There are two important things that you learn about Michael Zusman, baker and co-author of The Artisan Jewish Deli at Home, when you bake with him. First, his real job has nothing to do with bread or writing recipes: He's a trial judge. "Full time," Zusman says. "Wear a black robe every day." Zusman presides from the bench in Portland, Ore. He handles drug cases, small claims disputes over shoddy car repairs, fights between landlords and tenants, and other daily battles that overload America's legal system. But he had a few days off and visited Washington, D.C. And Zusman made some of the best bialys I've ever had, right in my own kitchen. In case you've never had a bialy, it looks like a miniature pizza, topped with roasted onions and poppy seeds. Bagels are far more famous in the annals of Eastern European Jewish cooking, but plenty of people feel passionate about bialys. They got their name as a favorite food in Bialystok, a major city in what's now Poland. Zusman and his co-author
↧