When I first started keeping a kosher home, the biggest change was dessert. True there were new sets of dishes to keep track of, and combinations of foods that were not allowed, but the thing that would trip me up the most was planning our Friday night meals. We like to serve meat on Shabbat….
I love the notion of hiddur mitzvah, this idea that beautifying a ritual object enhances and heightens the mitzvah related to that object. Hiddur Mitzvah can apply to a mezuzah, to a pair of tefillin, to a tzedakah box, to an etrog and, of course, a menorah, and it’s this principle that has brought us…
Cook the book makes “Kosher Revolution’s” Be-All, End-All Chicken Soup. Check out the recipe. [Serious Eats] Two Jewish brothers are heating up the kitchens at some of Brooklyn’s hottest restaurants. [Jewcy] Microbrews for Hanukkah and some Jewish beer history. Bottoms Up! [NPR] The recently shorn Matisyahu shares his recipe for vegan sufganiot. [Grubstreet] Some kosher…
Despite my love for many, many of this country’s donuts, I’m just going to come out and say it: This year, for Hanukkah, I’m going to be I’m spending all my donut gelt at Brooklyn’s Dough. My Hanukkah-season fixation with Brooklyn’s Dough bakery is due neither to the teeny corner shop’s amazing size-to-price proportions (ginormous…
On Agripas Street in Jerusalem, between the workers’ diners and the outdoor market, there is a Kurdish Cultural center. With a dwindling number of native born Kurds, each year their legacy slowly declines. Many of their descendents have naturally assimilated into Israeli culture and no longer keep the traditions of my family’s ancestors. Sadly, the…
With the recent opening of Kutsher’s Tribeca, which bills itself as a modern Jewish-American bistro, much of the New York food world has been abuzz with talk of whether Jewish food can be gourmet. New York magazine and Chow.com took on the question this month, both citing Kutsher’s gefilte fish, which is made with poached…
The miracle of Hanukkah was not, alas, brought about by a latke. The eternal flame, it seems, was kept alive not by everyone’s favorite fried Jewish food, but by olive oil. According to historians, there can be little doubt that the oil used to light the menorah 2,200 years ago was olive oil. In ancient…
When folks think of Israel’s reigning culinary monarch, they think of the falafel. While this might indeed be true, behind every good falafel ball is an equally delicious and every bit as loved food that is far easier, and far more nutritious: tahini. Oh the tried and true tub of tahini, lurking in an Israeli…
Like Jews around the world, Italian Jews, who make up one of the oldest Jewish communities, mark Hanukkah with a fried feast, but with their own spin. Holiday tables are covered with with dishes like fried chicken, mashed potato pancakes, olive oil fried eggplant and honey-soaked dough fritters. Italian Jewish cuisine traditionally varies greatly by…
Courtesy of Alessandra Rovati 3 cups flour 1 cup sugar a big pinch of salt 1/3 cup cold butter or margarine (cold) 2/3 cup marsala or other sweet wine 2/3 cup honey 1 teaspoon cinnamon a big pinch of ground cloves, or nutmeg (optional) a big pinch of black pepper 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped…
Courtesy of Dorie Greenspan Makes 32 cookies For the dough: 4 ounces cold cream cheese, cut into 4 pieces 1 stick (8 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon salt For the filling 2/3 cup seedless raspberry jam, apricot jam or marmalade 2 tablespoons sugar 1/2 teaspoon ground…
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