Product Description
For the balaboosta (homemaker) who runs the kitchen on a budget, or would like to!Dozens of Kosher recipies for Hanukkah, Shabbat, Purim, and all year long.Common sense information on how to budget meals, the best ways to use leftovers, and how to create menu plans that work. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Budget Cooking Elegant Dining: The Kosher Experience
"Budget Cooking - Elegant Dining" - 'The Kosher Experience', written by Sue Epstein is a cookbook that you'll want to add to your collection.I hope there is a volume 2 soon!

From the beautiful cover photo of veggies arranged as a bouquet on a silver platter to the budgeting tips inside of this 200+ page cookbook, one can tell lots of thought and design went into planning it.

The pages are easy to open and lay flat and all pages have no more than one recipe per page, with room in the margins for note taking, (or a place for stickie-notes for those who do not like to pencil in notes in cookbooks).The recipes serve from 4 to 12, depending on kind of recipe and they all appear to be straight forward and with readily available ingredients.

There are hints for budgeting and if followed, there is no reason why a meal cannot be elegant as well as affordable.Shopping tips, such as using house brands, eating before shopping (thus not buying everything in sight because it ALL looks delicious), and leaving children at home because we know they can add to the carts, are just a few of the hints she has listed.

I like the idea of simple, white dishes dressed up with colorful cloth napkins, natural garnishes of fruits or vegetables to dress up a serving plate, and even adding a few slices of lemon to water can dress up a meal and make it elegant.

Sue Epstein covers it all -- even menu planning and a list of Jewish Holidays and Life Cycle Events.Not being Jewish myself, I appreciate the list of holidays and the meanings associated with them.While "Budget Cooking-Elegant Dining" is a Kosher cookbook, you don't have to cook Kosher in order to enjoy the recipes that Sue has brought together for the traditional Jewish home.There is something here for everyone.

Having all the ingredients on hand for Sue's "Spinach Oriental" recipe I decided to try it tonight for dinner.It was a refreshing switch from my usual Spinach Salad.I am including the recipe below for you to try.

Spinach Oriental

1 pound fresh spinach
2 tablespoons oil or parve margarine
1 teaspoon grated onion
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
2 tablespoons soy sauce

Wash spinach well.Drain and remove tough stems.
In a skillet, heat the oil or margarine.
Add onion and sesame seeds and saute over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the seeds are browned.
Add drained spinach and soy sauce.
Cover and cook about 5 minutes or until tender.Serves:4

Kosher cookbook ideal for ANY cook
Sue Epstein and I have been cyber foodie friends for a few years....I was so excited Saturday to get her cookbook that I decided to spend the afternoon reading it. I thoroughly enjoyed it! Written in an easy style, Sue's ideas on entertaining and her advise on budgeting, being flexible and yet creative at the same time are simple ideas that most of us might already be aware of, yet bear repeating.
The recipes are well written and in an easy to follow format.
A feature I liked is the margin on each page for the cook to write her own notes, adaptations or impressions of the recipe. In some recipes, Sue has added her own little notes with a
hint or tip at the bottom of the note section.
Elegant dining on a budget might seem like a contradiction in terms, but Sue's many years of catering and teaching about cooking has shown her the way and she generously shares her tips with the reader. How to make your entertaining memorable without being costly; ideas on how to use leftovers for better advantage; careful menu planning ideas to take advantage of seasonal produce and products and a whole wonderful section on substitutions and equivalents.
As a non-Jew, I was very interested in Chapter 5 since she simply
explains the Jewish Holidays and Life Cycle Events. We have all
heard the names of the different holidays, but most of us don't
realize the meaning of them and Sue has also provided menus
appropriate for each. There is one whole chapter on Passover and the traditional and some not so traditional recipes associated with this holiday.
Several recipes captured my attention and have been marked for trying very soon, but there were two that really called to me and will be made today: Fresh Mushroom Soup (page 86) and Boursin-Style Cheese (page 123)
Whether you are Jewish or not, keep a kosher kitchen or not, this is a must in your cookbook library.

