Just like what’s happening with barbecue and grilling books (and Italian cookbooks), publishers feel obliged to regularly come out with books covering the same subject over and over again. This is because it is difficult to keep books in print, and older books (with a few exceptions, like The Joy of Cooking) are simply not as marketable as newer books. That said, Wright’s collection of hot and spicy recipes from around the world [Some Like it Hot] is much like the dozens that have come before it. It is comprehensive and the recipes look like they are authentic and complete, with a lot of anecdotal information to delight the reader. ... Anyone who can write a chapter title like “Hot Chicks, Wicked Ducks, and Killer Rabbits” gets a pat on the back from me!
- Dave DeWitt, author of The Chile Pepper Encyclopedia; Fiery-Foods.com
Clifford Wright has put together 300 mouthwatering recipes [in Real Stew] that I want to try in the next week! This is exactly what I feel like eating right now.
- David Rosengarten, host of TV Food Network
Real Stew is an extraordinary cookbook! Clifford Wright has brought 300 classic one-pot meals from all around the world home to our kitchens. His stews are hearty and delicious– my whole family loves them, and your will too.
- Mark Strausman, chef/owner of Campagna restaurant and author of The Campagna Table
Clifford Wright is a versatile fellow. He won the James Beard Foundation’s top cookbook award a couple of years ago for his historical opus, “A Mediterranean Feast.” But he also wrote one of my favorite quick cookbooks, “Cucina Rapida.” In his newest book [Real Stew], Wright calls upon his scholarly credentials and his practical side to produce a collection of classic stews from around the world. The introductory notes for each of the 300 stews reflect Wright’s knowledge of history and world cuisines. But the recipes themselves — from Nantucket Scallop Stew to French Cassoulet to Kenyan Chicken and Coconut Stew — are straightforward and appealing.
- Margaret King, San Diego Union-Tribune
“Real Stew” is a cookbook that doesn’t put on airs. “Real Stew” is what it is–an authentic, exhaustive look at 300 recipes for stews, braises, ragouts, goulashes, chowders and the like.
- Larry Bingham, Baltimore Sun
Clifford Wright proves again in this delectable volume that he is the dean of American authorities on Mediterranean cooking. The recipes [in Little Foods of the Mediterranean] are as valuable for their authenticity as for Wright’s fascinating notes that explain a rich, diverse food culture.
- John Mariani, author of The Italian-American Cookbook and The Dicitonary of Italian Food and Drink
Small plates that are big on flavor are always in season at my house. This is another wonderful collection of Mediterranean recipes from Clifford Wright [Little Foods of the Mediterranean] that will send me into the kitchen with pleasure. Wright strikes just the right note between scholarly and sensual.
- Joyce Goldstein, author of The Mediterranean Kitchen and Saffron Shores
This vast compendium [Little Foods of the Mediterranean] encapsulates the type of Mediterranean food that I love: simple, tasty, unpretentious, and easy to eat. Whether they are tapas, meze, or antipasti, they represent Mediterranean street food at its best. I especially applaud Clifford Wright’s great research into the similarities and the differences among the little foods of the eighteen countries of the Mediterranean Basin.
- Jacques Pépin, chef, cookbook author, and public television show host
Clifford A. Wright... is a memorable, marvelous writer.
- Dick Sinnot, Boston Herald
If you believe that vegetables are the keystone to a sound diet, and if you believe, as more than a few influential cooks do, that many vegetables are best-- and best prepared— in countries that surround the Mediterranean Sea, this [book Mediterranean Vegetables] may prove to be the best of all possible books. This is a lively reference book that contains a generous number of workable recipes. Here’s a book that’s likely to make the commute from bedside table to kitchen and back frequently. Voted Top 10 Cookbooks of 2001
- William Rice, Chicago Tribune
This well-researched book [Mediterranean Vegetables] on vegetables is full of wonderful recipes from the cuisines of the world and is a great reference work.
- Jacques Pépin, host of Jacques Pépin's Kitchen: Encore with Claudine and co-author of Julia and Jacques Co
Mediterranean Vegetables is a great reference book that will be invaluable to any chef’s library. I am especially glad to have it in mine.
- Jean-Georges Vongerichten, chef and co-author of Simple to Spectacular
There are so many interesting flavors and combinations here [in Mediterranean Vegetables]. Having had the honor of eating some of these dishes cooked by Cliff’s own hand, I know how good they really are. I can’t wait to cook them myself.
