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A big hit at this year’s San Francisco Jewish Film Festival was a delightful confection by director Aviva Kempner, “Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg.”

To whet our appetites for the documentary, we were shown several episodes of “The Goldbergs,” a warm 1950s sitcom about a Jewish matriarch (and balabusta) and her family living in the Bronx.

What a revelation! I did not know that “The Goldbergs” was the first TV sitcom, or that its writer, director and star, Gertrude Berg, was the second most popular woman in the United States at that time, behind only Eleanor Roosevelt, or that Berg was an outspoken activist against McCarthyism.

What I did know was that Berg wrote “The Molly Goldberg Jewish Cookbook” — because it was given to me by my mother many, many years ago. When Molly wasn’t leaning out of her window and yoo-hooing to her neighbor Mrs. Kramer, she was in the kitchen preparing delicious meals.

So it comes as no surprise that in addition to all her other accomplishments, Berg wrote this book in 1955. Mine is yellow with age, stained with sauces and absolutely falling apart.

My mother used it, and as a new bride I cooked from it, as well. The recipes are treats from a treasury of Jewish cuisine, and “Molly” often precedes the recipe with a little advice. It’s like having her right beside you as you cook.

Mrs. Wiersma’s Fruit Soup

Serves 6

3 cups assorted fruit (plums, peaches, pears, cherries, apricots peaches)

5 cups water

2 tsp. lemon juice

4 Tbs. sugar

2 Tbs. cornstarch

1⁄2 cup sour cream

Pit the fruit. Combine fruit in saucepan with water, lemon juice and sugar. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat for 20 minutes or until very soft. Force through a sieve or puree in a blender. Mix cornstarch with equal amount of cold water. Add to the fruit, stirring constantly just until boiling. Cover and cook on low heat for 5 minutes. Serve chilled with a dollop of sour cream.

 

Chicken Fricassee á la Uncle David

Serves 8

2 tsp. salt

1⁄2 tsp. ground pepper

2 tsp. paprika

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 4-pound chickens, disjointed

4 Tbs. oil

3 onions, chopped

1⁄2 cup boiling water

Mix salt, pepper, paprika and garlic into a paste. Rub into the chicken very well. In a heavy skillet, heat the oil. Brown the chicken and add onions. Cook until brown. Add water. Cover and cook over low heat for 2 hours or until chicken is tender.

Serve with noodles or boiled rice.

 

Fruit Tzimmes

Serves 6-8

1 lb. prunes, pre-soaked and pitted

1⁄2 lb. dried apricots, pre-soaked

1⁄2 lb. dried pears or apples, pre-soaked

2 cups water

2 Tbs. honey

3 Tbs. brown sugar

1⁄4 tsp. salt

1⁄2 tsp. cinnamon

3 Tbs. rice

Combine all ingredients (except rice) in medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Add rice. Cook over low heat for 25 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed. Stir occasionally. Serve as a compote side dish or dessert. n

Louise Fiszer is a Palo Alto cooking teacher, author and the co-author of “Jewish Holiday Cooking.” Her columns alternate with those of Faith Kramer. Questions and recipe ideas can be sent to j. or to [email protected].