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Jewish Home Cooking (Win a Copy)

by Leah Koenig · April 14th, 2008

Books, Contest, Cookbooks, Cooking, Food Writing, Holidays, Jewish Culture, Kosher, New York, Pesach/Passover, Shabbat Meals

Arthur Schwartz likes to say: “If a kosher Martian landed in New York City today and observed what Jews were actually eating, he would think pizza and sushi were the most Jewish foods on earth.” I like to think that a copy of Schwartz’s new cookbook, Jewish Home Cooking: Yiddish Recipes Revisited, would screw that misguided Martian’s head on straight.

Also called The Food Maven, Schwartz is known for being the man the New York Times Magazine dubbed “a walking Google of food knowledge.” His expertise extends far beyond Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine – still, Jewish Home Cooking is a true homecoming for this Brooklyn native.

Far beyond a collection of Yiddish recipes – Jewish Home Cooking offers a vivid snapshot of a particular era of Jewish life – the slender seltzer bottles delivered to your doorstep, butchers who knew your name and order, frothy egg creams with Fox’s U-Bet syrup, and slow-simmered tzimmes – that has all but vanished from today’s New York. With recipes that honor tradition (but aren’t stifled by it), and historical photographs and anecdotes of New York’s long-gone Jewish culinary hot spots, Schwartz breathes new life into Jewish cuisine with humor and love – but without the sloppy side dish of kitsch that usually (and annoyingly) comes along with Yiddish retrospectives.

Win a FREE copy of Jewish Home Cooking! Tell us your favorite Passover dish or food tradition and be entered into a drawing to win. Only one comment per person will be entered into the drawing – comment before Thursday, April 17.

Below the jump, Schwartz’s Passover Apple Cake.

Passover Parve Apple Cake
*Adapted slightly from Arthur Schwartz’s Jewish Home Cooking: Yiddish Recipes Revisited.

With it’s cloud-like layer of apples resting under a crunchy topping of toasted pecans and caramelized sugar, it was good enough to make this Midwestern gal feel like an ekht yidishke. Although good from the first piece I tested straight out of the oven for “research purposes,” Schwartz’s claim that this cake gets better with age is true. Hello post-seder breakfast!

Topping:
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/4 tablespoon ground ginger
1/4 tablespoon ground cardamom

Cake:
3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup matzo meal
5 medium apples (I used two very large ones), peeled, cored, halved, and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices (about 5 cups). I used Crispin, but Arthur says Golden Delicious also works well.
1/3 cup raisins (optional)

Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil an 8-inch square glass baking dish. To prepare topping, mix together pecans, sugar, and spices; set aside.

To prepare cake batter, beat eggs until well mixed. Beat in the sugar, about 2 tablespoons at at time, beating until the mixture is thick and foamy. Beat in the oil, adding it in a steady stream. Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula. With the spatula , stir in the matzo meal cake, blending well.

Pour half the batter mixture into the pan. Sprinkle about half the topping mixture evenly over the batter and top with half the apples and all the raisins. (I arranged mine in a flat row of half moons.) Scrape the remaining half of the batter over the apples, spreading it out to cover the apples. Arrange the remaining apples on top (same pattern) and sprinkle evenly with remaining topping.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the sides of the cake pull away very slightly from the baking dish and the topping has begun to caramelize. Let cool for several hours before cutting. Arthur says that a cake tester – like a fork or toothpick – is not reliable here. It will simply not come out clean, due to the cake’ moist richness. He also says the cake improves with age – keep covered tightly with plastic. The next day, the topping will have become a moist, candy-like coating.

Read my interview with Arthur Schwartz in Zeek Magazine, here.