For serving up affordable holiday feasts
Budget Cooking Elegant Dining: The Kosher Experience by cooking expert and teacher Sue Epstein, is an exquisitely written guide to cooking within kosher directives while on a budget, and yet creating an elegant and delicious culinary experience. From Baked Bologna; Carrot Bread; Baked Nile Perch; and Beverly's Brisket; to Cream of Cucumber Soup; Veggie Bake; Pecan-Praline Bread Pudding; and Strawberries in Orange Juice, Budget Cooking Elegant Dining is excellent and economical resource for serving up affordable holiday feasts or fine daily cuisine for a kosher household. ... Read more

Product Description
This Seder Traditions and Cooking is more than a book of recipes; it is a food guide that presents the cultural and traditional heritage of Passover in the different communities. By offering complete menus, Seder Traditions and Cooking makes holiday meal planning easy and fun. ... Read more

Product Description
The glorious mix of over 75 classic and contemporary dishes draws on the culinary traditions of the global Jewish community. Packed with facts about Jewish people, their history, faith and food, this hugely informative book is an enthralling read and offers a wonderful collection of authentic Jewish holiday and festival recipes. ... Read more

Product Description

THE GEFILTE VARIATIONS IS ABOUT MUCH MORE THAN GEFILTE FISH. Inspired by the rich traditions of the Jewish community, this cookbook offers all the excitement of a newly discovered world of eating. Food writer Jayne Cohen celebrates her culinary mother tongue, improvising with the foods she is passionate about. Faithful to the traditions -- all recipes are kosher -- she presents the full range of dishes: breakfasts and brunches, starters and noshes, soups and garnishes, fish, meats and poultry, dairy dishes, nondairy and pareve grains and vegetables, fruit sauces, sweet kugels and desserts -- 200 mouthwatering reinterpretations of traditional dishes designed for everyday meals as well as every holiday.

EVEN IF YOU'VE NEVER GOTTEN BEYOND TOASTING A FROZEN BAGEL BEFORE THIS, you'll find the recipes in this book readily accessible. Transform ready-made wonton wrappers into sheer silken salmon kreplach floating in warm shav (sorrel soup), or fashion supermarket phyllo into airy knishes brimming with luscious garlic mashed potatoes. Or make a batch of buttery rugelach with store-bought caramels.

HERE ARE THE DELICIOUS REINTERPRETATIONS OF A FEW CLASSICS...Matzoh balls that begin with roasted fennel and change with the seasons, a whole chicken rubbed with a garlicky marinade and roasted on a bed of lemons, and a sleek buttermilk noodle kugel bursting with fresh and dried peaches.

THERE'S AN ENTICING VARIETY OF MEATLESS MEALS, emphasizing fresh vegetables, fruits and herbs, and using them in exciting, novel ways. A simple staple like hummus becomes a sensuous feast prepared with quick-cooking lentils, perfumed with pomegranate and mint, and served with toasted spiced matzohs. Kasha is lightened up with a caramelized onion marmalade and cubes of melting eggplant.Fabulous, easy-to-prepare cheese latkes are graced with fresh persimmon sauce.

STORIES AS ENCHANTING AS THE RECIPES that you will want to read around your own table to family and friends. Follow the author as she takes you through the streets of the old Jewish community in Carpentras, France, sleuthing after a recipe for a Passover breast of veal from a forgotten novella.Learn why Jews light menorahs against the darkness of winter with everything from olive oil to goose fat in potato or egg shells. Or share a sip of Kiddush wine around her father's Sabbath table.

IMMERSE YOURSELF IN THE WORLD OF JEWISH CUISINE. Learn what Jewish food is, how to stock your pantry to make basic preparations such as olive oil schmaltz and yogurt cream to create lighter versions of your favorite dishes, and find the definitions of Jewish terms in a comprehensive glossary.

