Maccabee Meals

October 1, 2012

Gr 2-5-This slim volume is packed full of recipes, factoids, and festive ideas for celebrating the eight days and nights of Hanukkah. Beginning with an introduction that emphasizes the victory of the Maccabees over the Syrians and the rededication of the Holy Temple, the book is organized into eight festive meals including a brunch, afternoon tea, Shabbat dinner, winter picnic, and Rosh Chodesh Twilight Supper. Each one features a type of latke, stretching the definition to include several nontraditional items that contain no potatoes but are fried in oil, such as Apple Latkes. Waffle Latkes with Yogurt contains no yogurt, but otherwise menus are creative and varied. Interesting facts are sprinkled throughout, and each recipe is coded for level of difficulty and kashruth (meat, dairy, or parve). Safety tips, craft ideas, candle blessings, and instructions for the dreidel game are also included. Colorful graphic art on each page adds to the appeal. A solid addition for most collections, despite the flimsy paperback format.-Teri Markson, Los Angeles Public Library

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2012
This child-friendly cookbook features traditional latkes and easy-to-make jelly doughnuts as well as less-traditional, kid-inspired treats. Beyond the classic potato latke, young chefs will learn how to make seven other varieties from cheese, vegetables, apples and even chicken, for eight types of meals ranging from brunch to Shabbat dinner or a pajama party. Many of the recipes reflect American staples: Peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches cut in triangles are placed in a stack to create a Jewish star, for example. Hot dog mini-kebabs are another example, but Groner and Wikler are careful to include some lesser-known culinary customs, such as a meal designed for Sephardic communities that includes "burmuelos" a flour, milk and egg-based fried doughnut sprinkled with cinnamon, and the crescent-shaped "new moon cookie" offered in celebrations of Rosh Chodesh Tevet (the new moon that falls during Hanukkah). Primary colors in simply drawn, black marker-outlined illustrations decorate section headings and recipe titles in large purple and pink lettering. Sprinkled throughout are informative pages on such topics as the holiday itself, commemorative postage stamps and Israeli-style celebrations. Kitchen tips and difficulty scale, including those that require adult supervision, introduce the book, while specifics from candle-lighting blessings to dreidel rules and table-decorating crafts complete the text. Both well-conceived and useful. (index) (Nonfiction. 5-10)

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