"A memoir-in-recipes from the best-selling and award-winning author that looks back at her family and at the long century of Jewish cooking in Europe and America. In her most personal book, Joan Nathan looks back at her own family's history - her family's arrival in America from Germany, Poland, and Slovakia; her childhood in post-war New York and Rhode Island; the influence of her in-laws, who came from Poland after fleeing the Nazis; her years in New York, Israel, and Washington, DC. Nathan shares her story - a life well-lived and centered around meals - and she punctuates it with all the recipes she has come to love. From roast chicken to rugelach, from matzoh ball soup to challah and brisket, here are updated versions of her most beloved recipes. But here too are new favorites: Fragrant Spiced Chicken with Rice, Eggplant, Peppers and Zucchini, Yemeni White Bean Stew, and a Pecan Lemon Torte. This is a treasury of recipes and stories - and an invitation to a seat at Joan's table"--

Joan Nathan's knowledge, enthusiasm, and experience have made her prize-winning books on Jewish cooking a staple in every Jewish kitchen. Now, drawing upon the recipes, stories, and secrets of a baker's dozen of bakers from around the world, she captures the art of Jewish baking. Here are fifty original recipes for the traditional baked goods associated with the major holidays -- challah for Shabbat, hamantashen for Purim, macaroons and matzah for Passover, jelly doughnuts for Chanukah -- as well as delicious and exotic alternatives from around the world: Yemenite kubbanah, Turkish boyos, German schnecken, Russian babka, Hungarian strudel, Parisian pletzel, Mexican banana cake, Syrian ka'ak. But why wait for the holidays? Along with challah, bialys, and bagels, you will want to bake and enjoy all of these cakes and breads with your family and friends throughout the year. The bakers who have perfected these recipes represent the breadth of Jewish history and geography: they come from America, Israel, France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, Hungary, Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Russia, Syria, and Egypt. Their personal stories offer a fascinating window into the Jewish experience of this century. With step-by-step instructions on kneading, rising, braiding, rolling, and folding dough, as well as tips on how to make baking a rewarding and even relaxing part of the busiest lifestyle, The Jewish Holiday Baker will turn any novice into a baker, and give any expert a command of the sweetness and craft of Jewish baking.