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An interesting aspect to keeping Shabbat, is that every Shabbat dinner is like the once a year thanksgiving feast that most Americans discuss and plan for weeks in advance. Every week, Jewish men and women cook up a storm to celebrate Shabbat with food, family and friends. Listed below is a step by step guide to help you create a great tasting, and quick Shabbat dinner for eight. Keep in mind that the two and ½ hours include prep work and cooking time too. These recipes aren’t only for Shabbat; you can use the recipes for any occasion.

Shabbat Dinner

Shabbat Lunch

Click here to see the full Shabbat menu with links to the recipes and a Shopping List.

Now, how to get it done!!!  Here is a timeline to get Shabbat done in less than 3 hours. Does anyone else feel like they are on Top Chef?

Start by preheating oven to 350 degrees.

Make chicken, place in oven.

Prepare soup, place on stovetop to boil.

Prepare gefilte fish.

Bring soup to simmer, cover soup

Prepare pickled salmon.

Roast eggplant according to recipe directions and set aside.

Make potato kugel.

Make deli roll pockets.

Make apple cobbler.

Place asparagus in oven.

Prepare salad dressings.

Make napoleon.

Mix eggplant salad.

Make cauliflower salad.

Place all cholent ingredients in crock pot according to recipe directions.

….Hand’s up, you did it and there is still time for a shower.

As seen in the Joy of Kosher with Jamie Geller Magazine (Bitayavon – Winter 2011) – Subscribe Now

Travel is an exciting opportunity to get away from the humdrum of everyday life and show your children the great big world around them. Whether you’re going with Bubby and Zeidy or just the immediate family, there are so many exciting discoveries and treasured memories your children will keep for the rest of their lives. Make your trip smooth and fun with these helpful tips for traveling with little ones:

• New clothing? – It’s fun to travel to a new place all decked out in new shoes or a new outfit. Just make sure kids have at least one pair of comfortable shoes they can wear in case the new ones give them trouble. And be sure to pack extra sweaters for cold nights or overzealous air conditioners, even if you’re going to a warm place.
• Changing – Stock up with more underwear and socks than you think they need, unless you have a way to do laundry while on vacation. You don’t want to be stuck without these basics for your kids. Keep an extra change of clothing for each child handy in case of spills or accidents en route.
• Comfort – Sitting in a car or plane doesn’t have to be uncomfortable. Load up on favorite pillows and stuffed animals that will make kids feel cozy and at home.
• Activities – Need activities to keep the kids busy during the ride? Bring along reading books, coloring books, crayons, handheld games, a dvd player, playdough, dolls…even homework. Each child should have his own stash so there’s no bickering over who gets what. A good trick is to give each child a surprise gift on the day of the trip that will keep them excited and busy for longer.
• First aid – Navigating your way through a pharmacy in foreign territory can be daunting, so it helps to be prepared. Pack basic medications such as band aids, cough syrup, pain relievers and chewable travel sickness pills. If you have any liquids, it’s always wise to pack them in sealed zip lock bags to avoid spills.
• Earplanes – If you’re flying, there’s an inexpensive little gadget called Earplanes that relieve ear discomfort, clogging and popping during flights. These are a big relief for anyone who’s traveled with a screaming baby. They come in both adults and kids sizes. Dramanine is another thing we swear by to help the little ones sleep during flights (some prefer melatonin).
• Keeping clean – Bring plenty of baby wipes, even if you don’t have diapers to change. They are great for cleaning sticky hands and faces on the go. And bring plastic bags for trash or soiled clothing – they don’t take up much space but are lifesavers when you need them.
• Food – It’s probably redundant to say this to Jewish parents, but just in case: make sure you have enough food. Hungry children are cranky children. Prepare individually wrapped snacks like crackers, veggies, chicken strips…anything that is easy to eat on the go. Keep the food on top of other items so it’s easily accessible whenever you need it.

Whatever happens, the main thing is to stay calm and relaxed, with your sense of humor safely secured. Surprise detours and unexpected discoveries are one of the great benefits of travel. As long as you smile and take everything in stride, your kids will long remember the laughs and good times you had together on family trips.

