'Love and Knishes: An Irrepressible Guide to Jewish Cooking'
Recipes by Sara Kasdan
Illustrations by Louis Slobodkin The Vanguard Press, 1956 Buy it at Amazon
Dedicated "To the Wonderful Women Who Never Cooked from a Book," Sara Kasdan's Love and Knishes (1956) is both a very traditional Jewish cookbook (with recipes for knaidlech and kugel) and a fascinating, funny historical document of mid-century attitudes about cooking, ethnicity, and health. Kasdan wrote her book at a time when, as she writes witheringly in a chapter titled You Can Be Normal, Too, Why Not? "Nowadays, everything is psychology...everybody has complexes." Interspersed with her recipes for tzimmes and kasha varnitchkes is a caustic sense of humor that makes the tome compulsively readable. Kasdan's audience is a generation of women whose instincts and traditions were about to get run off the road by everything from Julia Child and processed foods to cookbooks purporting to teach them what they already knew.
Takeaway Tips: Look for the double entendres: Kasdan's one-page chapter about salads is called "Papa Called it Grass." She suffers none of the pretensions or guilt of modern cookbook writer, and the book is a festival of schmaltz, sour cream and refined carbohydrates. A helpful glossary defines foods like lox ("A partner to bagels") and kreplach ("Chinese definition: Won Ton; Italian definition: ravioli.") And all of the chapters come with lengthy anecdotes about everything from picky husbands to Rosh Hashana strudel.
In my capacity as a personal finance writer, I often get a chance to write about Bernie Madoff. As a food writer, however, I haven't been able to do much with him. This is particularly ironic, as one of my cousins worked as a personal chef for the Madoffs. Unfortunately, she didn't have any crazy or disturbing stories to tell.
Recently, however, the ever-elusive Madoff/food connection finally emerged. Ruth Madoff, the scammer's wife, managed to weasel her way onto the cover of a cookbook. The Great Chefs of America Cook Kosher, a 1996 tome that offered Kosher haute cuisine recipes to the masses, appears to have been "executive edited" by Madoff and her friend Idee Schoenheimer. However, according to the "editor," Karen MacNeil, neither Madoff nor Schoenheimer actually did any work for the book. MacNeil, a food and wine expert, claims that the book was something of a vanity project for Madoff, who "was interested in having her name on something that would allow for some sort of fun."
The moral of the story? The family that cheats together eats together!
I do most of my cocktail inventing around the holidays. The reason for this is twofold. One, I always visit my parents and they possess a liquor cabinet that shames some bars, not only in actual number of bottles, but also in the array of top-shelf and/or rare liquors. Two, when does one find oneself in need of a drink more than the holidays?
Whether it's the merriment of celebration, the release of stress, or simply the desire to take a breather from all the socializing by indulging in a brief respite behind the bar, December is the time for mixing. And also for giving, so allow me to give you my two newly-invented cocktails for 2008: the Ginger-Pear Cocktail and the Nihilist.
First things first: no, the title is not an exaggeration, unless you're a literalist, as the book's full title is 400 Sauces: Dips, Dressings, Salsas, Jams, Jellies & Pickles., but, second things second, I didn't actually count them. Third things third: beyond the recipes for sauces et cetera, this book offers great primer teaching on this fundamental of cooking, courtesy of authors Catherine Atkinson, Christine France and Maggie Mayhew.
400 Sauces is a a British publication (Hermes House) so some yankee readers will have to adjust to a terminology in which a rocket is not a spaceship but a leaf (arugula, if you didn't know) and measurements are given in metrics as well as ounces. There are some distinctly British offerings that may disorient stateside users: where, outside of a hunting lodge, have you last encountered Cumberland sauce (pages 66, 343); where (perhaps The Inn at Little Washington?) would you find not just a recipe for watercress cream (page 58) but the correct dishes with which to serve it (salmon or sea trout, if you're wondering). Begin by mastering sauce basics (ingredients, measures, prep) and continue by mastering basic sauces (beurre blanc, veloute, bechamel, et cetera). The book moves on to great sections on chutneys, salsas, pickles and relishes, dessert sauces, salad dressings, jams and jellies, marinades and dozens of additional sauces, condiments and virtually every other thing you can serve alongside, atop, or surrounding another food.
As you've likely been reminded during the last month, mint is unavoidable during the holidays. Everyone thinks you want a candy cane (and to be fair, many people do, and God bless them ev'ryone). If people think you're a southern cook (even when you're not), they are anxious for you to try their handcrafted julep, which makes you anxious to avoid having your face freeze in the chic grimace with which Rosalind Russell greeted those honey-based daiquiris in Auntie Mame. Some will even corrupt the holiest of holies -- chocolate cake -- by whirling peppermint oil into the ganache.
