Food, Family, and Memories
A new cookbook from the James Beard Award–winning, beloved author that uses recipes to look back at her life, her family history, and her personal journey discovering Jewish cuisine from around the world.
BEFORE HUMMUS WAS AVAILABLE IN every grocery store, before shakshuka was a dish on every brunch menu, Joan Nathan taught home cooks how and why they should make these now-adored staples. Here, in her most personal book yet, the authority on global Jewish cuisine uses recipes to look back at her own family’s history—their arrival in America from Germany, Slovakia, and Poland—and at her childhood in postwar New York and Rhode Island; her years in Paris, New York, Israel, and Washington, D.C.; and her travels around the globe. Joan shares her story—of marriage, motherhood, and a career as a food writer; of a life well-lived and centered around meals and the discovery of recipes and their stories—and she punctuates it with all the foods she has come to love.
With more than 100 recipes, from roast chicken to rugelach, from matzo-ball soup to challah and brisket, here are updated versions of her favorites. But here too are new favorites: Salmon Baked with Preserved Lemon and Za’atar; Mahammar (a Syrian pepper, pomegranate, and walnut dip); Moroccan Chicken with Almonds, Chestnuts, Cinnamon, and Couscous; and Joan’s version of the perfect Black and White Cookies. This is a treasury of recipes and stories—and an invitation to a seat at Joan’s table.
