Description:
Actor and singer Mandy Patinkin wanted his mother to record her recipes to preserve them for the family, but happily for all of us, she turned them into a cookbook everyone can share. It is a joy having this intimate view of the enthusiastic palates and the quirky culinary treasures prized by this food-loving family, through over 150 recipes passed along from grandparents, aunts, cousins, and friends. It is also an intriguing window into the way Jewish Americans ate in the 1940s, '50s, and '60s, when garlic was an exotic, gourmet ingredient. All the expected and familiar Jewish dishes are here, such as cheese blintzes, egg-rich noodle puddings, dense chopped liver, chicken soup, even a homemade version of lox. But the Patinkin family is full of adventurous eaters and creative cooks, so you also find Rack of Lamb elegantly marinated with red sweet peppers, port wine, honey, mustard, and rosemary and a creamy coleslaw tangy with champagne vinegar. Emphatic flavors make the recipes in this book distinctive. Grandma Patinkin punches up her egg salad with chili sauce. She rubs garlic powder on her roast filet mignon, and also puts it in her matzo balls. And she loves curry powder, so it shows up not only in a frittata, gazpacho, and chicken salad, but also in her chicken soup. You decide if this is heaven or culinary heresy! Grandma Doralee is a mean baker, and her Cream Cheese Brownies, with their rich topping, are not to be missed. Nor are her butter cookies, distinctively sweetened with brown as well as white sugar. In sum, the Patinkin family's cooking, like Mandy's singing, is unique, bold, and delivered straight from the heart. --Dana Jacobi
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