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Kosher Style: Over 100 Jewish Recipes for the Modern Cook: A Cookbook
For the
bubbes
and the
balabustas,
the keepers of Jewish kitchens and the enthusiastic neophytes, comes a cookbook that celebrates how many Jews eat today.
In the Jewish culture, as in many others, bubbes, saftas and nanas are the matriarchs of the kitchen and thus the rulers of the roost. They are culinary giants in quilted polyester muumuus and silk slippers who know how to make the Semitic linchpins cherished from childhood--the kugel, the gefilte fish, the matzah ball soup and the crispy-skinned roasted chicken. They all have their specialties but, of course, they won't be around to feed us forever, and that will be a loss indeed. But it will be an even bigger loss if the recipes we grew up on pass away with them, along with those special connections to our past. That's what prompted Amy Rosen, journalist and cookbook author, to spirit the classic recipes from her grandmothers and other role models into the 21st century. All of the dishes in Kosher Style are inspired by the tables and tales and chutzpah of the North American Jewish experience. They also happen to be kosher.
In this book are all the recipes you need for successful shellfish- and pork-free home entertaining, be it for a Jewish holiday or a workaday dinner. From crave-worthy snacks to family-size salads, soulful mains to show-stopping desserts, all of the recipes are doable in the home kitchen and are clearly marked as either a meat dish, dairy dish, or pareve (neutral). Think: Lacy Latkes & Applesauce, Sour Cream & Onion Potato Knishes, General Tso's Chicken, and Toblerone-Chunk Hamantaschen your family will plotz over. In addition to the classics, Amy has included some of her favorite modern recipes, like a Quinoa-Tofu Bowl with Greens & Green Goddess Dressing, Honey-Harissa Roasted Carrots and a Crisp Cucumber & Radish Salad.
Kosher Style is for anyone who likes to cook and loves to eat, and it's especially for those yearning to create new shared memories around a table brimming with history, loved ones and maple-soy brisket.
In the Jewish culture, as in many others, bubbes, saftas and nanas are the matriarchs of the kitchen and thus the rulers of the roost. They are culinary giants in quilted polyester muumuus and silk slippers who know how to make the Semitic linchpins cherished from childhood--the kugel, the gefilte fish, the matzah ball soup and the crispy-skinned roasted chicken. They all have their specialties but, of course, they won't be around to feed us forever, and that will be a loss indeed. But it will be an even bigger loss if the recipes we grew up on pass away with them, along with those special connections to our past. That's what prompted Amy Rosen, journalist and cookbook author, to spirit the classic recipes from her grandmothers and other role models into the 21st century. All of the dishes in Kosher Style are inspired by the tables and tales and chutzpah of the North American Jewish experience. They also happen to be kosher.
In this book are all the recipes you need for successful shellfish- and pork-free home entertaining, be it for a Jewish holiday or a workaday dinner. From crave-worthy snacks to family-size salads, soulful mains to show-stopping desserts, all of the recipes are doable in the home kitchen and are clearly marked as either a meat dish, dairy dish, or pareve (neutral). Think: Lacy Latkes & Applesauce, Sour Cream & Onion Potato Knishes, General Tso's Chicken, and Toblerone-Chunk Hamantaschen your family will plotz over. In addition to the classics, Amy has included some of her favorite modern recipes, like a Quinoa-Tofu Bowl with Greens & Green Goddess Dressing, Honey-Harissa Roasted Carrots and a Crisp Cucumber & Radish Salad.
Kosher Style is for anyone who likes to cook and loves to eat, and it's especially for those yearning to create new shared memories around a table brimming with history, loved ones and maple-soy brisket.
256 pages, Hardcover
Published September 3, 2019
4 people are currently reading
31 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 1, 2019
When Amy Rosen started to describe the food enjoyed in the kitchens of North American Jewish families in her latest book Kosher Style as "tast[ing] like gold and ooz[ing] warmth" she had my interest -- what could be better than what promised to be a cookbook full of the ultimate comfort food? And, I really appreciate how she offers these beautiful recipes to anyone who loves food and cooking whether they're Jewish or not. For those non-Jewish home cooks, like myself, she gives much information on what it means to "eat Kosher" or "Kosher style," a glossary of Jewish Terms (I was surprised how many I already knew), and the uncomplicated way she stocks her pantry.
