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Book Tour: Virtual Sitdown with Susie Fishbein

The author of the widely popular Kosher by Design series of cookbooks speaks about her unique project for Passover. 

Q – Passover by Design is the fifth in your cookbook series.  How is this latest one different from all your other cookbooks?

A –This cookbook is solely focused on Passover.  It includes so many helpful suggestions for preparing dishes that are as eye-pleasing as they are delicious.  Kosher by Design cooks know that simple elegance is part of what has made this series unique. That aesthetic theme carries over into Passover by Design as well.  Also, you’ll notice a blend of both familiar and brand new recipes.  I painstakingly went through the previous Kosher by Design cookbooks and completely reformulated over 100 recipes to be thoroughly kosher for Passover.

Q – What’s the benefit of a Passover-centric cookbook?

A - First, everything you need is presented in one complete cookbook. You won’t have to shuffle through several cookbooks, marking pages with sticky notes, to plan your meals. Secondly, you won’t have to go through the cumbersome effort of calculating and substituting kosher for Passover ingredients.  It’s not a matter of simply substituting one cup of potato starch for one cup of flour.  I spent scores of hours refining the measurements to get them right for each recipe. That’s a huge time saver. 

Q – Beside the reformulated recipes, what else is new in Passover by Design?

A – There are over thirty brand new recipes, with some exceedingly simple to prepare.  For this book, I teamed up with Moshe David, a rising star in the kosher catering circuit, to design over twenty unusual recipes not normally seen on a Passover table, such as Teriyaki Chicken Satés and Thai Sole Rolls.  We also present some very healthful cooking techniques that are useful year round. 

Q – Does Passover by Design include tablescaping ideas for holiday decorating?

A – For sure.  My team and I really shook things up for this holiday looking for ways not only to decorate the table but to enliven the Seder itself. John Uher shot the beautiful photography as he has for the previous books. The visual effects are stunning and people will be able to adapt them for their own moods and settings.

Q – Where will Passover by Design be available?

A – Like the other books in the Kosher by Design series, it’ll be available through ArtScroll.com, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com and certainly at any good Jewish bookstore near you. 

Read more in this About.com interview with Kosher Foods columnist Giora Shimoni