Rating: 
Summary: Excellent, but only for awhile
Review: I really enjoyed the first 200 pages of this book, but after that I found it repetitious. How often do I want to go with Erlich through her struggles about a kosher kitchen? How often do I want to hear how terrific her mother-in-law is? That woman's perfectionism would have gotten on my nerves if I were her daughter-in-law. I know she suffered horribly through WWII, but I don't think that's a reason to assume she's now some kind of saint. Anyhow, I liked the childhood memories a lot - many were like my own. And the writing, if a bit flowery, is very good. I finished the book and was glad it finally ended.
Rating: 
Summary: Best "cookbook" I've ever read
Review: I stumbled across this book and have found it to be the best "cookbook" I've ever read. The stories are so moving on not only a personal, but historical and political level. Because of this book, I am re-examining my links to my foremothers via the kitchen. A must read!
Rating: 
Summary: Like Listening to Your Bubbe's stories
Review: I was touched by the special relationship that the author developed with her mother-in-law, Miriam. Through Miriam, we are all so fortunate to hear her life's story, and ultimately, many women's stories from the Old Country. While the author does skip around in thoughts, her essays touch on numerous New York style traditions. I enjoyed reading the index afterwards, and realizing how many different topics she had covered. My synagogue did a book review and it was very favorable. Just one warning: many of the recipes apparently are NOT coming out right! Be sure to read the hilarious disclaimer about the recipes in the front of the book. The recipe I tried (Choc. chip and pineapple cake with meringue) DID come out delicious and was very different! Also be aware that this really is not a cookbook,per se, so it should be read as a story. Some of the stories ARE holocaust-related and as such, contain sad episodes. This book mostly establishes a mother-in-law's successful attempt to bring Judaism back into the major portion of her daughter-in-law's life. Anyone who has decided to keep kosher after being married will laugh with sympathy at some early attempts to do things right!
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding! Read this book! Deserves 10 stars...
Review: If I could give this book a 10-star rating, I would. Elizabeth Ehrlich has written this memoir from her heart, and it shows. The memoir traces the deepening relationship between Ehrlich and her mother-in-law, Miriam, as well as Ehrlich's memories of her fiercely left-wing family in the inner city of Detroit. Both families celebrate their Judaism through food, drink, ritual, prayer and family ties. Ehrlich's views on Judaism shift as she travels the road to middle age, first as a young girl, then as a young adult, next as a new wife and, finally, as the mother of three young children. Along the way she explores such complexities as Miriam's memories of the Holocaust and her native Poland, the challenges of managing a kosher home, and the joys and regrets of interfaith unions. Travel Ehrlich's road with her and you won't regret it-- her book is rich with memories and love. An added bonus: the reproduction of many of Miriam's mouthwatering recipes.
Rating:
Summary: More Than A Cookbook- Much More!
Review: Most people who read this book are women. I read this book because my wife was so affected by its content (she cried all the way through), that I just had to read it. I cried too! While the author catalogues her aging mother-in-laws unique recipes, she also reflects on the cycles and rhythms of life held by Jewish traditions. In effect, she is challenging all of us (not only Jews) to look at what valuables, or values, we can, and should, transmit to our children. We are also left with the deeper question of our responsibility, observant or not, to understand and pass along our family and religious traditions. In addition to your children, this book will make you want to connect with your entire family, and get in touch with the family history and traditions that make you who you really are. This book is heartily recommended. It also makes a great gift, especially for a Jewish relative or friend. And the recipes are good too!
Rating:
Summary: Book finds the transcendent in the ordinary
Review: Ok, so I'm like a Hawaiian/Chinese guy living in San Francisco who picks this book up and finds it to be the first in a long time that moves him to tears. Sometimes it's like visiting a parallel universe - for a goy to understand why his hand gets slapped from the butter dish at his Jewish friend's houses - and at others, it's a beautifully written account of how a working woman in the 90s (re)discovers her immigrant heritage. I think this book will touch anyone with immigrant roots; all of us can identify with the hard work, sacrifice, and the scents that emanate from our mothers' kitchens. Those scents will always signify - home, and this book captures those scents in an elegant bottle.
Rating:
Summary: Bordering on good, but too heavy handed by the end
Review: The book began with great promise--a connection to the past via ritual, religion and food--but a serious editor would have improved it by cutting 1/3--which would allow the author to make her lovely treatise without repeating the same points numerous times. When the author, for example, linked kosher pizza orders with the kosher rituals of ages past--I thought, "enough already, she's made that point many times." But she continued to make it and others like it again and again. This is all the more irritating because of the potential of the book.
Rating:
Summary: A Treasure!
Review: This author has written a treasure of a book, tying family stories, her own life, and the recipes together into one scrumptious feast. Literature meets cookbook and the result is fabulous. Many thanks to Mrs. Ehrlich for taking us with her on her journey. And bless Miriam for remembering. One odd sidenote. My grandfather's family was from Bohemia and supposedly were Catholics. How strange to see what I thought were Bohemian words for pot roast and dumplings turn up here as Yiddish. Were the languages so fluid or similar or was a part of my family Jewish in the mid-1800s? Life can be a mystery.
Rating:
Summary: A Treasure!
Review: This author has written a treasure of a book, tying family stories, her own life, and the recipes together into one scrumptious feast. Literature meets cookbook and the result is fabulous. Many thanks to Mrs. Ehrlich for taking us with her on her journey. And bless Miriam for remembering. One odd sidenote. My grandfather's family was from Bohemia and supposedly were Catholics. How strange to see what I thought were Bohemian words for pot roast and dumplings turn up here as Yiddish. Were the languages so fluid or similar or was a part of my family Jewish in the mid-1800s? Life can be a mystery.
Rating:
Summary: Spellbinding. I experienced every emotion
Review: This book brought me laughter and sadness. It touched me emotionally and took me back to my childhood with my immigrant grandparents. The Jewish holidays and the food - I was there again. Turning my home kosher 20 years ago made me understand the humor and dilema that was experienced and so beautifully written by the author. I purchased 2 copies - 1 for each daughter.
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