Quick & Kosher

Know what I love? I love that my kids love to cook. They love their personalized aprons; they beg to peel a potato. I met my first peeler at age 25, and that’s not even a joke.

They love the process — and the results too. They are so proud when they pass their own homemade dish around the table with their soft little round hands. And I admit to being a real kitchen stage mother. When everyone takes a bite and goes “ooh, yummy!” I’m not sure whose heart is fuller at that moment.

I know I don’t have to convince you of the benefits of teaching your kids to cook early in life. But when I stopped to think about it, I was impressed by the many things they learn in the kitchen: math skills, multi-tasking skills, kitchen safety rules and cooking tricks, for starters. When they are little, they refine their fine motor skills and when they are older, they hone cooking techniques.

But to me, the most valuable aspect of learning your way around a kitchen at a young age is acquiring that the sense of kitchen confidence, the kind that lasts a lifetime. For you to understand where I’m coming from, I have to divulge a little personal history. My mom (who is wonderful in lots of ways) had zero interest in cooking, to the point that she tried to build a house without a kitchen. When everyone (including a very puzzled contractor) convinced her it wasn’t a good idea, she gave in, but decided to position it off to the side of the house, next to the garage, so she never would have to go there if she didn’t want to. Needless to say, we didn’t cook together. But we certainly dined out together, too many times to count – and we really learned to appreciate different cuisines from around the world.

So a kitchen has always been a scary place for me, and I vowed it won’t be like that for my kiddies. Now my motto is “Let’s get comfy in the kitchen,” make it an important part of our home.

My experience dining out with my family has paid off in other ways, though. I say, cook cuisines from around the world with your kids – it’s a super opportunity to educate your little loved ones about cultures, ethnic foods and geography. Give your globe a place of honor in your kitchen and refer to it often. It’s a form of enrichment your kids will cherish.

Take your children on a worldwide tour with these food ideas:

Middle East
Shawarma Chicken and Hummus Pitas with French Fries

Israeli food is so easy: throw anything in a pita pocket – falafel, shawarma, salad – hey, even meatballs. You can make this with pargiot – the dark meat of the chicken, too. It’s the pita that momentarily transports you to the Holy Land (as well as the tahini and chumus and shawarma spices). Kids love food that they can eat with their hands – and a sandwich in a pita is a perfect example. Add a side of fries (and stuff a few into your pita) and you will share pita heaven!

Try some of these products to enhance your Israeli-style meal: Kosher Chicken Shawarma, Chumus, Falafel.

Central America
Mexican Quesadillas

Go Mexican style! Everyone loves Mexican food: tacos, salsa, guacamole, tortillas, and quesadillas.

A quesadilla is a soft cornmeal or flour tortilla, usually filled with cheese, folded up and cooked. Quesadillas are such an easy hands-on kids’ dish — easy to make, easy to eat. You can put anything in a quesadilla. If you think the kiddies won’t go for my Mexican Quesadilla fillings: corn, avocado and black beans with the cheese, go with a super simple (though not super authentic) Pizza Quesadilla – just add cheese and sauce. Warm it till it’s soft and gooey and then use a pizza slicer to cut wedges, and serve.

If you want to try your hand at other quesadilla recipes, try
• Chocolate Quesadillas,
• Barbecue Portobello Quesadillas
• Quick Quesadillas, if you’re tight on time!

Asia
Sushi & More

Asian dishes include Chinese, Japanese and Thai foods, among others. If you are feeling adventurous (and your children are old enough), you can tackle sushi with them – a fun activity and extremely hands-on. You can also make fake Kid-Friendly Sushi: spread a wrap with peanut butter and jelly, roll it really tight, and slice. Have fun with different fillings: apple butter, cream cheese and cucumber slices work well.

Ramen noodles are long, curly and fun to eat. You and your kids can put up a pot of them along with some stir fry veggies, or make Mommy’s Ramen Noodles.

One of my favorite dressings is carrot ginger. It’s the house dressing at Japanese restaurants, but it’s not easy finding a kosher bottled version. So I had to come up with my own recipe. Asian Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing is the result and you’ll love it! The dressing also makes an excellent dip. (Kids love dipping veggies! In fact, they love dipping anything in anything.) What I like about this recipe is that it isn’t difficult and it allows the children to participate with the preparation according to their ability.

Some other Asian-style dishes to try:
• Vegetable Lo Mein
• Beef and Green Bean Stir Fry
• Sweet and Sour Chicken with Sesame Rice
• Beef Sukiyaki with Noodles
• Asian Shiitake Mushroom Soup
• Asian Steak
• Asian Style Turkey Burgers with Pickled Cucumbers

The next stop on your global tour is…

Dessert

Ok, it’s not a location strictly speaking. But in my house, dessert is a destination in itself. We’ll do anything to get there, even eat up the peas. To me, dessert means baking, with all its delights. And sure enough, my kids seem to have inherited my passions.

I love to lick the bowl.
They love to lick the bowl.

I love to lick the spoon.
They love to lick the spoon

I love to lick the beaters (turned off, of course!)
They love to lick the beaters.

