Jeff and Jodie Mor­gan are co-own­ers of Covenant Win­ery, a kosher win­ery in Cal­i­for­nia, and are thus the per­fect cou­ple to teach us how to select the right wine for any occa­sion. In fact every recipe in this appeal­ing, beau­ti­ful­ly illus­trat­ed cook­book comes with sug­gest­ed wine pairings.

The book’s ded­i­ca­tion hints at the inter­na­tion­al fla­vors of the dish­es pre­sent­ed: ​“to our extend­ed Jew­ish fam­i­ly around the globe- from Israel, Lon­don, Paris, Toron­to and New York to Chica­go, Los Ange­les, Berke­ley, San Fran­cis­co, and the Cal­i­for­nia wine coun­try….” The sto­ry of the authors’ tran­si­tion to pro­duc­ing kosher wine makes for fas­ci­nat­ing read­ing, as do sec­tions on Jews, Wine and His­to­ry and dis­cus­sions of what is involved in pro­duc­ing kosher wines. There are ample dis­cus­sions of wine vari­etals, sparkling wines, dessert wines, glass­ware, cel­lar­ing wine, decant­i­ng, and more.

The cook­book fea­tures appe­tiz­ers, sal­ads and soups, eggs, rice, latkes and pas­ta, fish, meat and poul­try, desserts, basics, and hol­i­day menus. Among the many delight­ful recipes are: Fava Bean Puree with Truf­fle Oil on Parme­san Cros­ti­ni; Sum­mer­time Toma­to Sal­ad with Tahi­ni Dress­ing; Salmon Chow­der; Egg­plant , Toma­to, and Ricot­ta Riga­toni; Gefilte Quenelles with Braised Leeks and Lemon Zest; Cous­cous with Chick­en and Lamb Sausage; Flanken Pot au Feu; Mocha Cheesecake.

The recipe for Rus­tic Chal­lah is a water chal­lah that uses no egg wash — actu­al­ly no eggs at all. Jodie explains that it ​“tastes more like a crusty French coun­try bread or Ital­ian cia­bat­ta.” This chal­lah dough is not punched down, because like a good French bread, it should retain air pock­ets. The start­ing oven is at 500 degrees for a bit before the heat is low­ered. Scrumptious!

The book has an index and is a fun, uplift­ing read.

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