Susie Fishbein: Another beautiful book!

Treat yourself and a friend to a copy. Passover is around the corner. Just sayin’! http://amzn.to/1OWScVt

Cooking by Design Brings it Home is Susie Fishbein’s latest beautiful cookbook. Congrats and much success!
When Susie Fishbein says she Brings it Home, I don’t take it to mean, Heaven Forbid, that she is retiring from the cooking scene. You never leave the kitchen once you discover all the wondrous adventures the kitchen offers. It just means Susie’s Cooking by Design Series came full circle, and she is calling it a day when it comes to writing cookbooks. Always fun to share a project with Susie Fishbein: Tzimmis Recipes for Masbia Soup Kitchen

Cooking by Design Brings it Home is Susie Fishbein’s eighth cookbook, and she ends her beautiful cookbook series, half a million copies sold and still growing, with a bang with her latest – and last? Why do I sound not so sure? We shall see…- Cookbook. It all started with the informal Cooking Palette, and who knows where it will end?

Cooking by Design Brings it Home is free of the narrow constraints of a theme (Short on Time, Coach, Entertains, Teens, Passover, etc…). It is a personal collection of musings on traveling around the world, spreading the good word on good food and having fun doing it everywhere she went. Cooking and teaching took Susie Fishbein everywhere, bringing happy hungry crowds together. It is true that Susie came to the Kosher cooking scene at the precise moment when all the hard improbable thankless work of Upscale Kosher Food trailblazing had been completed, but she took it to exciting places, keeping it simple and streamlined, with her radiant smile and her inviting amiable manner.

You will admire John Uher’s beautiful photography, illustrating every single recipe, with minimal props and frills, and maximum emphasis on the food itself. Every single dish clearly whispers encouragement to the home cook’s ear,  “You can do it! Nothing to it”

In Kosher by Design Brings it Home, the recipe selection makes sure it doesn’t err on the trends and the fads, and centers resolutely on practical, timeless with modern twists.

bok choy chicken salad: Susie Fishbein

    M   yields 6-8 servings

I am always looking for new chicken salads that can be served warm or cold. This one, with its crunch and Asian flavors, is a winner.

• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon mirin
• 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 4 cloves fresh garlic, minced
• ¼ teaspoon dried ground ginger
• ¹∕8 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 heads baby bok choy, chopped
• 6 cremini mushrooms, sliced
• ½ cup unsalted cashews
• ¼ cup water mixed with 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• ½ lemon
• 3 ounces baby spinach leaves
• 2 teaspoons roasted or toasted sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon seasoned rice vinegar
• 1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted, cut into ¼-inch dice

In a medium bowl, whisk the soy sauce, mirin, brown sugar, cornstarch, garlic, ginger, and white pepper. Add the chicken cubes; marinate for 10 minutes.

Heat the oil in a large (14-inch) skillet over medium-high heat until very hot but not smoking. Add the chicken with all the marinade. Sauté for 4 minutes; the chicken will not be cooked through. Use tongs to turn each piece of chicken. Add the bok choy, mushrooms, and cashews. Sauté for 3-4 minutes until the bok choy is shiny and almost wilted. Add the water/soy sauce mixture to the pan. Use a wooden spoon to scrape the browned bits from the bottom. Squeeze the half lemon over the pan. Sauté 1 minute longer; remove from heat.

Spread the spinach onto a platter or place into a serving bowl. Drizzle with the sesame oil and rice vinegar. Toss to coat. Top with the cooked bok choy/chicken mixture; garnish with mango. Serve warm or at room temperature.