Fishbein, editor of the highly popular and successful Kosher Palette, has produced a cookbook focusing on elegant kosher cuisine that is easy to produce by the modern at-home cook. She precedes each section with a description of a festival and its customs, and includes a suggested menu and kosher wine list. Interspersed with vibrant color photographs, the recipes make full use of the growing range of kosher ingredients available, and she has no compunction in saving time and effort by using store-bought sauces in some dishes, such as Tarragon Chicken. Traditional recipes also appear, but are usually given a new twist—the visually pleasing Tri-color Gefilte Fish once again utilizes a store-bought item but enhances both it and the conventional presentation by layering to make a terrine. Useful tips are added where needed, and Fishbein indicates when a recipe is parve (neutral) or dairy. She also offers a comprehensive Passover section that includes a chart of all the recipes that can be used for this festival, with its additional dietary requirements, as well as the steps needed to adapt many others. With kosher cookbooks becoming more sophisticated, Fishbein has produced a volume that straddles that delicate line between modern and traditional and between refined cuisine and everyday ease. (June)
Forecast:
The Kosher Palette was highly successful in the Jewish community by word of mouth, and this book—boosted by a $50,000 ad/promo and a 50,000-copy first printing— will likely reach a broader market.