We’re going to be reasonable about this, so it won’t end in a fight. We’ll be calm. We’ll be mature. After all, I’m the Mommy. (That means I get it first!)

Even the smallest of hands can roll a ball of dough and put it on a baking sheet. This recipe for Chocolate Peppermint Sugar Cookies is chocolaty, cool and sweet. Tell the kids that they need to crush candy to make these cookies, and you’ll have a crew lined up to assist you in no time. For extra brownie points, make a double batch and send some to school for teachers and friends.

Some other sweet treats to bake with the children:
• Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Ginger Crinkle Cookies
• Raspberry Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
• Classic Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
• Dirt Cookies
• Turtle Cookies

So what favorite recipe do you enjoy preparing with your kids? And what is your son’s or daughter’s signature dish? I want to hear all about your children’s adventures in the kitchen. Leave a comment and share your nachas!

I have to confess, I have so much to tell you all and so little time to put my thoughts into words. I have been travelling a lot lately and am so behind with my blogging. The funniest (craziest most laughable) thing happened to me on the way to FOX 5 which I hope to share with you next week along with an amazing post packed with tons of recipes for cooking with your kids – including cuisines from around the world.

We are all working around the clock on various site enhancements and we have a great big announcement coming soon. So stay tuned and in the meantime enjoy this round-up of my new favorite winter comfort foods.

• Spicy Hot Cocoa with Kahlua
• Double Grilled Cheese with Seasoned French Fries
• Lite Grilled Cheese with Tomato Chutney and Coleslaw
• Three Cheese Mac and Cheese with Garlic Roasted Tomatoes
• Vegetable Mac and Cheese and Greens with Pesto Vinaigrette
• Peanut Butter and Jelly Crunch with Blueberry Lemonade
• Chicken Pot Pie with Herbed Drop Biscuits
• Crispy Artichoke Hearts
• Deconstructed Apple Pie
• Creamy Noodle Casserole
• Whole Wheat Tuna Casserole with Spinach
• Sweet and Sour Chicken
• Vegetable Lo Mein
• Beef and Green Bean Stir Fry
• Southwestern Steak Salad with Cilantro Lime Dressing
• Southern Fried Chicken with Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
• Creamy Mushroom Risotto with Spinach Walnut Salad
• Mango Frozen Yogurt with Graham Crackers
• Individual Meat Loaves
• Molasses Spice Bundt Cake with Bourbon Pecan Glaze

And watch my new how-to make chicken pot pie video.

Now, I’ve just got to get cookin’ for Shabbos.

I love mushrooms. Really, I do.
And Hubby hates them. He really does.
And the kids are split.
I am working on them.

Mushrooms are a delicacy, I tell them, especially when prepared the right way. My grandfather, a”h, was an outstanding chef and he really knew what to do with a mushroom. Unfortunately, he passed away before I could learn the recipes for his mushroom masterpieces.

Yet the aroma of those dishes linger in my mind. There’s something homey about mushrooms –they are earthy and meaty and gamey and so satisfying, whether grilled, sautéed or stewed. And while you find mushrooms in many different dishes, I favor a special Italian recipe for a fancy dairy meal.

Tonight we are making Creamy Mushroom Risotto with Spinach Walnut Salad. Risotto is an Italian dish made using short-grain rice cooked in broth to a creamy consistency. The stock is added gradually while the rice is stirred constantly. This cooking technique releases the starch in the rice, giving the finished dish a creamy texture. Many risottos include parmesan cheese and butter. So in an effort to keep mine authentic I am using vegetable broth (instead of chicken so we can keep in the dairy) and of course, I am adding mushrooms. My recipe calls for Button, Cremini and Shiitake mushrooms (the kind most commonly found in your local grocery store.)

This a classic Italian mushroom-laden bowl of heaven and my milchig taste buds are dancing already. There is something about a Mushroom Risotto that speaks of comfort and warmth, of curling up by the fireside at the end of a long cold day.

It will be appreciated by those with a finer palette in your household – at least that’s what I tell anyone who doesn’t appreciate my hard work on this dish. The truth is that the palette doesn’t need to be all that refined – even the kiddies will like this creamy rice dish.

Still, I know it’s not Hubby’s favorite meal. He’s a meat & potatoes guy. A girl has to cook something for herself once in a while — but I’ll be reasonable. Tonight it’s mushrooms and dairy. Tomorrow, we can have sloppy joes for din din or even leftover sausage and pepper rolls from last night. (Both the joes and the sausage recipes are from my new book. Yes, I cook out of my books all the time – they are my recipe boxes!)

Hubby and I disagree on tomatoes and eggplant too. I see another compromise coming.

If mushrooms are like manna from heaven for you, you’ll be thanking G-d for these tasty dishes:
• Baby Spinach and Portobello Mushroom Salad
• Broccoli and Mushroom Pie
• Asian Shiitake Mushroom Soup
• Spinach Mushroom Quiche
• Tomato and Olive Stuffed Portobello Caps
• Marinated Mushrooms

Dear Jamie:

What’s a good appetizer to have already plated for an at-home DIY Sheva Brachos?

