When Madison Avenue talks, the world listens...and buys! Years ago two ad campaigns did much to help bring kosher food into the mainstream. Remember the one for rye bread, “You don’t have to be Jewish to love Levy’s”? And then there was “We answer to a higher authority” from Hebrew National.

Once the province of Orthodox Jews, kosher food is now one of the fastest growing segments of the food industry, and last month the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, New Jersey, hosted Kosherfest, the world's largest international kosher food trade show, now in its twentieth year.

As the launching pad for new kosher products, Kosherfest brought over 600 manufacturers and distributors together with thousands of eager buyers. “Attendance was even greater than last year,” noted Vianna DiGristina, marketing coordinator for Diversified Business Communications, the show’s producer.

Today there are more than 100,000 certified kosher products with annual sales of $12.5 billion, according to Menachem Lubinsky, chairman and CEO of LUBICOM Marketing Consulting and the show’s founder, and the public perceives these products as healthier and safer.

According to industry analysts, only 20 to 33 percent of kosher food produced worldwide is consumed by Jews. So just who is buying them? Muslims, Seventh Day Adventists, Hindus and others who follow similar dietary restrictions, for starters.

With 20 percent of the population lactose intolerant and millions calling themselves vegetarians of one sort or another, plus countless others who are health conscious, it is easy to see why kosher products have wide appeal. (The Mad Cow disease scare hasn’t hurt either. Because of strict cleanliness requirements and butchering procedures, there has never been a case of the disease found in kosher beef.)

As usual at these trade shows I attend, I sampled far too much, but what don’t you do in the name of research! What follows is a totally subjective rambling on some noteworthy nibbles.

My personal favorite by far was the goat cheese by Celebrity – I’m torn between the rum raisin and cranberry with cinnamon. Made in Israel in the lower Galilee, the cheeses are distributed by Angel’s Touch, manufacturer of all natural, gluten-free quiches and pizzas, also quite tasty.

First in the nostalgia category were the Vegetable Cutlets by Ratner’s, which since the landmark dairy restaurant closed its Delancey Street doors in 2002, now produces those menu favorites of yore in frozen form, minus the octogenarian waiters with their fingers in your soup.

I’m really excited about Zap peanut butter made with ten added vegetables and fruits, including spinach and beets, and loaded with anti-oxidants! I was wary at first, but this stuff really tastes just like regular peanut butter. I can’t wait to try it on my grandkids (the real taste test!) next week. Stay tuned.

The cheese blintzes by Golden – what can I say? – hard to resist in my grocer’s freezer, much less warm and glistening as they beckon to me from the platter.

Very moist and definitely habit-forming were the Brownie Bites from Shabtai Gourmet of Woodmere, New Year, which garnered first place in the “Best New Passover Product” category, a fourth win in seven years for the company. Zelda’s Sweet Shoppe of Skokie, Illinois. took “Best in Show” for their Southern Pecan Pie.

Manischewitz celebrates its 120th anniversary this year, and the company will be offering matzo in a special commemorative one-pound box for Passover. “May you live to be 120 is a special blessing,” said David Rossi, VP of Marketing. “We went through lots of old photos to get this one.” The wooden box with its nostalgic photo will retail for $7.99. And look for Passover Tam-Tams in full supply next season, Rossi assured me.

Before we leave the food, I must mention Davida Aprons and Logo Programs, which won Best New Foodservice Product with its baby bib inscribed: “I’m Not Crying I’m Davening.” See www.davidaaprons.com for Davida’s complete Matzah Mania line as well as gift ideas for every holiday.

In addition to what I like to think of as Kosherfest’s endless sample buffet, special events included a Sushi Competition won by Simply Sushi restaurants of Cedarhurst, Long Island, and Monticello, New York, and appearances by Levana Kirschenbaum, author of “Levana Cooks Dairy Free!” and “Levana's Table”; Jeff Nathan, chef/owner of Abigael's restaurant and author of “Adventures in Jewish Cooking” and “Jeff Nathan’s Family Suppers”; Elan Kornblum, publisher and president of Great Kosher Restaurants International, Tammy Polatsek, author of “Aristocratic Fruits,” as well as yours truly. Sharon Lebewohl was also on hand signing “The 2nd Avenue Deli Cookbook” and promoting the new CD “A Sabbath Meal” that she did with actor Mike Burstyn.

