Kosher Elegance
Skokie school produces fabulous Jewish cookbook.
Linda Morel
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
New York
I
n 1981, when Mandy Bachrach
was in the second grade at the Arie
Crown Hebrew Day School in Skokie,
Ill., several mothers collected recipes for a
school cookbook.
There were no photos or frills, just basic
directions for brisket, matzah brie and
other traditional Jewish foods. "It was the
usual spiral-bound community cookbook
with contributors' names next to their
recipes:' says Bachrach, an illustrator and
the mother of six children, three of whom
attend her alma mater.
After a couple of lapsed attempts at
updating the school's first effort, an
administrator posted a notice in its news-
letter asking for volunteers to produce a
new cookbook. "I was the only one who
responded to the notice,"says Valerie
Kanter, a polymer clay artist and the
mother of five children. The school's staff
told her: "The cookbook is your baby. Take
oven" Bachrach volunteered to help.
At that moment, Crowning Elegance: A
Kosher Culinary Experience was conceived,
with Kanter as editor and Bachrach asas-
sistant editor. What makes it different? It's
a coffee-table volume with a real bind-
ing and more than 400 glossy pages of
sophisticated recipes accompanied by 180
breathtaking photographs.
In a collaborative spirit, each woman
brought something "to the table." Bachrach
comes from an Ashkenazi background;
Kanter hails from the Syrian Jewish com-
munity of Brooklyn. This diversity influ-
enced the range of recipes they chose.
"I'm totally connected to my roots;'
says Kanter, explaining that she still wears
the gold bangle bracelets customary
among Syrian Jewish women. "I return to
Brooklyn twice a year to see family and
purchase Middle Eastern ingredients!'
Initially, the pair formed a committee
to help them. They sought trendy, elegant,
kosher fare. All kosher, of course.
They gathered recipes from committee
members and weeded out the ones every-
one has, such as potato kugel. "We wanted
to introduce new ways of cooking or old
recipes with new twists:' Barach says.
Judging was a sumptuous experience
— once the manuscript was completed,
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September 25 . 2008
many husbands kept asking, "When are
you having another tasting party?"
But this was only the beginning. They
now had to produce a book. Bachrach says
they wanted to "get away from the spiral-
bound approach and give our cookbook
a more professional appearance!' Recipe
contributors are credited at the front of
Crowning Elegance but no names appear
beside recipes.
Gerta's gefilte fish and bubbie's chicken
soup have been replaced by trendy, gour-
met fare, such as sake chicken, Cuban
salsa, focaccia and praline truffles.
With no publishing house to back
them, Kanter and Bachrach managed to
produced an upscale cookbook that can
compete with any title on the market by
drawing on the school's parent community
— professionals in a variety of fields.
Interior designer Miri Rosenwasser has
a flair for setting sensational table scenes.
During photo shoots, she provided pieces
from her outstanding collection of china,
terrines, vases and napkins. "We also
mixed in stunning tableware from people
who entertain a lot"says Bachrach.
During 12-hour days in volunteers'
homes, Jay Friedman — a professional
photographer who worked free of charge
— often shot 40 different setups in suc-
cession.
In addition to its cornucopia of interna-
tional recipes, Crowning Elegance features
menu and wine suggestions for special
occasions, such as Autumn Shabbos, Yom
Toy, Break-the-Fasts, Oriental Dinners
and Summer Barbecues. The cookbook is
available at selected bookstores and can
be ordered online at
www.crowningelegance.com.
With Rosh Hashanah approaching, what
are Kanter and Bachrach likely to serve?
"Spinach, orange and pomegranate salad
is yummy and sweet because the dress-
ing contains honey,"says Kanter. It's also a
colorful, refreshing salad that will brighten
your holiday table.
"Even though we're Ashkenazi, my fam-
ily loves the Moroccan couscous soup,"says
Bachrach. This hearty autumn soup is
brimming with chickpeas, vegetables and
short ribs.
