In this episode, we have the pathbreaking author Joan Nathan, who has published over 12 cookbooks, including her latest memoir, My Life in Recipes, and earned many awards for her work. Joan pioneered the study of Jewish cuisine by adopting an anthropological approach, treating recipe development as an opportunity to explore the history and culture of a diasporic people. Her cookbooks became bestsellers in the United States when the iconic editor Judith Jones asked Joan to write about “how Jews have changed food in America and how America has changed Jewish food.” Here, Joan shares several stories with Lara from her early career researching the foodways of logging camps or what it was like to have Julia Child as a guest on her PBS cooking show—they actually went kosher food shopping together on camera. Joan also tells Lara about the time she laced her matzo balls with marijuana, and some of her tried and true secrets for hosting the best dinner parties.

Rate, review and subscribe for more.

Follow Dr. Pastrami on Instagram, Tik Tok, and full video episode on YouTube.

Welcome to Dr Pastrami, the podcast about Jewish food. Join host Dr. Lara Rabinovitch, a historian and 20-year veteran of food media, as she interviews chefs, cookbook authors, and other tastemakers for intimate and in-depth conversations.

For full video episodes watch and subscribe to the Dr. Pastrami Substack or YouTube.

Also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and iHeartradio.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.