My Life in Recipes – Joan Nathan Cookbook Giveaway

Enter our US giveaway to win one of two copies of My Life in Recipes: Food, Family, and Memories by Joan Nathan. Please check out the author’s events which we have shared on our Calendar. In November, Joan’s next book A Sweet Year: Jewish Feasts, Celebrations, and Recipes for Kids and Their Families will be released.

My Life in Recipes, Joan Nathan’s most personal book, was written during the pandemic as she grieved the lost of her husband of 45 years from Creutzfeldt-Jakob, a rare neurological disease. Throughout its pages she looks back at her history – her family’s arrival in America from Germany, Poland, and Slovakia; her childhood in post-war New York and Rhode Island; the influence of her in-laws, who came from Poland after fleeing the Nazis; her years in New York, Israel, and Washington, DC. and her travels.

Nathan shares her story – life well-lived and centered around meals – and she punctuates it with all the recipes she has come to love. From roast chicken to rugelach, from matzoh ball soup to challah and brisket, here are updated versions of her most beloved recipes along with a few new and exciting recipes including a vegan matzoh ball soup she developed for actress Natalie Portman.

Peppered throughout her fascinating story are entries from her diary, excerpts of letters to family and friends, countless personal photographs, her love story with Allan and its tragic ending, her relationship with the food greats of the world and her other love affair – food. She details how she became a food writer, her travels and shares her beautiful family with us, the lucky readers. Buy this book for the 111 recipes shared but more importantly to soak up the brilliance of Joan. I always knew that Joan Nathan was a food authority – what I didn’t know when I started reading the book was that I would fall in love with her and her story.

We have four online recipes indexed from this title for our Members to try now:

Special thanks to the publisher for providing two copies of this title in our promotion. Entry options include answering the following question in the comments section of this blog post.

Which recipe in the index would you like to try first?

Please note that you must be logged into the Rafflecopter contest before posting or your entry won’t be counted. For more information on this process, please see our step-by-step help post. Once you log in and enter your member name you will be directed to the next entry option – the blog comment. After that, there are additional options that you can complete for more entries. Be sure to check your spam filters to receive our email notifications. Prizes can take up to 6 weeks to arrive from the publishers. If you are not already a Member, you can join at no cost. The contest ends at midnight on June 24th, 2024.

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88 Comments

  • JMelnick  on  April 21, 2024

    The Rugelach sound amazing!

  • susankay  on  April 21, 2024

    I’d make savory noodle kugel first. Yum!

  • paladineh  on  April 21, 2024

    I love egg salad, and the combo with avocado and schmaltz sounds amazing.

  • matag  on  April 21, 2024

    Bialystok onion poppy-seed rolls (Pletzlach)

  • ravensfan  on  April 21, 2024

    Savory noodle kugel

  • dadekian  on  April 21, 2024

    My favorite brisket sounds perfect

  • cookbookaddict2020  on  April 21, 2024

    The mousakhan!

  • mcrimmins  on  April 21, 2024

    Sunshine Strawberry Shortcake

  • lean1  on  April 21, 2024

    What a lovely woman. I have heard her speak several times.
    Chicken with peaches sounds good.

  • BrandiRae  on  April 21, 2024

    I’d love to try the Yemeni white beans with onions and tomatoes (Fassolia)!

  • mightymhk  on  April 21, 2024

    Moussaka sounds good

  • BMeyer  on  April 22, 2024

    favorite brisket

  • dataentrytard  on  April 22, 2024

    I would like to prepare the Swedish rye bread.

  • Laluzdelaluna  on  April 23, 2024

    Halibut gefilte terrine with fresh herbs

  • Ljhfike  on  April 23, 2024

    Albert Einstein’s strawberries mixed with whipped cream

  • Kate2348  on  April 23, 2024

    Pecan sticky buns for sure!

  • lisambb  on  April 24, 2024

    Rugelach is always good

  • jluvs2bake  on  April 24, 2024

    Orange cream cheese butter cookies with dates

  • demomcook  on  April 24, 2024

    Spiced chicken with rice, eggplant, peppers, and zucchini.

  • rchesser  on  April 25, 2024

    Pecan Sticky Buns.

  • minbody  on  April 25, 2024

    Those Ann Arbor schnecken are calling my name …

  • stahl_amy  on  April 25, 2024

    Rugelach!

  • Pamyoungvb  on  April 25, 2024

    Savory noodle kugel. I have only had the sweet versions of this dish.

  • dianesf72  on  April 25, 2024

    I have been cooking Joan Nathan recipes for over 50 years. Bravo!! And the new ones: can’t wait to cook!

  • Curlymirta  on  April 25, 2024

    The Rugelach, did you see the photo?

  • debbiehb  on  April 25, 2024

    My mother’s chicken cacciatore

  • roxlet  on  April 25, 2024

    Rugelach

  • ChicagoJen  on  April 25, 2024

    Rugelach with raspberry walnut filling looks yummy and beautiful!

  • Kblg  on  April 25, 2024

    The German plum tart sounds good!

  • pattig  on  April 25, 2024

    I wpild try the chicken with peas and carrots or the Martha’s Vineyard hippie muffins.

  • LeMinou  on  April 26, 2024

    Savory noodle kugel

  • Librarycook  on  April 26, 2024

    Always wanted to learn to make rugelach!

  • virjeania  on  April 26, 2024

    German potato salad with peppers and caraway seeds

  • Chef_Colin  on  April 26, 2024

    Savory noodle kugel, but I want to eat it with the creamed spinach!

