Among observant Jews, Susie Fishbein is a modern-day heroine for showing that Kosher cooking could cast off its old-world chains to become light, elegant, inventive and flavorful. As if that weren't enough, her cookbooks make it all seem easy, with straightforward recipes, clear instructions, beautiful photographs by John Uher, and even ideas for table décor.
Fishbein's Earlier Cookbooks
In April 2000, when I had been gluten-free for only a year, Susie Fishbein edited
The Kosher Palette: Easy and Elegant Modern Kosher Cooking, for The Kushner Yeshiva High School in Livingston, New Jersey. A newspaper article reprinted some of her recipes, all three of which happened to be gluten-free. I tried the recipes, ordered the cookbook, and have been a fan ever since. In April 2003, she came out with
Kosher by Design: Picture Perfect Food for the Holidays and Every Day (Artscroll Press), followed by
Kosher by Design Entertains,
Kosher by Design: Short on Time, and
Kosher by Design: Kids in the Kitchen (all from Artscroll).
Years ago I realized that most of Susie's recipes were either naturally gluten-free, or easily converted. My parties and dinners were planned around her books. Gluten-free didn't have to mean bland and plain; my guests raved at the results of her Kosher by Design recipes, including Pomegranate Chicken, Maple-Glazed Turkey Roast, Honey & Pecan Crusted Chicken with Apricot Chutney, and Flourless Chocolate Torte.
Passover by Design, Featuring Gluten-Free Recipes
In February 2008, Fishbein published
Passover by Design: Picture Perfect Kosher by Design Recipes for the Holiday (Artscroll), with photographs by John Uher. With this book, Susie and her publisher are targeting not only a Kosher audience but gluten-free readers as well. During Passover, Jews eat an unleavened cracker-like bread called matzoh, which is made by mixing water with the flour of wheat, rye, barley, oats or spelt. For the entire eight-day festival, observant Jews do not eat any "regular" bread products or baked goods -- only matzoh, or in some cases, products made with ground-up matzoh (matzoh flour, matzoh meal, or matzoh cake meal). Passover foods that contain matzoh in any form are called gebrokts. Passover foods that do not contain matzoh are called non-gebrokts. Non-gebrokts foods are gluten-free.
Most (but not all) of the 172 recipes in Passover by Design are gluten-free, including the Thai Quinoa, Traditional Potato Kugel, Purple Cabbage Salad, Teriaki Chicken, Chardonnay Poached Salmon, Cornish Hens with Pistachio Paste, Potato-Crusted Snapper with Mushroom Sauce, Acorn Squash with Frosted Cranberries, Chocolate Sorbet, Crumb Cake, and French Almond Macaroons. Most of the recipes that are not gluten-free are easily converted.
The Bottom Line
Passover by Design contains dozens of mouth-watering recipes, and no one will miss the gluten. The only drawback to the book, for celiac chefs, is that some of the recipes do call for gluten. While those that do are clearly labeled "gebrokts," the cook (as always) needs to pay attention.
I've long boasted to my friends and relatives that I have the best Passover recipes, because for me, on a gluten-free diet, it's Passover all year long. Susie Fishbein's cookbooks, with one delicacy after another, have been my secret weapon all these years. With Passover by Design, the secret is out.
