Rating: 
Summary: A Coffee Table Cookbook!
Review: When was the last time you took a cookbook to bed with you? This is a book that you'll read from cover to cover, and not necessarily in the kitchen. Well researched and expertly written, "The Foods of Israel Today" is actually a history of food traditions in Israel with a bonus of assorted recipes. Joan Nathan, formerly an assistant to Teddy Kollek, knows all the right people and has been to all the right places. The book is filled with delightful food-related anecdotes about well known Israeli personalities. This makes for a great read. For example, a full-page anecdote about a visit to Arik and Lili z"l Sharon's ranch with a photo of Lili and a description of their kitchen, precedes Lili's recipe for roast lamb. Her secret? A whole head of garlic pressed into the lamb.The introduction to this book is a fascinating history of the development of agriculture in Israel and how that influenced Israeli cuisine. The book has several full page color photographs, but more captivating are the many small black-and-white photos of Israel in its early years. There are other handy items such as recommendations for favorite Hummus haunts in Jerusalem, pita bakeries and where to get Baklava in the Galil. The recommended places are not all kosher, but the 300 recipes appear to all be kosher. This book is a must-have.
Rating:
Summary: Oral gratification
Review: With 300 recipes, two pages of suggested Israeli restaurants, two web sources for ingredients, and nine suggested menus, Nathan shows the diverse cuisines of Israel's sabras and immigrants. THIS IS ISRAELI CUISINE that is being eaten in Israel. Includes turkey schnitzel, quick kibbutz apple cake, eggplant salad, and halvah chocolate cake. Includes Transylvania Green Bean Soup, a dessert salami (made of cookies) and the Chocolate Cake recipe from the American Colony Hotel in Jerusalem. It includes over a dozen poultry recipes, including Doro Wat, a spicy chicken of Ethiopian Jews; and Hamim, an overnight chicken dish with cloves, spaghetti, cumin, cinnamon, and cardamom. Ms Nathan felt compelled to write this 400 page book on the night Itzhak Rabin was assassinated (Nov 4, 1995). Three decades ago, she lived in Israel for three years and worked in Jerusalem for Mayor Teddy Kollek for over two years (where Nathan co-wrote her first cookbook). The book is in the style of her earlier American Jewish Cooking book, namely, each recipe is preceded by an oral history, and there are histories, classic photos, and stories between the recipes. For example, to complement the recipe for Shakshuka, the reader learns about the Doktor Shakshuka Restaurant in old Jaffa and its owners. For the burekas recipe, we read about eating burekas at Jerusalem's city hall in the Seventies. While discussing the Friedman's farm in Rosh Pina, we get lots of farm recipes. A recipe for Kaiserschmarrn is coupled with an old picture of Beit Ha'Pancake's roadside gas station and a story about the search for the dish's Viennese roots. In addition to salad, tahina, and hummus recipes, Nathan lists 19 of the best places for hummus from Jerusalem to Akko to Haifa. Plus 12 happening places for falafel. There are 23 salads, including Hamutzim (pickled vegetables). Some of my favorite recipes are Mish Mish Apricot Jam (with cinnamon stick); Egyptian Coconut Jam; Triple Citrus Marmalade (coupled with a story on Etrog picking); Israeli Onion Jam (from Neot Kedumim), a guide to how to make your own Za'atar spice; Carmelized green Olives; Shortcut Potato Burekas; Marhooda; Bulgur Patties from the Black Hebrew community in Dimona; and a Revisionist Haroset (from Hemda Friedman). The Palestinian Fruit Soup uses cinnamon stick and was found in a 1930's Cleveland cookbook of all places. There is a Bukharan style Tomato Gazpacho and Bulgarian Eggplant Soup with Yogurt. Speaking of Za'atar, Nathan includes the recipe for Abouelafia's Sunny Side Up Za'atar Pita Pizza (if you haven't had it in Jaffa, either buy the book or fly ElAl to the bakery immediately). Speaking of soup, she has the Hummus Soup recipe from Keren Restaurant, as well as Aramaic Chicken Soup; and the Goulash Soup recipe from