The New York Times Passover Cookbook : More Than 200 Holiday Recipes from Top Chefs and Writers

Finally, you can put aside those yellowed newspaper clippings this holiday! The New York Times Passover Cookbook collects almost 50 years' worth of delicious Seder recipes from the Times and its contributors, from Florence Fabricant's Classic Gefilte Fish to Barry Wine's Tsimmes Terrine. With more than 200 recipes, the book travels around the world of Jewish cuisine, from Artichokes, Sephardic Style--a spicy, fried, Egyptian dish--to Mississippi Praline Macaroons, a recipe that traveled with its originator from Vienna, Austria, to Natchez, Mississippi. Because the book includes recipes from both Ashkenazic and Sephardic traditions, editor Linda Amster notes that the ingredients in some recipes may not be acceptable to other communities (for example, the allspice in Claudia Roden's Matzoh-Meat Pie perfectly reflects its Arab-Jewish influences, but probably would be out of place on an Ashkenazic Passover menu).

Through the years at the Times, many Passover recipes have come from accomplished home cooks in the New York area (such as Florence Aaron's Salmon and Egg Salad). More recently, however, the paper has given some star chefs a turn at the traditional Seder dishes, so you'll also find such gourmet delights as Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Beet Tartare, Paul Prudhomme's Veal Roast with Mango Sauce, Charlie Trotter's Carrot Consomm , and Maida Heatter's Chocolate Walnut Torte. In addition to the wealth of recipes, The New York Times Passover Cookbook features a thoughtful introduction on the meanings of the Passover ritual by Joan Nathan, author of the award-winning Jewish Cooking in America. Threaded through the book are four essays by Times critics and columnists Ruth Reichl, Mimi Sheraton, Molly O'Neill, and Howard G. Goldberg. Goldberg's informative piece on Kosher wines may cause you to put the sweet Manischewitz aside for a dryer Israeli Cabernet or a Californian Semillon. Whether you're looking for a classic apple-nut Haroseth or a fusion-cuisine Southwestern Tsimmes Stuffed in Anaheim Chiles, The New York Times Passover Cookbook is an excellent, comprehensive sourcebook for the Passover meal. --Rebecca A. Staffel