Classics Never Go Out of Style

I love cookbooks. One of the great benefits of my joy of cookbooks is that ingredients are just about always cheaper than buying pre-made items. Lately there are a slew of new cookbooks on the market. Many of them call for bizarre ingredients that are expenssive and hard to find. While I enjoy tracking down these exotic items in the various ethnic markets of NY (where they are actually relatively affordable) sometimes you just can't beat a classic cookbook with ingredients that are found in the standard pantry and store. Who has time and money to go scouring the streets ins earch of non dairy sour cream, hoisin sauce and rutabagas?

This week I am celebrating the traditional cookbook by making my Friday/Saturday menu from the classic cookbook "The Spice and Spirit" by Esther Blau. While this book has no glossy photos, it does have an incredibly large number of fool proof recipes that are easy to follow and always turn out well. Unfortunately it is also out of print!!! I find this insane. This book is such a classic. Every home should have one. I was still giving it to people at bridal showers. If anyone happens to have a copy they want to sell, please email me: caristramd@yahoo.com

In the meantime I will enjoy the copy I luckily saved for myself and will be making the following recipes:

potato leek soup - page 133
sweet and sour meatblass - page 214
knaidlech - page 140
kishke - page 310
mocah oatmeal cake - page 369
lemon merinuge pie - page 369

along with some acorn squashes, a salad and maybe a cholent. The ingredients I need to "hunt down" - potatoes, a leek, carrots and lemons. Not too tough. What a relief.