Customer Reviews

How to Cook Like a Jewish Grandmother

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

How to Cook Like a Jewish Grandmother: Old-Fashioned Jewish Recipes is a cookbook focused on plain, old-fashioned taste. Recipes do not include any modern nutritional guidelines or calorie counts; they focus on creating food that is pleasing to the palate, in accordance with the principle that "You don't have to be a Jewish grandmother to cook like one." Recipes are straightforward, using easily available ingredients and spelled out with simple instructions. Sample dishes include Fried Salami and Eggs, Grandma's Pickled Cucumbers and Onions, Betty's Tater Dogs, Heartwarming Baked Apples, Matzo Meal Fried Chicken, and more. An excellent cookbook for making comfort, homecoming, celebration or just plain family supper dishes.

The author of this excellent Jewish cookbook is my sister and I'm very proud to say this. The cookbook and the pictures including the stories behind it are a tribute to my family. Although the average reader has no real idea on how the Slobod family survived through their turmoil etc. this cookbook has excellent receipes that anyone not only Jewish folks should try. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has or hasn't tried Jewish home cooking. You'll love every receipe in the book.

With all due respect to Ms. Sidlow's grandmother, I disagree with the previous review. As the book clearly states, these are "Old Fashioned Jewish Recipes, not "Old Fasioned Kosher Recipes" so what's the big tsimmes about it not being Kosher? I grew up on many of the recipes found in this book and enjoyed it immensely. As the author explains in the introduction, the majority of these recipes come from a family delicatessen which catered to a largely immigrant neighborhood in the 1930s, and if kreplach, blintzes, borscht, gedempte fleish, chopped liver, kasha, latkes, corned beef and grebenes aren't Jewish, then I don't know what is. Personally, I'd rather have a piece of honey cake than mandel bread any day and while Ms. Sidlow is entitled to her opinion, its all a matter of taste, isn't it? This book reminds me of home and I loved every mouthwatering page of it.

Anyone looking to purchase a cookbook with recipes associated with traditional Jewish Eastern European cuisine will be disappointed with this book. I found the book title grossly misleading. Others may not care, but in my opinion a book that is associated with Jewish Grandmothers should be kosher. I am not sure if I was more offended by the brisket sandwich made with rye bread, swiss cheese and mayonnaise or a sandwich called the Jewish Hero with turkey and cheese. There are some traditional recipes in this collection, just be aware that many of the recipes in this book are not kosher.

You do not need to be a grandmother or Jewish to cook like you. This book shares the love the author had for her grandmother, which is filled with delicious recipes for any occasion.

Marla Brooks is an Los Angeles-based entertainment writer. Her family ran Slobod's Delicatessen in Philadelphia in the 30's and 40's. She grew up eating fantastic food, and decided to share these wonderful recipes.

Throughout this nice book, there are photos of her family. These photos help show readers how much Brooks' family and heritage meant to her.

The recipes are not difficult at all, so you do not need to be an expert to enoy this book. And if you are, you may enjoy the comfort of having home cooking as opposed to gourmet meals.

As you may wonder, there are some terminologies that a lot of people would be unfamiliar with. Brooks includes an index to explain Jewsih words and terms.

Some of the tasty recipes included in this book are: Grandma's Hot Beef Borscht, Passover Potato Latkes, Yummy Lentil Soup, and Grandma's Old-Fashioned Gefilte Fish. Also, due to Brooks' profession, she managed to obtain recipes from other Jewish entertainers, such as Richard Simmons and Dr. Ruth Westheimer.

The book is broker down into the following chapters: Breakfast / Brunch; Appetizers; Soups and Stews; Salads; Sandwiches; Entrees; Vegetables and Side Dishes; Desserts; Holiday Dishes; Glossary and more.

For regular meals or parties, surprise your family and friends and whip up some meals from this book. It will take you back in time and bring back the feeling of comfort!

I think my grandmother would be horrified. There are a couple nice recipes but for the most part, this book is not very jewish or kosher...Bobby Vinton's recipe for stuffed cabbage? Come on now! Not even one recipe for mandelbread. If I could find my receipt, I'd probably return this book.