Kosher by Design Short on Time: Fabulous Food Faster [Hardcover]

Susie Fishbein (Author)

Book Description

Series: Kosher by Design | Publication Date: November 1, 2006

Editorial Reviews From Publishers Weekly Keeping kosher might put a few restrictions on one's choice of ingredients and require a little extra thought to be given to preparation, but in this latest in her series, Fishbein shows there are plenty of shortcuts available to meals that are tasty yet observant of Jewish law. Following the popular formula of a Rachael Ray or Sandra Lee, she uses small proportions of canned or prepared goods to cut down on time. The well-chosen recipes span the courses using a good mix of the elegant (Maple Walnut Chicken with Sweet Potato Aioli) and the simple crowd-pleasers (Pulled Barbecue Beef; Penne Florentine à la Vodka); many reflect international influences (colorful Thai Quinoa, for instance, or Gyros with Rajita), and Fishbein puts some nice spins on a few Jewish favorites, yielding dishes like Mulliga Cholent and the delectable, moist Frosted Chocolate Honey Cake. Fishbein successfully demonstrates that adding the kosher variable to the mix with the current need for speed and ease with old-fashioned recipes doesn't throw the equation out of whack. Color photos throughout. (Nov.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Keeping kosher might put a few restrictions on one's choice of ingredients and require a little extra thought to be given to preparation, but in this latest in her series, Fishbein shows there are plenty of shortcuts available to meals that are tasty yet observant of Jewish law. Following the popular formula of a Rachael Ray or Sandra Lee, she uses small proportions of canned or prepared goods to cut down on time. The well-chosen recipes span the courses using a good mix of the elegant (Maple Walnut Chicken with Sweet Potato Aioli) and the simple crowd-pleasers (Pulled Barbecue Beef; Penne Florentine à la Vodka); many reflect international influences (colorful Thai Quinoa, for instance, or Gyros with Rajita), and Fishbein puts some nice spins on a few Jewish favorites, yielding dishes like Mulliga Cholent and the delectable, moist Frosted Chocolate Honey Cake. Fishbein successfully demonstrates that adding the kosher variable to the mix with the current need for speed and ease with old-fashioned recipes doesn't throw the equation out of whack. Color photos throughout. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 306 pages
• Publisher: Mesorah Publications Ltd.; First Edition edition (November 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 157819072X
• ISBN-13: 978-1578190720
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 8.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #150,147 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #23 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Special Diet > Kosher

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great gift for a student or new cook, September 3, 2007

By 

SG (Columbus, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kosher by Design Short on Time: Fabulous Food Faster (Hardcover)

My teenage daughter's friend brought us this book as a house gift. I love it, and I use it quite a bit. I just bought a copy for 21-year-old son, who is starting to cook and entertain. It's great for a new cook, because in addition to being quick, most of the recipes don't require a fully-equipped and stocked kitchen. She also explains well. The pictures are beautiful, and the special sections at the end are fun.

I'm sure that a lot of "foodies" will turn up their noses at this book. I, too, like to make things from scratch, and this isn't a book of five-star gourmet adventures in the kitchen. But I think that the reader who wrote that you could probably make these things a little bit better without using the packaged ingredients, but at the cost of a lot more time, hit the nail on the head. Sometimes you just don't have time to cook the way you really want to do it -- but you still have to eat. I suppose some purists will say it's always better then to go out or just make a sandwich than to cook "Rachael Ray" style. But I think a home-cooked, family style meal is still nice, even with a few shortcuts that you wouldn't take for a special occasion. There is room for both kinds of cookbooks and cooking in my kitchen and in my life.

Besides, not all the recipes are even like that. Many are just plain terrific, even those that do use prepared items. And if you don't want to use, say, a prepared spice blend or sauce, then just "retrofit" the recipe and make your own. I have done that with some recipes, but I have also tried the prepared ingredients a couple of times (e.g., a spice blend that only cost $1), and I was pleasantly surprised by their quality.

My only criticism is that you need to look carefully at her estimated times, which are often overly optimistic. If a recipe calls for, say, a cup of chopped onions, the time for peeling and chopping the onion isn't included in her estimate. I suppose that's fair -- I mean, you could have a bag of chopped onion in your freezer or something -- but you do need to remember to look carefully at the recipe before planning your time.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quick to Prepare, but Definitely NOT Fast Food, January 3, 2007

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kosher by Design Short on Time: Fabulous Food Faster (Hardcover)

There are two real points that set this book apart from Ms. Fishbein's previous books:

First note the part of the title that says 'Short on Time.' And in today's world when aren't most of us Short on Time. Here are kinds of things that you can fix in the evening of a work/school night and still have a little time to relax.

Second, perhaps as an offshoot of the first point, she uses a lot of pre-prepared, even 'store-bought' ingredients. These probably aren't as good as she (or you) could make yourself. But back to the first point -- time. Do you really want to spend your whole evening in the kitchen just to make something a few percent better than what you can buy?

Consistent with her other books is the beautiful photography. I'm the type who tends to flip through the book looking at the pictures. At the moment I'm stopped at page 164-5 looking at the picture of roasted lemon-pepper cod. Cod is a nice fish, and I noticed some at the store last night that looked pretty good. Let's see, there's fish, roasted with lemon and pepper. Then there's a 7-10 minute sauce with heavy cream, lemon, onion powder and sour cream. OK, dinner tonight is planned.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed, December 12, 2006

By 

A. Gabriel "a.g." (new york, ny) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kosher by Design Short on Time: Fabulous Food Faster (Hardcover)

I own the other three Kosher By Design cookbooks and love them, so I expected to be wowed by this one as well. I was very disappointed. I appreciate the fact that this cookbook is intended to make quick recipes, but I dislike the fact that Fishbein utilizes so many prepared ingredients (salad dressings, accompanying sauces, etc). This cookbook fits more into the Rachael Ray concept than the Susie Fishbein concept to which I've become accustomed. If you like that, you'll enjoy this book, but it wasn't for me.