My thoughts on Jewish food.
Pots de crème sounds like a fancy French dessert, and it is, but that doesn’t mean that the home cook will find what is essentially a type of custard, difficult to prepare. The key to making perfect pots de crème is to cook the mixture gently and slowly to achieve that silky smooth texture. Here …
Roasted butternut squash can be used to make (among other things) orange soup, as a substitute for pumpkin puree in pie, or instead of the sweet potatoes in sweet potato soufflé. After mashing the cooked flesh of the squash, it freezes well for later use—a great ingredient to have on hand. The problem is, butternut …
Rice is tricky. In a perfect world, your rice would come out fluffy every time, with each grain separate and intact. But in the event that luck or skill are not on your side, rice may either overcook and become mushy, or stay chalky and hard in the middle. If that should happen to you, …
Deviled eggs are an old-fashioned dish—the kind you shouldn’t mess with. Don’t try to innovate or add unusual (read “weird”) ingredients. Just stick to the tried and true: eggs, mayo, grated onion, Tabasco, and some good Dijon mustard. Maybe just a touch of salt. Sprinkle the top with sweet paprika and Bob’s your uncle, as …
If you know the proper technique, you can cook anything like a pro. Case in point this beef short rib stew with Guinness. After watching how several well-known cooks prepare beef stew, I used the ingredients in a recipe I found online, but ignored the instructions, applying what I’d learned from watching those clips. It …
Browning meat doesn’t somehow seal the meat and keep in the juices and flavor while braising. That was news to me who, for the last more than 40 years, has carefully browned little cubes of meat (on all sides, without crowding the pan) for stew or goulash. What a pain! You have to cook the …
I’ve always had a knack for mashed potatoes. My kids say it, my guests say it, I’ve come to accept it as the truth: my mashed potatoes are da bomb. I credit this fact to my dear mother, who taught me all her secrets for perfect mashed potatoes, every time. Here is the step by …
The Covid-19 pandemic found many of us discovering the joys of bread baking, stuck as we were with lots of time on our hands. One of the quickest and easiest breads you can make is the Italian flat bread known as focaccia. Focaccia bread is pretty much the same dough you’d use to make pizza, …
A simple baked potato, topped with baked beans to make it a complete protein, sounds amazing after all the heavy holiday fare of the past two months. These days, we are craving something without meat, something unfussy and plain. And while Britain is not known for its culinary prowess, there’s something appealing about this humble …
Real kishke is delicious. But no one wants to deal with cleaning an intestine to use as a casing. Instead, the modern cook gets creative and improvises a casing. Some use a cooking bag, others use aluminum foil, and then there are those of us who make do with parchment paper. None of them match …