Jewish Cookery by Leah W. Leonard

One good way to judge the quality of a cookbook about the cuisine of a specific group of people—whether ethnic or geographic or generational—is to consult someone from that group and see if the recipes resonate. Are the greatest hits all there? Are the less well-known but still-essential fairly represented? Do the words on the page conjure memories of holidays or family meals or a long-gone friend or grandparent? If the answer to these questions is Yes, then the book is probably worth adding to your collection.

I was raised Jewish, in a kosher household to be exact, by a mother who cooked and who was taught to cook by her mother, who was taught to cook by her mother, and I can say with total confidence that Jewish Cookery by Leah W. Leonard is a book of quality Jewish recipes. Everything from the Ashkenazic (that's European, as opposed to the Sephardic Jews of Spain/Portugal/North Africa) tradition is here: gefilte fish and cholent and nut cakes for Passover and all the different dumplings (kreplach and mandlen and halkes and piroshki and varenikes) and so many recipes for tongue and blintzes and strudel dough and borsht...the list goes on, and it contains everything. Even multiple ways to make your own Concord grape wine! If you want to cook like a real Jew, whether you're trying to recreate the memories of your childhood or learn about a culinary tradition that's new to you, Leah's your lady. As my grandmother would say, "Try it, you'll like it."

First edition.