CELEBRATE THE HOLIDAYS. Discover new recipes for your Sabbath and Hanukkah tables in the extensive section devoted to the holidays. Create memorable seders and complete break-the-fast Yom Kippur buffets using the suggested menus. Richly woven details of biblical origins and today's customs vividly bring these occasions to life.Amazon.com Review
Jewish food--the cuisine of the Diaspora--has remained largely unchanged,even as other venerable cooking traditions have been renewed. But this savory fare wasmeant to be potchkeyed, or played with, writes Jayne Cohen, authorof The Gefilte Variations. To prove her point, she offers 200 kosherrecipes that reinterpret the classics of American, European, North African,and Asian Jewish cooking.Resisting the obvious pitfall of devising hybrid"cheffy" concoctions, Cohen has found a way to be satisfyingly innovative,lightening kasha, for example, with caramelized onion marmalade and meltingeggplant cubes, or boosting matzo-ball flavor with smoky roasted fennel.Cooks, kosher and not, who have long sought a fresher take on Jewish fare,as well as those who relish hearty but sophisticated dishes, should welcomethe book.Cohen first presents year-round favorites, organized bycategories like breakfasts and brunches, dairy dishes, and sweet kugels anddesserts. Amongthese, readers will want to try Aromatic Marinated Brisketwith Chestnuts,Potato-Onion Kreplach Potsticker-Style, Sorrel-FlavoredMushroom Barley Soup, and Rich Noodle Pudding Baked with Fresh Plums andNectarines. The book's second section offers a contemporary look at Jewishholiday cooking and introduces international dishes, such as CheeseLatkes with Persimmon Sauce, that would make a delicious Hanukkah-tableaddition. A pantry and procedures section, a collection of menus, and aglossary of useful terms,both culinary and cultural (finally--a right-ondefinition of ongepotchken,that onomatopoeic Yiddish word for"fussed with to tackiness"), round off this useful and imaginative book.--Arthur Boehm ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

An Entirely New Gourmet Cuisine
Jayne Cohen's The Gefilte Variations not only is an exceptionally well written collection of personal and historical Jewish memorabilia and literary and folk,scholarly andpungent and often quite humorousanecdotes;it is also that rarest of creations, a truly and compulsivelyreadable food book. What makes it so exceptional is the author's obviouslifelong passion for memorably earthy,redolent food and her creativity inrendering five-star meals out of what so many of us (non-culinarycognoscenti)grew up thinking was aclunky, Eastern European poorsubstitute for appealing French Italian orAsian meals. The internationalrange of these dishes-from Iranian Stuffed Chicken, Egyptian Ground FishBalls with Tomato and Cumin to Bombay Pineapple-Coconut Milk Kugel and thenumerous inspired pomegranate based creations, make this even moreappealing than the finely-tuned work of Joan Nathan and Claudia Roden-andthat's pretty rarefied territory. Gefilte Fish itself, a dish one wouldnever normally consider in the same breath with gourmet foods, rises toethereal levels in the author's several fish-ball recipes, using asalternatives to pike combinations of lean fish like red snapper or stripedbass mixed with the more succulent flavor of pompano,whitefish or salmon.Oras another alternative,inspired by Chinese dumplings, quickly steamedbetween cabbage leaves. And the directions for cooking are literally atreasure trove of generations of secrets perhaps not seen before in thisform in the light of day. In addition to mining culinary traditions, onealso gets the impression from this book that much of the author's creationof these tantalizing and often tart-sweet dishes arose in the night kitchenof her fertile mind. The book is elegantly divided into sections for dairy,fish meat etal and a separate easy to follow section suggesting variousalternatives for the holidays-all nicely mixed in with familystory-telling,folklore and easy to read scholarship. This is plainly one ofthe most exciting cookbooks I have ever come across-one which transcends inits universality, humor and sauciness any one religion while remainingfaithful to the tenets of underlying rules. Listen to the author describingRich Noodle Kugel Baked with Plums and Nectarines-"The paradigm ofongepotchkeh(the author's all-time favorite Yiddish word, meaning overlyfussy) is taking noodle kugel- a luxurious confection of pasta eggs butterand milk or cheese-and then slathering it with some sweet stickiness thatmay have been a fruit in another life.The very lushness of a noodle puddingdemands an innocent topping. .." This is a book to take on vacation.An outstandingculiniterary work.