Mark your calendars now for Kosherfest 2009, which will be held again at the Meadowlands, on October 27 and 28. See you there!






Judy Bart Kancigor is the author of “Cooking Jewish: 532 Great Recipes from the Rabinowitz Family” and can be found on the web at www.cookingjewish.com.





RATNER’S VEGETABLE CUTLETS

Source: “The World Famous Ratner’s Meatless Cookbook,” by Judith Gethers and Elizabeth Lefft with comments and notes by Arthur Schwartz, http://www.thefoodmaven.com

Makes 12 to 15 cutlets

6 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch cubes (about 2 pounds)
1/4 cup butter
2 medium onions, chopped (about 2/3 pound)
6 mushrooms, chopped
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced carrots, drained (see Arthur’s Two Cents)
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can cut green beans, drained
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can peas, drained
3 eggs
2 cups matzoh meal (approximately)
Salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Cook potatoes in boiling salted water for 20 minutes, or until tender. Mash.

3. Meanwhile, in a skillet, heat butter and sauté onions and mushrooms until tender.

4. Pour mushroom mixture into a bowl with mashed potatoes. Stir in carrots, green beans, peas and 2 eggs. Blend thoroughly. Add enough matzoh meal so that mixture can be shaped into large patties. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

5. Shape into 12 to 15 patties. Beat the remaining eggs well. Brush patties on both sides, coating thoroughly. Place on a well-greased cookie sheet.

6. Bake for 45 minutes, or until lightly golden browned.

Serve hot.

Arthur’s Two Cents: Canned diced carrots seem to be no longer available. Use sliced carrots and dice them. Also: These reheat very well.


Ratner’s Vegetable Cutlet Gravy

4 tablespoons butter
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, diced
1 cup chopped celery
1 green pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 (1-pound) can tomatoes, undrained
3 cups Mushroom Water (see recipe below)
1 tablespoon mushroom powder (see note)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Paprika

1. In a saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons butter and sauté onion, carrot, celery, green peeper and garlic until soft, about 5 minutes

2. Add tomatoes, mushroom water and mushroom powder. Simmer for 20 minutes.

3. Mix remaining 2 tablespoons butter and flour and enough water to make a paste. Stir into saucepan and cook until sauce bubbles and thickens. Season with salt, pepper, and paprika.

4. Serve hot spooned over Ratner’s Vegetable Cutlets.

Note: Mushroom powder, which you certainly do not have in your pantry and is hard to get, is required for the gravy. Substitute some dried black mushrooms, the kind sold in plastic boxes in some supermarkets, if you want to get that flavor.


Mushroom Water

Makes 4 cups

2 pounds mushrooms, chopped
1 quart water

1. In a large saucepan, combine mushrooms and water. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until mushrooms are tender.

2. Strain broth and chill until ready to use. (Remaining chopped mushrooms may be chilled until ready to use in any dish.)




DOUBLE STUFFED VEAL ROLL WITH GLAZE

Source: http://www.manischewitz.com by Sarah Lasry

1/2 chopped onion
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 tomato sliced in very small chunks
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 pound chopped chicken or beef (uncooked)
3 pounds boned breast of veal
2 Manischewitz® Matzos finely broken or 1 1⁄2 cups Manischewitz® Matzo Farfel
1⁄4 cup hot water
cooking string

Glaze:
2 cups ketchup
1/4 cup Manischewitz® Condensed Chicken Broth
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup Manischewitz® Golden Honey

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

2. On a medium-high flame, sauté the chopped onions in 2 tablespoons olive oil until they start to turn translucent. Add sliced mushrooms and tomatoes. Mix well and continue to sauté until mushrooms are soft. Season mixture with salt and pepper. Add chopped chicken or beef to mushroom mixture. Sauté all ingredients for about 5 minutes, mixing everything together with a wooden spoon until the chopped meat sizzles and browns. Lower flame and add the matzo and hot water to meat mixture. Combine thoroughly and sauté for 5-6 minutes more. Remove from flame, add parsley and let stuffing mixture cool for later handling.