Therefore, today's moral quandry: you love Absinthe (though you are somewhat disappointed that it is now legal) but you don't like mint. Can you, who have heretofore avoided everything minty except Girl Scout cookies and toothpaste, now embrace a breath mint that combines oil of anise with a pungent hit of wintergreen? If they're these absinthe mints, yes, you can.
Christmas is over for another year. The presents have been opened, traditional breakfasts have been eaten (in our house, it's fried eggs, turkey bacon and sliced of toasted Panettone) and dinner feasts have been consumed. Once I again this year, I found myself confronted by one of the injustices of holiday eating, which is that a meal that takes all day to prepare gets demolished in less than half an hour. It never seems quite right to me.
Each year for Christmas, my family remakes the traditional Thanksgiving meal (we just like it so much) - turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, gingery squash, brussels sprouts and cranberry sauce. We finished the meal with pumpkin custard (pie without the crust) and an apple crisp. It was lovely, although hours and hours later I still feel the need to waddle instead of walk.
I want to hear about the holiday feasts the rest of you partook in. Did you have turkey, ham or roast beef? A cookie platter or an assortment of pies? Tell us about your successes and failures and feel free to point us all in the direction of a truly excellent recipe.
How do you keep that Christmas spirit going after today is done? Easy. Tomorrow your local beer seller will be back open for business. You run out, grab some Christmas beers, and keep that X-mas flavor going beer-sippin' style all the way to New Years.
Yes, Christmas beers do exist (regardless of how you think Jesus might feel about such a product). Some, like, say, Sly Fox Christmas Ale are a bit more explicit about their affiliations than others, but any winter seasonal can double as a great Christmas drink, and even old cold weather standbys like Guinness can be a perfect holiday treat.
By landing on the 25th, this week's Slashfood Ate (8) beer edition also doubles as a Christmas edition, so I present to you 8 links to 8 different lists of top Christmas beers.
Champagne or another bubbly might possibly be my stuck-on-a-desert-island drink of choice, but not everyone feels the love. Monday I posted my top eight bubblies for the holidays, but if you just don't dig sparkling wine, what can you toast with instead? Here are a few ideas.
Syrah/Shiraz from Washington state or Australia, which is big and voluptuous, smooth and silky all at once. Skip old world Syrah from the Northern Rhone, which, though it hails from the grape's true home, can give off aromas and flavors of green olives, white pepper, leather, and even meaty bacon. Great with a big ol' hunk of meat, not so great as the jumping-off point to a midnight kiss or a glass-raising toast to the man of the hour. Try the Sequel Syrah from Long Shadows Winery in Walla Walla, Washington, a Shiraz-style wine that's perfect for sipping without food.
Moscato d'Asti, a low-alcohol, barely bubbly Italian sweet white that my friend John calls "party in your mouth" is the perfect alternative to the dryness of Champagne. Try toasting with a bottle from Michele Chiarlo.
Dessert wine is best for a tête-à-tête celebration rather than a room full of happy toasters, both because it comes in half-size bottles and it's usually spendy. Splurge with Sauternes, the world's best dessert wine, or try a late harvest Riesling from Chateau Ste. Michelle.
Anything in a bottle bigger than 750 mL: a magnum (2 bottles), Jeroboam (4 bottles), or Nebuchadnezzar (20 bottles, but you'd better have help pouring) will always wow the crowd, no matter what's inside.
Yesterday, I realized with a start that we were several days into Hanukkah and I had not mentioned a single traditional treat appropriate for the Festival of Lights. When it comes to foods for Hanukkah, the very first thing I think of is potato latkes (I'd hazard a guess that I'm not alone in this association). I missed my family's annual Latkepalooza back in Philly this year as it was the same night that I was traveling out to the west coast. Because of that, I arrived late Sunday night exhausted and hungry for latkes.
After a frying experiment last year that left her kitchen smelling like short order station for several days, my mom has issued an embargo on all things fried. That left me looking for oven-baked latke options in order to satisfy my seasonal craving. Luckily, I happened upon a recipe of Nicole's (of Baking Bites) and I used that as my guide into the world of unfried latkes.
Happily, they were absolutely delicious. I learned the hard way that you have to grease your foil-lined pan agressively, as without sufficient oil, they'll stick horribly and you'll lose all the wonderful crisp brownness that develops on the side of the latke that is in contact with the pan. I used four medium baking potatoes and one onion and came away with 15 good-sides latkes. I ate mine with creme fraiche and a little cranberry jam, while my dad ate several along side some poached eggs.
Today's featured edible gift (although you might want to keep at least one batch for yourself) is from Rebecca of Ezra Pound Cake. It's her mom's recipe and looks to be simple and addictively tasty. It's just freshly popped corn, a couple of cups of nuts (your choice - Rebecca used pecans, but I bet it would be delicious with almonds or peanuts) and a homemade caramel syrup. You mix the popcorn and nuts with the caramel sauce and bake in a low oven for an hour. Get the exact recipe over at Ezra Pound Cake.
Are finances a little tighter this holiday season? If so, Average Betty understands your budgetary pain and wants to help you have a festive meal in spite of the depressing economic state. In order to cheer you up, she's produced a video that features a recipe for the holidays, Creme Brulee, a def holiday rap music video (by Denny Blaze, a.k.a. The Average Homeboy) and the Creme Brulee dancer. Betty will have you dancing in your seat and craving a dish of Creme Brulee like nobody's business by the end of the episode.
Fleur de Maquis, the above cheese, epitomizes the festive soft-ripened cheese. This deliciously creamy and sweet Corsican cheese is covered in rosemary and thyme. During the holiday season, I enjoy rich soft-ripened cheeses, such as Vacherin Mont D'Or, that are in season. A festive cheese is one that you can have with a feast. This means it's important for it to be able to go along with several other foods at the celebration. Choose a cheese that will not dominate everything else being served. Fleur de Maquis is perfect because it's flavor tends to pair well with not just fruits and nuts, but also a variety of sparkling wines and even cured meats.
After the jump are 5 festive soft-ripened cheeses that are perfect for celebrating the New Year.
I've gone a little crazy for the Trader Joe's Candy Cane Joe Joe's this year. In previous years, I've managed to avoid their siren call, but this year, my will power just wasn't strong enough and a box of those delicious, minty, better-than-Oreos, cookies leaped from the shelf into my shopping basket. I've been pretty good, rationing them out in sets of two every night as an end-of-day treat but really, what I want to do is dive head first into the box and devour them all.
I have about half a box left and I'm planning on transforming them into a small batch of this chocolate bark from the girls at Fries With That Shake. They've used white and dark chocolate in addition to the crushed cookies to awesome, chocolately, minty effect.
What comes to mind when you think Christmas Brew? For some, it's whatever bottle they happen to have in hand on Christmas. However, for most, it's the most special brew of the year, when the beer makers pull out all the stops and create unique holiday brews to thank their customers for a season's worth of patronage.
Don Russell (also known in the Philadelphia area as Joe Sixpack) has written a book called Christmas Beer: The Cheeriest, Tastiest, and Most Unusual Holiday Brews, that is a definitive guide to these most cheery of seasonal beverages. The first third of the book is devoted to the history of the Christmas beer, after which Russell moves into a page by page documentation of the World's 50 Best Christmas Beers.
This book would make a great gift for the beer lover on your list. Pairing it with an assorted six pack of beers mentioned in the book would make it an even more valued gift.
Williams-Sonoma: Friends and Family Event Saturday December 20th through Wednesday December 24th Williams-Sonoma is having a Friends and Family Event at retail stores only. We will offer 20% off all merchandise in the store. See stores for details and visit www.williams-sonoma.com to find a location near you.
Pottery Barn: Spend $100 and get $20 back Friday, December 19th through Sunday, December 21st spend $100 at a Pottery Barn store and get a $20 gift card that can be used from 12/26/2008 – 01/31/2009. See store for details and visit www.potterybarn.com to find a location near you.
Know of a super kitchen-centric holiday sale? Share it in the comments below.
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First things first: no, the title is not an exaggeration, unless you're a literalist, as the book's full title is 400 Sauces: Dips, Dressings, Salsas, Jams, Jellies & Pickles., but, second things second, I didn't actually count them. Third things third: beyond the recipes for sauces et cetera, this book offers great primer teaching on this fundamental of cooking, courtesy of authors Catherine Atkinson, Christine France and Maggie Mayhew.
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How do you keep that Christmas spirit going after today is done? Easy. Tomorrow your local beer seller will be back open for business. You run out, grab some Christmas beers, and keep that X-mas flavor going beer-sippin' style all the way to New Years.
Yesterday, I realized with a start that we were several days into Hanukkah and I had not mentioned a single traditional treat appropriate for the Festival of Lights. When it comes to foods for Hanukkah, the very first thing I think of is potato latkes (I'd hazard a guess that I'm not alone in this association). I missed my family's annual Latkepalooza back in Philly this year as it was the same night that I was traveling out to the west coast. Because of that, I arrived late Sunday night exhausted and hungry for latkes. 
What comes to mind when you think Christmas Brew? For some, it's whatever bottle they happen to have in hand on Christmas. However, for most, it's the most special brew of the year, when the beer makers pull out all the stops and create unique holiday brews to thank their customers for a season's worth of patronage. 
Beekman 1802 - An Onion Tart with Blue Cheese and Apples
Five Great Chardonnays for $15 and Under - Wine of the Week
Zucchini, the Moist Maker
