Cooking Up History: Nora Rubel on The Settlement Cook Book

One night only: A conversation with Jewish foodways expert, Nora Rubel! Tuesday, October 6th | 6pm | $45 Don’t miss this very special event at the Roadhouse with author and historian Nora Rubel, presented in collaboration with the EMU Center for Jewish Studies! Rubel is coming to Ann Arbor all the way from Rochester to be interviewed by Zingerman’s co-founder Ari Weinzweig about her new book, Recipes for the Melting Pot: The Lives of The Settlement Cook Book. For more than a century, The Settlement Cook Book has been a fixture in American kitchens. First published in Milwaukee in 1901 by Jewish women seeking to help immigrant families navigate American life, the cookbook became much more than a collection of recipes. It offered a window into immigration, assimilation, Jewish identity, women’s lives, and the changing meaning of American food. In Recipes for the Melting Pot, Rubel explores the fascinating history and enduring legacy of this iconic cookbook, revealing the people and stories behind its pages—and what its evolution tells us about America itself. Come hear Rubel and Weinzweig explore the intersection of food, culture, immigration, and identity, and discover how a humble community cookbook became a remarkable record of American history. We will also enjoy delicious appetizers, including one exclusively crafted from Rubel’s book! Presented in collaboration with: About the Author Nora L. Rubel is the Elizabeth Denio Professor, Co-Director of Jewish Studies, and Chair of the Department of Religion and Classics at the University of Rochester, and teaches courses on American Judaism, religion and ethnicity, and religion in relation to American foodways. She is the author of Doubting the Devout: The Ultra-Orthodox in the Jewish American Imagination (Columbia University Press 2009) and Recipes for the Melting Pot: The Lives of The Settlement Cook Book (Columbia University Press 2026), and co-editor of Religion, Food and Eating in North America (CUP 2014) and Blessings Beyond the Binary: Transparent and the Queer Jewish Family (Rutgers University Press, 2024). APPETIZER MENU Potatoes on the Half Shell (V, GF) From the book! Smoked Whitefish Dip Served with Bakehouse bagel crisps. Trio of Bruschetta (V) Roasted Red Pepper With Zingerman’s Cream Cheese. Roasted Mushroom With Zingerman’s Goat Cheese. Pesto With SarVecchio Parmesan Cheese.