Friday, June 4, 2010

Welcome!

I grew up spending my summers on Martha's Vineyard, off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Every weekend there were weddings at the Old Whaling Church, a soaring Greek revival structure that dates back to 1843. I used to get a black raspberry ice cream cone and then sit on a sidewalk bench across the street, watching the brides climb in and out of limousines in their puffy white dresses. I always thought that someday I would get married there, too: a classic church wedding in a traditional, Protestant New England town.

It turns out my childhood fantasy couldn't have been further from the truth. After I graduated from college I moved to Brooklyn, New York, and at the age of twenty-five I met and fell in love with Alex, who happens to come from the same family that produced the likes of Larry David. On one of our earliest dates, we went to a deli where he bought me my very first egg cream. As our relationship grew more serious, I began to accompany Alex to temple on the high holidays, and to his relatives' houses for Passover Seders.

I also became more interested in my own Jewish heritage. While my mother is not Jewish, my father is--he grew up in New York City the son of Lucy Eisenberg, a painter and textile designer, and the grandson of Isadore Charles Eisenberg and Lilly Goldbaum Eisenberg, who emigrated from Berlin in 1890. They were members of Congregation Emanu-El on Fifth Avenue, and are buried at the temple's graveyard in Queens.

When Alex got down on one knee and asked me to marry him in February of 2010 I said yes immediately. Deciding that we wanted to spend our lives together was easy, but there were many questions that followed. Should we move to a bigger apartment? Were we ready to get a miniature daschund? Was I going to change my name? One thing I was sure of was that I wanted to raise my children Jewish, and I wanted to fully convert myself before our wedding.

Since I'm a cookbook author, my natural inclination is to learn about my heritage and my new faith through writing and eating. This blog is going to be a record of my experiences, and my attempts to master Jewish cuisine--from traditional dishes to newfangled interpretations. Someday, just maybe it will also turn into my second book. But at the very least, I'm determined to learn how to make the fluffiest matzo balls, the laciest latkes, and the sweetest honey cake. Thanks for reading!

2 comments:

  1. Lucy,
    I just received your book The Boozy Baker and I am really looking forward to baking many of these recipes. I wanted to let you know that on page 66, the Cranberry, Chocolate, and Pecan Pie does not have pecans listed in the ingredients. I assume from the directions that I just need enough to make a single layer on the bottom. Is that correct?
    Thanks,
    Stephanie

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  2. Lucy Are you still following your blog? I hope so. If so I have genealogy information potentially of interest to you based on who your great grandparents were.

    Hope to hear from you.

    John

    ReplyDelete