/culture, and food facts about specific dishes or and drinks. Admittedly, the inclusion of Vlad Tepes (Vlad the Impaler) - including a shiver-inducing period woodcut - was a little weird for a cookbook, but he's confined to the folklore/history part of the book, and he's pretty famous as far as Romanian history goes, so it doesn't detract from the overall experience in my opinion.

The recipes themselves are arranged thematically: bread & soup, vegetables, meat, sweets, and drinks. Each recipe contains an introduction with some background explanations, yields, ingredients listed bullet style in a sidebar (American standard measures, no metric equivalents), and step by step instructions. Many recipes also contain alternative presentations or extra serving info. The nutritional info is not included. The emphasis is on simple ingredients, prepared well, with lots of root vegetables, meat, and grain ingredients. There are some ingredients (surprisingly not many) which may be somewhat challenging for readers to find outside of large metropolitan areas with access to ethnic/specialty groceries. The author has included an appendix with an abbreviated list of grocers who carry Romanian and Easten European food and drinks, including online retailers. There is also an index in Romanian and English.

The photography is unusually good for this volume. All (or nearly all) of the recipes are illustrated and the serving photos are beautifully presented and attractive. Graphically the book is easy to read with a nice layout and good contrast and typesetting.

This would make a superlative gift for a cooking fan, as well as a nice choice for library, school, or similar.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes

I loved the cover, the title, and the theme of Romanian cooking in a cookbook so this immediately caught my eye!!! I was so excited to learn more about Romanian cooking as try out a few new recipes!

I will start out with the positives! I loved the inclusion of the author's personal connections to Romania and the brief history and traditions at the beginning of the book. As someone who is not very familiar with Romania or the culture, it was extremely interesting and informative! I also loved the landscape photos throughout the book.

However, I was less excited about the recipes than I anticipated. There were few that truly appealed to me and I thought the food photography could have been improved. That being said, the general organization and layout was great!

I was gifted an advanced copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

I've only very recently taken to reading cookbooks, mostly because my husband doesn't always feel like feeding me but I still need to eat, and if you can't find the time to cook during a pandemic, when will you? Anyway, From Dill to Dracula has been my favorite cookbook so far. I enjoyed reading more about Romania, the gorgeous pictures, and interesting recipes. I especially loved the "let's learn Romanian", "according to folklore...", and "mâncare for thought" additions and look forward to trying more of the recipes this Fall and Winter.

Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy of this book!
I have heard so much from my son who spent two years in Romania and Moldova about the food there, and I was so excited to see this and enjoy the book. It is lovely and I will be getting a copy as a "souvenir" of his time there.

I learned so much from this cookbook. The history lesson at the beginning is so important. The book is well laid out. The recipes are tasty. This would be a great book to give to someone who will be traveling to that region. The photography is well done. A very nice cookbook over all.

From Dill to Dracula wasn’t just a cookbook. It was a full Romanian experience. The book had an expansive history of Romania and it’s traditions. It explained the foods that are commonly eaten and the reasons why. The book was full of beautiful pictures. I loved how they included the Ballad of the Miorita. It really led to a greater understanding of Romania.

All of the recipes sounded and looked delicious and the steps for the recipes seemed easy to follow! I am especially excited to try my hand at the dobos torte, with a glass of the albul romanesc! I have a feeling that the recipes that I make out of From Dill to Dracula will become hits in our household!

It is Romanian cook book.
First of it is so beautiful. It has mesmerizing pictures of Romanian landscape and pictures of food.
It has wonderful recipies. Vegetarian as well as nonveg. It has a elegant style and theme about it that makes it a beautiful book.
Certainly before you can read the recepies beautiful pictures will catch your eyes.
A wonderful picture book and cook book.

From Dill to Dracula is an interesting Romanian cookbook that is part cook book, part armchair travel guide and part folklore.

The book is divided into five chapters plus the introduction and includes recipes for:
- Bread and soups
- Garden (vegetarian and side dishes)
- Meat (main dishes)
- Sweets (desserts)
- Bottle (Alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks)

Each recipe has it's Romanian name and then the English translation, along with an introduction to the recipe. Also included at the bottom of the recipes is a titbit of folklore, learning Romanian or a food for thought.

The rear of the book contains stores to purchase the ingredients, but they are only for the USA. However, most of the ingredients can be found anywhere in the world, though as a Brit, I'm not sure what an "Ulker tea biscuit" is. The ingredients for the recipes are listed unusually with t, T or c, which I guess means teaspoon, Tablespoon and cup, but I couldn't see in the book if this was correct. Otherwise the ingredients are in imperial measurements only. Each recipe does come with full colour photography which helped see the interesting dishes from this part of the world.

I'd certainly like to try making the country bread and the chocolate caramel layer cake.

I received this book from Netgalley in return for a honest review.