A Jewish Cookbook that would make J.S.Bach proud
These are the GEFILTE VARIATIONS by Cohen, not the GOLDBERG Variations by JSBach as performed by Glenn Gould. Just a note of history first. The Goldberg Variations (Aria with 30 variations) were composed by J. S. Bachfor Count Herman Carl von Keyserlingk of Dresden to be played to soothe himby his harpsichordist and 15 year old prodigy Johann Gottlieb Goldberg(1727-1756). The variations explore the full palette of emotions: joy,contemplation, happy, quiet, tragic, resurrection. Okay, now what aboutthis Jewish recipe and story book? Just as Bach showed full range andinnovation, the Gefilte Variations is innovative in its presentation andreinterpretation of the Jewish musical, I mean recipe, standards, such asmatzo balls (with fennel and seasonal changes), kasha (with meltedeggplant) chopped liver, kugels (with peaches), entrees (like fish andrhubarb and tomato), soups, latkes (with persimmon), and matzo brei (withartichoke hearts, with wine and dried plums, or french toast style, orfritatta style, or fluffy egg style, or pancake style).Oh their are somany variations.Speaking of matzo, Cohen provides a recipe for recrispingmatzo to give it that fresh from the Williamburg oven taste (toasting it at400 degrees), as well as at least five variations of flavored motzot, fromlemon to cheese to sweet to onion, garlic, thyme, or herb. I hope I havegiven you a flavor of the book's contents. ... Read more

Product Description
A feast of tempting recipies and menus for all the Jewisg Holidays - their origin, colorful customes and symbolic meanings. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Wonderful Jewish Foods for the Holidays
... The recipes are grouped by chapter for each of the Jewish holidays. I've made many of the recipes in this book and they have all been outstanding. These are flavorful recipes that have been handed down in both of the author's families. This book is a treasure.

Jewish Brides Guidebook
This book is an excellent guide for the newly married Jewish bride or groom.It is not only a cookbook, but it also explains the holidays and traditions.Besides recipes, it also provides sample menus to give you an idea what should be served at a particular holiday.I have had this book for many years and still refer to it every holiday.It would make a great shower present (along with pots and pans) to initiate the Jewish bride or groom (whoever does the cooking!)It's easy to understand and the recipes are very good! ... Read more

Product Description
Commemorated in a variety of ways throughout the world, the Jewish holidays are a wonderful blend of the old and the new. Over-flowing with the joy of the major Jewish celebrations—Rosh Hashana, Sukkot, Chanukah, Purim, Passover, and Shavuot—Celebration: The Book of Jewish Festivals brings together all the elements of Judaism’s rich and resonant heritage.You’ll discover creative inspiration and useful information to help enrich those special times while preserving their observance, with:- Explanations of the religious and cultural significance of each holiday - Legends, stories, poems, and songs - Imaginative entertainment tips - Delicious menus with recipes specially selected for each festival - Holiday cards and gift items for everyone to enjoy - Craft ideas for all ages - And more! Brimming with ideas, this ultimate guide brings the holidays into your home for the entire family to enjoy for years to come. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Not Just Blintz and Kugel
From blintz and kugel recipes to the lilting tune of "Dayenu", from rabbinical tales and prayers to traditions associated with major Jewish festivals, Celebration is a feast in itself. See what a shofar and a sukkot look like, peer into the family and community at festival time. Find out the scriptural and historical basis for each festival, as well as its symbolic richness. Go beyond a surface understanding to a place that will stir up your faith and create a thirst to go deeper.

Not just a beautiful book!
Full color photographs, recipes, history, descriptions of customs, fables and aggadah - this book has it all!"Celebration, The Book of Jewish Festivals" starts at Rosh Hashanah (Head of the Year), and extensively covers all the other major festivals and holy days in their proper order.These are Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) on 10th Tishri, Sukkoth (Feast of Booths) on 15th Tishri, Hoshana Rabba (7th Day of Sukkot) on 21st Tishri; Shemini Atzeret (8th Day of Sukkoth) on 22nd Tishri, and Simchat Torah (9th Day of Sukkoth) on 23rd Tishri. This volume then moves to Channukah (The Festival of Lights) on 25th Kislev, Purim (Lots) on 14th Adar, and Pesach or Passover (celebrating the Exodus from Egypt) on 15th Nissan.Last this work examines Shavuot (The Festival of Weeks, or Harvest Festival) on 15th Nissan.(Note that Tisha B'Av or 9th Av, which mourns the destruction of the First and Second Temples, is NOT covered, nor are many modern festivals celebrated in Israel.)---- Unlike many books that have excellent photos and fourth-rate text, the text supports its share of the task.Though an observant Jew in a practicing family would know most of the information presented, for those raised outside the traditions it is a treasure trove of information.The recipes and photographs of food (mmmmm!!) alone are worth the price of this book.Though it looks like a "coffee table" book, it is SEVERAL steps above that!!

celebration
saz ... Read more

Product Description
Have you ever wanted to learn the right way to approach Jewish Cookery? While there is no denying the wealth of cookbooks currently on the marking, most of them are sadly lacking when it comes to instruction in the Hebrew kitchen.

