Good Shabbos, Shabbat Shalom! We recently attended the cookbook launch for Smitten Kitchen Every Day (Appetite by Random House, 2017) by Deb Perelman at Chapters/Indigo Bayview Village in Toronto. The line waiting to meet Perelman was long…very long…but nobody complained. We started a conversation with the people standing in line in front of us, a husband and wife team, asking them for some of their favourite recipes. The husband, who was the cook in the family, told us he was a big fan of her vegetarian dishes and couldn’t wait to try out Deb’s new offerings.
Award-winning blogger and New York Times bestselling author of The Smitten Kitchen, Deb Perelman strongly believes that cooking should be an escape from drudgery. Her new book, Smitten Kitchen Every Day: Triumphant and Unfussy New Favorites, contains more than 100 impossible-to-resist recipes—almost all of them brand-new, plus a few favourites from her website—that will make you stop what you’re doing and start cooking right now!
With all of the blustery, cold days this winter, everyone should have a homemade, from-scratch chicken noodle soup that can be pulled off in just about an hour in their back pocket. For Shabbat, consider cooking up a batch of Deb’s Chicken Noodle Soup: https://smittenkitchen.com/2012/10/chicken-noodle-soup/. For her fuss-free Potato Kugel (Deb Perelman refers to it as “lazy latkes!” check out https://smittenkitchen.com/2015/12/potato-kugel/ .
Deb Perelman’s website and her cookbooks are packed with real recipes for real people—people with busy lives who don’t want to sacrifice flavor or quality to eat meals they’re really excited about.
Although Smitten Kitchen Every Day, does contain some recipes that are not suitable for the kosher cook, Deb assured me that she has a huge following in the Chabad community and many of her recipes are definitely adaptable for the kosher kitchen.
Smitten Kitchen Every Day contains 115 recipes, 101 of which are new, plus beautiful full-colour photos throughout. There are 14 recipes that originated on her website but are so loved, Deb thought the book would be bereft without them. Excluding desserts, breakfast baked goods, breads, and drinks, 46 recipes are vegetarian, and 16 are vegan. 51 recipes are gluten-free and 37 are dairy-free. In the back of the book, there’s a guide for special diets that lists all of the above along with any ingredients to look out for as they may be problematic.
Recipes you’ll want to add to your “forever files” include Chopped Liver on Rye, Romanian Steakhouse Style, Grandma-Style Chicken Noodle Soup, and Wild Mushroom Shepherd’s Pie. You’ll find lots of kid-friendly dishes, including Tomato and Gigante Bean Bake/Pizza Beans, and Toasted Marshmallow Milkshake.
If you’re looking for what to serve while watching the Super Bowl this weekend, there’s Mom’s Bread Bowl with Spinach Liptauer and Pickled Red Onions, Broccoli, Cheddar, and Wild Rice Fritters. Sweets include Chocolate Peanut Butter Icebox Cake (Deb calls it “the icebox cake to end all icebox cakes”—recipe below) and The Smeteneh Küchen/Sour Cream Coffee Cake…so many choices!
Smitten Kitchen Every Day is filled with what are sure to be your new favourite things to cook.
Norene Gilletz is the leading author of kosher cookbooks in Canada. She is the author of twelve cookbooks and divides her time between work as a food writer, food manufacturer, consultant, spokesperson, cooking instructor, lecturer, and cookbook editor. Norene lives in Toronto, Canada and her motto is “Food that’s good for you should taste good!” For more information, visit her website at www.gourmania.com or email her at [email protected]