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Friday November 30, 2007

Savor this book, and its delectable recipes, this holiday season

by louise fiszer

Food writer Judy Bart Kancigor was expecting her first grandchild when she realized that the upcoming generation might never get to know their history, hear family stories and, more important, taste their wonderful food. She decided to document everything and everyone, including five generations of recipes, in “Cooking Jewish” (Workman Publishing).

Kancigor has a gift for blending the old with the new, the sweet with the savory, each recipe accompanied with a family story. This format presents home cooking at its best, interweaving traditional and somewhat contemporary recipes from her large and sometimes eccentric family.

As for the recipes, many are versions of old favorites like vegetarian chopped “liver” and brisket and noodle kugels. The author devotes a whole page to the “kugel wars,” agonizing over which and whose kugels include in the book. If you have a sweet tooth, you will be thrilled by four chapters on sweets.

A perfect gift for the cook, this delightfully quirky and endearing cookbook is definitely a labor of love containing 532 recipes that come from Judy’s family’s kitchens and straight from Judy’s heart.

Malayasian Latkes

Makes 16 latkes

1/2 cup chopped cashews or peanuts

1/4 cup chopped mint or flat leaf parsley

1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper

2 Tbs. finely chopped jalapeno pepper

2 tsp. grated fresh ginger

kosher salt to taste

1 tsp. curry powder

2 large eggs, beaten

2 large baking potatoes, cut into wedges

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

vegetable oil, for frying

Combine cashews, mint, bell pepper, ginger, jalapeno, salt and curry powder and eggs in a large bowl, and mix well. Set aside.

Shred the potatoes and onion in a food processor. Squeeze the mixture between several changes of paper towels to release as much liquid as possible. Add the potato/onion mixture to the eggs and combine well. Stir in the flour.

Pour enough oil into a large heavy skillet to cover the bottom and heat over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot add a scant 1/4 cup batter per latke and flatten with a fork. Fry only as many latkes as will fit in the skillet without crowding. Cook on one side until crisp and brown, 2-3 minutes. Turn over and cook until the other side is crisp and brown. Transfer latkes to paper towels to drain. Serve immediately.

Rosie Graham’s Eggplant Appetizer

Serves 8

For the Dressing

2 Tbs. balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 tsp. sugar

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

freshly ground pepper

1/2 bunch cilantro leaves and stems, chopped

For the Eggplant

1 eggplant

1/2 cup olive oil for frying

3 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Cut the eggplant into 1/4 inch thick slices.

Heat 1 to 2 Tbs. oil in a large heavy frying pan over medium heat. Add the eggplant in batches and fry on both sides. Drain on paper towels.

Arrange the eggplant in a single layer on a large serving platter and sprinkle with the feta cheese and garlic.

Prepare the dressing: Whisk together dressing ingredients and pour over the eggplant. Top with cilantro. Let eggplant stand covered, at room temp for an hour before serving. Serve with pita bread wedges

Louise Fiszer is a Palo Alto cooking teacher, author and the co-author of “Jewish Holiday Cooking.” Her columns alternate with those of Rebecca Ets-Hokin. Questions and recipe ideas can be sent to j. or to loufiszer@aol.com.

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