What are your tips for traveling with kids? Please share them in the comments below.

Until next time, Nesia Tova!

Aran Goyoaga wrote this cookbook with recipes and stories inspired by her childhood in the Basque Country, motherhood, and living as an ex-pat.  The book is divided by season and within each chapter you will find a section for small plates and another for sweet treats.  Aran left the professional kitchen of the Ritz Carlton to stay home with her first child and she channeled her cooking into her blog, Cannelle et Vanille (cinnamon and vanilla) after the smells of her childhood.  Aran became gluten free in 2009 and began adapting all her recipes to her new lifestlye.  You can tell from her gorgeous photography that she had outdone herself.  We asked Aran a few questions to get to know her a bit better.  (Note – this book is not a kosher cookbook, but most of the recipes can be made kosher)

You have quite an impressive background cooking in a professional kitchen, do you ever miss it?

I come from a family of professional pastry chefs and I worked as one myself for a few years before I become a mother. I miss the camaraderie, the discipline and the intensity of the professional kitchen. It was addicting. But at the same time, I don’t miss the grueling schedule, no holidays off… It wasn’t very compatible with family life unfortunately.

You became gluten free in 2009, as a pastry chef how did you handle that adjustment?

I started to dabble in it in 2009, but was diagnosed with gluten sensitivity in early 2010. It’s then when I become completely gluten-free. The adjustment was actually easy because I was so ill that I was ready to try anything. I followed a strict elimination diet for the first 6 months or so and I stopped eating not only gluten, but also dairy, soy, sugar, most grains, caffeine… I quickly began to feel better and felt very encouraged. Having worked as a pastry chef, it’s engrained in me the curiosity to experiment and try new ingredients. I loved learning about different flours and testing new recipes. It felt very natural and exciting.

Roasted Beet Orange Salad

Is there any food you still really really miss?

In all honestly, I rarely have any cravings for it. I stood inside Poilâne in Paris with that smell of yeast and freshly baked brioche permeating the air. That is probably the only time I have felt nostalgic for bread, but because it makes me so sick, I could never even attempt to eat it.

You organize this cookbook, Small Plates Sweet Treats, by season, why did you decide to do it that way?

I am inspired by seasons and it’s really how I like to shop and cook at home. My grandparents were farmers and most people we knew grew their own food, so cooking was always associated with the time of year and what was available at the time. That strong sense of seasonality has never left me. When vegetables and fruits are picked at the right time, at their peak and have grown in soil in accordance to nature’s rhythm, their flavor is so intense that cooking becomes simple and flavorful.

Who is your cooking inspiration?

I am inspired by many people really. My own family, other cooks and chefs, what the farmer might suggest… I have been very inspired by Basque chefs Hilario Arbelaitz and Martin Berasategui who have an immense understanding of technique and great respect for the raw ingredient, which is the way I grew up.

Swiss Chard Tart

What is your favorite dish to cook?

I find it hard to pick only one dish because it varies constantly. I really like to eat things with a spoon, so soups, custards, creamy risottos (yes, I eat them with a spoon), but I think that one of my favorite things to make are tarts. Both savory and sweet. Something about playing with different textures of doughs and fillings, rolling pastry… They are so versatile and allow for many variations. In my book, the Swiss chard, pear and Gruyere tart seems to be everyone’s favorite.

How did you learn to take such gorgeous pictures?

I am a self-taught photographer. I started slowly by reading the camera’s manual and practicing a lot. I would observe the photographs I responded to and try to understand what it was about them that I loved. This really taught me a lot about light and composition.

What is your earliest cooking memory?

When I helped my grandmother and mother cook Christmas dinner. It was a stew of lamb with artichokes, carrot and potatoes that my grandmother made often. The artichokes were dredged in flour and dipped in egg. That became my task. I stood on a green-colored stool and felt such connection to what I was doing.