Jewish Cookery breaks the mold of all the other cooking books you have heard and read about. It presents solid, proven steps to help you learn how to create the delicious dishes you’ve always wanted. Learn Jewish Cookery while cooking delicious dishes. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a vintage cook book that was first published in 1911.In it you will find over 1600 recipes that abide by the Jewish dietary laws.

Here is part of the introduction of the original book:


"The aim throughout has been to lay special emphasis on those dishes which are characteristically Jewish--those time-honored recipes which have been handed down the generations by Jewish housewives (for the Sabbath, Passover, etc). But the book contains a great many other recipes besides these, for the Jewish cook is glad to learn from her neighbors. Here will be found the favorite recipes of Germany, Hungary, Austria, France, Russia, Poland, Rumania, etc.; also hundreds of recipes used in the American household. In fact, the book contains recipes of every kind of food appealing to the Jewish taste, which the Jewish housewife has been able to adapt to the dietary laws, thus making he Cook Book truly "International"." ... Read more

Product Description
This huge offering has totally Kosher recipes from such places as America, Austria, Poland and more.

Excerpt from the book...'The aim throughout this book has been to lay special emphasis on those dishes which are characteristically Jewish--those time-honored recipes which have been handed down through the generations by Jewish housewives (for the Sabbath, Passover, etc). But this book contains a great many other recipes besides these. Here can be found the favorite recipes of Germany, Hungary, Austria, France, Russia, Poland, Romania, etc.; also hundreds of recipes used in the American household. In fact, the book contains recipes of every kind of food appealing to the Jewish taste, which have been adapted to the dietary laws, thus making the cookbook truly International'.

Recipes such as:

· RULES FOR KASHERING
· PASSOVER DISHES
· MEHLSPEISE (FLOUR FOODS)
· APPETIZERS
· FISH
· ENTREES, FRESH FRUITS AND COMPOTE
· BREAD, MUFFINS & BISCUITS
· CAKES, ICINGS AND FILLINGS FOR CAKES
· FROZEN DESSERTS
· CANDIES AND SWEETS
· CANNED FRUITS
· CANNED VEGETABLES
· VEGETABLES PRESERVED IN BRINE
· STEAMED PUDDINGS
· and MUCH, MUCH MORE

If you love to cook and are looking for authentic food from the Jewish Religion, this book is a must to own.

... Read more

Product Description
Spiral Bound Cookbook issued by the Temple Sinai Sisterhood ,Washington Lane and Limekiln Pike, Philadelphia, PA. Included aids to Jewish traditions, Yiddish glossary of terms. kitchen hints, guide to kosher home. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Encyclopedia of Food and Culture, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 1107 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.Intended to provide a comprehensive description of the enterprise of education both within the United States and throughout the world. Articles offer a view of the institutions, people, processes, and products found in educational practice. ... Read more

Product Description
In this fifth cookbook in the celebrated Kosher by Design series, Susie Fishbein makes Passover preparations elegantly simple. Featuring a blend of Passover-adjusted Kosher by Design favorites, with over thirty brand-new recipes and full-color photos, this is one cookbook you'll love to use throughout the holiday.
Passover by Design features:
**Over 30 brand-new recipes, many developed with kosher catering star, Moshe David
**Over 130 Kosher by Design favorites reformulated and retested for Passover
**Over 140 full-color images throughout, with over 40 brand-new photos
**Quick and easy table decor and entertaining ideas
**Useful, year-round healthy cooking techniques
**Comprehensive index for easy cross-referencing
**Also includes over 130 gluten-free recipes which makes this the perfect year-round cookbook for those on a gluten-free diet. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (24)

There is Mighty Fine Eating Between These Pages
I am not religious, observe no conventions other than exchanging gifts at Christmas. That said, why am I writing a review of this book? For me there is only one reason for owning a cookbook and that is the recipes inside. Either they're good or they're not. You cook up a dish, if it's tasty, if your family or company like it, then you try another, then another. If you and yours get on with the recipes, then you have a winner, if not, well then you don't.

