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Jewish Holiday Cooking
A Food Lover's Treasury of Classics & Improvisations
by Jayne Cohen

Jewish Holiday Cooking was named
a 2009 James Beard Finalist
in the International Cookbook category!

It was an honor to have JHC nominated for a Beard
from among the 2000-plus cookbooks published in the past year,
sharing the field with such distinguished competition.
Our congratulations to Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid for winning the award
with their book on China, Beyond the Great Wall.

Whether you need help re-creating a fondly remembered family dish or you're looking for ways to put your own stamp on holiday celebrations, you're new to the traditions or you simply want to reconnect with your roots, this book offers you a world of intriguing possibilities. From traditional Ashkenazi fare and tempting Sephardi choices to inspired contemporary variations, Jewish food maven Jayne Cohen has collected more than 200 soul-satisfying kosher recipes for the holidays--dishes that are guaranteed to create indelible memories and become new family favorites. Click here to read more about the book...

"...a whole new era of taste, elegance, and simply incredible flavors that would be at home in the finest restaurant and yet still earn the coveted 'Bubbie's stamp of approval.'" — Marcy Goldman, host of BetterBaking.com and author of A Passion for Baking and A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking

"...includes all the ingredients of a powerful historical tale—there are stories passed between generations, magic found in matzoh crumbs, evolving traditions, passion, the voices of poets and writers, family dramas, and the flavors and tastes of the Jewish year.” — Marcie Cohen Ferris, author of Matzoh Ball Gumbo

“And I thought I didn’t need another Jewish cookbook...this cookbook has been in my kitchen for only a couple of weeks, and already it’s dog-eared."
— Nancy Lazarus, coauthor of the Moosewood Collective cookbooks
Click here to read more Reviews...

Visit the What's New page to view a video of Jayne's appearance on
NBC's Weekend Today!

Hanukkah

An eight day festival beginning this year at sundown
on Friday, December 11, 2009 (25 Kislev)
“The wicks in the potatoes, our Hanukkah candles, smoked and sputtered and finally extinguished. My mother said to me, “Go wash up and we’ll eat potatoes with goose fat. In honor of Hanukkah, I splurged and bought a jar of goose fat--fresh, delicious goose fat.”--Sholom Aleichem, “Benny’s Luck”

This black and nearly moonless night will be long and chilled with winter’s breath.

Against this darkness, Jews will light a candle. And at sunset every evening, they will add yet another candle, until eight days later, at Hanukkah’s end, their ritual lamps, or menorahs, are ablaze with orange-gold flames.

Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, celebrates deliverance from the darkness of religious persecution. The Syrian king from the Seleucid dynasty, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, attempting to impose Hellenistic culture over the various ethnic minorities in his empire, had outlawed all other religions. Those who practiced Judaism risked torture, even death. On 25 Kislev, 167 BC, Antiochus defiled the Temple, polluting the altar with pagan sacrifices and desecrating the ritual objects.