Customer Reviews

New York Times Passover Cookbook

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This cookbook is so wonderful, so essential, I can't recommend it heartily enough. Perhaps my greatest endorsement is this: I really use these recipes THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, not just at Passover!

I'm the type of cook who rarely makes the same dish more than once. Here, there are several recipes I make again and again. The cover recipe, Pot Roast with Red Wine and Onions, is reason enough to order this book. The matzoh balls I make every year from these pages and they are always easy, fluffy, and to die for.

Another fantastic feature is the abundance of recipes for those "other" days of Passover--the in-between days when you're not going all out for a Seder meal but you still want something delicious.

The contributors to this book are remarkable in their expertise and their diversity. Every Jewish cook should have this book!

This cookbook is fantastic. Try the carrot souffle on page 110. It is delicious and has a unique texture. It is somewhat like carrot cake. However, the recipe doesn't tell you to turn it out of the pan, which you should do. Some of the recipes are difficult to make if you live in a community, as I do, that doesn't have a kosher butcher. Also, I wish that there were more simple recipes. I am struggling to satisfy my children during Passover, and this cookbook doesn't help much with that. Still, it is a great resource to have on hand.

I am a definite "foodie", and an Orthodox Jew. I'm always looking for new recipes to try out. I frequently take out cookbooks from local libraries to try them out, and purchase the most useful ones. There is a definite dearth of good Kosher for Passover cookbooks, so I was thrilled to find this one last year.

I am buying this one today. This is not a cookbook for beginners, but all the recipes I tried were worth the effort, and were delicious. I can't wait to try some more recipes this year. It's so nice to find some recipes for Passover that are not the usual chicken/potatoes combo. There are also many recipes to use year round.

I would also like to answer the person who said the this cookbook is not for any Orthodox Jews. He/she forgot that there are many type of Orthodox Jews. If you do not eat gebrokts (a mixture of matza meal & liquid) during all but the last day of Pesach, then there are some recipes that you will not be able to use. If your tradition (minhag) is to peel all fruits and vegetables, go ahead. You think the NY Times writers are chasidish??? Please! You can get many kosher for Passover for cookbooks with recipes from your community.

Please remember that your type of Yiddishkeit is not the only one. There are many Orthodox Jews who will not have problems with any recipes in this cookbook. And again, there are still many good recipes in this cookbook, even if you don't eat gebrokts.

I wrote a 5 star review (listed below) in February 1999. I enjoy this cookbook and have given it on sveral occassions as a gifts to friends. I find it useful and interesting, both practical and bon chic. I am writing, though, to respond to a two-star review, below, from a south american reviewer that states that "Orthodox jews don't use matzoh meal, or any vegetables that cannot be peeled" and that for him or her "this cookbook is useless." That is fine for that writer, but may I respond that the author of this cookbook, in the introduction to the book, states clearly, how the recipes were vetted with many respected rabbis and institutions. Yes, there are small sects of Jewish 'Orthodoxy' that choose not cook with matzah or matzah meal as an ingredient. If you are a member of one of those groups, then you might not find all the recipes in the book helpful. But 'in the main', the majority of Jews in the Western and Northern Hemispheres cook with matzah, matzah meal, and fruits and vegetables. The Orthodox Union (OU) has its hecksher on many matzoh meal products. Thus, I continue to recommend this book.

I am terribly sorry to have to write this, but the author of the book is obviously not orthodox. Most of the recipes use matzoh meal and one even had FLOUR!! Orthodox jews don't use matzoh meal, or any vegetables that cannot be peeled. We don't use spinach, strawberries,etc., or matzoh for cooking or baking. We use potato starch for baking. It can't be used in the same quantity of flour because it's much thicker. There wasn't one single recipe using potato starch! For me, this cookbook is useless.

Every year I buy a new Passover cookbook to add variety to the Seders. This is the Best One Yet! The commentaries are delightful to read and the recipes I am cooking today smell wonderful. Because you know who submitted each recipe, there is a sense of family unlike most cookbooks.I can't wait to serve my family! This has become my favorite Passover collection!

This year for the first time in many years I made a few different charosis recipes, a new chicken recipe, and a new kugle - all from this cookbook, and they were all delicious and beautiful to look at. I was so pleased I bought copies for my daugher and daughter-in-law. Every Jewish kitchen should have this book. It is definitely something to pass on in a family. From Liz Levine

I enjoyed this passover cookbook very much. Larry Bain's Charoset recipe is delicious. Joyce Goldstein's pickled salmon and cornish hen recipes are a must!

I enjoyed this passover cookbook very much. Larry Bain's Charoset rececipe is delicious. Joyce Goldstein's pickled salmon and cornish hen recipes are a must!

Each year, thousands of readers of The New York Times await a Wednesday "Dining In / Dining Out (DiDo)" section that appears in the week or so preceding the Jewish holiday of Passover. They want to read about time-honored / traditional and updated / newer holiday recipes that give one a taste of the holiday, conform to dietary rules, and provide a aura of rebirth and freedom. Linda Amster, a DiDo section regular, has compiled the most exciting recipes in this Passover Cookbook; sure to become a classic. Had she only included Wolfgang Puck's Los Angeles seder recipes... "Dayenu," it would have been enough. Had she only then added Paul Prudhommes Pesach veal roast... "Dayenu," that too would have been enough to make this worthwhile. And what about Anne Rosenzweig recipe for haroseth? "Dayenu." We get 175 recipes. They are all in this book. I doubt that I will ever prepare a tenth of the recipes in the book, yet it is an exciting read none the less.