Leah Z

I love Do It Yourself entertaining. Though I’m genetically engineered to call in a caterer for a big crowd, there is something so gratifying about doing it on your own! You feel you’ve really accomplished something, and when people say “This is so delicious! Did you make it?” you can answer “yes” without blushing.

For the uninitiated, let me explain the challenge of a Sheva Brachos dinner. For a full week following a Jewish wedding, the bride and groom are hosted at banquets every single day (or evening). This is to ensure that they will never again fit into their pre-wedding clothes. They start life together as a new couple, with a new diet. Traditionally, there should be a minimum of a minyan (ten men) at this dinner because seven special blessings for the bride and groom are included in the Grace After Meals. (The Hebrew term Sheva Brachos means literally “Seven Blessings.”) Now, unless you know a lot of single guys, inviting ten men means inviting their wives too, and possibly their children. Do the math, people. We’re talking about at least twenty guests at your table.

So this is a high volume meal, and we also want to make it elegant and memorable. The bride and groom will remember nothing, of course. They’re oversaturated with rich foods and their brains stopped working after the second night. But you want the guests to remember it, at least until they get home.

And you want to be able to serve everything quickly and easily. You also want to take latecomers into account (typically the bride and groom). After all, you don’t want to greet them with, “NOW you show up? My roast is ruined.”

But let’s start at the beginning. Apps are so important — they are your intro to the meal, setting the stage and tone for what’s to come.

Leah, I see that you are one smart gal: starting with something that’s already plated takes some of the stress off your shoulders. You have enough to do greeting everyone, making sure the bride and groom are comfortable, and keeping an eye on your main course. Starting with a plated app frees you up to be the mostess.

You want something that is best served at room temperature and that won’t sog if it takes folks a few extra minutes to find their seats. Here are my favorite starters. Take your pick.

• Chilled Salmon with a Duet of Dipping Sauces. I use the term “chilled” loosely. Just don’t serve this warm! Room temp is perfect, and if you make both the wasabi scallion dipping sauce and the dijonnaise, the dish is doubly fancy. You can decorate the bottom of the plate with the sauces. Take special care to trim each fillet equal size so that it all looks uniform and inviting when people enter the room. A fresh lemon wedge or lemon twist on each plate finishes off the look.

• Avocado and Seared Tuna Steak Salad – now this is a gorgeous fresh delicacy. Choose Yellowfin sushi-grade tuna; the dressing is made from lime juice, olive oil, wasabi, and Tabasco sauce. Despite these ingredients, the dish isn’t too hot and the acid in the dressing keeps the avocados from browning too quickly. But remember that avocados do oxidize once out of their skin, so this dish needs to be prepped just before the first guests arrive. If you think there will be major dilly dallying, skip this one.

• Israeli Salad Plate –Turkish Salad, Charif, Hummus, Tahini, Israeli Salad and Israeli Cabbage Salad. Choose 2 or 3 of your favorites and pre-plate them with a few homemade pita chips, hot pita bread, colorful tortilla chips or gourmet crackers.

• Bowties with Salmon and Peas in Lemon Dill Sauce is a colorful, light starter. (This recipe and the Melon Salad below are both in my new book Quick & Kosher Meals in Minutes)

• Melon Salad – or any fruits in season – lightly dressed in fresh squeezed, lime juice, fresh mint leaves or chiffonaide and lightly dusted with powdered sugar.

• Nicoise Salad – string beans, red bliss potatoes, tuna steak, artichoke hearts, fresh tomatoes on the vine, hard cooked eggs, white beans and romaine, lightly dressed.

• Three other starter salads that I love: Long Grain and Wild Rice Salad, California Avocado Salad, and Italian Tomato Salad. All are best at room temp and their flavors are enhanced as they sit in their dressing (and they don’t sog.) You can choose one, or do a medley of three and present them in a lettuce cup (one nice large lettuce leaf or a nice red cabbage leaf.)

• Chilled Soups are good starters too. Mango Strawberry Soup is my favorite. Make it with frozen mangos and strawberries and it will hold its chill nicely while guests arrive. Alternatively, make it beforehand and keep it chilling in your fridge. Also chill your bowls, then pour and put them on the table just before guests arrive. Another choice would be Quick Gazpacho (also from my new book). Serve it in a chilled mug. How homey!

Mazel Tov and good luck with your Sheva Brachos!

Please send pictures and let us know what you choose and more importantly what everyone thought of your starter.

So we were snowed in during the first blizzard of the season here in Rockland County, New York. I have to confess that when I see snow piling up like that, I’m suddenly ten years old again. Something inside me goes, “Gotta get out there!” So I got bundled up with my kiddies and we all went out together. We ran around, reveling in the joy of the first snow, making snow angels, building a snowman and ruining the pristine white blanket of snow with our bold boot tracks. We braved the wind and trekked all over – laughed, got cold, got wet and came inside giggling uncontrollably.

