The Gourmet Jewish Cook (Hardcover)

by Judy Zeidler (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
Zeidler, food columnist, television chef, and co-owner of L.A.'s Citrus restaurant, cooks sophisticated food that is kosher. Here she gathers more than 500 of her recipes and arranges them into menus for the Jewish holdidays, "international entertaining," and other special occasions. There is a Two-Day Rosh Hashanah menu and a Nouvelle Hanukkah Dinner; kosher but authentic Chinese, Mexican, and French meals; a New Year's Eve dinner and an Israeli Bar Mitzvah buffet; and more. The appeal of these recipes should not be limited to kosher cooks. JS
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
A far cry from the nostalgic catalogs of mothers' kitchens, this sampling from the 1980's global kitchen mixes chicken soup, matzo omelet, and stuffed cabbage with Italian bruschetta, mozzarella marinara, and tiramisu (a layered dessert); French baguettes, souffles, and duck with turnip; Brazillian feijoada, rice, and batida (a rum drink); and other signature dishes from China, Scandinavia, and almost everywhere - demonstrating to the likely delight of dietary-law-abiding sophisticates that you don't have to be Jewish to give the world a kosher dish. Nor has Zeidler merely reworked or recycled whatever worldwide ethnic standbys suit her purpose: though familiar classics abound here, she has also come up with an impressive variety of authentic dishes that are not already over-collected. For example, there are pages of latkes, only a few of them for potatoes - and one potato latke is a zinger; the Italian bean dish, a specialty of Florence, mixes the beans with caviar; and her Italian rolled eggplant, "a wonderful [dairy] dish for shabuoth," has three sauces, each in one of the three colors of the Italian flag. Of course not every kosher family is looking for a "Nouvelle Hanukkah dinner"; but Zeidler's L.A. Times column has already won a following in California, where eclectic successes have a way of spreading east. (Kirkus Reviews) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 415 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Cookbooks; 1st edition (September 26, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688069819
• ISBN-13: 978-0688069810
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #871,956 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars More exciting than Matzo..., March 22, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Gourmet Jewish Cook (Paperback)

I found this book okay... nothing special. It does have a fair share of interesting recipes and ideas, but it can be a challenge just to find them. Unlike a traditional cookbook it is organized by holiday, theme party etc. So if you want to look at all the soup options, you have to jump all over the book. I find it daunting to have to work just to find the recipe! I don't know if I would classify the content of The Gourmet Jewish Cook "gourmet". It might be useful for a beginner or someone under the impression that all there is to Jewish cuisine is matzo balls & chicken soup, for and advanced cook/gourmet - I'd say pass.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting collection of flavors and ideas, December 13, 1998

By A Customer

Most of the recipies in this book are innovative and interesting. Judy Zeidler takes tried and true recipies and gives them a new twist. There are a few must tries, inlcuding: The Matza Farfel cookies for Passover and Stuffed Grape Leaves!

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Challah Recipe Ever, September 2, 2005

By	J. Buonocore "sandwich girl" (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

For anyone who likes to bake bread, this has a great recipe for challah. It works perfectly, and turns out some of the best bread I have ever had!