Chocolate Hazelnut Pots de Creme

***Giveaway***

Win a copy of Small Plates & Sweet Treats for your cookbook collection, whether you are gluten free or just love good food, you will enjoy this book.   To enter, let us know in the comments below – what smells bring you back to your childhood?   Then enter with rafflecopter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Have you ever heard of Bahia? How about Salvador? Not El Salvador, or San Salvador, but Salvador, the capital of Bahia, the largest of Brazil’s twenty-six states.

Well, neither had I, until about five years ago, when my husband and I established a Chabad House and Jewish center in Salvador serving the Jewish residents as well as thousands of Jewish tourists who come to visit the region’s idyllic beaches and fishing villages, Salvador’s Pelourinho Old Town and enjoy practicing Capoeira martial arts. Many of the Jewish tourists join the millions who throng to Salvador for the world’s largest Carnaval celebration every February.

Life here is like nothing we have experienced before. For a nice English girl like me, the weather alone presents enormous challenges. The thermometer never dips below seventy-eight degrees, and usually hovers around a hundred. Homeschooling our children, the non-existence of a mikva, and the lack of privacy due to our open home present difficulties. Interestingly, the one thing I thought would be hardest – feeding my family and guests a strictly kosher diet while living over twelve hundred miles from the nearest kosher shop – is not so difficult after all.

Living in bustling cities with strong Jewish culture, one cannot imagine existing without a kosher grocery, a butcher, a restaurant or two, and a take-out place nearby. I dreaded the logistics of having to plan my meat consumption three months ahead of time, ordering it from Sao Paulo, and arranging to have it trucked north for four days by refrigerated truck, then unloading it all and storing it in our industrial-sized freezers. I thought eating defrosted yogurt and cheese and UHT milk* would be unbearable. I thought doing without ice cream, pizza, bagels and gourmet cakes would be a real sacrifice. I was sure my husband, four small children and I would suffer from the lack of kosher amenities.

But, we are not suffering. Not remotely. I have learned to bake bread, bagels, pizza and gourmet cakes, using simple ingredients from the local supermarket that do not need kosher certification. My children know that the ice cream we eat is different from the ice cream they have on the infrequent occasion when we visit cities in which kosher exists; but it is ice cream nonetheless.

Absent from my kids’ diet are the endless bags of fried, salted, sugared, preservative-laden snacks kids everywhere eat. Our consumption of fresh and cooked vegetables has doubled, and a mango-papaya-maracuja (passion-fruit) shake is a treat for my children; no sugar, no cream, just fruit. When they get twenty stars on their good-behavior charts, there are no chocolate bars. We take a walk down the road to the nearest coconut vendor, and the lucky winner gets a freshly perforated coconut, ice-cold, with a straw inside to suck out the delicious, naturally sweet and vitamin-laden agua-de-coco (coconut water).

One of my children was recently diagnosed with celiac-sprue disease, a condition where the villi in the intestines cannot absorb gluten, shrinking away to nothing when gluten is introduced in to the system, thus endangering the body’s absorption of other vital vitamins and minerals. Since gluten is a protein found in all products made with wheat, barley, rye, and most oats, keeping to a gluten-free diet is extremely challenging. In the literature available on the subject, much space is devoted to discussions of the self-control needed (and often lacking) to stay away from these products. While reading this, I smiled. To the kosher-conscious (especially one living in Salvador) such self-control is par for the course.

My three-year-old knows when she walks up the candy aisle in the supermarket, that she cannot have even one item on the shelves. My children don’t even bat an eyelid when the ice-cream man rolls his cart down the street, shouting “Picole, picole!” When my four and six year olds recently attended a friend’s birthday party, they took bags of homemade cookies along, and refused even a lick of the spectacular Hot-Wheels birthday cake served. (I know because the birthday boy’s mother, amazed at their self-control, told me!)

The thousands of Jews who crowd into Salvador to attend the world-famous Carnaval (a weeklong outdoor festival) are amazed. Who would have thought you could buy a kosher schnitzel and potato salad within earshot of the samba beats? Who would believe that you could obtain a Shabbos meal with challah and chicken soup a hundred yards from the trio electricos (music trucks)? Our Chabad House, so close to the Caranaval offers kosher options for the thousands of Jewish revelers.