In the kitchen, I turned back into a Mommy and served up hot cocoa with whipped cream and grilled cheese for lunch. We love to see that gooey cheese ooze out when you cut the sandwiches in half. It’s so warm and comforting. I’m not sure who enjoyed it more, the kids or me.

One thing I know: Grilled cheese is a no-fuss winter meal that you can throw together easily. You can even let the kids help.

There are so many different ways to make this classic. My Double Grilled Cheese with Seasoned French Fries is a sure way to indulge your need for extra cheesy goodness with the crunch of delicious fries on the side.

I use Colby Jack and Havarti cheese because they are delish, I love them both and I want to tell the whole world about them. So now hear this — you haven’t lived if you haven’t tasted Havarti! Such a creamy delight!

Of course, if you don’t happen to have those in your fridge, you can use anything you have on hand: American, Cheddar, Mozzarella. If you only have one kind of cheese, just double that.

The trick to amazing grilled cheese is generously buttering the outside of the bread – the butter melts into the bread as it gently browns and toasts in your griddle or pan. Ridiculously delicious.

Worried about all that butter and cheese? Fear not. I have an alternative, if you want to indulge without guilt. Light Grilled Cheese with Tomato Chutney and Coleslaw will totally tickle your taste buds, feed the craving, and leave you feeling satiated and happy. This one is made with whole wheat bread and reduced fat cheese. Add avocado slices and tomato chutney and you’ve got a stacked and satisfying sandwich. This recipe even uses cooking spray instead of butter.

Here are some other cheesy dishes:
• Southwestern Cheese Panini
• Baked Cheesy Vegetable Crocks
• Cheesy Broccoli Potato Mash
• Cheesy Baked Tomatoes Stuffed with Rice
• Broccoli Cheese Soup

Now is time for show and tell: How do you make your grilled cheese? Do you use a special frying pan? A griddle? Or have you bought one of those Panini makers?

And what cheese do you like? American, Cheddar, Pepper Jack, or something else?

Tag you’re it, leave a comment and let me know.

In my first cookbook, I confess to a lot of beginner goofs, and in my second I am still not ashamed to admit that I don’t know it all, in fact far from it. The most poignant example of which was the snowman birthday cake I attempted to bake for my husband. Oh , we can laugh now, but at the time it was the Queen of All Disasters. Picture this: Hubby is hopelessly nostalgic for a snowman-shaped birthday cake that his Grandma used to bake for him. He recalls every detail and subtly hints that he would love to relive that experience. As a loving wife –with more guts than brains – I decide to surprise him with this custom cake. But inexperience spells failure, and I’m forced to serve him a monstrous, ill-shaped, under-baked Snowthing, clumsily decorated with potato chips and candy sprinkles. It was my worst nightmare, and his best laugh, in years. You can read about the entire sordid affair, details and all in my new book. And for those of you, who think I make up these adventures, take a gander at this photo. Hubby captured it all in living color, and he never even tasted a bite of the mess. Not that I blame him. It was inedible.

But you know me. I don’t give up. So I tried again the next year and take 2 was — how should I say it? Sad. Not as pathetic as my first attempt because this time I used a real cake pan about a 1/4 of the size of the first cake I tried to “build” for him.

I don’t hide the fact that baking is not my thing. So my snowman was too rich and too heavy and he was even rounder than any decent snowman should be. That’s because I forgot that cake batter rises and, well, it rose like a fat balloon, spilling over the sides of the cake pan. The snowman had sort of a degenerate look. In fact, it looked so sick that, again, Hubby refused a bite.

In his defense, I must tell you that Hubby almost never passes up something I’ve prepared. He bravely digs in, pronounces it terrific, or nobly reassures me that “somebody somewhere will love this.” But this time, he didn’t even want to try the cake, so you get a picture of how unappetizing the whole thing looked. I guess it was so far from his grandmother’s light and fluffy, perfectly round and cutely decorated snowman cake, that even to acknowledge my shameful thug as the same species would have been a disgrace. There was nothing about my renegade to suggest the soft grandmotherly hands icing her masterpiece, lovingly bestowing upon it a nose and mouth made of raisins, not to mention a belt and little buttons.

Now over the years, Grandma has acquired the title Great-Grandma and we’ve dubbed her GG. And GG is a kind soul. She finally took pity on me and gave me her Snowman Cake Pan! It’s about 50 years old, and she handed it to me as though it was the passing of the torch, bestowing blessing and heartfelt prayers that this will bring me mazel and help me get this right. She even threw in her hallowed decorative icing tubes.

And then she whispered something else. She uses Duncan Hines cake mixes, and Duncan Hines icing.

Yes. It’s true. And my mind begins to reconfigure the challenge: if, GG, the matriarchal gourmet genius of this family can use DH, so can I! I can do it!

I clear my mind, straighten my shoulders, set my jaw, and kick the kids out of the kitchen. They are allowed to watch from the doorway, but Mommy is very busy fixing Abba’s birthday surprise. So they watch me from afar, eyes wide, mouths drooling, as I gently place the cake into the oven.

I set the timer, yet I find myself running back and forth to peek every so often. The snowman swells with precision in his antique pan. He is calm, unflustered, reliable. I check and recheck. And finally, the wooden skewer comes out clean.