Braised stuffed veal breast is a dish
worthy of Rosh Hashanah's importance;
it contains raisins, which like apples and
honey symbolize sweetness in the New
Year. Apple spice cake is an old-fashioned
confection exuding traditional autumn
spices.
A labor of love, Crowning Elegance
— its title chosen for the Crowns, a
prominent Chicago Jewish family for
whom the day school is named — has
absorbed every spare minute of Kanter
and Bachrach's time since 2002. Juggling
several roles, each woman conceived her
fifth child while nurturing the cookbook.
Some sample recipes from Crowning
Elegance:
SPINACH, ORANGE
AND POMEGRANATE SALAD
1 medium pomegranate
2 bunches fresh spinach leaves, coarse-
ly torn, stems discarded (about 8 cups)
2 navel oranges, peeled, pith removed,
segments halved
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
Slice pomegranate in quarters. Remove
seeds and set them aside.
Place spinach in a large salad bowl. Add
oranges, red onion and pomegranate
seeds.
Dressing:
1 /4 cup olive oil
1 /4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tsp. honey
1 /4 tsp. salt
1 /4 tsp. black pepper
In a small bowl or jar, combine olive oil,
red wine vinegar, honey, salt and pepper.
Drizzle salad with dressing and toss to
coat. Serve immediately. Yield: 8 servings.
MOROCCAN COUSCOUS SOUP
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 onions, chopped
1 pound short ribs
1 (15 oz.) can chickpeas, rinsed and
drained
1 medium zucchini, sliced
1 head green cabbage, cut into thirds
1 /2 small butternut squash, peeled,
seeded and cubed
3 medium carrots, cut into 1-inch slices
2 chicken legs and thighs
10 cups water
1 tsp. turmeric
5 Tbsp. chicken-soup flavoring
salt and white pepper to taste
1 (10 oz.) pkg. couscous
parsley or cilantro sprigs, optional
In an 8 quart stockpot over medium
flame, heat oil, add onions and saute
until translucent. Add short ribs. Turn
-
until browned. Add chickpeas, zucchini,
cabbage, squash, carrots, chicken, water,
turmeric, chicken-soup flavoring, salt and
white pepper.
Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and
reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 3 to
4 hours. Taste and adjust salt and pepper
before serving.
Prepare couscous according to pack-
age directions. For a hearty soup, place a
few tablespoons of couscous in individual
soup bowls. Ladle broth with vegetables,
meat and chicken on top of couscous.
As a main course, place all of the cous-
cous on a large serving platter and spoon
vegetables, meat and chicken on top. You
may use the broth as a starter on its own
with a simple garnish of fresh parsley or
cilantro.
Yield: 8 to 10 servings.
BRAISED STUFFED VEAL
BREAST
2 cups day-old Italian bread cut into
1 /2-inch squares
1 cup rice milk
1 /2 cup fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley,
chopped
4 medium cloves garlic, slivered
1/2 lb. sliced pastrami, chopped into
1 /2-inch pieces
1/2 cup pine nuts toasted (optional)
1 /2 cup dark raisins soaked in warm
water to re-hydrate, drained
coarse salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
olive oil for drizzling, plus 2 Tbsp.
1 (4-lb.) veal breast. Ask butcher to
separate meat from bones. Take home
meat and bones.
kitchen twine
4 hard-boiled eggs, shelled
1 cup red wine
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 /2 cup water
Stuffing: In a large bowl, soak bread in
rice milk for 5 minutes. Using clean dry
hands, squeeze out and discard excess rice
milk. Add parsley, garlic, pastrami, pine
nuts (if using) and raisins. Season lightly
with salt and pepper.
Drizzle with olive oil to moisten and
mix thoroughly to combine.
Veal: Line counter with one or two 18-
inch pieces of plastic wrap. Place veal on
plastic wrap. Make a deep slice alongside
of veal breast and fan open like a book.
Lay another 18-inch piece of plastic wrap