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46 Responses to “Jewish Home Cooking (Win a Copy)”

Karen Says:
April 14th, 2008 at 10:09 am
FAvorite Jewish food memory … videotaping my Grandma Ida as she made gefilte fish with her 3 yr old great granddaughter Rebecca before Pesach in 1985. My Grandma Ida died in 2002. Her gefilte fish recipe is still the family favorite. It was impossible to get her to write down or even dictate a recipe, since there were no standard measurements for any of the ingredients. Videotaping her process (it took all day!) was our best attempt to capture her art.
Edamame Says:
April 14th, 2008 at 10:10 am
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Maddie Says:
April 14th, 2008 at 10:30 am
I’ve always loved Charoset piled on top of a piece of matzah. I’m not much for the main courses during the Seder (being a vegetarian sort of takes the fun out of brisket for me), but since I was a little girl, I’ve always anticipated the crunch of the matzah mixed with the tangy zip of the apples, cinnamon, and raisins.

Mmm. Can’t wait.
Leah Koenig Says:
April 14th, 2008 at 11:06 am
My apologies Karen – I breached a little “blogging” etiquette and changed the raffle question from favorite Jewish food memory to the more specifically Pesach-focused, “favorite passover dish or tradition). Not to worry, you’ll definitely be entered into the drawing – and what an amazing family memory (and resource for future generations!) to have captured on film. :)

Agreed Maddie – my mouth is watering a little just thinking about it! For veggie-friendly recipes to bring to your seder, check out The Jew & The Carrot’s Sustainable Passover menu:

http://jcarrot.org/resources/s.....over-menu/
lux Says:
April 14th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
This probably won’t win me a lot of friends in the veggie camp, but my favorite Passover dish is the utterly amazing braised lamb my mother introduced me to. Easy to make, tastes fantastic, and if you buy a bone-in leg for the dish you can debone it and get your shank for the Seder plate as well.

I know, I know, it’s meat. Even worse, it’s lamb, which is generally imported. I’m sorry. I love it anyway.
Shirley Says:
April 14th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
We always had apple cake similar to this one when my mother was living. She loved apples. I don’t remember cardamom as being one of the spices she used though. I need to get out her recipe and re-start that tradition.
Maureen Says:
April 14th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
Well, as I was raised Catholic, I have no real Passover memories from my own household.

However, my first boyfriend (age 5) was Teddy Fink who lived next door in Wilkes Barre PA. I really pined for Nadie, but as he was a year younger…well, younger men weren’t in fashion then. It was in the Fink household where I had my first experience of being allowed to drink CocaCola WITH DINNER! I knew they had different dishes for different foods but at that age I didn’t click with the concept of no milk with meat.

The one dish that does stand out for me from Passover was matzo. I fell in love with the brittle cracker and clamored for it all thru grade school. I prefered the non-salted and would eat slice after slice of it, preferably with bits of hard butter.

Even today when I go into a grocery around Passover and see the various foods put out for the holiday, I have a smile for the matzo and wonder what became of Nadie, because at 63, who cares about 1 year?!?!?
Mama Beckala Says:
April 14th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
Mother Tannenbaum’s Matzah Chocolate Cake is my families fave Passover dish. It is very European, not too sweet yet delicious. Melt margarine, add sugar, cocoa powder, egg yolks, and vanilla. Lay a sheet of matzah on a plate, sprinkle with wine, pour some of the chocolate sauce on top. Lay another sheet of matzah on top, sprinkle with wine, pour some more chocolate sauce on top. Repeat this step until you have 6-8 layers. Decorate the top layer with raspberries. Can be served warm or refrigerated for several days. Enjoy immensley!
Larry Lennhoff Says:
April 14th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
In my family matza brei and charemzels were traditional passover only fare. If my mother’s mother was in attendance, we’d also have gribnes – a guilty pleasure to this very day.
Debs Says:
April 14th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
I’ll give one of each.

My favorite food: my mother’s charoset. Simply grate apples and mix with plenty of cinnamon, grated walnuts, wine, and golden raisins, and let it sit overnight so the flavors absorb and the texture of the grated apples softens. Just before serving, dot with some fresh golden raisins on top. When I host seders, I swear some of my friends come just for the charoset.