Dutifully, I follow GG’s instructions and wait for it to cool completely. That’s something I almost never do: who has the patience to let dessert cool completely? But I restrain myself and wait.

The moment has come to ice – and in walks Hubby. He has caught a whiff of the whole affair and this time he wants to supervise. Ok, so it won’t be a surprise. We’re in this together. I proceed to ice, with Hubby hanging right over me, coaching me about theory and techniques. and giving me a Mr. Miyagi type wax-on wax-off kinda shpiel. After he points out yet another uneven area, and reminds me once more that the sides should be done with one fluid smoothing motion, I am about to bring Mr. Snowman down on his head!

But I don’t. We’ve come this far, and it’s looking like a winner. I give the snowman two eyes, a nose, and a mouth. I don’t use raisins, like GG did. This is my cake, for goodness sake, and I’ll use icing if I want to. It just seemed like just the right time to put my foot down.

Hubby accepts the revision. But then, with his insistence, I paint on the snowman’s belt just like GG did, and give him a buckle just like GG did. And then something comes over me. Call it a spurt of creativity. Without warning, I begin to give the snowman a pink icing bowtie and hubby almost faints. As I am drawing, Hubby sees his dreams of the perfect cake come crashing down, but I’m in my stride now. The bowtie comes out perfect. As I finish, he smiles and says, “Oh a bowtie! Kids, Mommy made a bowtie!” He was so proud, he almost called GG.

Thank G-d for Duncan Hines. You won’t hear many cookbook authors say that, but I’m happy to share the accolades. Guess what. The cake was delicious. So after my three tries at this, and 6 days after his birthday, Hubby not only tried the cake, he ate it! Ate it all!

Now he expects one every year.

What’s your worst baking nightmare? Let us know in the comments!

Dear Jamie:

How do you make an authentic fried chicken that doesn’t include soaking in buttermilk?

Sara, Savannah GA

We all love our fried chicken – the crisp coated outside, and the juicy tenderness of the chicken inside. In fact, if we try hard enough we can just smell it frying. At least I can. Can’t wait to do some finger lickin’.

You have an excellent question! And you are so right, Sara — when a kosher cook goes searching for authentic southern fried chicken recipes, we hit a MAJOR stumbling block: almost all of them call for dipping the chicken in buttermilk. Such a no-go in a kosher home!

Now, we agree that this authentic method is not an option, but no one wants to compromise on taste. So it’s up to clever kosher cooks to come up with a solution.

It took some trial and error, but I developed a recipe for Southern Fried Chicken with Mashed Potatoes and Gravy that proves you do not need buttermilk at all. Soy milk and vinegar do the trick! It’s real down home country cooking with a kosher twist! What do y’all think Paula Deen would say?

This chicken is so delicious and special it could even be great for a Shabbos meal!

One of the amazing things about this blog is that I no longer have to answer cooking questions only through one-on-one emails. Now everyone can benefit — because we have a great Q & A going in this column! So keep the questions coming — we all have a lot to learn!

If you like kosher southern fried chicken here are some more recipes you may enjoy:
Southern Style Chicken, Almond Crusted Chicken Fingers and Pecan Crusted Chicken.

Dear Jamie,

Hi! I’m living in Israel and I just bought your new recipe book. I see that a lot of the recipes require ready-made chicken and beef broths. I contacted Manischewitz and discovered that they do not distribute these items here. I was wondering if there is anything I can substitute for ready-made broth.

Thank you!

Adina, Israel

Dear Adina,

WOW, it’s always so amazing to hear that people from all over the world are enjoying the book – and what better place than Eretz Yisroel? Thank you so very much for your support.

I tried — and then had my friends try — and we called Israeli friends and family to see if there are ANY ready-made broths in Israel. We came up with nothing.

But take heart. There are a few simple ways to make your own broth. Let’s start with the easiest first.

1. You can use soup mix (powder or bouillon cubes) that you can buy at the local makolet (grocery). Follow their instructions on how to simply boil up water, add some of the mix and stir. There you have your broth. Quick and easy. They come in chicken, beef and vegetable flavor. I know Osem makes an entire line, as do several other companies. Follow the instructions to prepare the same amount (in cups) as you need for the recipe.

2. Alternatively, for homemade chicken broth, you can use fresh or leftover chicken soup with the vegetables and chicken strained out. You’ll have a rich and savory broth. For a simple beef broth, boil up some beef bones with water, vegetables and seasonings (garlic and onion powders, s&p and anything else you like). For vegetables broth, same deal: boil every vegetable you can get your hands in a large pot and add seasoning to taste. When making any flavored broth, be sure to let it simmer for at least a few hours to really develop a deep, complex flavor. Refrigerate the broth overnight (this helps seal the deal – the overnight refrigeration helps to “marry” all the many layers of flavor), and the next day skim any fat that has risen to the top and congealed. Then strain out the vegetables, bones or meat. Reserve them for another use (How about chicken salad or vegetable puree?) Then you will have your delicious homemade broth.