Fink's Bar (on King George at Ben Yehudah mall). The Olive Bread recipe uses black and green olives and oregano. The Mahlouach recipe is from Nahlaot, and the Chocolate Bread recipe is from Lehem Erez Komarovsky. The Jerusalem Kugel recipe is heavy on the pepper and the Barsch is Uzbeki style from Holon. There is Yotvata Potato Mushroom Casserole from Kibbutz Yotvata (and all you thought they made was milk), and the 16 fish dishes include Khremi, a Libyan style fish from Beit Shikma; Ima Sharansky's gefilte fish; and Chef Steinitz's Salmon Trout dish (Dan Hotel, Eilat). What more can one want? Oral recipes and oral histories results in oral gratification
Rating:
Summary: Oral gratification
Review: With 300 recipes, two pages of suggested Israeli restaurants, two web sources for ingredients, and nine suggested menus, Nathan shows the diverse cuisines of Israel?s sabras and immigrants. THIS IS ISRAELI CUISINE that is being eaten in Israel. Includes turkey schnitzel, quick kibbutz apple cake, eggplant salad, and halvah chocolate cake. Includes Transylvania Green Bean Soup, a dessert salami (made of cookies) and the Chocolate Cake recipe from the American Colony Hotel in Jerusalem. It includes over a dozen poultry recipes, including Doro Wat, a spicy chicken of Ethiopian Jews; and Hamim, an overnight chicken dish with cloves, spaghetti, cumin, cinnamon, and cardamom. Ms Nathan felt compelled to write this 400 page book on the night Itzhak Rabin was assassinated (Nov 4, 1995). Three decades ago, she lived in Israel for three years and worked in Jerusalem for Mayor Teddy Kollek for over two years (where Nathan co-wrote her first cookbook). The book is in the style of her earlier American Jewish Cooking book, namely, each recipe is preceded by an oral history, and there are histories, classic photos, and stories between the recipes. For example, to complement the recipe for Shakshuka, the reader learns about the Doktor Shakshuka Restaurant in old Jaffa and its owners. For the burekas recipe, we read about eating burekas at Jerusalem?s city hall in the Seventies. While discussing the Friedman?s farm in Rosh Pina, we get lots of farm recipes. A recipe for Kaiserschmarrn is coupled with an old picture of Beit Ha?Pancake?s roadside gas station and a story about the search for the dish?s Viennese roots. In addition to salad, tahina, and hummus recipes, Nathan lists 19 of the best places for hummus from Jerusalem to Akko to Haifa. Plus 12 happening places for falafel. There are 23 salads, including Hamutzim (pickled vegetables). Some of my favorite recipes are Mish Mish Apricot Jam (with cinnamon stick); Egyptian Coconut Jam; Triple Citrus Marmalade (coupled with a story on Etrog picking); Israeli Onion Jam (from Neot Kedumim), a guide to how to make your own Za?atar spice; Carmelized green Olives; Shortcut Potato Burekas; Marhooda; Bulgur Patties from the Black Hebrew community in Dimona; and a Revisionist Haroset (from Hemda Friedman). The Palestinian Fruit Soup uses cinnamon stick and was found in a 1930's Cleveland cookbook of all places. There is a Bukharan style Tomato Gazpacho and Bulgarian Eggplant Soup with Yogurt. Speaking of Za?atar, Nathan includes the recipe for Abouelafia?s Sunny Side Up Za?atar Pita Pizza (if you haven?t had it in Jaffa, either buy the book or fly ElAl to the bakery immediately). Speaking of soup, she has the Hummus Soup recipe from Keren Restaurant, as well as Aramaic Chicken Soup; and the Goulash Soup recipe from Fink?s Bar (on King George at Ben Yehudah mall). The Olive Bread recipe uses black and green olives and oregano. The Mahlouach recipe is from Nahlaot, and the Chocolate Bread recipe is from Lehem Erez Komarovsky. The Jerusalem Kugel recipe is heavy on the pepper and the Barsch is Uzbeki style from Holon. There is Yotvata Potato Mushroom Casserole from Kibbutz Yotvata (and all you thought they made was milk), and the 16 fish dishes include Khremi, a Libyan style fish from Beit Shikma; Ima Sharansky?s gefilte fish; and Chef Steinitz?s Salmon Trout dish (Dan Hotel, Eilat). What more can one want? Oral recipes and oral histories results in oral gratification
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