Judy Bart Kancigor's self-published cookbook started out as a labor of love. "Melting Pot Memories," meant as a memory book of Kancigor's family recipes and stories, has been parlayed into a soon-to-be-released cookbook called "Cooking Jewish: 532 Great Recipes from the Rabinowitz Family," (Workman Publishing, $19.95 paperback). The book, which has 200 contributing chefs and storytellers, is seasoned with more than 500 family photographs mixed with treasured stories.
Kancigor will be speaking about her book on Wednesday, Oct. 24, during the 2007 Jewish Book & Cultural Arts Fair that will be held at the Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center in Scottsdale.
"My daughter-in-law was expecting our first grandchild (in 1996) and my aunts were starting to die off and it kind of hit me, 'Wow, we've got to save these recipes and fabulous stories,'" recalls Kancigor. She sent a letter to relatives in 1998 asking for family recipes and the number of books they wanted to order. "I have it in writing. You better tell me now how many you want because there will not be a second printing."
She says she took a huge leap by ordering 500 books. "I thought, 'My husband is going to kill me. We're going to be stepping over those boxes in the garage for the rest of our lives." Kancigor was surprised the books sold out in six weeks.
"You know the form in the back of self-published books to order more? I started getting orders for more books from people I didn't know and places I hadn't been. I thought, 'I'm in the book business now?' and my son asked, 'Why are people reading about our family?'"
The grass-roots sales led to eight printings and 11,000 "Melting Pot Memories" books sold. Starting with her own temple, Temple Beth Tikvah, a Reform congregation in Fullerton, Calif., she found herself doing book tours around the United States. "I sold just as many books in churches as in synagogues. I think the nostalgia aspect of it is universal."
Kancigor and her brother grew up in a two-family house in Belle Harbor, N.Y., on Long Island, with her maternal grandparents living above them. The small apartment of Kancigor's grandparents served as the hub of family of gatherings.
"As I look back now, I am an instinctive kind of a cook. I don't have to stick to a recipe. My family background gave me the (ability of) taste. I know what I like and I love making people happy."
Kancigor first started collecting recipes from the Rabinowitzes, her mother's side of the family. She ended up getting calls from all sides of the family wanting to be part of the book. "I decided to include everybody who's related to us by blood or marriage. There are in-laws of in-laws of in-laws in the book."
Kancigor says "Melting Pot Memories," which is no longer in print, is the acorn from which her 704-page "opus" grew. The 523 recipes were whittled down from a high of 1,000 recipes, all of which have been tested.
"My family and friends knew for years as I was working on the book, wherever I went ... I'm coming with food. The food may not match your menu. It's whatever I am testing that week because I had to get opinions."
Kancigor says she has always wanted to write. She had a short stint as a high school English teacher in Brooklyn before her two sons were born. She and her husband then moved to Fullerton in 1972, where she worked as a court reporter for 24 years before she stopped to concentrate on "Cooking Jewish."
Kancigor also writes Jewish food stories for the Orange County Register, the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles and the Canadian Jewish News and has a column on the Orthodox Union's Web site, ou.org.
Rita's Special Kugel recipe, which follows, came from Kancigor's cousin Phyllis' daughter's mother-in-law, a recently retired kosher caterer from New Jersey. "She kept this kugel secret a very long time," says Kancigor. "She gave it to her new daughter-in-law for Yom Kippur to break the fast and she gave it to me for the cookbook.
"When you're cooking and giving that recipe to the next generation," says Kancigor, "I feel you're passing down something really important."
Rita's Special Kugel
from Rita Miller
12 ounces wide egg noodles
1 dozen large eggs, beaten
3 cups heavy (whipping) cream
11/2 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1 can (29 ounces) sliced pears or halves in heavy syrup, drained and thinly sliced
1 can (29 ounces) sliced peaches in heavy syrup, drained and thinly sliced
2 cans (11 ounces each) mandarin oranges, drained
3/4 cup golden raisins
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 13" x 9" x 2" baking pan.
Boil noodles in lightly salted water and cook until al dente, 5 to 7 min.
Combine eggs, cream, vanilla, both sugars and 1 tsp. salt in a large bowl. Stir well. Stir in drained pears, peaches, mandarin oranges, and raisins.
When noodles are done, drain and stir into the fruit mixture. Transfer it to the prepared baking pan and bake for 1 hour. Cover kugel with foil and continue baking until golden and set, about 20 min. more. (Test by inserting a butter knife in the center. It should come out clean.)
Cut into squares, and serve hot or at room temperature.
Serves about 24.
Details
What: Luncheon with Judy Bart Kancigor
When: 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 24
Where: Valley of the Sun JCC, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale
