Pesach: a time when we have the maximum amount of work on our plates, but a minimum amount of time to get it all done.
Maybe that definition didn’t come straight out of Webster’s, but it sums up what Pesach is all about for so many of us. Every year, I find myself on a quest for recipes that look and taste amazing but don’t require chaining myself to the kitchen for hours on end. With the release of A Taste of Pesach, an all new, full-color cookbook from Artscroll, it looks like my search for recipes that will make both me and my family happy has finally come to an end.
A Taste of Pesach is a compilation of recipes that have been collected over the past few years by a group of women who were putting together a fundraiser for Yeshiva Me’on HaTorah in Roosevelt, New Jersey. For the past six years, the yeshiva has sent out pamphlets filled with Pesach recipes and the response from recipients has been overwhelmingly enthusiastic. In fact, the 240-page cookbook is strewn with hand-written sticky notes bearing feedback from the many cooks who have been enjoying the yeshiva’s recipes over the years.
The book is very clearly laid out, with a full table of contents up front making it easy to find what you are looking for. With over 150 recipes, there is something here for everyone, including more elaborate recipes for when you really want to wow the crowd, and fast and easy recipes for those moments when you need to get food on the table fast. A separate section of non-gebrokts recipes is a boon to those who don’t use matza or matza meal on Pesach and also for the ever growing gluten free community.
There were definitely recipes here that screamed out “gotta make me” including potato kugel crusted shnitzel, white velvet soup with honey chestnut garnish and baby bella and cranberry brisket. Some of the recipes looked familiar to me as I have gotten the mailings from Yeshiva Me’ohn HaTorah over the years and I can tell you from personal experience that they were all amazing.
A Taste of Pesach, priced at $29.99, is available at your local Judaica store or can be ordered online at www.artscroll.com.
Sandy Eller is a freelance writer who writes for numerous websites, newspapers, magazines and private clients in addition to having written song lyrics and scripts for several full scale productions. She can be contacted at [email protected].
By Sandy Eller