The cuisine of Roumania isn't well known. If this cookbook is any indication, it's rich, easy for home cooks, and very delicious. i can't wait to make many of these dishes!

What a great collection of recipes. The introduction was nicely written and gave a great overview of the cooking in Romania. There were a few recipes which I remembered from holidays in Hungary and Bulgaria, like Longosi. I actually recognised many of the bread and pasta recipes as they are widely popular in Germany, Austria and Poland. I have already decided on trying some of the others, especially the ones with dill.. Just a couple of them seemed a little bit too strange for me, but most of them just had me intrigued, like the stuffed polenta and snowball cookies. Can I just say I highly approve of the extensive dessert section and the unusual addition of a cocktail section. Although I'm not sure I will try the Whisky with a pickle chaser.

It’s always a bonus when a cookbook with mouthwatering recipes also has fascinating facts and fascinating information. That is the case of From Dill to Dracula: A Romanian Food & Folklore Cookbook by A M Ruggirello. This is a gorgeous book and makes readers want to visit Romania, which is to most a very unfamiliar place. One thing that is intriguing is that Dracula is said to come from Romania, and it’s fun to read all the background and data on that fictional character based on a real Romanian man.

Generally when I review a new cookbook, I bookmark the recipes that interest me; there are usually a few, and then I try them. The problem with this cookbook is that I wanted to bookmark almost every recipe; I have so many in the queue to try that it will take me a year to prepare all of them. The photographs for both the recipes and the history and facts about Romania are spectacular. The recipes are easy-to-follow, although some don’t follow standard recipe protocol. There are recipes for appetizers and spreads, yummy soups, interesting and unique main and side dishes and a large number of mouthwatering desserts.

This is one of those books to put on the coffee table, and also one to curl up in a corner and read for hours. Everything about this cookbook is top notch. Anyone who wants to learn something about Romania, and cook some of the food from that country, will definitely want to add this excellent cookbook to their collection.

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

Excellent collection of Romanian recipes. Since I am already familiar with them I was pleased to see how authentic these were. Excellent pictures and additional context. Can’t wait to have patrons explore new cuisines with this addition to the cookbook collection.

I love the title of this cookbook. It was what initially attracted me to request it. The imagery and timbits of folklore and history included in the book are great and really add to the ambiance of the book. I liked a lot of the recipes and even tried out a few. The layout of the recipes are good and they are easy to follow. Thank you Netgalley for digital copy in return for an honest review.

Okay. I love books. I love food. I love traveling. So cookbooks sometimes for me aren't necessarily about the recipes (weird, I know), but more as history books or memories, that just happen to have recipes I can try. I also have a fairly diverse set of family/friends and one of them happens to be from Romania so I was excited to read From Dill to Dracula and hopefully surprise my friend with tidbits that I learned. As with other cookbooks, From Dill to Dracula is a personal one to the author and that is very easy to see. I could empathize with the author who grew up not speaking their native language and was a bit removed from their roots. The photos are of a beautiful country (it's on my list of places to travel when things get back to 'normal'), historical information, and even translated songs, and 'let's learn romanian'. The recipes are pretty unknown and exciting to me, with ingredients I can easily find at local markets, and numbered instructions. This is a cookbook that I will be picking up time and time again (even if just to remember some Romanian). #FromDilltoDracula #NetGalley

This book had me at “dill” and “Dracula”. Join author Ashley Ruggirello as she discovers her family’s Romanian heritage through food and mythology. Part cook book, part arm chair travel guide and part folklore, Ruggirello includes exquisite photos taken from her travels throughout the country.

As a vegan I still found a number of these recipes easily adapted with plant based substitutes. A number of the dips are fabulous and so to the Varza Calita, braised cabbage with subbed vegan smokey sausage.

Not only is the lore of Dracula discussed but readers will also learn of the Capcuan ogre, the Iele fairies and the Pricolici werewolf plus many more supernatural beings that roam the Romanian countryside.

This is an excellent addition to your Eastern European cook book collection.

*eArc provided by publisher and NetGalley

This feast of a book is so much more than a cookbook. You really get a feel for Romanian culture and history, with lush photographs, bits of trivia and folklore, and authentic traditional recipes. Expect to use a lot of pork, wheat and dill (none of which traditionally have much of a home in my kitchen) and to create real, traditional dishes. There are photos of every recipe. No nutritional information is provided. While the recipes are made by hand and often look extravagant, they tend towards simple ingredient lists and are well explained. There are lots of recipes using garden produce for simple salads, soups and so on. I loved the bit about Romania's "white lightning" Tuica (ingredients-- plums, yeast) since I make a lot of wild wines and other hard beverages and I relate to making delicious drinks with the plants that grow in your backyard, so to speak. This is one I may buy for my own kitchen.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.