Secrets of the Ultimate Jewish Mother

Linda Spillers Joan Nathan, the author of Jewish Cooking in America, talks about kasha varnishkes, how she’ll be celebrating the holidays this year, and Wolf Blitzer’s wife’s brisket.

With the Jewish High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah—the Jewish New Year—and Yom Kippur—the Day of Atonement—quickly approaching, Jews around the world are beginning to ask themselves fundamental questions: “What does it mean to be Jewish?” “How does the Torah apply today?” “How do we reconcile God and Modernity?” And most important, “What’s for dinner, and when are we eating?” For the answer to this question we turn to one woman who puts all other Jewish mothers to shame: Joan Nathan.

“Make sure that you’ve got enough that’s of your traditions and enough that’s seasonal. That’s what I love about Judaism: It’s family-oriented, it’s food-oriented, and it’s also seasonal.”

In 1994, Joan Nathan’s cookbook Jewish Cooking in America won both the James Beard Award and the IACP/Julia Child Cookbook of the Year Award, and she has since become the unofficial steward of Jewish American cooking and cuisine. Her later books—including Joan Nathan's Jewish Holiday Cookbook, The Jewish Holiday Baker, and The Jewish Holiday Kitchen—as well as her award-winning PBS series on Jewish cooking and her regular articles in The New York Times, have solidified her status as the modern maven of Jewish-American cuisine.

What are you doing for the holidays this year?

I’m making either a chicken with apples, which is an old French recipe for Rosh Hashanah, or I’m going to make chicken fricassee with meatballs with tomatoes and green peppers. And I’ll make kasha varnishkes for Friday night and chicken soup with matzo balls and a plum kuchen, which is like a tart. Saturday we’re doing a huge lunch for Rosh Hashanah—30 or 40 people. I’m going to make brisket and farfel, which is just a little noodle, and then I’m going to make ratatouille. I always make ratatouille at the harvest time. For dessert, I’m going to do poppy-seed cake, honey cake, and apple cake—all from my cookbooks or articles. And of course a huge challah.

Do you usually stick to the traditional foods?

I stick to tradition as much as possible. I like having tradition because kids like the familiarity, and even though my kids are older, they come home not for different food or my experimentations, but for a little bit of comfort, for what they grew up with.

What’s the best Rosh Hashanah dinner you’ve been to?

My own dinners! I once had Rosh Hashanah dinner at the Israeli ambassador’s, but I don’t remember what I had. I’ve been to a Yemenite dinner, which was pretty terrific. It was Erev Yom Kippur [the night before Yom Kippur] and that was an amazing dinner. We had Yemenite stew with all kinds of hot sauces and flat bread, and we sat on the floor. It was pretty interesting, in Jerusalem. But I do like doing it myself. When I was a kid I loved my mother’s Rosh Hashanah.

I think we all love our mother’s Rosh Hashanah dinner the best.

Even though I make really good brisket, I still remember my mother’s brisket. And farfel. And she made plum kuchen, too, so it’s not so different from my own Rosh Hashanah dinner.

Why is brisket the classic Jewish holiday meat?

First of all, it’s a kosher cut. Plus, it goes a long way and can feed a lot of people, it’s a special occasion meat, and you braise it, so it’s very easy to make.