When we moved here, our new friends here told us it couldn’t be done. Keeping kosher in Bahia was an impossibility, and people predicted that it would take six months for us to start compromising. (They said this about my long skirts and my husband’s beard and black coat, as well). Four and a half years later, we have proven that keeping kosher in the land of Capoeira and Carnaval is a matter of making up your mind to it. I am inspired by the families that have jumped on the kosher bandwagon, and have taken steps towards bringing G-d’s blessing into their homes.
So – kosher Salvador? Absolutely!

*UHT milk is long life milk which doesn’t need refrigeration and lasts a few months. However, it tastes very different to regular milk found in supermarket shelves.

As seen in the Joy of Kosher with Jamie Geller Magazine (Bitayavon- Winter 2011) – Subscribe Now.

Make-your-own-salad bars have sprouted up almost everywhere and introduced the idea that almost anything goes when creating a salad. Vibrant fresh produce doesn’t always come to mind during the winter months. However, surprisingly enough there are amazing seasonal winter produce that can be combined to create crisp, fresh, crowd-pleasing salads.

Roasted Red Peppers & Sunchoke Salad

Sunchokes add a crisp component to this savory winter salad. The contrast in color and texture also makes for a great presentation.

Curly Endive Caesar Salad

Capers add a distinct and savory flavor to this salad. Capers are sun dried and brined buds of a flower mainly found in the Mediterranean. They are briny and salty, similar to an olive and come in a variety of sizes. If desired, lessen the saltiness by running the capers under cold water. Capers are available in most supermarkets and grocery stores in glass jars and cans.

Endive Citrus Salad with a Mojito Dressing

The bitterness of the endive, the sweetness of the citruses, and the tang of the lime and mint, bursts onto the palate, giving the dish a refreshing delicious flavor. Mojito, a well known cocktail which utilizes rum, mint and lime, is the inspiration for the dressing in this striking salad.

As seen in the Joy of Kosher with Jamie Geller Magazine (Bitayavon Winter 2011) – Subscribe Now

Many cooks and top chefs will agree that baking can be a huge hassle. Even many acclaimed chefs are intimidated when it comes to baking pastries and dessert. Becoming a pastry chef is a specialty area among chefs. It can be a time consuming and messy process that entails a lot of attention to detail and the use of many dishes. In addition, any parent that has baked with their kids can attest to the end result. Happy faces, sticky fingers and cake batter in unimaginable places. That is why many of us buy cakes and cookies from a local bake shop. However, there is nothing like home baked goods. Try the following recipes. These recipes are really easy to make and because you can use a fork, a whisk and a bowl, they are great to make with kids.

Chocolate Cookie Cheesecake

This recipe allows you to sidestep using a mixer by using already whipped cream cheese. It is very simple to make and is delicious and fun as well. Using the sandwich cookies provides the taste of a good crust without having to do all the work.

Banana Cake

This recipe yields a delicious and moist banana cake that will make those banana cake haters into big fans! Bake in Bundt pan to impress your guests. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar.

Cinnamon Sugar Cookies

If you like sugar cookies you’ll love these cookies. They are soft on the inside, yet have a crunchy sweet bite.

Apple Muffins

This recipe is delicious. It is muffin perfection. Most importantly, it is a very healthy recipe. All types of flour work in this recipe, including whole wheat flour, which can be difficult to incorporate into baking. It is a great snack for kids and adults alike.

Pecan Pie

Adding maple syrup to the pecan pie provides a twist to the traditional pecan pie. Adding salt provides a contrast to the sweetness of the pie and enhances the sweetness as well.  And one last amazingly fun treat is Bananas Flambeed.  Flambé refers to lighting a dish on fire. Use this dessert at the end of a dairy meal. This dessert can be made on the spot and can be a great cause of entertainment for your guest if you choose to flambé the caramel rum sauce.

