Product Description

Arthur Schwartz knows how Jewish food warms the heart and delights the soul, whether it's talking about it, shopping for it, cooking it, or, above all, eating it. JEWISH HOME COOKING presents authentic yet contemporary versions of traditional Ashkenazi foods-rugulach, matzoh brei, challah, brisket, and even challenging classics like kreplach (dumplings) and gefilte fish-that are approachable to make and revelatory to eat. Chapters on appetizers, soups, dairy (meatless) and meat entrees, Passover meals, breads, and desserts are filled with lore about individual dishes and the people who nurtured them in America. Light-filled food and location photographs of delis, butcher shops, and specialty grocery stores paint a vibrant picture of America's touchstone Jewish food culture. Stories, culinary history, and nearly 100 recipes for Jewish home cooking from the heart of American Jewish culture, New York City. Written by one of the country's foremost experts on traditional and contemporary Jewish food, cooking, and culinary culture. Schwartz won the 2005 IACP Cookbook of the Year.Reviews & Awards

James Beard Foundation Cookbook Award Finalist: American Category

IACP International Association of Culinary Professionals Cookbook Awards, American Category Finalist  "Jewish Home Cooking helps make sense of the beautiful chaos, with a deep and affectionate examination of New York's Jewish food culture, refracted through the Ins of what he calls the Yiddish-American experience."—New York Times Book Review Summer Reading issue, cookbook roundup“Schwartz breathes life into Yiddish cooking traditions now missing from most cities' main streets as well as many Jewish tables. His colorful stories are so distinctive and charming that even someone who has never heard Schwartz's radio show or seen him on TV will feel his warm personaality and love for food radiating from the page . . . Cooks and readers from Schwartz's generation and earlier, who know firsthand what he's talking about, will appreciate this delightful new book for the world it evokes as much as for the recipes.”—Publishers Weekly

 

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #90092 in Books
• Published on: 2008-04-01
• Released on: 2008-04-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: .3 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 288 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Schwartz (Arthur Schwartz's New York City Food) breathes life into Yiddish cooking traditions now missing from most cities' main streets as well as many Jewish tables. His colorful stories are so distinctive and charming that even someone who has never heard Schwartz's radio show or seen him on TV will feel his warm personality and love for food radiating from the page. Oddly, even the shorter anecdotes often run longer than the actual recipes; anyone intending to cook from the book should have some kitchen experience or risk frustration at the often brief instructions. Dishes run the gamut from beloved appetizers like gefilte fish to classic meat and dairy main items (cholent, blintzes), plus less familiar items like onion cookies and Hungarian shlishkas (light potato dumplings). Schwartz intersperses engaging commentary on everything from farfel and matzo to Romanian steakhouses and why Jews like Chinese food. Those with Westernized palates may recoil at the thought of gelled calf's feet, but Schwartz shows how stereotypically heavy Ashkenazi food can be improved and made at least somewhat lighter when prepared properly. Cooks and readers from Schwartz's generation and earlier, who know firsthand what he's talking about, will appreciate this delightful new book for the world it evokes as much as for the recipes. (Apr.)
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From Booklist
Although the first Jewish immigrants to New York were Sephardic Jews from Spain, they were doomed to be overwhelmed by waves of Ashkenazi Jews fleeing Eastern European pogroms. So many Jews took refuge in New York City that the metropolitan area became the world’s center of Jewish cooking, at least till the founding of Israel. Schwartz covers the basics of this influential cuisine, from schmaltz (rendered chicken fat) and dill pickles through brisket and cholent (Sabbath stew). The remarkable intersection in America of Jewish and Chinese cultures finds celebration in a recipe for chow mein. Passover dishes, which must follow strict injunctions, earn their own chapter. Photographs, not just of food but also of New York’s people and restaurants, and diverting sidebars contribute further vibrancy to the text. A glossary of Yiddish food words enhances the book’s reference value. Schwartz’s well-earned reputation as a Jewish cookery maven will increase demand for this title. --Mark Knoblauch

From the Back Cover
"Wonderful writing, wonderful food, brilliant history: this is a book for everybody."
--Barbara Kafka, author of Soup: A Way of Life and Vegetable Love

"As a former Crown Heights, Brooklyn, girl now living in San Francisco, where Jews have been known to add avocado and mayonnaise to pastrami sandwiches (oy!), I was made very hungry and homesick after reading the superb recipes in Arthur's book. Yiddish food needs revisiting and revival so it doesn't ever go away. Bring on the food with tam and schmaltz!"
--Joyce Goldstein, author of Sephardic Flavors: Jewish Cooking of the Mediterranean

"It takes a scholar and a mensch to reclaim a vanquished culture, one replete with humor, profundity, and soul-rocking food. Arthur Schwartz has done it in this illuminating culinary retrospective with more than 100 fabulous recipes."
--Rozanne Gold, award-winning chef and author of the 1-2-3 cookbook series