Tradition: in the seders I’ve hosted with friends over the years, I’ve started a tradition of sound effects for the Ten Plagues. People cluster into ten groups (these seders are big), each with a toy symbolic of a plague. As we read the plagues out loud, each group stops reading when we get to their plague and starts making a sound effect for the plague while the others continue reading. By the end, there is a cacophany of plague noises going on.

Food Is Love
carol koenig Says:
April 14th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
Hi Leah,
You have seen the movies of my experiences as a child visiting my Bubbie and Zadie in Minneapolis for Pesach. The treat, very often rationed, were the “little eggies” we had in the soup. These were the yolks found inside the hens which were destined to form shells but had not. Finding a cluster of them inside a chicken was like striking gold. They were carefully “harvested” and boiled in the soup. With 13 grandchildren in attendance, there were times when we each had only a half. But I can still remember the flavor of those scrumptious yolks. Who cared about cholesterol in those days, anyway? Love, Mom
shayna Says:
April 14th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
When I was younger, seders were huge. 30-40 people would show up at my house. Yet, my father did the cooking. He would take off the day or two before from work to cook (my mother never really cooked), and spend all day in the kitchen. The soup, the most important thing, took all day. This soup was so special he would only make it on Passover and Rosh Hashana, but only on Passover did it have matzah balls. I always stayed home those days from school to help him, and I remember him singing to me “Daddy’s little girl loves matzah, matzah..Daddy’s little girl loves matzah balls.”
Becka Says:
April 14th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
Matzah brittle is wonderful stuff and I also love charoses with matza and horseradish.
rorkesdrift Says:
April 14th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Since my wife is a vegetarian I always make a Morrocan stew with eggplant, zucchini and tomatoes. The kids just eat the brisket and chicken soup.
Susan Says:
April 14th, 2008 at 5:39 pm
Fluffy matzo farfel soaked in mushroom-onion gravy…favorite tradition…washing the plates afterwards with my sister, sneaking sips of Manishewitz.
Atarah Says:
April 14th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
Flourless chocolate cake (too decadent to eat at any other time).

1 lb. semi-sweet chocolate
1 lb. butter
6 eggs

pre heat oven to 425
melt butter and chocolate in double boiler. transfer to mixing bowl.
clean top of double boiler. whisk eggs in double boiler until heated through. remove from heat and beat on high until thickened (about 6 minutes)
fold eggs into chocolate by hand, 1/4 at a time until completely blended (don’t over blend, be gentle to the eggs or you will have a flat cake)
pour batter into 16in. spring form pan. place springform pan into larger glass pan and fill with warm water until 1 inch from top of springform pan.
bake 15 min.
cool at room temp for one hour. refrigerate 24+ hours before serving. cut with hot knife or dental floss – serve with fruit.

yummmmmmmy!
shev Says:
April 14th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
I don’t have a favourite food, but I here is my favourite foodie-memory: any year that my aunt and my mother lived in the same country, we made sedarim together. The day of the seder, most of the family would get off work, and we spent the day, 5 “adults” (mum and dad, aunt and uncle, grandma), and 7 cousins, cooking together. We would chop vegetables around a the kitchen table, sing, tell jokes, poke fun at each other, wash the endless pile of dishes, drink tea and eat cinnamon cookies. Amazing.
judi Says:
April 14th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
It’s a toss-up between flourless (duh!) chocolate torte and spinach mina. But why choose?
Susan G Says:
April 14th, 2008 at 7:50 pm
We’ve had vegetarian seders since 1978, full of giggles about how our chicks had chickpeas. Soup with matzo balls is still my favorite since childhood, but the soup is made with chickpea miso. Our seder plate had pink plastic “shankbones” from the “Hungry Henry” game my kids had! Looking for some new seder ideas brought me here today.
carla glass Says:
April 14th, 2008 at 7:52 pm
Jewish Home Cooking Memory:

My mother had an affinity for schmaltz. To her, this was the cure for cancer that was obviously overlooked. Every Friday, in the same pot for 25 years, she made her concoction. This was left to cool on the kitchen windowsill for hours, strained, and then chilled. The aroma of crispy onions and fried chicken skin filled our apartment in Queens. Schmaltz was used liberally on everything. I used to hide my lunch in elementary school because the smell of the schmaltz was so overpowering and I was secretly embarrassed. Not too embarrassed to not eat it though…. Now as a vegetarian, I do miss schmaltz, I have even tried to copy it to no success. If I ever fall off the wagon,
I plan on making a bee line for the schmaltz pot…….
Naomi Says:
April 14th, 2008 at 8:31 pm
Over the years my haroset recipe has evolved, including dates or figs along with the traditional apples and walnuts. But the biggest challenge after I got married was finding my own wooden chopping bowl to make it in, and a good chopping knife. My daughters have grown up helping with the preparation, and since the chopping bowl I did find is on the small side, the haroset moves in and out of a plastic bowl to get chopped and mixed with the various ingredients.

My eldest is now married and the proud possesor of a Cuisinart (although I don’t know if she has one for Pesach) which she uses to make various recipes that I have always mixed or chopped by hand. Somehow haroset made in a food processor just doesn’t have the same taam.
Alix Says:
April 15th, 2008 at 12:09 am
The Charoset Pyramid is one family tradition. http://jcarrot.org/the-return-.....t-pyramid/
Another is the post-seder brunch. Two batches of matzo brei are made, one savory with mushrooms and onions, and one sweet, to be slathered with jam and/or maple syrup. Both are much beloved by all in the Wall family.
Anne Says:
April 15th, 2008 at 7:37 am
I adore humor with an edge! This looks to be a very clever book! I can imagine reliving all those crazy kitchen moments and memories with a huge grin on my face!!!

Check out http://www.savetheknish.org for some similar and look worthy humor. We have got to save those little creatures! :)

It’s all about the smiles!
Ben Murane Says:
April 15th, 2008 at 8:57 am
MATZAH BREI.
aysmgahockeymom Says:
April 15th, 2008 at 9:18 am
Love this site. Thanks for the tip. I’ll send everyone there.

http://www.savetheknish.org
Arleen Says:
April 15th, 2008 at 10:16 am
I love my mother’s,grandmother’s, etc… Hungarian matzo farfel. I’ve eaten it every year of my life, except the year I became vegetarian, and my mother automatically made it with chicken soup. Since then, she and I make it with water or vegetarian broth.

The recipe:
2 eggs
2 C farfel (1/2 box)
1/4 C oil
Chicken soup/ veggie broth/water
Beat 2 eggs and add salt, pepper to taste. Mix in farfel until coated. Heat 1/4 C oil in a pot. Add mixture and brown in oil slowly under a low flame. Mix frequently so farfel pieces don’t stick together. Cook until browned. Add soup or water until close to top of mixture. Cook slowly until all liquid is absorbed. Texture should be fluffy. Serve hot. Yield- 6 servings Variation- not traditional, but don’t we create our own traditions? Saute onions in oil before adding the mixture. Use white flour farfel.
Devo K Says:
April 15th, 2008 at 10:54 am
My favorite Pesach memory is sitting at my grandmother’s kitchen table on Erev Pesach with my great-grandmother, making egg noodles.

My grandmother would be manning 2 well-oiled frying pans, making the ‘bletlach’ and then turn, tap – out would come a piping hot, oily crepe, ready for rolling and slicing. I could never slice thin enough for my great-grandmother.

It was such a Pesach tradition, we even had a special wooden cutting board used just for this, made by my great-grandfather.

When my great-grandmother passed away (a month short of her 96th birthday and my 16th birthday), my grandmother did the cutting and my mother took over the frying.
Norman Green Says:
April 15th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
My favorite food memory is the latke soup that my late Aunt Ruth used to make. Her egg latkes were crispy and very light, and they were terrific in the chicken broth.