This book cooks up like a cookbook -- it has all of the great recipes accompanied by delicious-looking, well-styled pictures -- but it also reads a bit like a travelogue and a bit like a memoir (and don't get me started on those delightful Alanna Cavanagh illustrations). With each new chapter Rosen presents a short story relating to the food within that chapter -- like her recipes, her storytelling invites the reader to enjoy. Her recipes are organized into five chapters -- Brunch & Schmears, Soups & Such, Noshes & Sides, Eat! Eat!, and A Little Something Sweet. Rosen's recipes suit a range of home cooking abilities -- none of the recipes are difficult although some may take more time to make than others (hey, Bialys! I'm looking at you!). That being said, many of the recipes I tried could be made for dinner any day during your busiest week. In the middle of trying out recipes for this review my daughter had started kindergarten and within the first week had gotten her first school cold! But you know what? Kosher Style had me covered -- with a batch of Matzo Ball Soup my daughter felt better! Although I made my soup vegetarian it still felt like a hug in a bowl (maybe even more medicinal than the chicken noodle soup I used to have when I got sick as a kid). With all the recipes I tried, each recipe felt like best kind of comfort food.
When my daughter chose Kichel: Rainbow Nothings (what she named the "Party Cookies" when she saw the picture) to make, I inwardly cringed a little bit because they a) took over a dozen eggs (in a combination of yolks and whole eggs) to make and b) I would need to watch my stand mixer beat the dough on low for about 20 minutes. Neither of which particularly appealed to me but, as I often find when I feel this way about a recipe, when I make the recipe it'll turn out wonderfully and be one that I'll keep making. Once the dough was rolled out and pressed into the sugar and sprinkles, I could see the look of glee and anticipation on my little one's face. The resulting cookies are much more that the name implies -- if you saw Katie bite into her first Kichel her face said everything. This light and crisp cookie covered with sugar and sprinkles was every bit the party that they looked, and I think it's become the most requested cookie in my house.
It was the picture of Rosen's Bialys that stopped me in my tracks as I flipped through her book -- golden and plump with a tiny dollop of baked onion and poppy seed. Those buns sitting on the cooling wrack looked so inviting that I decided to bake my own! As with the Kichel, making the Bialys is made easier using a stand mixer. Once you've let the machine do all the kneading then you cover the beautifully smooth dough to rise (the first of many rises the dough will go through). As with her other recipes, the Bialys didn't disappoint -- big and pillowy, they were only made better with a giant swipe of butter. As a side conversation, part of her recipe head notes mentions The Bialy Eaters, a book by Mimi Sheraton, in which she explores the history behind these iconic buns. Happy for any book to lead me on the path to learning about other great books what I found is that both Sheraton and Rosen show the lasting nature of the humble, delicious food and the importance of tradition.
I found that Kosher Style has many great meal ideas -- one of my favourites because it's fresh and so quick to make is the Orange & Carrot Salad. It's exactly what Rosen says in the recipe head notes, "It's a reminder that a few simple ingredients can come together to make a greater whole" and, so, with the long and loopy carrots ribbons, juicy orange segments, red onion, mint, red pepper flakes and an easy dressing this salad tasted so extra and looked exquisite on the plate. The whole here is greater than the sum of its ingredients. While it makes a colourful side addition at any meal, I made it a big meal for one (don't judge) on an afternoon when I was just making lunch for myself. I probably should have waited and served it along with the Roasted Garlic & Three-Cheese Skillet Pizza I made my family, but I decided to treat myself. Speaking of that pizza, it's an incredible combination of Parm, mozzarella, and goat cheese made even better by smearing jammy roasted garlic all over the crust to start and drizzling honey to finish. I really appreciate that Rosen advocates the use of store-bought dough here and the resulting pizza will end any relationship to a pizzeria you might have -- she shows how you can achieve pizza magic using a hot oven and a cast iron skillet.
Like the food she describes, after trying her recipes I feel like Rosen herself is totally golden and oozes warmth. Through her recipes she invites home cooks everywhere to enjoy traditional Jewish food. Kosher Style is book full of delicious recipes that I'll continue to make and share with my family!