This book is a winner, but before I go into the recipes, I'd like to say that the book is elegantly done, the photographs are mouthwateringly gorgeous and the book has been laid out very professionally. You can tell Ms. Fishbein, Mr. Uher and their publishers really cared about this project.

But do the recipes pass muster? Yeah, I gotta say they do. My first outing with this book was the Meat and Potato Roll. It was easy to do, so easy that I wondered why it was in a cookbook. I made it without a hitch and it was divine. So a couple days later I decided to try something a bit more complicated and did the Portobello Stacks with Honey Balsamic Ketchup for a starter and jeepers were they ever good. This was something I never would have thought of making by myself and now it's something I'll be making for years to come. That alone makes this book a gem as far as I'm concerned.

But wait! There's more. The Caramelized Parsnip Carrot Soup is simply to die for, as are the Turmeric Matzo Balls. You know in my wildest of wildest dreams I never would have thought I'd be doing Matzo Balls, but I'm into this cookbook now and I can't get out. I suppose one of the reasons for my captivity is the photographs. One look and you're drooling. You just gotta start cooking.

In conclusion, this book passes with flying colors the only test a cookbook should have and that's the recipes inside it. Follow these recipes and you'll please not only your family and company, but yourself as well. There is mighty fine eating between these pages and I'll be using this cookbook for years to come.

Passover By Design
My husband got this book for me last year when we began to go Kosher. I started using it last Passover, but I used the recipes in it through out the year. This year I purchased a second book because I kept lending it out to others. The second book is now a resource for my Torah observant, going Kosher, small group.

The Best Passover Meal I Ever Had!
I got an advance copy of this book about a year ago and did not realize how good it was until my wife prepared the Passover meal with several recipes from the book. It was the most delicious Passover meal I have had. The meatloaf dish and the backed potato dish (the potato was cut like a sliced loaf of bread but with the bottom attached). Both of these dishes could be eaten anyday and not necessarily for Passover.

While preparing for the meal, my wife had brought the book to work to show some of the other women who were also preparing for the holiday and each of the women were fascinated with the book and wanted to get a copy for themselves!

Is this really "Kosher"?
I have enjoyed Ms. Fishbein's other cookbooks but found this oneto be just a collection of the exact same recipes from her other books..and even the same photos!!!!.. there are very few NEW recipes.I was VERY disappointed and will return it.I doesn't seem "kosher" to do this... I thought I would be getting all new recipes.. don't be fooled!!!!!

Great Recipe Book
'Passover by Design: Picture-perfect Kosher by Design recipes for the holiday (Kosher by Design)' is a great recipe book for all people whether you are Jewish or not.Packed with full-color photos and 250+ pages of content, there are 130+ recipes contained with.The book is beautiful, content is good and this is a solid best buy!

**** RECOMMENDED ... Read more

Product Description
Tony- and Emmy-winning performer Mandy Patinkin has long sung the praises of his mother's cooking, from her famous butter-crisp cookies and irresistible chicken soup with matzo balls to her candied sweet potatoes and delicious Passover nut sponge cake.Following the phenomenal success of her first cookbook, Grandma Doralee Patinkin returns, this time delivering menus for the most special and challenging meals of all - the holidays.

Organized by holiday, this book presents complete menus for Rosh Hashanah, Hanukkah, Passover, and other Jewish holidays, as well as Thanksgiving, bridal luncheons, patio suppers, and more.Spanning appetizers, salads, vegetables, entrees, and desserts, and including both buffet and sit-down menus, the recipes reflect traditions that go back many generations, as well as contemporary favorites.

Anyone whose holiday memories include delicious homemade potato latkes, noodle kugel, and melt-in-your-mouth rugelach will delight in this homespun and heartfelt collection. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Grandma Doralee Patinkin's Holiday Cookbook: A Jewish Family's celebrations
Great cookbook,Lots of good recipes, and the comments by Mandy Patinkin are very good, and the paperback cover makes it easy to handle. Enjoy!

This book is a treasure!
What a wonderful book.Recipes just like the ones I grew up with.I even gave them as holiday gifts.Books like these remind us that family memories follow us through our lives in our minds as well as at the dinner table and that we should gather these dishes in writing and hold them dear.This book is a treasure.

