-
Excellent! Mar 14, 2008 (10 of 11 found this helpful)
I have to admit my knowledge of Passover food is very limited and I was excited to receive this book for review. I am always interested in learning about new foods and how to prepare them.
My first impression of it awed me as I glanced upon the sheer beauty of the composition of this work. The cover looked alive and inviting, and the illustrations of the food looked so tempting I simply knew I would have to try each and everyone.
I set out to do just that,but of course time did not permit, so I chose just a few. My first choice was Easy Meat Roast, found on page 138. The ingredients were few, the instructions simple and let me tell you the meat absolutely delicious. I decided to add Hasselback Potatoes, found on page 194 to my dinner and my family loved the entire experience. Yummy! The meal looked like I spent hours on it, but truly it was quite quick and easy to prepare. That is a plus.
This book contains 170 recipes, given to you with simple instructions and beautiful photos that are sure to call to you to give them a try. I highly recommend this wonderful book, and not just for Passover meals, but for every family that wants a tummy delicious encounter with food anytime of the year.
Very well done, exceptional.
-
Recipes that make centuries of slavery worthwhile Mar 12, 2008 (10 of 11 found this helpful)
As this book was published, the author approached her first Passover since the death of her beloved mother-in-law, Myrna Fishbein, and so, the book is dedicated to her. Recipes are tagged if they are non-gebrokts. Not only are the Passover recipes splendid, but the presentation ideas are extremely helpful and creative. For example, each seder participant can pick a chore out of a bowl (serve the soup, clean the first course, pour the wine). It makes chores and helping out more organized and fun. Or consider serving the karpas and salt water in a Bento Box. Or check the wine labels at the seder. Tell a Jewish story about each of the countries that the wines are from (Israel, USA, Chile, New Zealand, etc.)
Recipes include APPETIZERS (14) - highlights are Salmon Tataki, Tri-color gefilte fish (3 layers, requires salmon for one layer, dill and cucumbers for another, and a springform pan), and Steamed Sea Bass and Savoy Cabbage. Idea: serve the horseradish in a scooped out zucchini slice.
SOUPS (over 18) include creamy peach, carrot coconut vichyssoise, chicken, broccoli and almond bisque, and a thick wild mushroom veloute. In terms of colorful matzo balls, there are tomato, tumeric, and spinach versions.
There are over 20 SALADS, including Seared Ahi Tuna Nicoise; Cucumber Dill; Grilled Beef and Radish; Fatoush; and Mango Tuna with Goat Cheese. The coolest is a Watermelon and Beet Salad served in a martini glass with mint and basil sprigs. There are 27 POULTRY recipes. Includes Chicken Lollipops, Greek Garlic Chicken, Fiesta Turkey Burgers, Pastrami Stuffed Turkey Roast with a Pineapple Glaze, and Ratatouille Chicken Stew. The nineteen MEAT recipes include Lamb Chop with Parsley Pesto, Brisket with Shallots and Potatoes, Braised Rib Roast with Melted Tomatoes, Veal Scaloppini with Kumquats, and a Fig Marsala Sauce.
Of the over 20 FISH/DAIRY recipes, my faves were Tower of Snapper and Eggplant, Halibut with Zucchini Confit, Tuna Croquettes, Parmesan Crusted Grouper (yes Parmesan can be kosher), Matzo Brei, and Blintz Souffle. The 24 SIDE DISHES include Cauliflower Popcorn, Cauliflower Francaise (she loves cauliflower), Matzo Primavera, Meichel (her mother in law's farfal mushroom pilaf), Hasselback Potatoes (never has a potato looked so lovely), a cranberry pineapple kugel, Thai Quinoa, and Quinoa Timbales with Grapefruit Vinaigrette. As for Afikomens, or DESSERTS, there are 28, including Ebony and Ivory (mouse), Chocolate Mousse Pie, Melon Granitas, Best Ever Sponge Cake (the trick is in the egg white beatings), a compote that serves a mere 25 people, and brownies, cookies, and sorbet. Btay Avon
-
CAREFUL! REPETITIVE recipes if you're a fan of the Kosher by Design series Apr 13, 2008 (7 of 7 found this helpful)
I love the Kosher by Design series. I love the layout of the cookbook itself and the beautiful color photographs of almost every recipe. The recipes are great and are things that I would actually make containing ingredients that I might actually find at my local supermarket. And most of them are not too simple (i.e. add a can of beans to a can of meat and voila, dinner!) nor are they too complicated (i.e. having 20 or more ingredients), but rather the perfect blend for cooks who have to run a busy household but still want tasty food that can impress their guests.
