Like most Ashkenazi Jews I grew up thinking that haroset meant grated apples mixed with ground up walnuts and a little Manischewitz wine. Never mind that we read the Haggadah twice during the holiday and discussed its meaning and I learned that we ate haroset to symbolize the mortar spread between the bricks that were

So much to cook. So little time. This year the first night of Passover is April 8th, a Wednesday. Add a second Seder and Shabbat and we have to prepare meals for three holiday days in a row. If you work outside the home or have small children to care for or you’re just plain

In the weeks before Passover, which begins this year at sundown on April 8th, I start to think about getting my home ready for the holiday and about the first Seder. Who will come? Because of space considerations and growing families it is my husband’s side one year, my side the next. What will I

Say the word Purim and most of us think “hamantashen.” Nothing wrong with that, both metaphorically and gastronomically. The idea of eating Haman’s hat is a delicious one: not only for the symbolic destruction of an ancient enemy who sought to destroy the Jews, but the pleasure of the soft, three cornered cookie stuffed with

A few years ago I read with great interest that Wolfgang Puck, the famous American chef, would be using meat from animals that were raised and slaughtered using humane practices. All of his restaurants would follow a 9-point plan that included, among other things, using eggs from hens that have not been confined, using veal

The composer Giuseppe Verdi once said that soup was the source of his inspiration. If such a homey, simple food could be the magic behind such magnificent operas as Aida and Rigoletto, think what it can do in your household! I know that when my family is not in the mood for the usual meat-and-potatoes

When sheets of sleet slash the windowpanes and blizzards blow white snowflakes into a whirlwind there is one undeniable consolation: Chicken Soup. It’s been called “Jewish penicillin” for good reason: Chicken Soup soothes and warms you from within. If you have a cold it is certain therapy, providing the fluids you need if you have

On Hanukkah, we recount the story of how Mattathias and his sons won a great victory against the Greeks, who tried to impose their own form of religious worship on the Jewish people. The battle took place more than 2,000 years ago but we continue to commemorate the event because it saved our people from

Around this time of year, when temperatures turn colder, I start to think about foods that warm my family from inside out. It’s braising weather. Jewish home cooks are expert at braising. Our briskets are famous, aren’t they? Everyone has a favorite recipe, usually passed down from grandma or whoever the great cook was in

When it comes to Thanksgiving, kosher cooks are lucky. Most people complain that turkey, the traditional main course, can be dry and overcooked. But kosher turkeys are brined before we buy them, and brining, which involves soaking and salting, causes muscle fibers to swell and retain fluids, making the meat naturally moist and succulent. That