Jewish Cooking for Dummies

Preparing a Passover seder for twenty? Or a Purim feast for six? Or making a kosher meal to impress the in-laws? Whether it's grand-scale celebrating or a cozy simple at-home meal, cooking traditional Jewish fare is one of life's great joys. Yet preparing all those favorites you grew up with--like challah, hamantaschen, a roast leg of lamb drizzled in herbs--delicious enough to please a roomful of hungry guests as well as fulfill holiday expectations can be pretty intimidating. Yet it doesn't have to be. With Jewish Cooking For Dummies, you'll discover the fabulous combinations of tastes and ingredients essential to Jewish cuisine, the significance of certain foods (such as honey and carrots), the ins and outs of keeping kosher, how to shop and select foods, and, most of all, how a rich and ancient heritage is kept alive miraculously at every meal. Plus, you'll see how simple and thoroughly engrossing mastering Jewish cooking can be. This down-to-earth guide shows you how to: Stock your pantry and where to shop--including surprising sources of kosher food Select spices, herbs, and condiments--including bottled salsa, Israeli style Become acquainted with the beans, pastas and grains, vegetables, dairy foods, and meats used in traditional recipes Maximize your efficiency when cleaning, slicing, and preparing vegetables Not only will you explore the roots of Jewish cuisine, you'll get a handle on the difference between the Ashkenazic and Sephardic cultures (and how the egg noodle and pita bread are just one glorious manifestation of their varying cuisines ). And with over 100 recipes to choose from, you'll experience the rich and delicious world of the Jewish dining table, holiday by holiday: Rosh Hashanah--including Cinnamon Carrot Coins and Sweet Beet Salad with Orange Hanukkah--including Spicy Vegetable Latkes and Homemade Cinnamon Applesauce Passover--including My Mother's Fluffy Matzo Balls, Garlic Roast Lamb with Potatoes, and Easy Almond Macaroons With over 100 delicious recipes, plus sixteen pages of color photos, a summary cheatsheet of need-to-know info, black-and-white how-to illustrations, and humorous cartoons, Jewish Cooking For Dummies lets you experience the warmth and wisdom of the Jewish table.