3. In a separate bowl, mix all 4 glaze ingredients together. Set aside.

4. Lay veal out on flat surface. Spread the stuffing meat mixture over veal, leaving a one-half inch margin on all sides. Roll up and tie with cooking string to hold veal roll securely. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a Dutch oven and brown the veal roll on all sides.

5. Remove from heat and generously pour glaze over browned veal roll making sure to fully cover meat. Cover and place into preheated oven and let roast for 2 hours. After 2 hours raise oven temperature to 350 degrees F and uncover veal. Let cook for an additional 40-45 minutes or until a nice thick glaze has formed over veal.

6. Remove from oven and let veal roll stand for 15-20 minutes before slicing.





KREPLACH

Source: “The 2nd Avenue Deli Cookbook” (Villard), by Sharon Lebewohl and Rena Bulkin

Wrappers
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, beaten
3 tablespoons cold water
1 egg, beaten, for binding kreplach
1 tablespoon salt

Meat filling
2 tablespoons corn oil
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 pound ground beef
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Potato filling
2 tablespoons corn oil
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon finely chopped or crushed fresh garlic
1 egg yolk
1 cup cooked, mashed potato
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1 tablespoon minced scallions
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Cheese filling
1 cup farmer cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten

Prepare 1 of the 3 fillings and refrigerate before you begin preparing dough:

Meat Filling
1. Heat corn oil in a skillet; sauté onions until nicely browned, remove with a slotted spoon, and set aside. Add meat to the pan and sauté on high heat, stirring frequently until all meat is browned. Put the onions back in, and sauté with meat, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Let cool.

2. In a bowl, thoroughly mix meat-onion mixture with all remaining ingredients.

Potato Filling
1. Heat corn oil in a skillet, and sauté onions until nicely browned. At the last minute, add garlic, which browns quickly.

2. In a large bowl, combine onion-garlic mixture with all other ingredients, and blend thoroughly.

Cheese Filling
Combine all ingredients in a bowl, and blend thoroughly.

Make wrappers and cook:
1. Sift flour and 1 teaspoon salt into a large bowl, and create a well in the center.

2. Pour eggs into the well, and, wetting your hands, knead into a dough. Add water, and continue kneading until dough is smooth. Roll dough into a ball, place it in a bowl, cover the bowl with a damp cloth, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

3. On a well-floured board, roll dough as close as possible to paper-thinness with a floured rolling pin. Cut into 2-inch squares. You can roll each individual square a bit thinner before you fill it. Have bowl with beaten egg, a teaspoon, and filling at hand.

4. Place a flatware teaspoon of filling in the center of the square and fold diagonally to create a triangle. Seal sides with egg mixture.

5. Bring a pot of water to a vigorous boil, add 1 tablespoon salt, drop in the kreplach, and cook for 20 minutes. Serve in chicken soup or, for dairy fillings, with sour cream and fried onions.




TIRAMISU

Source: “Levana’s Table: Kosher Cooking for Everyone” (Stewart, Tabori & Chang) by Levana Kirschenbaum

1 1/4 pounds store-bought sponge cake
1 pound silken tofu, thoroughly drained and dried with layers of paper towels
2 tablespoons oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 container Tofutti brand cream cheese
2 1/2 tablespoons instant espresso powder, dissolved in 2/3 cup hot water
1/4 cup brandy, rum or bourbon
8 ounces best quality semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 375 ºF.

2. Slice the cake in half-inch thick pieces and toast in the oven for about 15 minutes, turning the slices over once, until medium-brown on all sides. Let cool.

3. In a food processor, process the tofu with the oil and sugar until perfectly smooth. Add the cream cheese, and process for a few more seconds. Pour the mixture into a bowl.

4. Combine the coffee mixture and brandy in a container equipped with a spout, such as a glass measuring cup.

5. Grease a 2-quart (8 cup) loaf pan and line with plastic wrap, letting the sides overhang. Line the bottom completely with slices of cake, trimmed to fit tightly. Pour half of the coffee mixture evenly and carefully over the cake. Spread half of the tofu mixture evenly over the cake. Sprinkle half of the grated chocolate over the tofu mixture. Repeat: cake, coffee, tofu mixture, chocolate. Fold the overhanging plastic wrap toward the center of the mold. Refrigerate a few hours until set. Unmold and slice.

Makes 12 generous servings.