Now I know this sounds so not Quick (& Kosher), BUT if you spend one day making 6-10 quarts of each broth, and the next day freezing them in individual 2-4 cup batches, you can have ready-to-go broth for MONTHS on end.

All you have to remember is to let the broth defrost before you plan on using it. And here’s a quick defrost tip: don’t fill your freezer container to the brim – leave an inch or two between the broth and lid. When you need to quickly defrost your broth, turn the frozen container upside down in your sink and run hot water from the faucet over the base of the container. The extra room you left in the container will allow your frozen block of broth to release from the bottom and sides of the container and slide down. Flip it back over, take off the lid and place your frozen broth in a sauce pan on your stovetop or in a microwave safe bowl in the microwave and defrost as usual.

Hope this helps. Enjoy the book! And leave a comment and let us know how your broth in the Holy Land turned out. PS – my first book, Quick & Kosher Recipes From The Bride Who Knew Nothing is being translated to Hebrew and should be available in the coming months. We took great pains to not only convert the measurements but replace the ingredients that cannot be found in Israel with easy to come by products. Enjoy and B’teyavon!

Is there anything more quintessentially American than apple pie? Somehow it’s the perfect dessert, whether you serve it Thanksgiving, on the Fourth of July or anytime else.

My wonderful mother, who is clever in everything but cooking, used to make up for that little deficiency by cornering the market in organic frozen foods. And she knew how to make the most of them. She would bring home little individual apple pies, and we kids would heat them, unashamedly salivating as we pulled the flaky delicacy out of the oven. It was always piping hot, sweet and cinnamon-y. Just the thought of it takes me home.

It’s that aroma, you know. The fragrant aroma of an apple pie in the oven is like no other. Real estate agents advise that you bake an apple pie while showing your house when trying to sell. Those warm, cozy, and comforting aromas make the buyer feel like “this is home”. (If you can’t be bothered actually baking, just light a baked apple scented candle.)

Apple pie is best served a la mode with vanilla or chocolate ice cream. The ice cream complements the apple pie taste but doesn’t overwhelm. And there’s nothing quite like the ice cream melting over the apples.

I hear you groaning. You’re thinking that it’s a lot of work to make apple pie from scratch. True. But have no fear; Jamie’s here. My Deconstructed Apple Pie is quick and easy and can totally satisfy that craving for apple pie!

It’s a great time saver when you don’t feel like going through the steps of making a crust and baking an entire pie. I use frozen puff pastry to shorten prep time and individual 1-cup ramekins to enhance presentation. Watch how special people will feel when you serve them something made personally and especially for them. (I just love individual desserts. It must go back to those little frozen apple pies my Mom gave me.) The enticing smell of this dessert baking in the oven will fill your house with heartwarming memories.

Also enjoy these apple desserts: Apple Cardamom Tart, Apple Confit, Deep Dish Apple Pie, Mom’s Apple Squares, Honey Sweet Apple Mango Cobbler, Puff Pastry Apple Purses.

Mmm, Chicken Pot Pie — definitely a comfort food classic. Great for when the frigid air outside seems unending. Summer is just a memory and spring is still far off.

So what should you do? Fill your kitchen with the warm, homey aroma of this marvelous chicken dish. It smells so good while it’s baking that you really have to discipline yourself (and everyone else in the household) not to dig right in the minute you pull it out of the oven.

I remember burning my mouth as a kid, when my Mom served us a heat-and-eat freezer version of chicken pot pie, I loved it so much I just couldn’t wait for it to cool. Even though my mother never wanted to be crowned balabusta of the year she did try to feed us healthy ready-made fare and this frozen delicacy was from the organic section of the freezer aisle. No-one was more shocked than she when I started actually cooking and learned enough to write a couple of cookbooks.

So I’ve created my own homemade version of this childhood favorite. This recipe is from my new book Quick & Kosher Meals in Minutes and is wholesome and filling. It’s deep flavors and great textures will have everybody asking for seconds.

I use boneless, skinless chicken thighs– a total delicacy. It’s so popular in Israel but is just making its way to meat departments Stateside. When my mother’s butcher in Philly started carrying these cutlets, Mom called me so excited — “like she discovered America” – as Bubby would say. Of course, I told her we carry them at Kosher.com; she could have had them long ago.

Getting back to that recipe…

Instead of going with a traditional crusted pie, I decided to try something different and do my Quick & Kosher Chicken Pot Pie with Herbed Drop Biscuits using soy milk for a savory biscuit that also calls for chopped chives. That means there’s no need to roll out a crust, which is labor intensive. You must try this modern interpretation of a great winter classic. Each person gets his or her very own biscuit! (Of course, if you prefer a thin crust puffed to a nice golden brown to cover your entire dish, I give you an alternate recipe for it in the book.)

This entire meal — start to finish — is ready in under an hour that includes cooking time. Heat up the oven and give it a go!

Other simple chicken meals for you to enjoy: One Dish Chicken and Rice, Chicken and Sweet Potato Stew, and Chicken Cacciatore.