When I was a little girl we visited my grandma every week and looked forward to it not just because she was so special but because she cooked all the foods we loved. Like chocolate pudding. My favorite.

I liked that she didn’t cover the pudding when it was still hot, so it cooled thick and soft but had a slightly chewy top that my brothers and I would peel off and eat first.

Chocolate Pudding

Grandma never called it pudding. It was “Morty Fine.” She opened the package, poured out brown powdery stuff into a pot, stirred in milk, cooked it until it bubbled, then spooned it into serving dishes.

It was unimaginably wonderful.

After grandma passed away Morty Fine never tasted the same. I stopped making it, living on sweet memories instead.

Vanilla Pudding

But my husband Ed had his own delicious visions of pudding, so, years later I bought a box of My-T-Fine and cooked it.

It wasn’t at all what I remembered. It had a vaguely metallic taste that I hadn’t noticed when I was a little girl.

Was I clinging to a lovely but faulty memory?

As it turns out, no. My-T-Fine changed, as I discovered one year at a PTA sale at my daughter Gillian’s school. One mom brought in army surplus supplies her husband got at his base – old pudding packages from a time before expiration dates existed.

Butterscotch Pudding

I read the list of contents: cocoa, cornstarch, sugar and vanillin. The “modern” version had many more, mostly additives.

Fortunately that made me realize that with a few simple ingredients, I could duplicate grandma’s fabulous pudding in just a few minutes, at home, from scratch.

Stovetop pudding is so incredibly easy to make your toddlers can help you. But this is a family dessert, not just kid stuff. You need only mix the dry ingredients (sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch, salt), add hot milk and cook over low-medium heat until the pudding is thick.

Here are some pointers to make it absolutely foolproof:

1. Use a rounded-bottom pan so pudding clumps won’t cling to the edges where the side meets the bottom. If you don’t have one, use a wooden spoon to dig the clumps out of the edges.
2. Use unsweetened cocoa, regular or Dutch process, not cocoa “mix.” Dutch process cocoa is treated with alkali to neutralize its acids. It dissolves more easily and comes out darker.
3. Whole milk gives the pudding a richer flavor and more luxurious texture but you can make decent pudding with 2% milk.
4. Chocolate pudding is so basic you can have fun with it by adding even the simplest ingredients such as a few drops of mint, orange or other extract. Or for a Mexican style version, mix in 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon pure chili powder. For Mocha pudding, mix in 1-1/2 teaspoons of instant coffee powder. If you like even more chocolate, stir in 3 ounces of chopped bittersweet chocolate just after you finish cooking.
5. “Boxed” pudding is even faster when you prepare your own mix ahead of time. Combine the dry ingredients and store them in airtight containers (these make good Mishloach Manot and dinner gifts).

I can’t imagine eating chocolate pudding without cream. Warm pudding with cold, thick, heavy sweet cream. A half spoonful of each, a miracle on my tongue, the stuff of fantasy. But pudding is good plain too or with whipped cream. Or poured into a baked piecrust. And one of my family favorites is an old-fashioned “Pudding Cake” my mom used to prepare using chocolate pudding PLUS vanilla (or butterscotch) pudding and graham crackers. I top it off with whipped cream and shaved chocolate.  My famous Pudding Cake recipe can be found here.

The second annual Best of Kosher awards is here!!!

Our online contest recognizing the best of kosher in seven exciting categories, as voted by visitors to JoyofKosher.com.  You, our dear readers, are the arbiters of taste in all things, but especially in all things kosher. Who better than YOU to select the best of the best in kosher? I can think of no one better suited.

Starting NOW you can nominate and vote for your favorite products, restaurants, kosher food personalities and more!  Winners will be announced online on February 8, 2012 and in the March issue of Joy of Kosher with Jamie Geller.

The Joy of Kosher Best of Kosher Awards in addition to being loads of fun will really give everyone a chance to showcase their favorite kosher brands and products.  You can vote once a day in each of the 7 categories, so keep this page bookmarked and come back often.

Cozy, No-Fuss Family Meals… In One Pan!