However, if you've got several Kosher by Design cookbooks on your shelf already, you'll find that this Passover edition repeats a great many of the recipes from the others--with the same photographs. And if not exactly copied, many are adjusted only slightly by using matzoh instead of graham crackers. I would have to say that 35% or more of the book are repeats from other editions. I was a bit disappointed to find this out. But I probably would have bought the book anyways. For those of us who have a strictly kosher kitchen, you can't really use your chometz-dik, year-round cookbooks during Passover anyways.
I would recommend it, but with full disclosure.
EDIT: A kind commenter pointed out that the number of repeat recipes is far higher than I estimated. There are 130 old or modified recipes from the Kosher by Design series in this Passover edition, and only 30 new recipes.
-
Beautifully Delicious Mar 4, 2008 (9 of 10 found this helpful)
Fishbein, Susie. "Passover By Design: Picture Perfect Kosher By Design Recipes for the Holiday", Menorah Publications, 2008.
Beautifully Delicious
Amos Lassen
It's getting close to that time of year again when Jewish housewives start scurrying around to find new ways to make Passover more interesting food-wise. They do not have far to look because Susie Fishbein has a new book that will give them the most beautiful recipes ever. Passover is a holiday that we love to hate. In the beginning of the eight day festival, we love our traditional foods but as the week drags on, we get bored with the entire business. Passover boosts us spiritually and the "Seder" is a time for families and friends to come together. However one the family has settled in and we face the situation of a full week without certain foods, we get itchy. We can stop scratching now that Susie Fishbein's new book is here. Just to look at it makes my mouth water and realizing I still have six weeks to go before Passover is making me itchy as well.
The food in this book looks divine--even better than the fanciest of restaurants in Little Rock, Arkansas. The food here is elegant and beautiful and I am sure delicious. Aside from adding new treats for the Passover menu, the author has taken some of the old standards and completely redesigned them. My mouth went crazy when I saw the picture of the matzoh brei. It has never looked so good before.
To give you an idea of what is here; let me name some of the recipes for you. Among the appetizers are: pistachio chicken skewers with blackberry sauce, tri-color gefilte fish, and Portobello stacks with honey-balsamic ketchup.
Among the soups are carrot coconut vichyssoise and cream of sweet potato soup with roasted pecans. Salads include seared ahi tuna nicoise, blackened steak with asparagus and smoked turkey mango salad. If you feel like chicken you can try teriyaki chicken sates, glazed chicken breasts with strawberry salsa or poached chicken in leek broth. How about beef remoulade in creamy parsnips or rack of lamb with fig Marsala? Fishbein also provides recipes for side dishes and deserts that will have you rushing to get to the last course.
None of the recipes look difficult and I just wish that I had already done my Passover shopping and prepared my kitchen because instead of typing this review, I would be in the kitchen cooking. I would even find an excuse to have a Seder.
The book is all pleasure. John Uher's photography shows what the finished foods look like and there is something about reading a cookbook that is personal. My love for beauty, food and Passover all come together in this beautiful volume.
-
Passover by Design: What a great idea. Feb 29, 2008 (8 of 9 found this helpful)
My wife was so excited when I brought home a copy of Passover by Design. Most people dread cooking for Passover, particularly since it's traditionally such a "meat'n'potatoes" holiday, punctuated with lotsa matzah! We were impressed that Susie Fishbein has created recipes that are kosher for Passover, but look like year round dishes. I notice she's reworked many popular recipes from her series and made them kosher for Passover, so we don't have to do all that pesky ingredient substitution and recalculating flour to potato starch ratios! There are some pretty cool new recipes in here that I really want to test drive before Passover, like the Creamy Peach Soup, the Beef Roulade on Creamed Parsnips, and I'm itching to get into that Chocolate Chip Cheesecake. I see this cookbook is not quite as big as the previous ones, but it also costs less too. So - fair trade off. The pictures are beautiful to browse, but they make me hungry. We've been Fishbein fans since her original Kosher by Design came out about five years ago. Great idea having a cookbook like this for such a daunting eight-day holiday as Passover. Thanks again, Susie!