All Recipes

Here's my mother's world famous recipe! It's got a cookie type rather than a pastry type dough.

From the Boston Sunday Globe magazine section.

(suitable for Vegans)

My aunt and uncle lived next door to me in childhood, and I grew up in my aunt’s kitchen as if it were my own. Her Sephardic cooking was very different than the Ashkenazic cooking of the rest of the family, but I thought nothing of this because I ate it so often. Somehow all these different flavor profiles worked just fine together, with little to no distinction being made. I wish more of the world worked together just as easily.

One of our favorite Passover desserts. From "The Jewish Kids Catalog"

This versatile bread dough can be used to make pizza crust, French or Italian bread, as well as Middle Eastern breads like pita. My father learned the recipe from one of his biology students.

From the Columbus OH Dispatch

Note from Jewish Cuisine Host: This recipe comes from a book published in 1958. We were unable to find out if the book is still under copyright. The recipe is so interesting that we decided to publish it in the archive anyway, but if it is still under copyright we sincerely apologize to the authors and publishers in advance. Copyright holders - if you wish to see this recipe removed from the archive, please email me and I will remove it promptly. The Heart of the Settlement Cook Book, 1958. This recipe assumes you have a challah dough recipe of your own that you have ready. If you need a challah recipe, there are a few in this archive to choose from.

As a North American, turkey winds up being the main course for a lot of holiday events. And every time, I’m forced to reconcile the fact that it’s hard to get birds that are small with the fact that nobody seems to like leftover turkey. This cassoulet is my solution to the problem, and the majority of it can be made in advance, just waiting to receive the roughly 3 lbs of extra bird meat. It seems like a lot of work, but take a look at the number of servings... if you freeze them in smaller portions you have the protein part of truly delicious dinners set for many days, it's a lot less work/meal than it appears at the outset. I have structured it as a 2.5 step process, but, you can do it all together on the same day if you wish, it just takes a long time. The recipe uses a wide 8 quart stockpot, a skillet, a casserole dish, and an instapot specifically to get the beans done quickly, but you could cook the beans in advance conventionally (soak and just let to simmer most of the day or use a crock pot) or even (dare I say it) used canned beans, although the latter generally are a bit mushy. I am assuming you've basted your turkey with a bottle of wine, and that you don't thicken the basting juice with flour or cornstarch. This recipe makes an enormous amount, about 1.75 gallons. It is meant to be portioned out and frozen, as it freezes and reheats very well.

Vicky was my aunt’s aunt, so related to me by marriage. My aunt’s family always treated me as their own… I did not realize until I was in my teens that I was not a blood relative, so kind were they. My grandparents were great friends with my aunt’s parents, and socialized with them whenever possible. My aunt is of Sephardi heritage, and the two families exchanged recipes often, each mystified by the other’s flavor palette. I was not surprised to find an “Aunt Vicky Recipe” in my grandma’s recipe box.

The origin of this recipe is from my aunt's favorite cookbook - a Sephardic cookbook made by the sisterhood of a synagogue in Atlanta, GA. I have modified their recipe to the point that it's unrecognizable, so decided to write it down rather than rely on my pencil notes. If you look at a variety of Jewish cookbooks featuring the cuisine of the eastern Mediterranean and Middle East, you will find variations on this dish of ground meat and eggplant. It is the kosher version of moussaka. Because of the prohibition of mixing milk and meat there is no bechamel sauce or cheese, and as a result these kosher versions invariably have a slightly different, lighter taste. The use of cinnamon and nutmeg in a savory dish still imparts the characteristic complexity to these dairy-free moussakas. It is a two-step cooking process, first step on the stove, second step in the oven. This recipe makes a large quantity. Use a 6 quart skillet if you have one. Be warned that a regular 9 X 13 lasagna pan is too small to hold this.

This stew is actually pareve, but it tastes fleishig because of the Tofurkey™... which tastes surprisingly genuine in this incarnation. Even more bizarre, my picky kids gobble this up, so parents ahoy! it's worth a try.

This is the charoset I make every year. I always hear "I don't like Ashkenazi charoset, but I like your charoset," which... I don't understand because this really is bog standard for it as far as I know. Anyway, knock yourself out.

I've spent years developing my challah recipe. Success with bread recipes are highly dependent on elevation, ambient temperature and humidity. (Quality of ingredients matters too.) For your reference, I live at sea level with generally cool temperatures and high humidity. You may need to adjust your rising time, amount of liquid, use of gluten, etc. to suit your locale. If you are short on time, you can reduce the kneading time and omit the first rise, but this will affect the crumb and it may not rise as high. Regarding gluten - I find it gives me a much better rise, but you can certainly make challah without it.