To me, there’s nothing worse than having to wash every pot and pan you own after preparing a terrific meal. Give me a good one pan recipe, and I’m your BFF! These five savory recipes were designed to serve four hearty portions using only your average kitchen staple—a 12-inch skillet. Now here’s my little secret: I am the proud, doting owner of an extra-large 13½- x 3-inch (6-quart) sauté pan. This oversized darlin’ allows me to double these recipes so I can serve family and guests in half the time. One great pan = one great meal. Who needs the extra clean-up?

Lemon Rosemary Roast Chicken with Potatoes

When it comes to cozy winter dinners, roast chicken works overtime, warming our hearts and our tummies with its traditional and rustic character. A little white wine, rosemary, and lemon, plus a hefty serving of baby potatoes in assorted colors, make this bird a simple, reliable classic.

Baked Eggs with Sausage Sweet Potato Hash

This hearty breakfast can double as dinner—no problem. And looky-here, those sweet potatoes and multicolor peppers make a more colorful and elegant hash than your run-of-the-mill version.

Mexican Skirt Steak with Corn

A little south-of-the-border flair for Sunday night dinner.

Italian Style Halibut with Spaghetti and Sage

A piece of fresh halibut is ultra-low in fat (YAY!), doesn’t require much seasoning, and bakes up beautifully to an appealing snow white. Not a
“fishy” fish, its taste is really clean, and it has a nice, firm texture.  (Did I say YAY?)

Loaded Cheesey Rice with Vegetables

Piping hot rice and beans with veggies and cheese provide an abundance of textures and flavors sure to satisfy everyone on a frosty night.

As seen in the Joy of Kosher with Jamie Geller Magazine Chanukah 2011 – Subscribe Now

For Parmesan to top a salad:
Peel the parmesan cheese lengthwise, using a vegetable peeler to get long strips of parmesan cheese to top off the salad.

Make your own croutons:
Slice leftover bread into desired size croutons. In a nonstick pan, heat about ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil and toast the bread in the pan until it becomes crunchy, about three minutes. Add salt, pepper, other spices and herbs such as garlic, rosemary, or basil. Alternatively, preheat oven to 450o, drizzle olive oil and spices of choice over cubes of bread and toast for about ten minutes, making sure not to burn bread.

How to select cauliflower:
Select cauliflower that is firm and tightly packed and make sure that the heads are purely white with no brown spots.

For Pickling:
Use nonreactive pots (stainless steel, enameled pots, cast iron) when making pickling liquid, reactive pots (aluminum and uncoated iron) will leave an unpleasant taste.

Leftovers Meatloaf:
That is if you have any leftovers!  Leftover meatloaf makes a wonderful sandwich – cold, sliced thinly with some mustard. If you like it hot, use a flat, stovetop griddle, lightly sprayed, and heat slices on both sides.

Lemon verbena:
This herb has bright green delicate leaves that produces a strong lemon flavor and aroma. Lemon verbena can be added to teas, salads, sorbets and as a flavoring to jams, stews and more.

Fire Roasted Tomatoes:
Fire roasted tomatoes have a smokey flavor that adds a lot of depth to many dishes. Use it in marinara sauces, roasts, and barbecue sauces to
uplift traditional sauces calling for tomatoes. It is easy to find in any large supermarket. Hunt’s makes an all natural fire roasted tomatoes, with no added smoke flavor; simply authentic tomatoes that were slowly roasted over an open fire. To roast your own tomatoes; slice tomatoes in half, brush with olive oil and place on medium heat on an open grill. once tomatoes are blackened in spots (about 5-8 minutes) place in bowl and wrap in plastic wrap.  Remove peel and dice tomatoes when ready to use.

Making Pastry Crust:
For that melt-in-your mouth crust, the margarine and water must be ice cold.  If I am also making a large chicken pot pie I normally put crust on the bottom of the pie as well as on the top.

Powdered Sugar Topping:
Put the confectioners’ sugar into a hand sifter and sprinkle it on top of the treats.