Missing Flavor
I made a few dishes for passover, a lot of the recipes are missing flavor.Some recipes do not have clear instructions, Roasted Chicken has instructions to bake instead of roasting.I am Jewish and my grandma's dishes are way better then Grandma Doralee's dishes, except my grandma cannot seem to give me recipes because she does not measure anything, so every time I follow her directions, the dish turns into a mess.I also did not like that 12 pages of the book are reviews and praises from other people.The book is small as it is, I don't need to spend money on praises.I would not recommend this book.I have to say one thing, her chicken soup is good, but how can you mess that up.

The best of the best!
Doralee Patinkin's cookbooks are two of my all-time favorites(and I'm not Jewish, so they should appeal to everyone with taste buds).Every recipe I've tried has been absolutely wonderful.Directions are clear, and each recipe is preceded by a brief description of why it is a favorite.The forward is by actor Mandy Patinkin, and the comments about some recipes include his passion for him.These books are very warmly written, and filled with tried-and-true family favorites which will be just as successful in the readers's homes.Absolutely wonderful!

More than one reason to own a cookbook...
I tend to collect cookbooks that are fun to read, have interesting graphics, and have recipes that don't require days to prepare. This book is one of them. In addition, in the introduction, Mandy Patinkin (the author'sson) writes: "Please try some of my ma's holiday treats and share someof my memories." Who could resist? Not me! ... Read more

Product Description
Circling the Jewish calendar from Rosh Hashanah to Tisha B"Av, this lively, accessible guide includes rituals, recipes, songs, prayers, and suggestions for new approaches to holiday observance.

"A wonderful blend of information and innovation that will help readers find both traditional and new meaning in the Jewish holidays." —Judith Plaskow, author of Standing Again at Sinai ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Understanding Jewish Holidays
The circle of life and the holidays we celebrate, are exquistely explained in specific detail by "Seasons of Our Joy".Jewish customs and history become more meaningful when Arthur Waskow writes. Whether one is steeped in Judaism or just learning one can fully appreciate these ancient ways.

Seasons of our Joy
A terrific overview of the year in realtion to the Jewish Holidays! The explanations are direct, yet go into the deeper meaning of the holidays and how they relate to the seasons and to history. A great buy for educators wanting to understand the Jewish Holidays.

Good Ideas But A Dry Writing Style
I have an earlier version of this book which was copyrighted in 1982.There is plenty of good information about the more common Jewish holidays with some mentions of more minor ones.Each chapter is pretty well structured with a summary of each holiday's origins, preapration steps, prayers and customs on the day, new approaches, and food affiliated with each special day.

Although there is some good information within the chapters, it is not the easiest read as the author could summarize the basic points of each holiday more succintly.Also, the author's writing style has a very dry style with little style to cause the reader to be overly intrigued.A few unusual customs were learned here and there. However, the Omer Period discussion leaves some questions. The recipes described are a nice light touch to an otherwise matter of beleif account of the Jewish Holidays.The gloassary and bibliographies are pretty good.

Again, the goal of the Season Of Our Joy was to explain the meaning behind the Jewish Holidays.Jews who have an extensive foundation of their reglion may be able to get more out of Waskow's analysis.But those individuals who are trying to renew their interest in Judiasm may be a bit lost.

connection to
I love the discussions of the connection tonatural cycles. For years I felt disconnectedfrom Judaism, and was fed by earth-basedEuropean pagan and Native American spiritualpractices. Seasons of Our Joy helped me inbeginning to explore earth-based practices within Judaism

My favorite book for exploring the Jewish spiritual cycle
After almost a decade of living with this book, it remains my favorite for entering the Jewish cycle of observance and celebration.I return to it over and over as a source for creative, meaningful and deeply spiritualways of participating in Jewish life. The guidance given in this bookpenetrates the practices and rituals, to allow me to embrace the essence ofJewish spirituality. The book gives an historical context for the days ofobservance as well as innovative approaches to their celebration. It is atreasure and I give it as a gift when people convert to Judaism, become abar or bat mitzvah or when they seek a deeper understanding of Judaism. ... Read more

Product Description
Undated Jewish cookbook with Shabbat Blessing in front. Recipes from "real" Jewish cooks, not professional chefs. ... Read more