Tracey Fine and Georgie Tarn, the self-styled "Jewish Princesses" of kosher cooking, offer up a collection of recipes and advice in The Modern Jewish Table: 100 Kosher Recipes from Around the Globe.
The Princesses design modern spins on traditional Sephardic, Ashkenazi and Mizrahi dishes, such as Jewshi Japanese Gefilte Fish, Sephardi Saffron Chicken Soup with Fragrant Matzo Balls, and Princess Pitas, made with mashed potato and matzo, an ideal choice for Passover. The authors also get creative with salads like Sharon Persimmon Fruit and Sugar Snap Peas. Up last come four (four!) dessert chapters, including a chapter each on dairy-free desserts, cakes, tiny treats and couture chocolate.
The descriptions convey a sense of the dishes' taste and a sense of humor. Fine and Tarn vow that their Mock Chopped Liver, "really works, unlike fake Hermes handbags." They suggest readers try the Popcorn Cake "for when you want to butter someone up," or enjoy Dark Chocolate Amaretto Cake that is "like a date with Al Pacino."
Essays precede each section, full of meditations on feeding families and the magic of Nutri-Bullets. Fine and Tarn pepper in translations for readers who might not get a joke, such as explaining that kneidlach, which they call "Jewish penicillin," are dumplings. Cooking instructions are streamlined--sparse, even--and luscious photos accompany most recipes.
Fine and Tarn write with warmth and encouragement, even when suggesting bold feast preparations. The essential ingredient? In their words, "A pinch of chutzpah." --Katie Weed, freelance writer and reviewer