From Amazon.com
Susan Friedland wrote
The Passover Table in 1994, and it is still one of the most outstanding books for this holiday. Before offering recipes, Friedland presents the roots of Passover in Jewish history and in the Torah. She explains the purpose of particular parts of the Seder, the ceremony that marks the observance of Passover, including the famous Four Questions.
Food has a central role during the entire seven days of Passover. Recipes in The Passover Table include dishes served by Jews with roots in northern and central Europe, and those whose culinary influences come originally from Mediterranean Europe (Ashkenazim), North Africa (Sephardim), or the Middle East. In addition to Gefilte Fish and Tzimmes (a sweet meat and vegetable stew) for Seder nights, the dishes for the rest of the week include Mina de Pesha, a layered chicken pie made with matzos; airy, puffed Potato Chremsel; and Birmuelos, Sephardic doughnuts served for dessert or breakfast. Large color photos encourage you to try unfamiliar recipes by showing the mouth-watering results.
From Publishers Weekly
The ideal audience for this generously illustrated cookbook may prove elusive. Friedland's short course on seder rituals and dietary laws, and her emphasis on traditional recipes, will bore all but the uninitiated (on the subject of matzoh balls, for example, she declares that "the best recipe is the one printed on the box of matzo meal, and every brand has the same recipe printed on its side," then she reprints it without further comment). She ventures off the beaten path with recipes for layered meat-and-matzoh pies, tasty vegetable cutlets and Turkish-style sweet-and-sour artichokes; such novelties, however, are few and far between, and the cook looking for fresh ideas will be disappointed. A basic understanding of cooking is presupposed--although the elements of the seder are lengthily defined, cooking terms are not. The color photographs, similarly, forego showing cooking techniques and stages of preparation in favor of glamour shots of completed recipes.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
