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
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...]
Holiday Gift Ideas for the Cook or Baker in Your Life
People who know me are super lucky when it comes to buying gifts. I have such specific hobbies that if you want to buy me something, all it takes is a kitchen gadget or a photography "toy" and I am happy. I figured that some of you might be looking for gift ideas for kitchen loving folks in your life, so I put together a list. Most of these items are things I have and love, others are items that I want really badly. (This may or may not be a hint to people in my life. Ahem. Readers, I invite you to forward this link on to people in your life who might otherwise buy you a useless or unwanted gift. Hints are nice, right? Let's start with a big one, in case anyone wants to buy something … [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...]
Yemenite Beef Soup and a Review and Giveaway of Kosher By Design Cooking Coach
Giveaway Closed! I've been getting a lot of questions lately about my thoughts on the new cookbook by Susie Fishbein, Kosher By Design Cooking Coach, and I am excited to finally share my thoughts on this fabulous cookbook with you. I should start by mentioning that if you aren't a kosher cook, don't stop reading. Susie's ideas are amazing, and you don't have to keep kosher to appreciate them! At a first glance: As is the case with all of Susie's previous books, this is a visually beautiful book. I opened it up and marveled at the absolute wealth of information. The book promises to be more than just a list of recipes, and it certainly delivered. Each chapter starts with a "game … [Read more...]
Cinnamon Sugar Scones and a review and giveaway of Mini Treats and Handheld Sweets
Giveaway Closed! I'm so excited to be reviewing a new cookbook today. Not just any book, but one that I'm totally nuts over. No jokes. I think the author, Abigail Dodge is my soul sister, because how perfectly me is a cookbook called "Mini Treats and Handheld Sweets?" Not only it it a cookbook full of glorious desserts, but they're mini, and pretty much every recipe in this book is right up my alley. Lets discuss this, shall we? At a First Glance: My first reaction when flipping through this book was "ohmygosh I want to make everything." The book is a treasure trove of delicious recipes that are either totally out of the box, or a brand new twist on an old favorite. (Why make carrot … [Read more...]
Chicken, Vegetable and Barley Soup and a review of The Bais Yaakov Cookbook
I'm super excited to be reviewing another cookbook today. I've got a bunch of books on my shelf, waiting to be written about, but this one is extra exciting because I heard so much about this book lately! I'm sure that all of my Kosher readers have heard about the Bais Yaakov Cookbook. There's been a lot of hype in the kosher world about it. I couldn't help wondering: was that earned? I finally got a chance to find out! At first glance: This cookbook looks really impressive. It's a large, hardcover book with pictures that are breathtakingly beautiful. There's a wide variety of recipes, all arranged clearly and intuitively. My first thought as I flipped through this book the first time … [Read more...]
Chocolate Cupcakes and a First Blogiversary Giveaway
Giveaway Closed! See here for the winner I've been thinking about today a lot, but I can't believe it actually came. It was one year ago that I published my first ever recipe. I know that most bloggers follow up on that statement with "I am so embarrassed of that post" or "I can't believe how far I have come since then!" or "it was totally on a whim that I started my blog!" But I am not going to say any of that. Sure, I think I have come pretty far since I wrote and photographed that recipe, but I am proud of that post, just as I am proud of every post I have up on this blog. This blog wasn't started on a whim, it was the result of weeks of planning … [Read more...]
Quinoa Cakes and a review of Herbivoracious
When I was given the opportunity to review Herbivoracious, by Michael Natkin, I knew it would be perfect for the nine days. Remember how I said I can't eat meat all week? Well what better time to review a vegetarian cookbook? None, I say. I loved these quinoa cakes, and enjoyed this cookbook! At first glance: There is such a wide variety of recipes in here, you wouldn't imagine that this book is vegetarian. The pictures are beautiful and eye-catching, and best of all, inviting. Some features I liked: You would think that there wouldn't be a wide variety of sections in a vegetarian cookbook (no meat, poultry and fish sections) but the cookbook was very cleverly organized. Main course … [Read more...]
Cookie Dough Thumbprint Cookies and a Cookie Dough Lover’s Cookbook Review
I can't begin to tell you how excited I am to have been given the opportunity to review The Cookie Dough Lover's Cookbook, by Lindsay Landis (of Love and Olive Oil Fame). I have been a fan of Lindsay's for ages, and from the minute I picked up this book I was amazed by her creativity and ideas. At First Glance: I loved this cookbook from the moment I picked it up. Before I even read any of the recipes, I noticed that the pictures (all taken by Lindsay herself- speak of talented!) are unbelievably eye-catching and drool-inducing. It's hard to look at this cookbook when you're on a diet (trust me, I had to do it!) because you will want to make every single thing in it. And you won't like not … [Read more...]