Please note that this is an excerpt of a review posted to www.shipshapeeatworthy.wordpress.com
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Appetite by Random House for providing me with a free, review copy of this book. I did not receive monetary compensation for my post, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
This book cooks up like a cookbook -- it has all of the great recipes accompanied by delicious-looking, well-styled pictures -- but it also reads a bit like a travelogue and a bit like a memoir (and don't get me started on those delightful Alanna Cavanagh illustrations). With each new chapter Rosen presents a short story relating to the food within that chapter -- like her recipes, her storytelling invites the reader to enjoy. Her recipes are organized into five chapters -- Brunch & Schmears, Soups & Such, Noshes & Sides, Eat! Eat!, and A Little Something Sweet. Rosen's recipes suit a range of home cooking abilities -- none of the recipes are difficult although some may take more time to make than others (hey, Bialys! I'm looking at you!). That being said, many of the recipes I tried could be made for dinner any day during your busiest week. In the middle of trying out recipes for this review my daughter had started kindergarten and within the first week had gotten her first school cold! But you know what? Kosher Style had me covered -- with a batch of Matzo Ball Soup my daughter felt better! Although I made my soup vegetarian it still felt like a hug in a bowl (maybe even more medicinal than the chicken noodle soup I used to have when I got sick as a kid). With all the recipes I tried, each recipe felt like best kind of comfort food.
When my daughter chose Kichel: Rainbow Nothings (what she named the "Party Cookies" when she saw the picture) to make, I inwardly cringed a little bit because they a) took over a dozen eggs (in a combination of yolks and whole eggs) to make and b) I would need to watch my stand mixer beat the dough on low for about 20 minutes. Neither of which particularly appealed to me but, as I often find when I feel this way about a recipe, when I make the recipe it'll turn out wonderfully and be one that I'll keep making. Once the dough was rolled out and pressed into the sugar and sprinkles, I could see the look of glee and anticipation on my little one's face. The resulting cookies are much more that the name implies -- if you saw Katie bite into her first Kichel her face said everything. This light and crisp cookie covered with sugar and sprinkles was every bit the party that they looked, and I think it's become the most requested cookie in my house.
It was the picture of Rosen's Bialys that stopped me in my tracks as I flipped through her book -- golden and plump with a tiny dollop of baked onion and poppy seed. Those buns sitting on the cooling wrack looked so inviting that I decided to bake my own! As with the Kichel, making the Bialys is made easier using a stand mixer. Once you've let the machine do all the kneading then you cover the beautifully smooth dough to rise (the first of many rises the dough will go through). As with her other recipes, the Bialys didn't disappoint -- big and pillowy, they were only made better with a giant swipe of butter. As a side conversation, part of her recipe head notes mentions The Bialy Eaters, a book by Mimi Sheraton, in which she explores the history behind these iconic buns. Happy for any book to lead me on the path to learning about other great books what I found is that both Sheraton and Rosen show the lasting nature of the humble, delicious food and the importance of tradition.
I found that Kosher Style has many great meal ideas -- one of my favourites because it's fresh and so quick to make is the Orange & Carrot Salad. It's exactly what Rosen says in the recipe head notes, "It's a reminder that a few simple ingredients can come together to make a greater whole" and, so, with the long and loopy carrots ribbons, juicy orange segments, red onion, mint, red pepper flakes and an easy dressing this salad tasted so extra and looked exquisite on the plate. The whole here is greater than the sum of its ingredients. While it makes a colourful side addition at any meal, I made it a big meal for one (don't judge) on an afternoon when I was just making lunch for myself. I probably should have waited and served it along with the Roasted Garlic & Three-Cheese Skillet Pizza I made my family, but I decided to treat myself. Speaking of that pizza, it's an incredible combination of Parm, mozzarella, and goat cheese made even better by smearing jammy roasted garlic all over the crust to start and drizzling honey to finish. I really appreciate that Rosen advocates the use of store-bought dough here and the resulting pizza will end any relationship to a pizzeria you might have -- she shows how you can achieve pizza magic using a hot oven and a cast iron skillet.
Like the food she describes, after trying her recipes I feel like Rosen herself is totally golden and oozes warmth. Through her recipes she invites home cooks everywhere to enjoy traditional Jewish food. Kosher Style is book full of delicious recipes that I'll continue to make and share with my family!
Please note that this is an excerpt of a review posted to www.shipshapeeatworthy.wordpress.com
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Appetite by Random House for providing me with a free, review copy of this book. I did not receive monetary compensation for my post, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
December 5, 2024
Looking forward to making the matzo ball soup!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews