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...]
Pretzel Crusted Chicken Fingers with Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce
Pretzel Crusted Chicken Fingers are baked, not fried, but still perfectly moist! Today's post is going to be short, but I won't apologize. Mostly because I feel like I've been doing that far too often lately. I'm busy. You all know that. And I think many of you are very busy this week, with Purim coming and whatnot. So the good news is that I have a great dish to share today. These chicken fingers are super fun, they're easy to make, and they are a nice change for anyone looking to switch things up a bit. Oh, and did I mention how these are baked, which makes them healthier? So whether you are cooking for your Purim party (seudah), looking for a fun appetizer idea, or even an … [Read more...]
Savory Meat Pie Hamantaschen
It's 1:30 am and I am sitting at my computer thinking about hamantashen. But it isn't my fault, really. Blame it on... Oh forget it. It's totally my fault. I can't help myself. Not only do I imagine myself to have hoards of anxious fans waiting for my brilliant purim ideas yeah right but I also need to impress people at my own purim seudah (feast/party). It's hard, let me tell you. No matter how much pressure you might feel at parties, think about what it's like when you are a food writer. Exactly. Well I kinda wish I could invite each and every one of you to my purim party, because I am serving these meat pie hamantaschen as the appetizer and they are seriously … [Read more...]
Quinoa and Spinach Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
Let's talk about a pet peeve of mine. I probably mentioned this here before, but it's my blog, and I'll kvetch if I want to. Why in the world to people have this idea that healthy food and good food are mutually exclusive? Listen to me folks. Let me say it loud and clear (or type it nice and bold. Work with me here): Good food can and should taste good! I think I have proven this a bunch of times here. Take my Spicy Zucchini Sticks, for example. They are healthy, but they are also boldly flavored, insanely delicious and kinda addictive. Or what about my Healthy Breaded Cauliflower? Ok, so they have some whole wheat bread crumbs, so some of you might not find them … [Read more...]
Herb Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Herb Roasted Sweet Potatoes are an easy, delicious and family-friendly side dish. If there was ever a time that I was going to post an almost non existent recipe, it's today. I finally wrapped up the first of two Purim features I'm doing for my magazine job, and I'm as closed to burnt out as it gets. It's pretty weird, because the recipes I'm featuring are some of the most creative I've ever done. And then the packaging ideas are another important aspect of the article, and they kinda have to be really creative too. Couple that with doing photo shoots for all of them and basically my creativity (and energy!) tanks are on empty. I'm exhausted. I want to sleep for a week. But no, … [Read more...]
Asian Chicken Salad with Peanut Vinaigrette
So who's planning to start the year with some healthy eating? You too? Well I guess we're all in the same boat here. Good news, I've got the most delicious salad I've ever made to share with you today. Y'know how some people say that diet food doesn't taste good? Well. That isn't true. And I'm going to prove it to you as soon as you taste this salad. Let's first step back so I can tell you what it's like to live in my head. It was about 2 in the morning and I was finally drifting off to sleep. Sadly for me, this is the time of day when I often have my best ideas. (Does this happen to anyone else?!) So there I am in bed, and I have this super cool idea. What would happen, I wonder, … [Read more...]
Honey Glazed Garlic and Ginger Sugar Snaps
Hey everyone, remember when my blog friend Tali from More Quiche, Please guest posted for me over the summer when my sister got married? Well now I got to repay the favor! I made my favorite vegetables in the world, and I talk all about them on Tali's Blog. So go check out my absolutely amazing Honey Glazed Garlic and Ginger Sugar Snaps, and have a peek around her blog. Tell her I say hi! Note: Tali's site is no longer active, so the recipe is posted below. Ingredients: 1 lb sugar snap peas (frozen works well) 2 Tablespoons olive oil 1/2 Tablespoon honey 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground ginger Instructions: Preheat oven to 425. Line a … [Read more...]
Mushroom Beef Sliders and a Review and Giveaway of CHIC Made Simple
Giveaway Closed! I'm super excited to be reviewing another fabulous and hot new kosher cookbook, CHIC Made Simple. The author, Esther Deutch, actually writes for the same magazine as me, Ami Living's Whisk magazine. Oddly enough, I didn't meet her until Kosher Fest, when we practically bumped into each-other. "You're Overtime Cook?!" She exclaimed. "I am such a fan." Well. After an introduction like that, I couldn't wait to see her beautiful cookbook and try some of the recipes. At a First Glance: CHIC Made Simple is beautiful. And I am not talking simply about the pictures (which are really nice!). This book is big, hard covered, and really nice all around. Every page has a … [Read more...]
Pesto Potato Pinwheels
Let me preface this post by telling you that I'm typing it up on my (barely functional and very old) iPhone 4 (because my iPhone 5 isn't expected for another two weeks- boo!) on the bus, headed home from work. And by "work" I don't mean my usual "very tame" 9 hour work day. I mean an Advil-sustained, coffee and diet-coke guzzling absolutely intense ten and a half hour work-athon. Yeah. Cause that's what happens when your company closes ten days straight in celebration of a holiday. Not fun. Wait. I should clarify. Vacation is fun. Coming back isn't. Wait, was that obvious? Also, I'm probably not coherent. Consider yourselves warned. Oh, and I'm not finished complaining about my work day. … [Read more...]
Sukkos Recipe Roundup
Here's what I was supposed to do yesterday. I was supposed to photograph this amazing appetizer recipe and post it for you folks. But then I got home from work at 7:30. You read that right. Work. On a Sunday. I don't recommend it. I got cooking right away, and at 2 in the morning I was wise enough to realize that posting the recipe at that point would have been a really bad idea. So I went to sleep for like, four whole hours. Anyhoo. Here's a handy dandy list of stuff you should totally be making for Sukkot. They are a sampling of recipes from the archives, so feel free to dig around for even more! New recipes are a'comin, I promise. Wait, I don't. I have so much left to do! But I really do … [Read more...]