My thoughts on Jewish food.
Israel may be the land of citrus fruits, but friends tell us that lemons disappear from most supermarkets at this time of year, through the end of the Jewish High Holidays. The good news is that preserved lemons are even more delicious than regular lemons and every canny Israeli housewife has a jar or two …
It’s nice to have an easy chicken recipes for the holidays, that is sweet, but not too sweet. This one is easy to put together in advance. Then you just stick it in the oven and bake it for an hour. Your guests will think you slaved for hours. No need to talk them out …
Rosh Hashana is all about apples and hey, why not? It’s apple season. While we are sad to say goodbye to summer fruit, we are happy to welcome this new friend, which pairs so well with cinnamon. This kugel calls for a full tablespoon of this warm spice, so it is really for cinnamon lovers. …
It’s no easy feat preparing for a two-day holiday like Rosh Hashana. That’s why it’s good to cook whatever freezes well, in advance. Sweet potato soufflé fits the bill. You freeze it in the baking pan without the streusel topping. Thaw it overnight in the fridge. Add the streusel and bake. Easy peasy. Not to …
Have you started thinking about the holidays, yet? Looking for something different, a little festive, but not too much work? This chicken dish with white wine and scallions is nice, because you do it on the stove, freeing up precious oven real estate. It’s terrific served over wild rice. Chicken with White Wine and Scallions …
Some people really like sweet chicken a lot. I am not one of these people, especially since I’m doing low carb high fat, and sweets are, well, carby. But also because sweet food in Jewish cuisine, is typically characteristic of Jews from Galicia. Jews from Lithuania, from whence my ancestors hale, tend to prefer savory …
When Rosh Hashana nears, a cook’s fancy turns lightly to fish. After all, it’s one of the symbolic foods we eat at holiday time. One extremely addictive way to prepare and eat fish is that ubiquitous dish served in Moroccan Jewish homes every Friday night. They call it simply “fish” and everyone else calls it …
With Rosh Hashana around the corner, canny chefs prepare dishes that can freeze to relieve some of the pressure of cooking for so many festive meals for so many people. Meat freezes very well, so it’s a good choice for this purpose. And while some people like fancy shmancy food at the holidays, others are …
This is the final post before Rosh Hashana. In earlier posts, I talked about traditional vegetable dishes and baked goods. Now it’s time to talk brisket. In our house, we’re having brisket three ways for the holiday. After all, it’s a three day event this year: two days of Rosh Hashana immediately followed by Shabbos. …
Almonds and dishes containing them are very popular for the upcoming Rosh Hashana holiday, which always makes me think of mandelbrodt (literally “almond bread”). One reason almonds are popular is that they have a separate Hebrew name “shaked” (SHA-kedd). The generic word for nut is “egoz,” which has the same numerical value as the word …