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How To Cook Like a Jewish GrandmotherBy Marla BrooksReviewed by Madelyn Miller, The TravelLadyI do not need another cookbook. But if there is any cookbook that I want to need, it is this one. I dream of grandchildren—cute little things I could spoil and buy adorable outfits and educational toys. But I will have to sublimate my desires temporarily, because neither of my children is married. Perhaps I should start cooking these recipes for practice so I can be sure to cook perfectly for my glorious grandchildren. Actually, at this point in my life, I spend more time reading and writing then I do cooking. But you can get vicarious thrills from reading books like this and just imagining the joy of Grandchildren. In the meantime, I let my mother spoil my children. Obviously Marla Brooks had a wonderful grandmother.
In this time of healthy cooking and healthy eating, crowd-pleasing and satisfying, full-flavor meals are often left behind. This cookbook contains no calorie counts, carbohydrate statistics, or other nutritional guidelines. You don’t have to be a Jewish grandmother to cook like one, nor to eat like one. But it’s often said that in a Jewish grandmother’s way of thinking, love and food are synonymous. If that’s the case, this is a book full of love. Wholly dedicated to good old-fashioned taste, these family recipes--many from the author’s grandparents’ delicatessen--include everything from knishes to blintzes, with some borscht and kugel thrown in. There are also recipes from celebrities such as Richard Simmons and Dr. Ruth Westheimer, and crowd-pleasers like brisket, matzo ball soup, chicken wings, and much more. Whether you are a novice cook or an experienced gourmand, these recipes are easy to prepare and sure to please. About the Author
HOW TO COOK LIKE A JEWISH GRANDMOTHER |
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TM
She was raised by a grandmother whose life ambition was to
see that all of her family and friends were fed palate-pleasing traditional
dishes, and the apple strudel doesn’t fall far from the tree. Whenever people
came to visit Marla Brooks’s grandmother, the first question was always “What
can I get you to eat?” soon followed by “Here, have a little bit more.” Over
time, Ms. Brooks has come to follow in her grandmother’s footsteps, and always
has something tasty to offer guests. 
Marla Brooks is a Los Angeles-based entertainment writer
whose love of old-fashioned comfort food was encouraged by growing up in the
family that ran Slobod’s Delicatessen in Philadelphia in the ‘30s and ‘40s. The
recipes in the book are her way of handing down family memories to future
generations. “There’s probably not a person alive who doesn’t salivate at the
recollection of a favorite childhood meal. Family recipes handed down from
generation to generation change very little in the process, because we savor
those childhood memories.”