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The Brooklyn Cookbook
Brooklyn has been called the fourth largest city in America, and it is the Borough's claim that one out of every seven United States citizens has roots here. Brooklyn is also America's most celebrated hometown. Everybody knows where it is (across that bridge), and almost everybody has an opinion about don't the people say "boid" and "toity-toid," and act argumentative, brassy, and sassy? Sure they do -- at least some of them. They also say what they mean in other tongues, for groups from all over the world call Brooklyn home.
Brooklynites are fiercely loyal to neighborhood, family, and the food that nourishes them, body and soul. That is what this book celebrates ... I can hear you asking, What is Brooklyn food? What makes it special? No one claims that we have the kind of food that characterizes a region, such as Boston baked beans, Maryland crab cakes, or Philadelphia cheese steak. What defines our food is, in short, attitude and memory. The Brooklyn attitude is, "You respect me, I'll respect you; but believe me -- my neighborhood, and my food. is best." Memory ensures that the stories of good times, and the food that made them so, are passed along to younger family members.
The neighborhoods are distinct, but they are ever changing. Where most immigrants once came largely from Europe, they now arrive from the Caribbean and Asia. Formerly Scandinavian Bay Ridge is now home to Greeks, Chinese, and the fastest-growing group of Middle Easterners anywhere. Brooklyn is by no means all blue collar (it never was); Wall Streeters and other executive types appreciate the wonderful houses and tree-lined streets. They have their foodways, too.
Thomas Wolfe, a writer who once lived in Brooklyn, was you can go home again, home to the Brooklyn that lives in the rich memories and cherished recipes of the sons and daughters of the Borough. As we who live on the eastern side of the Brooklyn Bridge say, come on over!
to feeding the Dodgers and the Polar Bear swimmers who brave the icy waters of the Atlantic all winter -- with wonderful nostalgic photographs. Family, tradition, and neighborhood are at the heart of Brooklyn life. And it is the food -- reflected in the kinds of recipes gathered here -- that expresses these values.
Brooklynites are fiercely loyal to neighborhood, family, and the food that nourishes them, body and soul. That is what this book celebrates ... I can hear you asking, What is Brooklyn food? What makes it special? No one claims that we have the kind of food that characterizes a region, such as Boston baked beans, Maryland crab cakes, or Philadelphia cheese steak. What defines our food is, in short, attitude and memory. The Brooklyn attitude is, "You respect me, I'll respect you; but believe me -- my neighborhood, and my food. is best." Memory ensures that the stories of good times, and the food that made them so, are passed along to younger family members.
The neighborhoods are distinct, but they are ever changing. Where most immigrants once came largely from Europe, they now arrive from the Caribbean and Asia. Formerly Scandinavian Bay Ridge is now home to Greeks, Chinese, and the fastest-growing group of Middle Easterners anywhere. Brooklyn is by no means all blue collar (it never was); Wall Streeters and other executive types appreciate the wonderful houses and tree-lined streets. They have their foodways, too.
Thomas Wolfe, a writer who once lived in Brooklyn, was you can go home again, home to the Brooklyn that lives in the rich memories and cherished recipes of the sons and daughters of the Borough. As we who live on the eastern side of the Brooklyn Bridge say, come on over!
to feeding the Dodgers and the Polar Bear swimmers who brave the icy waters of the Atlantic all winter -- with wonderful nostalgic photographs. Family, tradition, and neighborhood are at the heart of Brooklyn life. And it is the food -- reflected in the kinds of recipes gathered here -- that expresses these values.
432 pages, Hardcover
First published September 10, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 4, 2024
This is The Brooklyn Cookbook, not The New Brooklyn Cookbook, but more about that later. Brooklyn is still the largest “borough” in New York City: larger than Manhattan; larger than Queens. It has been a first home for many immigrants fresh from Customs and Immigration on Ellis Island. Some of my relatives settled here, but my family came into the USA through a different portal, and I can tell “who’s who” by the spelling of the family name as it was transliterated from the original Cyrillic. But back to Brooklyn and the book.
The book is first of all a collection of recipes divided by ethnicity and attributed to various neighborhoods. If you count the pages (which I did) you will note that the biggest shares of those recipes are given to Italian and Jewish dishes with Caribbean, Thai, Greek, Latino, Middle Eastern, German and others getting shorter mention. The recipes were interesting and, in many cases, tempting but I read through the book jumping from one interesting bit of history to another.
