Green, Aliza

PERSONAL:

Children: two.

CAREER:

Ristorante DiLullo, executive chef, mid-1970s-80s; founder and owner of catering business, beginning 1975; currently food stylist for print and television. Conducts cooking classes and seminars. National spokesperson, Oso Sweet Onions, 2005.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Elected to Philadelphia Culinary Hall of Fame, Philadelphia Inquirer, 1988; James Beard Award for best single-subject cookbook, 2001, for Ceviche!: Seafood, Salads, and Cocktails with a Latino Twist.

WRITINGS:

(With George Perrier) Le Bec-Fin Recipes, photographs by David Fields, Running Press (Philadelphia PA), 1997.

The Bean Bible: A Legumaniac's Guide to Lentils, Peas, and Every Edible Bean on the Planet, foreword by William Woys Weaver, Running Press (Philadelphia, PA), 2000, published as Beans: More Than 200 Delicious, Wholesome Recipes from around the World, Running Press (Philadelphia, PA), 2004.

(With Guillermo Pernot) Ceviche!: Seafood, Salads, and Cocktails with a Latino Twist, foreword by John Mariani, Running Press (Philadelphia, PA), 2001.

Field Guide to Meat: How to Identify and Prepare Virtually Every Meat, Poultry, and Game Cut, Quirk Books (Philadelphia, PA), 2005.

Field Guide to Produce: How to Identify, Select, and Prepare Virtually Every Fruit and Vegetable at the Market, Quirk Books (Philadelphia, PA), 2006.

Field Guide to Herbs and Spices: How to Identify, Select, and Use Virtually Every Seasoning at the Market, Quirk Books (Philadelphia, PA), 2006.

Starting with Ingredients: Quintessential Recipes for the Way We Really Cook, Running Press (Philadelphia, PA), 2006.

Field Guide to Seafood: How to Identify, Select, and Prepare Virtually Every Fish and Shellfish at the Market, Quirk Books (Philadelphia, PA), 2007.

Contributor to periodicals, including Fine Cooking, Philadelphia Magazine, Prevention, and the National Culinary Review. Author of regular food columns for the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News.

SIDELIGHTS:

Chef Aliza Green began her career in food when she opened her own catering business in 1975. In the mid-1970s, she became executive chef at the popular Ristorante DeLullo in Philadelphia, working there for twelve years. After her two children were born, however, Green began to refocus her efforts toward food writing, working as a food stylist, and serving as a culinary consultant to restaurants and catering businesses. In 1988, her efforts garnered her recognition by the Philadelphia Inquirer as one of the city's ten most influential people in the food industry.

Much of Green's professional efforts have been devoted to cookbook writing. In The Bean Bible: A Legumaniac's Guide to Lentils, Peas, and Every Edible Bean on the Planet, later published under the title Beans: More Than 200 Delicious, Wholesome Recipes from around the World, Green describes more than one hundred types of legumes. Then, she offers a selection of two hundred detailed recipes, ranging from simple, everyday dishes such as baked beans to more elegant fare such as French lentil and foie gras-stuffed ravioli with truffle oil. Many of the recipes in Green's bean book "elevate legumes to a gourmet treat," according to Library Journal reviewer Judith C. Sutton. "Green has a knack for enlivening tired ideas" when it comes to preparing beans and legumes, remarked a Publishers Weekly reviewer. "This comprehensive guide to the world of beans and bean cookery belongs in every cookbook collection," concluded Mark Knoblauch in Booklist.

Among Green's more popular works are her "Field Guide" books. In these guides, she provides practical, real-world information on a variety of foodstuffs and ingredients, including poultry, produce, meat, and herbs. Field Guide to Meat: How to Identify and Prepare Virtually Every Meat, Poultry, and Game Cut, for example, covers basic questions that shoppers and cooks would have about different cuts of meat, what differentiates one cut from another, preparation of different types of meat, storage of meat, and much more. The book includes clear photographs, instructions on choosing and preparing meat, suggestions on appropriate quantities to buy for particular uses, and international names for each type of meat. Green provides information on common types of meat such as beef, pork, poultry, and veal, plus more esoteric fare such as squirrel and rattlesnake. A Publishers Weekly contributor called the book one of the "most useful of kitchen references." Similarly, Field Guide to Herbs andSpices: How to Identify, Select, and Use Virtually Every Seasoning at the Market "might just contain everything you ever wanted to know about seasonings," according to another Publishers Weekly writer. Green addresses topics such as the herb or spice's history, its aroma, flavor, appearance, uses, and "food affinities," describing which spices go best together and work with different types of food. All of Green's "Field Guide" books also include appropriate recipes.

Green uncorks an A to Z compendium of detailed recipes and information on the various ingredients used in cooking in Starting with Ingredients: Quintessential Recipes for the Way We Really Cook. The chef provides an informative introduction to each ingredient, then goes on to showcase recipes featuring that ingredient. She also covers storage, cooking techniques, equipment, and more. Green covers ingredients ranging from almonds and apples to yogurt and zucchini, "each featuring invaluable information that will enhance the taste of every dish," commented a reviewer in Food Management. Sutton, in another Library Journal review, declared the book "an invaluable reference with hundreds of fresh, lively recipes" and summed up its value in a single word: "Essential."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, May 15, 2000, Mark Knoblauch, review of The Bean Bible: A Legumaniac's Guide to Lentils, Peas, and Every Edible Bean on the Planet, p. 1716.

Food Management, September, 2006, review of Starting with Ingredients: Quintessential Recipes for the Way We Really Cook, p. 86.

Library Journal, May 15, 2000, Judith C. Sutton, review of The Bean Bible, p. 121; October 15, 2006, Judith C. Sutton, review of Starting with Ingredients, p. 82.

Men's Fitness, May, 2004, Matt Coppa, "Shop Right: Aliza Green, Author of the Field Guide to Produce, Offers These Suggestions for Buying the Best, Most Nutritious In-Season Fruits," p. 42.

Philadelphia Inquirer, August 24, 2006, Dianna Marder, "Starting Fresh," review of Starting with Ingredients.

Publishers Weekly, May 15, 2000, review of The Bean Bible, p. 112; March 28, 2005, review of Field Guide to Meat: How to Identify and Prepare Virtually Every Meat, Poultry, and Game Cut, p. 71; January 16, 2006, review of Field Guide to Herbs and Spices: Field Guide to Herbs and Spices: How to Identify, Select, and Use Virtually Every Seasoning at the Market, p. 57.

ONLINE

Aliza Green Home Page,http://www.alizagreen.com (December 20, 2006).

BookLoons,http://www.bookloons.com/ (December 20, 2006), Hilary Williamson, review of Field Guide to Produce: How to Identify, Select, and Prepare Virtually Every Fruit and Vegetable at the Market.