We know exactly how to make her famous baked whitefish, but I wish we could duplicate her latke soup.
Alla Staroseletskaya Says:
April 15th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
Mango Matzo Kugel

Several years ago one lady approached me and gifted a very UNUSUAL cookbook “Spies, Black Ties, & Mango Pies: Stories and Recipes from CIA Families All over the World” (http://www.amazon.com/Spies-Bl.....885352808). My expectations were so low, but I found a very tasty Passover recipe which I did last year and place on my cooking blog “Cooking with Yiddishe mama” (http://www.allastar.net/blog/2.....ugel.html):

8 broken into small pieces matzos, 6 eggs well beaten, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1 cup chopped walnuts, 2 mangoes, peeled and cut into pieces, 1 cup raisins
Preheat oven to 350F.

Soak matzos in water until soft (usually it takes several minutes). Drain in colander but do not squeeze dry. Beat eggs with salt, sugar, oil, and cinnamon. Add to matzo mixture in large bowl. Stir in nuts, mangoes, and raisins. Pour into well-greased 13×9inch pan. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly. Cut into squares for serving. Freezes and reheats beautifully

Enjoy the kugel as much as I enjoyed last year.
Leah Koenig Says:
April 15th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
No fear lux – Passover is a time to eat special”feast” foods, and lamb is certainly thematic!

Hope you find the recipe Shirley – if you do, will you share it with us?

That’s a great story Maureen! And I definitely share your fondness for buttered matzah.

Wow Mama Beckala – sounds like a decadent cake!

Larry, the recipe in the gribnes link you provide is hysterical. I love recipes written out long hand like that.

I never thought to put golden raisins in charoseth, Debs – great idea!

Hi Mom, there was an article in the Times not too long ago about eggs that were harvested from chickens – they sound amazing.

Cute story Shayna! You’re right that eating foods only once or twice a year adds to their impact when you do have them.

I’m with you on the matzah brittle, Becka. Here’s a great recipe: http://www.thekitchn.com/theki.....ndy-047589

Would you share the recipe for your Morrocan stew, Rorkesdrift?

That farfel sounds really hearty Susan – do you still sneak Manischewitz?

Oh man, Atarah, that’s a heart attack cake – but too good to pass up. I’ll just keep chanting the mantra “once a year. once a year” and then take another bite!

Sounds like an amazing memory Shev. :)

What’s spinach mina, Judy?

Glad you found us Susan G!

I think your grandma might have been on to something Carla! Granted, I no longer eat shmaltz either, but I used to adore it.

Naomi, I’m with you. Charoseth should be chunky and filled with all sorts of delicious things that you can see!

Alix, I think post-seder brunch should be institutionalized!

Thanks for the link, Anne.

Ben. Agreed.

Thanks aysmgahockeymom!

Someday you’ll have to make me that farfel Arleen – it sounds delicious.

Wow – noodles on Passover – amazing Devo K!

I’ve never heard of latke soup, Norman – sounds like a delicious mixture of Passover and Chanukah in one!
Leigh Says:
April 15th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
My favorite recipe is for matzah baklava. Labor intensive, but a labor of love none-the-less. I feel like it’s the dish I have added to my family’s canon – and I couldn’t be prouder.
Barbara Says:
April 15th, 2008 at 7:22 pm
Matzoh brei, without a doubt. In fact, I couldn’t wait & jumped the gun – made some for lunch last weekend.
Advah Says:
April 16th, 2008 at 7:03 am
My favorite passover dish is crispy carp. This is a dish my mother learned from my grandmother, and there never are leftovers because its so good. Carp is cut into steaks and then roasted in a very hot over until its almost burned. This has been a passover tradition since I can remember at our house.
Ketzirah Carly Says:
April 16th, 2008 at 8:40 am
I think my favorite Passover dish was the AMAZING homemade gefilite fish that used to be found at Misha’s Russian Deli, in DC. The stuff was amazing, more like pate than jarred gefilte. I would by a pound or two because it was just so good, I’d want to eat it all week.

