Entree to Judiasm

Entrée to Judiasm: A Culinary Exploration of the Jewish Diaspora by Tina Wasserman (2009)
One truism—the Jewish cookbooks do seem to have the longest titles, and this one is no exception (nor is the previous one). The cover says a lot about the contents of the book—so in this case, you can judge a book by it’s cover. It is gorgeous. The book opens with a story from the Talmud—so this is seriously Jewish work here, kosher throughout and replete with history, stories, and cultural context in addition to the recipes.
The book is divided into two large portions—the first is a description of the Jewish diaspora: where people went, why they went there, how they interacted with the predominant culture, and the foods that they eat. The recipes predominate, but there is a story to be told in each section as well. The author’s style of writing recipes is my favorite—the recipe opens with some commentary: where the recipe comes from, what other foods you might serve with it, and an idea of what you are getting into if you choose to make it. The ingredients are set apart from the instructions in a clear manner, and are highlighted in another color so you can easily find them. The instructions are numbered, with a lot of space between them and easy to follow as you are cooking. Each recipe has a section, also well-marked, called “Tina’s Tidbits, which are bits of additional information—Can you freeze this? If fresh isn’t available can you use frozen? What are common pitfalls with the recipe? The sort of information you might get if a friend gave you the recipe, but which is not as common in a cookbook.
The second portion of the book is devoted to the holidays and recipes associated with them. The same practical approach to cooking is presented here as in the first part—including things like a drawing of how you should assemble Hamantaschen (pg. 302) and both a pareve and a dairy dough recipe for them. There are many good ideas here, and some that I have not seen before. One that appealed to me is to use risotto to make pancakes for Chanukah (I use leftover risotto, and add an egg to it), and another is the linzertorte recipe for Passover looks like something different from what I’ve made before. This book could go on your coffee table or your bookshelf, and my only complaint is that more pictures would have made it even better.