Some are well known recitations such as Frederick Law Olmsted thought that the gigantic park he created for Brooklyn was his “finest work,” better than Manhattan’s Central Park. Some were a surprise such as the Pieter Claesen Wyckoff House and the churches such as the Bridge Street AWME and the ancient “Dutch” church that still exists for immigrants from Surinam, Bonnaire, Curacao, etc. There are deep dives into the family businesses from bakeries to restaurants to pickle-making and more that I found delightful. The Park Slope Food Co-Op is an ongoing institution and the history of the Brooklyn Gas Company was fascinating.
The recipes are straightforward and not very complicated (some even keep the use of MSG and other items that you may choose to eliminate or substitute). There are two recipes for Irish soda bread, and I want to try both. The one for chicken cacciatore looks similar to one my mother made and I will pass on trying the one for curried goat.
Brooklyn has changed. On a recent trip I saw no less that a half dozen immense high rise residential buildings being constructed. But it still remains a gourmand’s delight with the foods from so many cultures and ethnicities represented.
The book is first of all a collection of recipes divided by ethnicity and attributed to various neighborhoods. If you count the pages (which I did) you will note that the biggest shares of those recipes are given to Italian and Jewish dishes with Caribbean, Thai, Greek, Latino, Middle Eastern, German and others getting shorter mention. The recipes were interesting and, in many cases, tempting but I read through the book jumping from one interesting bit of history to another.
Some are well known recitations such as Frederick Law Olmsted thought that the gigantic park he created for Brooklyn was his “finest work,” better than Manhattan’s Central Park. Some were a surprise such as the Pieter Claesen Wyckoff House and the churches such as the Bridge Street AWME and the ancient “Dutch” church that still exists for immigrants from Surinam, Bonnaire, Curacao, etc. There are deep dives into the family businesses from bakeries to restaurants to pickle-making and more that I found delightful. The Park Slope Food Co-Op is an ongoing institution and the history of the Brooklyn Gas Company was fascinating.
The recipes are straightforward and not very complicated (some even keep the use of MSG and other items that you may choose to eliminate or substitute). There are two recipes for Irish soda bread, and I want to try both. The one for chicken cacciatore looks similar to one my mother made and I will pass on trying the one for curried goat.
Brooklyn has changed. On a recent trip I saw no less that a half dozen immense high rise residential buildings being constructed. But it still remains a gourmand’s delight with the foods from so many cultures and ethnicities represented.
October 5, 2011
This is a very good collection of all kinds of ethnic recipes representing the many different people who make up the wonderful borough of Brooklyn.
I grew up in Brooklyn and lived there until I was about 21. I loved to cook and bake and learned to do a lot of it by watching my beloved grandmother and eating her delicious food. I have a special place in my heart for this book especially because it contains one of my recipes and a loving true story about my grandmother and grandfather who lived (and died) in Brooklyn ever since they came to this country from Hungary many years ago. The book not only contains great recipes, but it also contains wonderful stories and many terrific photographs. Do check it out. (My recipe, story and photograph is under the name of Barbara Gregory)
I grew up in Brooklyn and lived there until I was about 21. I loved to cook and bake and learned to do a lot of it by watching my beloved grandmother and eating her delicious food. I have a special place in my heart for this book especially because it contains one of my recipes and a loving true story about my grandmother and grandfather who lived (and died) in Brooklyn ever since they came to this country from Hungary many years ago. The book not only contains great recipes, but it also contains wonderful stories and many terrific photographs. Do check it out. (My recipe, story and photograph is under the name of Barbara Gregory)
April 20, 2016
I love cookbooks, I am intrigued with history, and I have a fascination with NYC. This food history/cookbook piqued my curiosity when I had a few extra moments to peruse the food section of my local library.
While I would probably never make even 3/4 of the recipes featured and the book is quite outdated, I still really enjoyed reading about different foods, historical tidbits, and a plethora of cultures that create the very unique place that Brooklyn is.
I now have a craving for egg cremes made with Fox's U-Bet syrup, potato latkes, and a Nathan's Famous Coney Dog.
While I would probably never make even 3/4 of the recipes featured and the book is quite outdated, I still really enjoyed reading about different foods, historical tidbits, and a plethora of cultures that create the very unique place that Brooklyn is.
I now have a craving for egg cremes made with Fox's U-Bet syrup, potato latkes, and a Nathan's Famous Coney Dog.
January 15, 2018
Wonderful. Cross between outline history of foods, immigrants, food businesses established,social history and fantastic recipes.
March 8, 2018
Very nostalgic and informative
January 23, 2019
Fantastic history of eclectic Brooklyn and great ethnic recipes
December 30, 2013
I lived in Brooklyn for the first 42 years of my life. This book, which was actually published in the year I moved out of Brooklyn, is a pleasant reminder of all that was good about living in the borough. Despite the title, this is more historical than cookbook. It will remain on my bookshelf, for references and memories, for as long as I live.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews