Adventures in Jewish Cooking By Jeffrey Nathan

Adventures in Jewish Cooking Author: Jeffrey Nathan Publisher: Clarkson Potter, Random House, 2002, hardcover, $32.50 USD Buy this book now! Chef Jeffrey Nathan strikes again. First we enjoyed Abigail's, his wonderful Manhattan restaurant. Then we learned techniques from his PBS cooking show currently broadcast in Israel on YES. Now, here is the book. Adventures in Jewish Cooking is a little of all the best of Jeffrey Nathan, right on your bookshelf whenever you need him. Jeffrey Nathan has pioneered the concept "New Jewish Cuisine," an updated fresh version of kosher cooking. Consider Stuffed Cabbage, this time made with Sweet and Sour Cranberry Sauce. Sacrilege? Just try it. Several of the recipes in the book come from Abigail's restaurant. Abigails, says Jeffrey Nathan, was designed "…not as a kosher restaurant but as a great restaurant that just happens to be kosher." The recipe for Abigail's Balsamic Vinaigrette salad dressing, for example, is now mine. Simple enough, it contains just the ingredients that my salad dressing was missing. Chocolate Mousse Flowerpots, the signature dessert at Abigails, appears here with detailed instructions and photos. Not your standard Eastern European concept, this dessert is served in small terra-cotta pots topped with "dirt" made from cookie crumbs. Recipe for Vegetarian Chopped Liver from Adventures in Jewish Cooking New Jewish Cuisine has its place, but even the father of this concept knows not to fix it when it aint broke. Interspersed throughout the book are "Heritage Recipes" - so labeled in their title. You'll have to thumb through the book to find them, but you'll appreciate heirloom recipes such as Classic Chicken Soup with Matza Balls, Honey Cake, and even Rugalach. This hard-cover 256 page book is not for your coffee table. It is a real working cookbook. The studied format and the layout make it peasant and easy to use. Headings are in large clear type. The Meat/dairy/parve status is highlighted at the top of every page. There is an introduction to each recipe and the number of servings appears in a frame. Ingredients and instructions are clearly presented in two adjacent columns. Throughout the book there are helpful tips and ideas. The pages are black and white, with great B&W pictures throughout. In addition there is a 16-page insert of color photos of some of the recipes with reference to the page numbers. There is a helpful menu planning section, a resource page for ordering some hard-to-find ingredients and an index. Jeffrey Nathan's Jewish voice comes through loud and clear in the personal 2 - 3 page introductions to each section and in the short introductions to the recipes. The introduction to the Meat section, for example, begins "Here are my favorite recipes for those delicious, hoofed, cud-chewing stars of the kosher kitchen…" Though meat is a big item in Jewish cuisine, the book also contains an impressive collection of parve recipes which Jeffrey Nathan points out, "…sidestep the issues of separating meat from dairy." The book has an excellent section on Vegetable Main Courses, a section on mostly parve Pasta and Grains, and parve side dishes. The "gender" of the recipe is highlighted at the top of every page, which is convenient for menu building. How can you tell that this is a real New York kosher cookbook? Consider the recipe for Rye Bread that Jeffrey Nathan says "…will turn your pastrami sandwich into a masterpiece." Adventures in Jewish Cooking has my vote. This is a great addition to your kitchen. Recipe for Vegetarian Chopped Liver from Adventures in Jewish Cooking Jeffrey Nathan is the host of New Jewish Cuisine seen on Public Television stations nationwide and in Israel, and the executive chef and co-owner at Abigail's, New Your City's premier kosher restaurant. A past nominee for the James Beard Award for best national television cooking show, Nathan garnered acclaim for his wild game cooking at New York's New Deal Restaurant. This is his first book.