Thursday, December 25, 2008

Kosher by Design Lightens Up by Susie Fishbein


Rating: n/a
Category: Cookbook
Review: 4.5/5
I love to read cookbooks so when I got a chance to receive a review copy of this one, I jumped at the chance. I told them up front that I wasn't Jewish but that I would still review it for them if they'd like, and they sent it. It's taken me a long time to review it because I just haven't taken the time to find a few recipes and try them out. I finally decided to go ahead and write a short review now and elaborate on it later after I've tried some recipes.
This is a gorgeous cookbook. Every recipe has a large, detailed photograph and I always find that helpful when trying a new dish. Even though this is a kosher cookbook, anyone could use it. The recipes are varied, including international fare, such as Chinese, Italian, Greek, Korean, Mexican, Japanese, and more. There is a section of helpful information in the front of the book with definitions, information on grains, flours, and sugars, and tips on shopping for ingredients and entertaining. Besides a photo with each recipe, Fishbein has also included extra information on each dish that explains the health benefit of the food, gives more information on the food's origin, or gives personal information, like how her kids reacted to that particular recipe. A vast majority of the recipes have common ingredients that you may already have in your pantry or you can get at the local supermarket.
Since I haven't cooked anything from it I can't give this cookbook my full endorsement yet, but I'm pretty sure I will. The one drawback is that there is no nutritional information for each recipe, but despite that flaw, it seems like an excellent cookbook.

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