Cookbook Review: Kosher By Design Cooking Coach

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This week, I had the opportunity to review another new cookbook, Kosher by Design: Cooking Coach: recipes, tips and techniques to make anyone a better cook.  Susie Fishbein has written a series of cookbooks called Kosher by Design.  In the collection of books there is one on holiday food, another on healthy eating, another on quick meals and many more.  All told, there are now eight great books in the  best-selling series.

Cooking Coach is much more than a kosher cookbook, though it does contain over 100 recipes.  It is also a wonderfully detailed “how to” book for any cook.  Susie takes you step by step through techniques like skinning a fish, spatchcocking a chicken, prepping vegetables, and picking out equipment.  Although most of the information is aimed at a novice cook, there was plenty to hold my interest.

The title, “cooking coach” gives you a hint as to how the book is set up.  Susie has “game plans” at the beginning of each section.  That’s where she gives you cooking lessons.  The following recipes use the techniques she has outlined.  The recipes range from simple to complex, from everyday to special occasion.  She also includes budget stretching tips and ideas on reworking leftovers into new meals.

Did I mention the photos?  There are over 400 color photos in the book.  If you are a visual person, like me, that’s a huge plus.  Every single recipe has a photo, plus there are so many in the how-to sections that no one will have trouble understanding.

I actually had a hard time deciding what to make first from the cookbook.  I started a list, but it got to a point that I was marking every recipe.  Finally, because time was running short and I wanted to use what I had on hand, I chose Baked Coconut Brown Rice Pilaf and Lemon Garlic Spatchcocked Chicken.  However I rarely buy whole chickens, so I didn’t do any spatchcocking (think butterflying a whole bird).  And because I needed a quick meal, I made the rice in my electric pressure cooker rather than bake it for almost 2 hours. We were delighted with the results.

I am excited to try her spaghetti squash kugel, chocolate mint cookies, florentine meatballs, chocolate peanut butter molten cakes and beef tostadas among many other delicious sounding recipes.

Print Lemon Garlic Chicken Author: adapted from Susie Fishbein Kosher by Design  

Ingredients

• 3 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp onion powder
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp thyme
• ½ tsp rosemary
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 lemon, including zest
• 2 tsp olive oil

Instructions

1. Place chicken breasts on a baking rack in a baking pan.
2. Set aside.
3. Cut garlic on a cutting board (or if using the jar type like me, scoop it onto the board).
4. Sprinkle zest, herbs and spices on top of the garlic.
5. Using the side of a knife, drag and press the garlic, zest and spices to form a paste.
6. Squirt lemon all over chicken.
7. Drizzle olive oil over chicken.
8. Rub paste all over chicken.
9. Bake at 375F for 35-40 minutes or until internal temp reaches 160F.

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