Huntington Jewish Center Sisterhood Releases New Cookbook

The Huntington Jewish Center (HJC) Sisterhood presents Our Culinary Legacy, a poignant collection of recipes and stories created as a tangible culinary legacy, intent on preserving special food memories for future generations. Working together as one extended synagogue family and guided by a Sisterhood Cookbook Committee led by longtime member Phyllis Levy, this third volume is a unique collection reflecting the culinary interests of the current congregation.

“Having raised a family that fills me with pride, I started thinking about the legacy I would be leaving for them,” says Mrs. Levy, longtime HJC Sisterhood member and former President. “Because nothing reflects common ground more than food (after all, EVERYBODY EATS), and since our Sisterhood had already produced two earlier cookbooks, why not create a third volume, one embracing the culinary heritage we cherish and celebrating the contemporary cuisine served on today’s tables.”

With that in mind, the focus was clear - gather nostalgic recipes inherited from grandparents or great grandparents, and those conforming to contemporary cooking, more mindful of health and nutrition. The cookbook would be stylish, sophisticated and professional as befitting today’s women and yet respectful of the women who came before. Helping to curate the vibrancy and richness of the collection was a very devoted and broad-based 20 member committee, the HJC membership, and their multi-generational recipes handed down over the 113 year history of the synagogue community.

After nearly three years of gathering, testing and tasting HJC family favorite recipes, the cookbook features over 275 recipes accompanied by personal memories, stories, and mouthwatering photos. There are cooking tips, holiday menu suggestions and special legacy recipes taken from two earlier Sisterhood cookbook editions, published in 1979 and 1990. “Few, if any, other synagogues can boast of three cookbooks and the culinary legacy they preserve” says Mrs. Levy. “We are very proud of that,” she added.

Our Culinary Legacy preserves the tastes and smells of the past but also shares the very different way families eat today. It reflects how the traditional Jewish identity connects to food, and how the culinary world has expanded. There are traditional meat and potato dishes, but also vegetarian dishes, salads, dishes that highlight veggies and grains and a huge dessert chapter! The range and variety provides an incredible collection which pays tribute to generations past and recognition to those cooking today. “Our cookbook is a tangible reminder of who we are and were, the love we shared through our food and those culinary memories that bring joy and comfort and live beyond us”, says Mrs. Levy.

Our Culinary Legacy is published by Wimmer Publishers. The hardbound edition is available for $36. Purchases may be made online at www.HJCNY.org; click on QUICK DONATE and specify Sisterhood Cookbook Project or send your check, payable to Huntington Jewish Center Sisterhood with the MEMO: Cookbook to Huntington Jewish Center, 510 Park Avenue, Huntington, New York, 11743 Attn: Cookbook Project Payment. If you would like your order shipped, please add an additional $8 shipping fee per book.

About Huntington Jewish Center Sisterhood

The Huntington Jewish Center (HJC) Sisterhood was founded in 1921 as the Hebrew Ladies Aid Society. 140 members strong, the Sisterhood produces a myriad of educational and social programs, coordinates numerous fundraisers, supports the HJC Religious School and Early Childhood Center and offers generous financial support to the Huntington Jewish Center. Social action is a vital element of the Sisterhood. A percentage of all cookbook proceeds will be donated to feed the needy on Long Island.