I don’t know about you, but when icy winds blow and I’m inching my car over snowy roads — the wipers swishing madly as the flakes cover my windshield — my mind escapes to a vision of me curled up on the couch with a steaming cup of something in my hand.

And I mean something that will warm me from the inside out, maybe even bring back a few soothing memories. Hot chocolate, for instance. I always loved hot cocoa with marshmallows on a school “snow day,” lovingly served by Mom when I should have been in math class. Warm milk brings to mind my late grandmother a”h. If I had trouble sleeping, that warm milk would soothe my belly, make my eyelids heavy and lull me into a contented slumber.

You probably keep a few hot drinks in your memory bank too. Think of the ones that give you the most comfort and pleasure: mulled wine? hot cider? mocha latte? warm milk spiked with vanilla syrup?

The English, of course, say that nothing rivals a spot of tea. Sweetened with a drop of milk, it cures everything from a broken arm to a broken heart. I have it on good authority from my English friend Hadassah that tea is truly their national chicken soup.

There is always coffee. I love café mocha, but that’s not an end of the day drink: it revs me up, instead of helping me unwind. But if caffeine is not a problem for you, treat yourself to a well-brewed cup of java (with or without flavorings) and feel those snowflakes melt from your mind.

Just in time for winter weather I have a new Quick & Kosher recipe for you, Spicy Hot Cocoa with Kahlua (the liquor is optional). It’s the perfect warm drink for a cold night. It’s worth adding to your bag of tricks. You get the goodness of calcium with the comfort of chocolate, plus the added zing of spices: hot, spicy, sweet and comforting — all in one sip!

Try it, and let me know what you think.

In our world, I have inaugurated December as Comfort Food Month. The cold weather and my cravings have dictated this official announcement but you know I can’t do anything without a twist, not even comfort food.

The more I thought about standard comfort foods — apple pie, mac & cheese, tuna casserole, Chinese takeout – the louder my mental calorie alert sounded! Code red! Too much comfort food cannot be a good thing! So throughout December, I’m going to be giving you both traditional takes and lighter versions of those recipes, so you can indulge in authentic comfort foods just the way they were meant to be enjoyed and also have the option to enjoy the same classic tastes without the same classic calories. All the recipes will be Quick & Kosher and absolutely delicious, of course, but you’ll also have no-guilt options to grace your table, not your hips. Although guilt really has no place in my kitchen and shouldn’t in yours either.

It’s funny how some people think of classic comfort foods as something you have to wolf down in the dark, shades lowered, in your sweats or PJs after an especially stressful day. Not true. You won’t have to eat these in your robe and bunny slippers. We’re going to really celebrate comfort foods and make them dining room table ready. They’re so luscious you’ll want to serve some of them on Shabbos!

First up: Mexican Brisket – the brisket recipe from my new cookbook Quick & Kosher Meals in Minutes.

My Mexican Brisket takes 5 minutes to prep and a total of 1 hour and 25 minutes to make; it’s the perfect main for your Shabbos table!

The fabulous mix of spices is what makes this brisket “Mexican.” I use a mix of cumin, coriander and ancho chili powder. It’s the ancho chili powder that gives this recipe its Mexican feel. It’s a nice mild-to-moderately hot chile powder. Purchase pure powder, without additives or preservatives, for best flavor. Use it in everything — sauces, soups, stews, and of course, chili.

After 1 hour and 20 minutes, your brisket will be tender and tasty and it will slice easily (like for a sandwich). Cook it for another 2 hours, as some people prefer, and the meat will break apart easily, just melting in your mouth. There are no rules with this one. I leave you free to experiment and interpret. It’s up to you.

Other delicious brisket recipes include: Brisket in Wine Sauce, Braised Brisket and Roots, and Oven Barbecued Brisket.

It’s easy to give, but not easy to take, even when it’s your own. When it comes to culinary and entertaining tips, people think I’m Mother Wisdom. And it’s true — I give great advice! Now if I would only listen to myself…

Here’s a memorable example. A woman came up to me at my HASC event and said I gave her the best piece of advice in my first book, Quick & Kosher Recipes From the Bride Who Knew Nothing. It was in my chapter “Secrets of the 15-minute Chef” (page 21) where I say – NO EXCUSES!

Never make disclaimers or excuses for your cooking. Usually you are pointing out things that otherwise would have gone unnoticed. Remember your guests are not at your table as New York Times food critics. They’re in your home to enjoy the company and conversation.

It’s actually terrific advice, but I didn’t realize how hard it is to follow until recently.

We were invited to my friend Atara’s for a Shabbat lunch. Atara loves my chocolate cake and she asked me to bring some for dessert. No sweat! Erev Shabbat, I whipped up my One Bowl Amazing Chocolate Cake, doubling the recipe (as Atara mentioned a number of other guests who would be joining us). I poured the entire thing into a Bundt pan, waited the requisite 45 – 50 minutes and checked. Hmm, still raw, so I waited some more. Checked again –not yet. Waited some more checked again and boy was it done, well done!

