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"In Judaism, since the spiritual
and the physical are intimately connected, each
has the power to enhance and infuse vitality into
the other, creating a divine partnership. This
concept of beauty and spirituality is most
attainable during the Jewish holidays." So writes
Rita Milos Brownstein, in the introduction to
Jewish Holiday Style, a Martha Stewart-esque
treatment of the Jewish holy days. The book is a
colorful step-by-step guide to making the
highlights of the Jewish calendar as chic and
elegant as they can be. Although Brownstein
sometimes gets carried away with her rhetoric (Yom
Kippur becomes "a day spa for the soul"), her
ideas and instructions (such as making your own
Chanukah menorah, or celebrating Rosh Hashanah by
tasting various honeys) will add some zest to the
oldest Jewish traditions. And even Brownstein's
excesses have at least this to redeem them: they
always encourage the biblical virtue of
hospitality. |
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From Library Journal
Jewish cookbooks have become a rapidly
burgeoning category. Appearing at the beginning of the
annual cycle that starts with Rosh Hashanah and Yom
Kippur, three of these four new titles focus on Jewish
holidays and holy days, while Friedland's concentrates
just on the Sabbath. Greene's book, a revision of her
1985 title, is by far the most ambitious of the group,
with more than 250 recipes (80 or so entirely new, the
others thoroughly revised) for all the major holidays
and some minor ones, and including Israel's
Independence Day as well as religious celebrations. A
cooking teacher and the longtime food editor of the
Baltimore Jewish Times, Greene also offers extensive
background on each holiday, and her diverse recipes
are from all around the globe. Highly recommended.
Recently, a growing number of Jews have found
themselves returning to their religious roots and
observances they have let lapse, making Friedland's
book on celebrating the Sabbath particularly timely. A
cookbook editor and author of The Passover Cookbook,
Friedland presents 175 recipes for the three meals of
Shabbat (Friday dinner, Saturday lunch, and the "third
meal," marking the end of the Sabbath later on
Saturday). Like Greene's, her recipes are
international in scope, reflecting both the Ashkenazic
and Sephardic heritages, and her text is readable and
informative. Recommended for most collections.
Brownstein, the former art director of Good
Housekeeping and House Beautiful, offers a lavishly
illustrated crafts book with recipes and ideas for the
holidays. For each holiday, there is a menu, several
crafts projects, and decorating suggestions.
Brownstein's approach will not be to everyone's taste
(the three sukkahs for Sukkot, for example, include a
"fantasy" Penthouse Sukkah, "high-tech and sleek," but
the minimatzo vases for the Passover seder are pretty
cute). For larger collections. Rubin seems like a nice
woman, but would her cookbooks have been published if
she weren't actor/singer Mandy Patinkin's mother? Her
second book, which opens with "testimonials" from
grandchildren and other family members, includes
recipes for Thanksgiving, a bridal luncheon, and a
barbecue as well as for four major Jewish holidays.
The recipes are simple, and many of them rely on
convenience foods; some have little to do with
traditional Jewish holiday cooking (the buffet menu
includes Mexicali Layered Dip and two shellfish
dishes). Only for collections where Rubin's Grandma
Doralee Patinkin's Jewish Family Cookbook is popular.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
See all Editorial Reviews
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Product Details
Hardcover: 144 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster (September 8, 1999)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0684849593
ISBN-13: 978-0684849591 |
