Mongolian Beef + Secret Restaurant Recipes Review and Giveaway!

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 Mongolian Beef is an easy and delicious restaurant style dish that you can make at home thanks to a great new cookbook, Secret Restaurant Recipes. I'm so excited to bring you an in-depth review of this amazing new book: Secret Restaurant Recipes by Leah Schapira and Victoria Dwek - and I'm giving one lucky reader a chance to win their own copy! Scroll down past the review and recipe for the giveaway.  Years ago, when Leah Schapira and I were just getting to know each other, one of our first conversations ever was about getting restaurant recipes. I told her that a local pizza shop makes a great techinah sauce - and she told me to beg for the recipe. And ever since then, I knew she has … [Read more...]

The Side Dish: Some Things I Thought You Might Like

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Like on the side: some links I love, some kitchen deals, and a review of the new cookbook The Big Flavor Grill! Hey friends. I'm trying something a little different here today. I'd love to say it's going to be a weekly series, but knowing me and how busy I get sometimes, I am not going to make any commitments. However, now that I've got a super talented assistant (I'm going to introduce her next week!), I am going to try to share more than just recipes. We'll aim for most fridays...let's see how that works out! Some weeks I'll share great kitchen deals, sometimes it's going to be cookbook reviews (maybe a few giveaways?), sometimes I will share roundups of great recipes and sometimes you … [Read more...]

Sweet Potato Pasta and a Review + Giveaway of Dairy Made Easy!

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Sweet Potato Pasta has a unique and exciting flavor, making it a great change from the usual. Recipe part of a review of Dairy Made Easy. The dynamic duo of cookbook writers, Leah Schapira and Victoria Dwek are back again with the fourth book in their Made Easy cookbook series, Dairy Made Easy.  As I mentioned in previous reviews (See my reviews of Passover Made Easy, Starters and Sides Made Easy, and Kids Cooking Made Easy), the authors are good friends and colleagues of mine, and I am in total admiration of their knowledge of food, their creativity passion for food, and above all, their ability to put forth a creative and exciting cookbook. I'm so excited to have the opportunity … [Read more...]

Red Wine London Broil Salad + A Taste of Pesach Review and Giveaway

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Red Wine London Broil Salad makes an elegant appetizer, a delightful side, or a lighter main - making it perfect for Passover or year-round. Adapted from the hottest new cookbook, A Taste of Pesach. The hottest new Passover cookbook is the newly released A Taste of Pesach, and I'm super excited to review it today. Plus, I'm sharing an awesome steak salad from the book, and one lucky person will win a copy! A Taste of Pesach started as a fundraising campaign for a local Yeshivah. A bunch of women gathered their favorite Passover recipes together and mailed them out in the form of a pamphlet. Six years and tens of thousands of fans later, they've compiled the best of their yearly … [Read more...]

Thai Peanut Chicken Satay and a Review and Giveaway of The Prime Grill Cookbook

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If you keep kosher and live in the New York area, chances are, you've heard of The Prime Grill. This iconic kosher restaurant has been at the forefront of upscale kosher cuisine for over 10 years. And for those of us, like me, who have never been to this restaurant, they've released a beautiful new cookbook full of delicious recipes, including some signature dishes from Chef David Kolotkin. I'm super excited to review The Prime Grill Cookbook today! Scroll past my review for a sample recipe and a chance to WIN a copy! At a first glance:  Wow, now I really want to go eat in the prime grill! The food looks delicious and it's beautifully presented. Most importantly, the chef's desire to … [Read more...]

Golden Cauliflower and Plum Tomatoes and a Review and Giveaway of Starters and Sides Made Easy

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As you all know, I love cookbooks. Basically all cookbooks. But it's not every day that my good friends and colleagues publish a book, so this one has me extra excited! The dynamic author-duo of Leah Schapira and Victoria Dwek have done it again. You may remember my review of their last joint effort, Passover Made Easy, and how much I loved it. Well, they have absolutely outdone themselves in their latest effort, Starters & Sides Made Easy. Ready to read what I thought? (Scroll down past my review for your chance to win your own copy!) At first glance: As with their previous book, Starters & Sides Made Easy is chock full of creative and inventive ideas, beautifully photographed … [Read more...]

Garlic Spaghetti Squash with Tomatoes and Basil and a Review and Giveaway of The No Potato Passover

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With Passover coming, everyone I know is scrambling for recipes and ideas. I don't know about you, but when I think Passover, I think potatoes. And when I think of the day after Passover, I think about being intensely sick and tired of potatoes. And that's why I think everyone celebrating passover can appreciate The No Potato Passover by Aviva Kanoff. Read what I thought of it, then enter below for one of two chances to win a copy! At a First Glance: First I was all, "no way I want to go through an entire Passover without a potato." But as I read through the cookbook, I was impressed with the idea. Sure I'm going to eat potatoes. But this book has some refreshing ideas of recipes that … [Read more...]

Roasted Butternut Squash Salad and a Review and Giveaway of Passover Made Easy

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I know that nobody really wants to think about the imminent arrival of the Passover holiday, but face it, friends. Passover is coming. The good news is that today I am reviewing a cookbook that aims to make Passover cooking easy. I know, it sounds too good to be true. But this book proves that it can be done! Passover Made Easy is a brand new book, written by the fabulous duo of Leah Schapira (or Fresh & Easy fame) and Victoria Dweck, food editor of a number of top kosher magazines, including the one I write for. The book is a project of CookKosher.Com, and actually features about a third of the recipes by a number of the members, myself included! Leah and Victoria took the recipes, … [Read more...]

Soft Frosted Vanilla Sugar Cookies and a Review and Giveaway of Pure Vanilla

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I know it's been a while since I did a book review, but this one is super fun, and I love this recipe for Purim (or pretty much any time. Ever.) The frosting is vanilla flavored, but add in some food coloring to match your color scheme and you're all set. Scroll down to the bottom of the post for a giveaway of this book! Pure Vanilla by Shauna Sever is a super fun and creative book that aims to change your impression of vanilla from a minor side ingredient to a star of the show. Here's what I thought of it. At a First Glance: I never thought of vanilla as such a starring ingredient before. To me, vanilla means no other flavor. But this book spotlights it in the most amazing ways! There's … [Read more...]

Personalized Letter Cookies and a Review and Giveaway of Decorating Cookies

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Giveaway Closed! I am totally excited about the book I am reviewing (and giving away!) today! I usually review ordinary cookbooks, but today I am reviewing something kind of different. Because of that, I am not going to do my regular set of cookbook review questions, but let me tell you about this fabulous book. I still remember the first time I discovered Bridget Edward's blog. My jaw dropped open further and further as I clicked for another page, and another. The woman is insanely talented, and has the most fabulous cookie decorating ideas! When I heard she was coming out with a book, I knew I had to get my hands on it. And this book didn't disappoint. Decorating Cookies starts out with … [Read more...]