- Deborah Madison, author of Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone and The Greens Cookbook
I always felt it would take several lifetimes to research the many facets of Mediterranean cooking--history, languages, influences, the range of culinary resourcefulness and extravagance, and the varied tastes of fourteen countries. In his monumental work [Mediterranean Feast], Clifford Wright has made a huge contribution. An astonishing accomplishment.
- Paula Wolfert, author of The Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean
The directions [in Cucina Rapida] are clear and simple and the results are delicious. In testing some of the recipes from Cucina Rapida I found that Wright lived up to his promises. The garlic and parsley shrimp was incredibly easy, took less than 30 minutes and provided one of the best meals my family has enjoyed in some time.
- Ann Wesley, Bloomington Herald-Times
My favorite [of the cookbooks reviewed] is Cucina Rapida, a delicious discovery for lovers of Italian food. Most of the recipes can be done in 30 minutes or less, and the flavors are forthright. I’ve cooked a lot from this book since it came out in early summer and have yet to be disappointed. The recipe for Linguine with Shrimp, Spinach, and Lemon is bright-tasting, a memorable supper that I will make again for my family or for casual entertaining.
- Felicia Gressette, Akron Beacon Journal
Cucina Paradiso is a cookbook, not some dry, dull gastronomic text. The recipes are seductively written, and powerfully appealing. And Wright’s refreshing lack of arrogance...is a rarity among food writers today.
- Robin Mather, The Detroit News
[Clifford A. Wright's Cucina Paradiso] Editor’s Choice of the Best Books of 1992
- New York Times Book Review, December 6, 1992.
[Mediterranean Feast] The Saveur 100. Voted Most Delicious History Book You Can Cook From. “Food-in-context has never been more thoroughly (and more cookably) presented."
- Saveur magazine
Here’s a bookshelf worth of volumes..that celebrate the region’s diverse cooking traditions .... No book accomplishes that more impressively than Clifford Wright’s magnum opus “A Mediterranean Feast."
- Malachy Duffy, Bon Appetit
If there is a cookbook of the year, this [Mediterranean Feast] is it. A remarkably ambitious work....The subject is vast, the scope of time daunting, but Wright comes across as a cheerful, dedicated scholar who was sorry when he had to stop. Recipes are written to be accessible to contemporary cooks.
- William Rice, Chicago Tribune
Wright’s enthusiastic investigation of Mediterranean cuisines is a fine feast for readers interested in culture, history, and most of all, food.
- John Alden, Smithsonian Magazine
This book [Mediterranean Feast] is an impressive original study of the cradle of food civilization and marks an important achievement in the field of culinary history.
- James Beard Foundation Book Awards Committee, May 2000
Clifford Wright has done it again! Not only does Little Foods of the Mediterranean provide hundreds of mouth-watering recipes, it also offers a lively history of their origins. Wright shares with us the centuries-old philosophy of eating that underlies these marvelous little foods, seasoning his text with spicy etymologies along with copious doses of Aleppo pepper and harisa.
- Darra Goldstein, Editor, Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture
Cliff is our GO TO guy whenever we need advice on a particularly intriguing recipe or ingredient. That's why we are thrilled to be holding his new HOT and hip collection of recipes [Some Like it Hot] that will guide you on a world tour guaranteed to blow your taste buds away!
- Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger Chefs/Owners, Border Grill and Ciudad
Cucina Paradiso is a wonderfully insightful and refreshingly personal exploration of one of the world�s most exciting cuisines--full of rich, colorful, and highly seasoned dishes unlike any other Italian food you know. The book is also full of fascinating history. Food is the prism through which Clifford Wright views Sicily and Sicilian culture.
- Paula Wolfert, author of Paula Wolfert's World of Food, Mediterranean Cooking, The Cooking of South-West France, an
"The recipes in Grill Italian are traditional, informative, and most important, delicious. Cliff Wright brings together the best of Italy's flavors and easy techniques."
- Bobby Flay, chef and co-owner of Mesa Grill and Bolo
"Grill Italian hooks the cook in the introduction. Who would not want to light the grill after reading the author's description of an alfresco dinner in Sicily ? The recipes are generally on the simple side, relying on the fresh ingredients and herbs for flavor rather than on heavy marinades and bastings. I love the frequent trick of alternating items on skewers with cubes of oil-soaked bread or that of sprinkling on bread crumbs to add texture ? Sausages, onions and oranges skewered together offer a delightful change of pace."
- Florence Fabricant, New York Times