Grandma Doralee Patinkin's Jewish Family Cookbook [Hardcover]

Doralee Patinkin Rubin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1997

Could the phenomenal success of Emmy- and Tony-award-winning performer Mandy Patinkin be due to his mother's chicken soup? With lowered fat and sugar, this delicious collection brings together three generations, one extraordinary mom, and more than 150 irresistible ways to bring tradition and love to the family table. Line illustrations throughout.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Actor and singer Mandy Patinkin wanted his mother to record her recipes to preserve them for the family, but happily for all of us, she turned them into a cookbook everyone can share. It is a joy having this intimate view of the enthusiastic palates and the quirky culinary treasures prized by this food-loving family, through over 150 recipes passed along from grandparents, aunts, cousins, and friends. It is also an intriguing window into the way Jewish Americans ate in the 1940s, '50s, and '60s, when garlic was an exotic, gourmet ingredient.

All the expected and familiar Jewish dishes are here, such as cheese blintzes, egg-rich noodle puddings, dense chopped liver, chicken soup, even a homemade version of lox. But the Patinkin family is full of adventurous eaters and creative cooks, so you also find Rack of Lamb elegantly marinated with red sweet peppers, port wine, honey, mustard, and rosemary and a creamy coleslaw tangy with champagne vinegar.

Emphatic flavors make the recipes in this book distinctive. Grandma Patinkin punches up her egg salad with chili sauce. She rubs garlic powder on her roast filet mignon, and also puts it in her matzo balls. And she loves curry powder, so it shows up not only in a frittata, gazpacho, and chicken salad, but also in her chicken soup. You decide if this is heaven or culinary heresy!

Grandma Doralee is a mean baker, and her Cream Cheese Brownies, with their rich topping, are not to be missed. Nor are her butter cookies, distinctively sweetened with brown as well as white sugar.

In sum, the Patinkin family's cooking, like Mandy's singing, is unique, bold, and delivered straight from the heart. --Dana Jacobi

Product Details

• Hardcover: 267 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr; 1st edition (November 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031216856X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312168568
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,194,310 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Find!, May 9, 2000

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Grandma Doralee Patinkin's Jewish Family Cookbook (Hardcover)

I bought this because I was looking for easy but delicious passover recipes. Doralee Patinkin Rubin really came through for me. Her apple cake and Baked Chicken a l'orange were great. I made a few other recipes and they were thoroughly enjoyed. Her recipes if not all technically kosher come from that great tradition of Jewish women many of us were fortunate enough to have as mothers and grandmothers.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Like being back my grandmother's kitchen, February 2, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Grandma Doralee Patinkin's Jewish Family Cookbook (Hardcover)

For both traditional and modernized Jewish soul food, this book has quickly become a treasured resource. The recipies are straightforward, not pretentious or gratutuitiously glamourous, and are delicious and easy to prepare. It's traditional ethnic dishes and more, with a wonderful, friendly emphasis on entertaining and sharing events and holidays with families, making food a part of the memories.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If your Jewish grandma is (or was) a great cook..., December 5, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Grandma Doralee Patinkin's Jewish Family Cookbook (Hardcover)

this is what she would make.

Delicious, festive and family dishes that bring back memories are supplemented with new staples of the American diet, which make this an all around good cookbook for nostalgia and more. The food is hearty, wholesome, easy to prepare and shop for; not special ordering or trips running around town for esoteric ingredients. And like any good grandma's recipies, emphasizes entertaining family and friends with old favorites as well as experimentation.

I highly recommend it.