What can be better than a cup of hot cocoa on a cold winter’s day?
A mug of hot chocolate—and make that the haute kind.

Not to be confused with cocoa powder mixed with milk, real hot chocolate is made by melting solid bars of chocolate, preferably a dark variety containing a high percentage of cacao, with cream and milk.

To make your own haute chocolate creations, melt white, milk, or dark squares (look for high percentages of cacao in the dark). Add hot water, warm milk or cream, followed by a good sprinkling of your favorite flavorings such as liqueurs, citrus zest, marshmallows, chopped candy,
spices, or extracts.

Take your cue from cuisines around the globe. Many cultures have distinct versions of this haute drink. Europeans favor a thick beverage of melted chocolate, unadorned except for whipped cream or mascarpone cheese. South American hot chocolate, made by combining melted
chocolate and water, is thinner and combined with spicy flavors such as cinnamon and chilies.

Chocolate pairs with practically anything, so make sure to take stock of your pantry as you jazz up your drink.

Hosting a party on a cold night?
Feature a make-your-own-“haute”-chocolate bar. Serve hot chocolate alongside bowls of different toppings. This is an especially perfect treat for a melava malkah (Saturday night meal).  Try these three amazing hot chocolate recipes.

Citrus Hot Chocolate

Spicy Hot Chocolate

Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate

There is a new way to hone your culinary skills and learn to become a chef in a kosher environment.  The Dan Gourmet School of Kosher Culinary Arts recently opened in Tel Aviv, Israel.  It is a first time collaboration between the ORT Vocational Schools and the prestigious Dan Hotel chain.

The new $2 million center is fully equipped and ready to train Israel’s next generation of chefs and pastry chefs.  The center which claims the largest kosher learning kitchen in the world will offer an internationally recognized cooking and baking curriculum for aspiring chefs.  The full program will take 8 months to complete.  The classes are based on the Culinary Institute of America, where Amir, the head chef/teacher studied, however they are taught in Hebrew.  Writing exercises are not expected in Hebrew and some English translations can be accommodated, so if you have some basic Hebrew you should be able to get by.

In addition to training young people to be kosher chefs, the school will also offer informal courses in response to the growing need for workshops and classes for Israelis looking to improve their cooking skills.  So far all the courses are exclusively in Hebrew, but starting in the new year they will begin offering week long courses for tourists including trips around the country (sounds like a my kind of vacation).

Whether you are a foodie who just wants to cook great food at home and for friends or you want to be a professional chef, this new kosher culinary school will inspire.  Amir says, “Culinary students are the future of the Israeli culinary scene.  We hope to bring international knowledge and experience into their fresh cooking style”.

For more information –

Dan Gourmet on Facebook (Hebrew but great pictures)

Dan Hotel chain English page

Twitter

Image – The Kitchen at the new school provided by Dan Hotel.

Cooking in Israel is fabulous.  The melting pot of cultures and cuisines that is this country makes a trip to the supermarket an adventure that gives you a chance to expand your culinary repertoire.  But sometimes, especially for new olim, making something familiar and comforting can be a little challenging.  When I polled my oleh friends about what they found tricky in cooking here, most of the responses ran to unavailable ingredients, and most people were remarkably specific.

Spices here are wonderful, both pre-packaged and purchased loose.  While many pre-mixed combinations are available, they all tend to have a distinctive middle-Eastern flavor.  More “Western” spice mixes are not found here. Some people mentioned garlic salt as a “can’t-live-without.” One part granulated garlic to three parts salt is a good replacement. Seasoned salt is not available, but this copy-cat recipe will deal with any cravings – Magic Salt. Please note that this recipe uses granulated garlic, or shum g’vishi (also called gvishei shum, just to mix things up!), as opposed to avkat shum, which is powdery and tends to clump soon after purchase.  There is no equivalent granulated version of onion powder here, so use imported, or just add a little extra garlic.

