Adventures in Jewish Cooking [Paperback]

I have happily cooked my way through this book. I do agree with the readers who found some of the recipes time-consuming and difficult to shop for. However, the book is not advertised as "fast and easy" cooking (a claim that many other chef's books falsely use with abandon), so I wasn't surprised to see many of Nathan's restaurant's signiature dishes appear. Restaurant cooking should be different than home cooking, and this book offers both. As I often cook plain as well as fancy, I like his approach. Being a fan of his TV show, I knew to expect a chef's sensibility towards food--and few of them, for better or worse, count ingredients or bowls!

What rankles me is how jsholkoff talks about the lack of instructions. Did we cook from the same book? I have made both chocolate mousses in the book. Chocolate Flowerpots (OK, I served them in bowls and not individual clay pots) is not made with a ganache. Could this reviewer mean Matzo Napoleons with White Chocolate Mousse? If so, the instructions are spot on. And no where in the book did I see dropped temperatures or incomplete instructions for doneness. In fact, Nathan even tells you what level to place the oven rack.
Sherry Yard's book (which, by the way, I found full of inconsistencies and errors, and has photographs of desserts that are decorated with garnishes not in the book, which really peeves me)is ABOUT making desserts, so I would expect the mousse directions to be concise and detailed. Nathan's instructions for his mousses are not lacking, as I can attest from actually cooking them. I must admit that I take most amazon reviews with a huge spoonful of salt because I can often tell that too many people profile cookbooks that they have not even cooked from.

When you want a fancy dish for company, roll up your sleeves and tackle Nathan's Porcini Striped Bass with Smoked Trout Mashed Potatoes or similar tongue-(or toque-) twisters. Otherwise, there is lots of everyday fare, such as Grilled Chicken Breasts with Orange-Soy Marinade and Sea Bass Vera Cruz.

The problem with the book is that it is not nearly detailed enough in its recipes. A good example of this is the recipe for his chocolate mousse (which is prepared by making a ganache) is hopelessly vague. When compared to the detail provided by Sherry Yard in her cookbook, Mr. Nathan's recipes are fraught with peril. How does one know when things are done? There are no temperature readings or guidelines for the unwary.

Check out Marlene Sorosky's books. While the dishes are not as exotic, there are plenty of recipes with interesting spin that are not as time consuming. She even includes ideas for make ahead planning and shortcuts.