  • sarahawker  on  April 26, 2024

    Egyptian butter cookies (Ghoribiya)

  • LaurenE  on  April 27, 2024

    Savory noodle kugel

  • mswager  on  April 27, 2024

    Black and white cookies!

  • DarcyVaughn  on  April 28, 2024

    Hungarian chicken livers with onions and red peppers

  • rkosully  on  April 28, 2024

    I would like to make the German plum tart (Zwetschgenkuchen).

  • GreenhouseCheryl  on  April 28, 2024

    Swedish rye bread (Limpa)

  • Jnr2389  on  April 29, 2024

    I would love to try the rugelach with raspberry filling!

  • betsyradelow  on  April 30, 2024

    Rugelach with raspberry walnut filling

  • braabpro  on  May 1, 2024

    My favorite brisket

  • Yarnia  on  May 4, 2024

    Double ginger molasses chewies

  • Laura1  on  May 5, 2024

    rugelach

  • elysedc  on  May 6, 2024

    Egyptian butter cookies (Ghoribiya)

  • clairew137  on  May 6, 2024

    Savory noodle kugel

  • TazinaTlo  on  May 7, 2024

    Sunshine Strawberry Shortcake

  • curlyloxie  on  May 7, 2024

    thank you Joan Nathan, for keeping up the Jewish Culinary tradition! Can’t wait to try “MY MOTHER’S BEEF STEW”.

  • nomadchowwoman  on  May 8, 2024

    Pecan sticky buns please!

  • Maefleur  on  May 10, 2024

    The German Plum Tart.

  • lhellmond  on  May 10, 2024

    I’m all about the challah. Always.

  • RuthGo  on  May 10, 2024

    The Spiced chicken with rice, eggplant, peppers, and zucchini sounds absolutely delicious!

  • porcupines  on  May 10, 2024

    I love creamed spinach so I’d start there!

  • davisesq212  on  May 11, 2024

    Moroccan chicken with almonds, chestnuts, cinnamon, and couscous

  • oduong930  on  May 11, 2024

    Sunshine Strawberry Shortcake

  • rsverkruyse  on  May 11, 2024

    I would try Albert Einstein’s strawberries mixed with whipped cream first. It sounds intriguing!

  • sarahteertzah  on  May 13, 2024

    Friday night challah with caraway (Potato berches)

  • JenjiD  on  May 15, 2024

    Sweet and sour salmon with lemon, ginger, and brown sugar

  • Sfgordon  on  May 17, 2024

    Roasted sweet potatoes with coconut flakes, honey, and soy sauce

  • Babycarrot  on  May 20, 2024

    Black and white cookies

  • laurenodell  on  May 20, 2024

    savory noodle kugel

  • ASHCOSHWEIN  on  May 24, 2024

    I want to try the Passover pecan lemon torte with lemon curd filling but not want until Passover to make it!

  • Leonard5854  on  May 25, 2024

    Pecan sticky buns, of course

  • kula  on  May 25, 2024

    Rugelach!

  • mpdeb98  on  May 26, 2024

    Sunshine strawberry shortcake

  • banba1  on  May 27, 2024

    Sweet and sour salmon with lemon, ginger, and brown sugar sounds so good!

  • Lora724  on  May 31, 2024

    I love coleslaw so My mother’s coleslaw.

  • LSanders  on  June 2, 2024

    My mother’s coleslaw

  • Amann  on  June 3, 2024

    Rugelach

  • Shelley.b  on  June 4, 2024

    Rugelach

  • offenbach  on  June 5, 2024

    Martha’s Vineyard “hippie” molasses muffins

  • hillsboroks  on  June 6, 2024

    Orange cream cheese butter cookies with dates

  • dtremit  on  June 8, 2024

    I’d love to try the German potato salad with peppers and caraway seeds, some of my favorite flavors!

    Heard a really nice interview with Joan Nathan on the Splendid Table where she talked about this book and her life story; I’d recommend it to anyone who is curious.

  • AnnaZed  on  June 8, 2024

    Sweet and sour salmon with lemon, ginger, and brown sugar

  • orchidlady01  on  June 9, 2024

    Hazelnut chocolate meringue torte with strawberries

  • sayeater  on  June 14, 2024

    Friday night challah with caraway; German potato salad with peppers and caraway seeds – can you tell I love caraway seeds!
    Also Raisins, tamarind, and peanuts sounds like an amazing change from the norm for Passover
    I think I need this book!

  • indianakat  on  June 14, 2024

    Creamed spinach

  • curafresh  on  June 14, 2024

    really curious about Albert Einstein’s strawberries

  • tucsonsandy  on  June 15, 2024

    Rugelach

  • NatalyaM  on  June 16, 2024

    Pasta with almond pesto, green beans, eggplant, and cherry tomatoes

  • Siegal  on  June 16, 2024

    The Swedish rye bread

  • PumpkinTravels  on  June 17, 2024

    German Plum Tart

  • PumpkinTravels  on  June 17, 2024

    Swedish Rye. I love Joan Nathan’s cookbooks!

  • Karla123  on  June 17, 2024

    Armenian stuffed grape leaves (Yalanchi sarma)

  • Kayevee  on  June 18, 2024

    Rugelach with raspberry walnut filling sounds mouthwatering!

  • LEKcookbooks  on  June 23, 2024

    I can’t decide between the Chicken with peaches or the Chicken with sumac, pine nuts, and onions!

  • Foodishlove  on  June 23, 2024

    Raspberry walnut rugelach sounds amazing

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