· Holiday Resource: Every year as holidays like Passover and Rosh Hashanah approach, home cooks seek out guidance from cookbooks. This book is full of the classic dishes served for Jewish gatherings and includes instructions on how to adapt some to make them appropriate for Passover. These recipes come with an unmatched pedigree since they are relayed by elders who were born in the Old World. · Important Stories: This is more than a cookbook in that almost every recipe is accompanied by a brief story in which the recipe contributor explains a bit about their past, the meaning of the dish, and/or their family experiences. Since these are the stories of Holocaust survivors, it is our duty to remember them. Many stories are heartbreaking of course, but many also convey messages of hope, healing, and enduring strength. · Grandma Wisdom: In this book the recipes and the stories alongside them transmit the wisdom of the elders who contributed the recipes--the vast majority of whom are grandmothers and grandfathers. It's a celebration of older people and what they have to teach us.
(In fact the book is sprinkled with portraits of the contributors demonstrating techniques in the kitchen.) People crave kitchen knowledge passed down from our elders, as witnessed the popularity of several recent "Italian grandmother/Nonna" cookbooks. This is like the "Jewish grandmother" cookbook. · Meaningful Gift: With its layers of poignant stories, and due to the fact that the proceeds all go to a charitable foundation, this book will make an ideal gift. It offers not just the practical knowledge of a normal cookbook but also the heartwarming feeling of paying tribute to survivors of the Holocaust.