Kool Kosher Kitchen: Collection of Recipes, A Summer Must-Read

June 22, 2018

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Dr. DollyAlzenman, author of Kool Kosher Kitchen: Collection of Recipes

(Gerry Furth-Sides, all photos courtesy of Dr. Dolly Alzenman) Dr. Dolly Alzenman’s, engaging Kool Kosher Kitchen: Collection of Recipes combines her passion for cooking with her vast knowledge of cultural and global recipes. Educator Dolly exemplifies the first rule of teaching: engage and motivate your students. Conversational in tone, with charming stories and even a little section on the author’s love of animals, it is as thought-provoking as instructional.

This collection of recipes with a cover proves a fervent belief of mine: that a book can hold treasures and make a friend of the author, and is as compelling and entertaining reading as making the recipes themselves – something that never happens with the new MO of looking up individual recipes online. Dolly’s rhetorical questions also draw the reader into the conversation.

Kool Kosher Kitchen: Collection of Recipes represents international fusion cuisine “the Kosher way,” replacing heavy, unhealthy ingredients with healthier and lighter options. And it is homey, including the somewhat blurry black/white photos, that you know will produce tasty recipes.

Colorful Summer cabbage soup from Kool Kosher Kitchen: Collection of Recipes served hot or cold.

One of the must-try “eccentric” recipe is Dolly’s double Chocolate Avocado Mousse. Her “slim and healthy” take on the trendy dish is the secret ingredient of sugar-free chocolate chips, and an eye appealing presentation.

Double Chocolate Avocado Mousse from Kool Kosher Kitchen: Collection of Recipes

Dolly’s recipes draw inspiration from her Russian heritage, which combines great recipes and fascinating stories based on personal experiences, intensive vertical research, and historical legends.

As a retired educator brought up in the Soviet Union and practicing Judaism in secrecy, Dolly learned to run a kosher kitchen under extremely adverse conditions, with the tutelage of her grandmother. After being expelled from the country as “the enemy of the people”, Dolly came to the U.S. in 1978 and decided to share her amazing Kosher recipes with the public.

The book was born and flourished from the eponymous blog she had created and shared, which now holds 400 recipes. The cook came at the suggestion of several followers.

Pashtida, an Israeli version of a frittata, in Kool Kosher Kitchen: Collection of Recipes “from the times of young David”

Dr. Dolly says, “Cook Indian, Italian, Chinese and Japanese, or cook traditional Jewish; make it vegetarian, pescatarian, or vegan, be festive and nutritious….holiday and every day, but above all, make it easy and have fun in your kitchen and make it your oasis and a fun place to be.”

Dolly says, “Food is a comfort. For me, it’s not eating that provides comfort, but cooking, planning, experimenting, and even reading about food. My grandmother, who had all the skills of a great educational psychologist, managed to make household chores not a burden for us kids, but rather a reward for good behavior.” Dolly does the same.