The Jewish-Sicilian Cookbook (Hardcover)

by Pamela Hensley Vincent (Author), The Overlook Press (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Readers hungry to explore Sicily's Jewish cuisine won't discover much of it in Vincent's sentimental scrapbook of favorite family recipes. Instead, here's a cooking romance as it might be imagined by the Lifetime network's producers: skinny daughter of WASPy Los Angeles veterinarian and Jewish beauty grows up to play C.J. on the 1980s TV series Matt Houston; marries Duke Vincent, the dashing producer who cast her in the role... and they eat happily ever after in their opulent California kitchen. Vincent isn't a professional chef, and some of her recipe instructions are downright strange (an entire head of garlic simmers in tomato sauce for only five minutes; another sauce described as "marinara"—traditionally meatless—owes its punch to pepperoni). But grandmother Yette knew her latkes; dad Jack was a shish kebab master; and Duke's Italian-American staples are easy and appealing. Too bad we don't hear more from housekeeper Lucy Ramos, whose two salsa recipes are tantalizing. Vincent's style is more girlfriendy than informational—every recipe includes several exclamations of "Delicious!"—and the photographs include more publicity head shots than actual dishes. Serious foodies will find little of interest here, but Vincent's enthusiasm for the pleasures of table and family in the midst of life in the TV fast lane is likable enough.
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Product Description
No matter how far from home we go, refining our palates, leaving behind family cooking for more sophisticated fare, trading up from iceberg lettuce to arugula, from meatloaf to paté, from Velveeta to brie, we all have a special place in our hearts-and our stomachs-for our families' deliciously basic, special home recipes.

Born of the culinary traditions of the two very different sides of actress Pamela Hensley Vincent's Jewish-American family and her husband Duke Vincent's Italian-American background, The Jewish-Sicilian Cookbook recaptures, with charm, humor, and tasty and do-able recipes, the gastronomic nostalgia of two families that could be very much like any of our own.

The sixty-four recipes in this charmingly appointed cookbook range from quick salads to hearty stews and run the gamut from typically Jewish (Yetta's chicken soup and latkes) to the quintessentially Italian (Duke's Special Spaghetti). Some of the recipes represent the best of traditional modern American food, such as Manny's Hamburgers and Jack's Chef Salad, radiating a special feeling of mid-century cooking and eating, with a Fifties sensibility that goes down as deliciously well today it it did then. The common ground of all family food traditions is "Food is Love," and this principle is irresistibly at play as Pamela Vincent recounts heartfelt anecdotes, describing fond memories of meals with loved ones, while sharing her favorite family recipes with all the enthusiasm of a favorite cousin presenting a cherished recipe on a much used recipe card. From a predawn breakfast of buttered matzoh and coffee with her grandfather to pasta night with Duke, The Jewish-Sicilian Cookbook will inspire readers to revisit fond food memories of their own as well as create new ones.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 196 pages
• Publisher: Overlook Hardcover (March 8, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585674915
• ISBN-13: 978-1585674916
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #162,295 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A disgrace to both Jews and Sicilians. A Sham. A waste of money., September 4, 2008

By	P. Pisciotta - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I couldn't find a -5 stars. The lowest I could find was 1 Star. Read on....

This is not a Jewish-Sicilian cook book. It is a combination of boring stories and Italian recipes. It is a Jewish as "Rosy O'Grady's Passover Specialties." Would any Jew buy such a piece of work? Jewish comedians excluded. They need this material more than the kitchen.

Here is an example from one of the recipies entitled "....Signature Spaghetti". 1/2 Beef bouillon cube with Parmigiano-Reggiano? What Kibbutz did this author live in? And all the other Sicilians are saying rosaries over the use of "beef bouillon cube".

The author does a disservice to both the Jewish and Sicilian community by trying to parade her writings under this title.

Don't waste your money. The book is a sham.