An interesting difference between Israel and the US is in the cuts of meat.  Israeli cuts are numbered, and divide the meat differently. New olim tend to find this very confusing. Read the labels – see what type of cooking is intended for each cut.  And watch out for packaged meat with water added or ground meat with added soy – best to avoid the additives. Names of types of fish are also different, but it’s easy to find charts for both meat and fish equivalents on line.

American ketchup has been available here for quite a while, but still missing from the shelves here is American style chili sauce.  An easy substitution is combining one part Thai sweet chili sauce – delicious on roasted potatoes, by the way – with two parts ketchup.  Like a little less spice?  Adjust the proportions to suit your palate.

Not Your Grandma

Canned tomato sauce is another ingredient that is just not widely available here.  Tomato paste, available in two consistencies, 22 Bx and 28-30 Bx (higher numbers mean more concentrated) combined with tomato juice make a good substitute.  My Old Fashioned Sweet and Sour Meatballs uses these two to make a delicious sauce.

By all means, get acquainted with what is available in your supermarket.  We have an amazing array of fruits and vegetables.  Once you accept the fact that produce is truly seasonal – you will never be able to make that strawberry AND mango salad you loved with fresh fruit – you can make use of the bounty of beautiful produce on the shelves.  Jamie’s Persimmon Salsa is a great example of this! We may be lacking in a few convenience foods that can be replaced; butternut squash kugel made with fresh squash is a little more work, but absolutely delicious. Try the new flavors your store offers – hawaij in your chicken soup, kubbe soup instead of knaidlach, Moroccan fish instead of gefilte – to create a new cuisine for you and your family. And please feel free to contact me if you have any questions I can help with!

Tools for fish or meat buying in Israel

Should old acquaintances be forgot and never brought to mind?  Not if that old acquaintance is kosher champagne.  This time of year we have many opportunities to raise a glass and celebrate, whether at the office holiday party or ushering in the New Year or avoiding the fiscal cliff.  While a rich red may keep you warm by the fire at night, an errant drop can ruin a party dress faster than you can say stain stick.  So stick to Champagne or sparkling wine, it’s affordable, light, festive and remarkably drinkable most anytime.  Here are a few of our seasonal favorites:

Drappier Carte Blanche Brut (France); $45.  Fine, fresh, elegant and fruity with apple, yeast and floral notes – a true French Champagne from a prestigious domaine.

Elvi Cava Brut (Spain); $20.  A blend of local grape varieties: Perellada, Macabeo and Xarel-lo.  Bubbly and dry, with interesting floral, mild citrus, and strawberry notes.  It is crisp and clean with a moderately long finish.

Herzog Selection Blanc de Blancs Brut (France); $13.  This wine is pale gold in color with aromas of peaches mixed with pear and other citrus fruits.  A crisp pallate with more pear fruit make this a very pleasant aperitif wine.

Bartenura Prosecco Brut (Italy); $17.  A wonderful, slightly sparkling wine produced in the Veneto region of North Italy.  Its slightly fruity, creamy, dry quality

With great deference to the poet Robert Burns and his incomprehensible song that is the midnight soundtrack for many a New Year’s celebration, perhaps a change of words is appropriate:

We’ll take a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne sparkling kosher wine.  L’Chaim!

Cooking a roast in a transparent cooking bag must be one of the most effective ways of keeping a roast moist without compromising on it’s golden brown look. And, once the roast is cooked you can make the most wonderful gravy from the juices left in the bag! What could be easier than placing a piece of meat with all your favourite herbs and spices into a sealed bag to cook? The convenience of not having to scrub the roasting pan once it is cooked! A double delight, a wonderful tasty, moist roast with no mess.

Bronzed Bag of Beef

Once you’ve followed your recipe and sealed the bag, place it into a roasting pan.  Place your pan in the oven on the middle shelf (or even one level lower) remembering that the bag will puff up from the steam and you don’t want it to melt on the element above. When you open the cooking bag, a large amount of hot steam will escape. Make sure you are not leaning over the bag as you open it as it may burn you.

Here are two of my favorite recipes for cooking meat in a bag.

Stuffed Roll of Beef

Bronzed Bag of Beef