One year I forgot to order it weeks in advance (like you had to) and went up a couple of days before Passover and pleaded with Misha to spare a little for me.

I was a pretty regular customer, and I think I worked up a couple of tears — so he took pity on me.

I miss Misha. *sniff* His deli closed several years back.
Nick Says:
April 16th, 2008 at 9:25 am
I must admit, having grown up in a Christian/agnostic household in a mid-west suburb, I didn’t really have any experience with Jewish cooking until I left home. But the day that I first fried up a latke in some chicken fat in my own kitchen, I was in love. I still don’t make them very often, but latkes are definitely my favorite part of Ashkenazic cuisine.
Bundeleh Says:
April 16th, 2008 at 10:31 am
What else could it be but simple, delicious matzoh brei? I remember sitting in the kitchen watching my Dad at the stove … go daddies … I’m looking forward to having my husband cook matzo brei for me and our two little girls next week!
Amy Mager Says:
April 16th, 2008 at 11:24 am
My children liivvvvve for my matzoh meal pancakes. Pancakes, shmankcakes what makes my matzoh meal pancakes different from all other matzoh meal pancakes? Besides a mother’s love, I fluff those egg whites until there are some serious peaks going and gently fold the whites in the rest of the batter to make a light and fluffy pancake which my oldest son (who eats nothing) praises to no end and he gives me big bachur (16) hugs. I sometimes find kosher l’pesach maple syrup but the kids like to have sugar on them during Pesach to keep it different. A bie gezunt!
shev Says:
April 16th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
Oh oh! I just remembered an important Pesach food! Bubelach! My father makes them every year, a light mixture of beaten egg whites, beaten yolks, and matza meal, fried in a good 1/2″ of oil, and when brown on both sides, sprinkled liberally with sugar, and always served with sweet red wine. The hot dumplings, the crunchy sugar, the sweet alcohol – ahh, it’s Pesach!
Christina Peterson Says:
April 16th, 2008 at 10:21 pm
I come from a Christian background but I absolutly love brisket and I can’t forget one of my favorite desserts, flourless chocolate torte!
Jill Singer Says:
April 17th, 2008 at 8:27 am
my favorite passover dish is gefilte fish; followed by tea eggs (my sensei’s family always serves those with the seder- my jiu jitsu should perhaps be called jew jitsu- half of the dojo is jewish :)
dave Says:
April 17th, 2008 at 8:02 pm
i hope i can win the book. this seems snazzy.
dave Says:
April 17th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
unfortunately i missed the part about telling of the favorite dish! my favorite dish is the matzo brie my mom makes for breakfast… yummy!!!
shev Says:
April 17th, 2008 at 11:59 pm
funny! I thought at first you said matza BRIE, like the cheese, which sounded fantastic… but I think you are rhyming brie with fry. enjoy it, whichever dish it is! chag same’ach!
Zipi Says:
April 18th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
My favorite passover dish is Charoset toped on a Matza.
it is so good and also has a moderen flavor of healthy food,after thousands of years.
Leah Koenig Says:
April 24th, 2008 at 10:25 am
Thanks everyone for your wonderful comments – and congratulations to judi, who was selected by the Random Number Generator as our book winner.

Keep your eyes peeled for more chances to win great books!

Happy Passover!
Carol Says:
February 24th, 2009 at 7:51 am
I know that I am way too late for the contest but I had to write. I had to reread Karen’s post because I wasn’t sure if we were related. My Bubbie Ida would make her gefilte fish and I was the lucky grandchild to take home a jar of the fish stock.When lunch time came mom would heat up some of the stock and then break matzohs in it for me to eat.

Not the ideal thing now for this vegetarian. lol