Kosher By Design Teens and 20-Somethings - A Review

When I first heard that the Susie Fishbein was coming out with another addition to her renowned cookbook series entitled Kosher By Design Teens and 20-Somethings, I had to smile.

I envisioned a recipe that looked something like this:

Go to ur fridge and c if u have any gr8ed cheese, b/c u will need tonz of it for this **awesome** recipe. OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't stop eating it, lol.......

But in truth, this cookbook is cutting edge and fast paced, just like the cooks and the palates that it targets. It is clearly apparent that every effort was made to present recipes that are modern and up to date, yet also simple to prepare and that offer healthful alternatives. Ever mindful of today's health conscious generation, Susie includes clever sidebar symbols, indicating which recipes are gluten-free, fat-free, dairy-free and vegetarian. The only thing that might have made it even better would be nutritional information for each recipe.

Now you know that we here at the Guess Who's Coming to Dinner blog are big believers in the value of family get-togethers and parties. Well, Susie helps create new traditions with four snappy party templates that are definitely easy to recreate in your own home.

Here's just a taste of what you will find inside (pun most definitely intended...):

Pineapple Maple Glazed Salmon

parve  Yields 6 servings

Three minutes of active work time plus fifteen in the oven yields you a gourmet healthful dish. Salmon is a fish we should all be eating more of. Feel free to experiment with the gamier wild salmon; it can yield even more health benefits than farm-raised.

6 (6-ounce) salmon fillets, without skin, pin bones removed

1⁄4 cup maple syrup (NOT pancake syrup)

1⁄4 cup crushed pineapple, from a small can, squeezed dry

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cloves fresh garlic, minced

1. Preheat oven to 375˚F.

2. Rinse the salmon and place it on a parchment-lined jelly roll pan. Pat dry with paper towels.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk the maple syrup, pineapple, soy sauce, mustard, olive oil, and garlic.

4. Pour over the salmon and bake, uncovered, for 15 minutes.

5. Transfer to serving platter. Drizzle with pan juices. Serve hot or at room temperature.

With more recipes like Cranberry Chicken Dippers, Apricot Sesame Roast, Tuna Nicoise Wraps and Red Velvet Cupcakes, (not to mention the Tie-Dye Cookies and Homemade Chickies), Susie Fishbein seems to have hit it out of the park in her goal to create a cookbook aimed at the young and digital-savvy fast food generation and the people who love and cook for them. I've only owned this book for a little over a week and I already have pages sticking together.... a sure sign of a well-used tome ;)

One caveat: Because this book is geared towards the younger crowd, more advanced cooks might find a few of the recipes to be a bit overly simplistic, even though there are enough creative ideas and beautiful photographs to compensate.

As a special treat, ArtScroll is offering GWC2D readers a 10% discount on Teens and 20-Somethings and free shipping (in the Continental U.S. only) on their entire order when they enter the coupon code KBDBLOG at checkout.

On top of that, ArtScroll has made available to all of you a Kosher By Design recipe index. You can download the 18-page PDF of more than 900 recipes for free HERE.

Also, don't forget to check out the Kosher By Design Blog, to find more reviews and contests, and connect with them on Facebook and Twitter.

In short, if you pass up this book and my upcoming giveaway contest you'll risk having major FOMO! (Thanks to 20-Something guest, Esther, who taught me this acronym a mere two weeks ago at Friday night dinner). The giveaway will be posted later today and as soon as it is up, you will be able to access it on the main blog page, or by simply clicking HERE.