I almost cried. Well, to be honest, I did cry, because it was five minutes to candle-lighting, and there was no time to bake another cake. Why should it matter so much to me? Dunno. Maybe it’s ego; maybe it’s because I write cookbooks and this blog and I feel that people expect a culinary masterpiece from me — some imaginative, creative patchka every time.

I didn’t even want to bring that cake because it was over-baked. I rehearsed all kinds of excuses, then started pulling things out of the freezer. Hey, even though Atara asked specifically for chocolate cake, maybe she would go for last month’s rugelach, or how about an old frozen babka?

Hubby talked me off the ledge all Shabbat, coaching me repeatedly to keep mum. He even descended to the dirty trick of reminding me of my own advice. Wasn’t I the one who said “no excuses”?

To my eye, it was charred and below my standards, but I knew that Atara was planning her dessert menu around it. I figured that it was more important to satisfy my hostess and bring what was requested of me than to succumb to my very fragile ego. Who am I to keep a chocolate cake from gracing her table, even if it’s not perfect?

So I bring it, lips are zipped and I hold my breath as she slices it before all of her guests. A hurried excuse is on the tip of my tongue. Hubby and I lock eyes: his face is a mix of compassion and drill sergeant (“Don’t you DARE say anything! It will be ok”). In minutes, the crisis is over. Each person is served a piece of cake and Hubby does the inventory because I can’t look. He reports to me later that no one left over even a crumb. “Did anybody ask for seconds?” I reply weakly. Always the perfectionist.

In pure fact, it was overdone, but only slightly. I was the only one who could tell. The lesson here is that only you know what you set out to do, what it’s “supposed” to look and taste like, and only you are overly concerned with the impression you’re making. The moral for me was to take my own advice seriously! Sometimes things just have to come full circle.

P.S. I think I know what I did wrong. Don’t double the batter for the One Bowl Amazing Chocolate Cake. It’s too rich and thick to mix well without over-mixing, and hard to bake through without burning the bottom. I know I’ll never do it again. If we need lots of cake, I’ll just bake two!

Dear Jamie:

At a recent dinner party, the hostess took out a fish cooked in rock salt. It looked so interesting and tasted delicious! How do you cook with rock salt?

Sarah, Bridgeport, CT

Okay Sarah, quite honestly, I have never cooked anything in rock salt, and have no official Quick & Kosher tips & tricks to share with you. But since you ask, I researched it and did come up with a fascinating procedure.

You will need a roasting pan, water in a spray bottle, food-safe rock salt (not what you throw on your driveway after a snowfall), fish of your choice, and a hammer. Yes, you read right. I said a hammer. Maybe you should keep one in your kitchen next to your whisk, spatula, and wooden spoon. (Ask your local rabbi if a hammer used on food should be toveled.)

Be very careful when you buy the rock salt. Unless it’s labeled as edible, you can’t use it as an ingredient in food. Rock salt contains impurities, mostly minerals that are removed from salt that we use in our everyday cooking.

The idea of cooking with rock salt is that you completely cover the food (such as whole potatoes, meat, or fish) with it while it cooks. The salt forms a crust which will hold in moisture as the food cooks. It will also impart an evenly distributed salty taste.

This cooking method is about as unusual as they come. First, pre-heat your oven to 400˚ F. Next, line the entire bottom of a roasting pan with rock salt. Spray the salt with just enough water to moisten all of it. Then, lay the food you want to cook on top of the rock salt. Pour more rock salt around the sides and on top of the food. Make sure the food is completely covered with salt. Use the spray bottle to moisten the added rock salt thoroughly. Cook the food in the oven as you normally would.

Compact cuts of red meat, cooked to medium, take 18 to 20 minutes per pound, while whole fish will generally take between 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the size.

Remove the food from the oven. Rest red meat for 20 to 40 minutes, and a whole fish for 10 minutes. Crack open the salt shell with a hammer (Ahhh! That’s when you get to use the hammer!) to remove and serve the food.

Sarah, if you try this, you must comment and let us know how it went. Send a picture if you can, because I’d love to see what that little fishy looks like after you have every so gingerly cracked its salt shell with a hammer.

Happy Chanukah!

Everyone at JoyofKosher.com joins me in wishing you a Chag Chanukah Sameach! May your holiday be filled with light, happiness and delicious food!

Just for you, here’s a roundup of all our Chanukah treats:

Chanukah Candles, Cooking and Customs

Slick Tips for Cooking with Oil This Chanukah

Eight Nights of Latkes – eight new latke recipes: Cheddar and Potato Latkes, Potato and Parsnip Latkes, Zucchini Latkes, Carrot and Apple Latkes, South of the Border Latkes, Steakhouse Latkes, Samosa Latkes, Baked Sweet Potato Latkes.

Try my traditional Latke recipes: Latkes, Crispy Potato Latkes, and Mashed Potato Pancakes.

Some new recipes for your Chanukah Meals: Smoked Salmon and Goat Cheese Bruschetta, Butternut Squash and Sage Lasagna, Winter Citrus Salad, Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Herb Butter, and Apple Zeppole with Jelly Dipping Sauce.